Calling All Stations - Genesis > Reviews > Not played on any stations though

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Unmemorable
Value for Money

Advantages:	A new style with a new lead singer
Disadvantages:	Slated by critics and half the CD is pretty bad

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Calling All Stations was the first Genesis album after Phil Collins left the band and the last album they ever made.
Slated by the critics, slated by the fans, overlooked even by the completists. That is a little unfair though.
To replace Phil Collins, the band brought in Ray Wilson who is best known for being lead singer with Stiltskin who sung "Inside", made famous and catapulted to the top of the charts by Levi advert.
Despite Ray's unique voice, a lot of people were turned off by the new sound. I admit that even I was a little unhappy, despite being a big Genesis fan. However, if you listen to the songs, they aren't actually that bad. The lyrics are pretty decent and the music is actually quite melodic and pleasant. Not really classic Genesis, either from the Collins or Gabriel eras...but a whole new blend..a reinvention of their music. Unfortunately, the reinvention didn't quite cut the mustard.
In this particular case, this rose by any other name would have smelled a lot sweeter. Sadly, with the Genesis name stamped on the disc people had expectations that just were not matched by the end result.
For some unexplained reason, they released Congo into the charts, when something like If That's What You Need or Shipwrecked would have been much much better! At least they released Not About Us too!
Other good tracks to listen out for are One Man's Fool, A Day of Uncertain Weather and A Dividing Line. Try and avoid Alien Afternoon and Small Talk though!
Overall, it's worth a listen as long as you remain open minded to it and don't expect it to sound much like Genesis.