Genesis:Inside Genesis 1975-1980

Rating:
Summary: Other releases more worthwhile... more for collectors.
Review: For the Phil Collins fans, there's way too much coming out that is worth buying: "The Video Show" on DVD containing 32 videos going back to "Trick of the Tail" (in 5.1 and DTS) and "The Platinum Collection" on 3 CDs, covering "Trespass" to "Calling All Stations". Phil Collins' solo material is covered on his live DVD being released in November which includes 22 promo videos (not complete, and some glaring omissions but still a pretty hefty set) and a bunch of other stuff (specials).

Other than "The Lamb" having little footage, hopefully the Peter Gabriel era footage that does exist will be released down the line or buried in the "extras" on the DVD. There's a 45 minute film they did in 1977 while Steve Hackett was in the band, and a lot of footage they did from 1971-1973 that would be great to see as well as "Live in Oxford".

The footage on here is nice to see, but if they release "Three Sides Live" on DVD from 1982, it would be worth the wait.

Rating:
Summary: From Musicians' Perspectives
Review: I've only viewed this once so far but I thought I'd get some reactions down for now and then come back later and update this after I've spent more time with it.

This is a similar idea to the DVDs called "Classic Albums" which are discussions of the music for a particular album done by the musicians that performed it. Similar, but not exact.

This set is a little like those in that it is a discussion of their music (from 1975 to 1980 only) at the level of chord progressions, unique ways in which the notes were assembled, etc. In contrast, however, this is NOT by the musicians that performed it. There is about 3 to 4 minutes of interview footage of Phil, Mike, and Tony in 1980 (which has never been released before) and we do get some short clips of them at a 1980 concert (the Duke tour, which has never been released before), but the rest of the hour is spent talking to critics, session musicians, and musicians who are fans of what the band did from 1976 to 1980. This covers the albums "Trick Of The Tail", "Wind & Wuthering", "Seconds Out", "...And Then There Were Three", and "Duke" ("Spot The Pigeon" is not mentioned).

Ok, once you understand what it is, this is not a bad thing to watch. I'm not a musician but I enjoyed and somewhat understood the discussions, at least I was never bored with it. And as a huge fan of the band, especially of the music from this time period, I found it fun to hear musicians praising the band. You do get the understanding that Genesis really was a unique writing entity.

There is a keyboard player who runs through (on his keyboard) a bunch of the highlights of the music including "Dance on a Volcano", "Eleventh Earl Of Mar", "Follow You Follow Me", and a few others. The guy playing is obviously a big fan of Banks' unique writing -- and so am I -- so this idea worked for me.

There are all kinds of disclaimers on the back of this DVD explaining that this is not sanctioned by Genesis, their record labels, etc. There's some talk around that this release is illegal and that the band has told them to "cease and desist", so, if you're the slight bit curious, you might want to grab this while it's available.

I'd like to see Genesis clean up the video of this 1980 concert and release it as a whole on DVD. There are precious few DVDs of Genesis in concert and none any earlier than 1986, so there is a need for it.

Rating:
Summary: DVD welcome addition to Genesis canon
Review: Prior to deciding whether or not to purchase this new Genesis DVD I read the two reviews already posted. These summaries split on the quality of this particular release. Being a major Genesis fan I chose to add this disc to my collection. I am a prog rock enthusiast so Peter Gabriel era is my favorite followed by mid period Genesis when Phil Collins took over vocal duties. I am lukewarm on final items released by this important band. The DVD is part of a new series by Classic Rock Productions. I have several items from this outfit so I had some history to work with. I found the material to be quite interesting despite the lack of input from anyone from the Genesis camp. The keyboard player from Mostly Autumn, a current prog/celtic band from the UK, demonstrated a good number of Tony Banks' chords on the keyboard. I am not a musician, rather a keen follower of musical history and a collector. Even though I lack technical knowledge I still enjoyed this part of the film. If you are a Genesis fan then I think you cannot go wrong with this release. Not on a par with the "Classic Album" editions that are coming out for many of the classic rock records, i.e. "Dark Side of the Moon", "Goodbye Yellowbrick Road", "Machine Head" but worthy for a true fan. One last recommendation, buy the official DVD/VHS documentary "Genesis: A History" that is available first since this offers plentiful insight from band members.

Rating:
Summary: Unauthorized and Very Mediocre
Review: This DVD is a BIG disappointment. I expected so much more especially since the time period reviewed (1975 - 1980) was a time of great musical transition and mass public appeal. The creators of this DVD obviously got no cooperation from anyone in the Genesis camp - hence the DVD's unauthorized status. Therefore, the creators had to rely on second rate people to interview for this documentary DVD. The concert and band interview footage is old and of low visual quality compared to the recent interviews with the no names. Hearing members of the band Mostly Autumn talk about how much they like Genesis is like hearing the guy down the block. Who cares? Mostly Autumn has a nice sound - they're heavily influenced by Genesis. They're almost like Genesis wannabees.
Someone should take on this project as an authorized DVD and feature David Hentschel, the band members, Tony Smith, Bill Bruford, Chester Thompson, Daryl Stuermer and get some credible rock critics involved. I would love to hear David Hentschel talk about the new sound he helped produce starting with Trick of the Tail.
A real Genesis fan will be disappointed with this DVD.