From what I gather it wasn't necessarily about Nic, but about falling out with Chester.
I really wonder what might have happened after the 2007 tour to cause their 30+ years of friendship and musicianship to end!
Correction: Chester played on the 2010 Going Back shows as well.
I’m a fan of all eras of Pink Floyd, but I have to say I like the Barrett era the least. The reasons are: 1) I don’t like Barrett’s voice, 2) some of the songs are too quirky and simplistic for my taste.
On the other hand I really love the 1968–1972 era, which I find has been unfairly overlooked, obviously due to the monumental success starting with Dark Side. Thus I was very happy with the early years box set which I bought instantly. I often listen to bootlegs from especially this era and find them more interesting than the studio albums. They did a lot of improvisations and rearrangements of songs, which means you can follow the development of a song over the months and years. For instance, there are multiple quite different live versions of „Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun“, „A Saucerful Of Secrets“, „Careful With That Axe, Eugene“, „Astronomy Domine“, and „Interstellar Overdrive“, which make the studio versions somewhat pale by comparison.
When I heard about Nick’s concerts I initially got the impression they would play Barrett era songs, but then I realized the set list has the same scope as the box set, which makes it much more interesting for me.
Set lists may be found at http://www.brain-damage.co.uk/…ason-s-sos-2018/index.php
I think RW said he met Collins once.
They met backstage in Hannover in 2007. Here's Ray's story about it:
That's really great news that M&M continues as a live band! I would quite like to see them live, but from my location in Sweden I would prefer a concert in Denmark, Germany, Poland or the Netherlands. The same goes for future Phil concerts.
A new album in 2019, well that's ambitious! Let's hope for that, but between The Road and Let Me Fly there were SIX years, despite the band being active. I never understood what the delay was about, but I sincerely hope it won't take six years until the next album.
a different interview with TB in which he qualified it with something like "You have to ask though, with a different drummer, will it really be Genesis?"
Chester would be the natural choice as drummer, just as in 2007. Does this mean that for some reason Chester is no longer an option as drummer for Genesis? There have been rumours about a fall out between Phil and Chester, but I have never heard anything substantial about it. Maybe Tony's comment is the first public indication that Chester is out of the picture?
his physical inability to drum means whatever dwindling possibility there'd been of more Genesis shows has vanished completely.
If it's a reunion of the three man era band there's no problem: his role is primarily as a singer and he doesn't have to drum. Of course I would like him to drum, but it would actually work without him drumming.
There probably weren't many, if any, performers at that time who could involve and engage 80,000+ people in a huge stadium in that apparently effortless way.
The only one that comes to my mind is Freddie Mercury. This is an example from Wembley Stadium in 1986:
I've been a fan since 1991 and i still listen a lot to the music. I listen to studio albums, official live albums and bootleg concert recordings. That goes for both the band and the solo careers.
There may be some day every now and then when I don't listen to anything related to Genesis, but those days are not many. So basically I listen every day, and the number of albums/concerts during one week may be between 15 and 20.
I may mention that I work at home and thus have the freedom to listen to whatever I like all day, which may not be the case in an office. This means I have several hours a day to fill with music.
I am enjoying that whole show!
So was I, that concert was really something special. I have recently started going through my own collections (bootleg CDs that I traded some 15 years ago) and concerts on Youtube. They were such a superb live band which to me means that I don't get bored listening to (partially) the same songs several times a week as long as they are different versions.
When it comes to introductions I quite like Phil's stories and I think they were very important in order to connect with the audience. Some of the stories during the period 1978-1981 may be a bit weird, but I don't mind. Peter's stories were weird too, but in another way. However, I watched the Wembley 1987 DVD some days ago and I was very impressed of how confidently Phil did his interactions with that gigantic audience!
Just a few days ago I watched the 1990 Serious Hits Live DVD for the first time since maybe eight years. Well, I was completely blown away by the power of the performance! Phil and all his band members seemed almost hyperactive to me! That was really nice to see. I also noticed Phil smiling every now and then in a way that made me think he was actually feeling good and enjoying himself. As we all know this hasn't always been the case for him.
Regarding his current tour I agree it's sad to see him performing sitting. But, I think the appearance could be much better. If he's supposed to be performing sitting, they should not use any bloody cheap office chair they happen to find, they should design a chair specifically for Phil's needs. The chair should be higher, and it should be more mobile. Also, the chair must be designed to give him a better posture, which will enable him to look more active and perhaps also bring more power to the singing. The key term is ergonomics!
I've been a fan of Genesis (and solo careers) since 1991. I was 16 then and now I'm 43. I realize that I'm now older than they were when they released We Can't Dance. That's a very simple and undisputable fact, but it doesn't make it any easier for me to grasp or accept emotionally. And the same goes of course for the 1990 Phil solo show I watched the other day: last time I watched it they were older than me. Anyway, I still like all the music as much as I did when I first discovered it. All this lovely music will stay with me for the rest of my life, and since I'm 25 years younger than them I understand that they will not be with me forever. When it comes to Phil's current tour, I think the feeling is there and that's what's important, even though the actual performance may not be as perfect and dynamic as on previous tours. I'm just glad he's well enough to actually do this tour. I have watched some clips on Youtube and noticed a great improvement in the performance, which I think is promising.
