They have always seemed to shy away and apologize for what they are. They play it safe every time, and the opportunities for doing otherwise are dwindling rapidly.
Nothing wrong with fans expressing wish lists. Some interesting stuff in yours. But I'm surprised at the above comments. I think they have routinely done the opposite of shying away, apologising for what they are (when have they ever done that?), and playing it safe. Look at it from the band's perspective: more than any long-running band I can think of, they fully embraced who and what they are by focusing on their new work.
Sure, that approach immediately disappoints a portion of the audience but while I totally would always love to hear 70s stuff I respect their preference to mainly stick with what they've most recently done. That is what any self-respecting musician does. Look at Hackett - of course his Genesis-themed shows delight certain fans and I absolutely get that, but he fairly regularly releases new albums then proceeds to go on the road playing almost nothing from them, focusing instead on stuff he did 40 years ago. To me, that's the very definition of playing it safe, something Genesis didn't tend to do.
Where I think your thoughts intersect with mine is that this different line-up is an opportunity to mix things up a bit more. They don't have new material that we're aware of - yet, anyway - so can choose from their entire back catalogue. While I'd expect there to still be a trio-era focus simply because that represents the bulk of their career, I do share your hope that from across their canon they feel like doing some unexpected ones and I reckon there will be one or two of those at least.