Phil wrote the lyrics for "No Son Of Mine", "I Can't Dance" and "Driving The Last Spike". The last one was based on a book he had read and must also be the only Genesis "epic" he wrote the lyrics for.
I think PC got more involved in the lyrics at this later stage.
Yes, he arguably got better at lyric writing during the 80s! If I remember correctly he actually wrote the lyrics for six of the songs on "We Can't Dance", but I don't remember where I saw that. The reason for Tony and Mike not contributing that many lyrics may be, I think, that they had recently finished their respective solo albums and may had emptied their lyrical creativity a bit.
I'm listening to a great recording of 1982/08/26 at Saratoga Springs. I really love the Encore Tour, because of the setlist and because they were really a powerful live band.
One thing that struck me when listening was how good a version of "Whodunnit" they delivered at this concert. You can really tell they love playing it and as we all know the song wasn't meant to be taken too seriously. Tony plays it a bit different making it even uglier, if possible, and Phil is in perfect vocal form.
Here is a link, so you can all enjoy this recording:
With all that said, I wonder:
Which is your favourite live version of "Whodunnit"?
I have mixed feelings about his currant live activities because he seems to be in such a poor healthy state. I saw a clip of a song of one of his shows from last year, which I found embarrassing. He didn`t look good and his voice was bad, too.
I agree about the first part of the tour, but clips on Youtube from this year's concerts have been better, I think. Let's see how much of his vocal abilities he can still regain. One big problem as I see it is that he's sitting down, and also which type of chair he's sitting in. He sits there quite immobile and with a bad posture, which makes it a bit sad to see. Also it must affect his singing capability to sit down like that. I think that just some other chair would make him look more active.
"Perhaps we should just rerelease The Silent Sun, our first single. Perhaps it could be a hit this time around (laughs). Should've been a hit the first time, but it wasn't."
That's the song I wished they had played on the 2007 tour! That would have been a huge surprise, and also a success I think. It's a good song and the live version could have been released as a single.
That was great reading! My eyes started watering as I read Leland's comment: "My biggest fear was I was not going to get called to do another tour, I was going to get called to go to a funeral."
I listen a lot to different Genesis and solo live recordings. I like the dynamic of a live show, so I don’t get bored listening to the same songs as they are somewhat different in the different recordings.
I used to trade bootlegs through CDs in 2000–2002. I have approximately 200 Genesis recordings and some 50 solo recordings. I think it was quite easy to do it: just do an exact copy of the CD, without gaps between the tracks.
I tried doing torrents maybe three years ago, but I actually found it very complicated. Of course I managed to download some stuff and then help upload it to other users. But, as you understand, I have quite a lot of recordings on CD that I would gladly share, but when I looked at the manual on how to do it I simply thought: I really don’t have the time to delve into all this – too much information! But maybe I was mistaken?
I discovered Genesis and Phil Collins solo career through MTV from 1991 onwards. I always had great fun watching the promo videos, because there are quite a few that includes some dramatization and humour. Also, from the same period as "I Wish It Would Rain Down" there is "The Long Lost Network TV Special", which I find very funny! Phil tries to do a rap version of "Don't Lose My Number", which is quite hilarious!
My first – and sadly only – Genesis concert was in Helsinki on 11th June 2007. It was the first concert of the tour and so obviously there were no "spoilers" around beforehand. I was very curious to what songs they would be playing. I remember I thought the Duke intro was quite strong as an opener, and got a bit baffled that TIOA was played at the beginning – that's supposed to be the show closer! 
I especially welcomed the return of "In The Cage medley", "Ripples", "Mama" and "Los Endos", but wished they had made some real surprise by pulling out some more odd and forgotten song from the past. Also, I was impressed that Phil was able to perform the tambourine dance during IKWIL so well. "Follow You Follow Me" was a beautiful and nostalgic experience with all the old videos on the screen.
I've been a fan since "No Son Of Mine" was released in 1991, so I could have attended the WCD tour in 1992, but I was only 17 then and had never been to any concert, so i didn't really occur to me as an option. During the CAS period in 1997–1998 I was quite busy with other stuff in my life and also I wasn't too impressed with the album.
Which are my favourite songs on Let Me Fly? That's a tough question. It's been a year since the album was released, so I ought to know it by now. I have listened to it regularly but, to be honest, not nearly as much as I listened to The Road when that album was released. I think The Road was a much stronger album.
My three favourites are:
WCD – the album that made me a fan in the first place. A perfect mix of shorter hits and longer epics.
ATOTT – a masterpiece from beginning to end, not a single weak point.
ATTWT – this album still has a touch of progressive rock AND it is quite cohesive, the songs fit together well.
