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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 28, 2010 15:37:38 GMT -5
Calling All Stations (1997)I've been asked to be kind to this album, but I just can't. Calling All Stations was an ill-advised mistake of an album. Even Ray Wilson thinks so. Who's Ray Wilson, you ask? Exactly. Wilson was hired to replace the departed Phil Collins; Rutherford and Banks thought they could weather one more departure of a long-time member, as they had with Phillips, Gabriel, and Hackett. They were wrong. Wilson, who has some singing chops, was hired because he sounded darker and more like Gabriel, and the boys wanted to go back to some of the intricate progressive earlier sound. There were two problems with this: Wilson doesn't sound anything like Gabriel, and the boys wrote some of the least complex songs in their career. The album starts off with the title track, which is mildly interesting, but has absolutely no chorus. None. It also begins with a HUGE rip-off of the first notes on "Zoo Station" from U2's Achtung Baby. Maybe Genesis was trying to make their Achtung Baby, but instead they made Verhalten Baby. The second track, "Congo" is decent and was a decent hit. When the best track on the album is best described as "decent", you can start to get the picture. Then there's "Shipwrecked", which is a song so by-the-numbers and cliched, they ought to be embarrassed. All of the songs are completely devoid of character. Wilson's singing comes across as mediocre, but mainly because the songs are dry and hook-less. The whole thing just sounds bland and forgettable. They brought in two drummers to replace Phil, and their playing styles are so disparate that it's jarring to go from one song to the next. Why they couldn't have just hired the touring guys (Steurmer and Thompson) they'd played with for decades is beyond me. Oh yeah, I almost forgot the best part: every song fades out. The fade out is usually a recording studio cop out. When it works, it's done over a repeated chorus or some jamming or vocal riffing. On this album, the fade outs are during verse melodies. Wilson will be singing a new lyric in the song, and it'll...just...fade...out. Talk about anti-climactic. Even if the song was good (and most of them aren't), it would leave the listener with a bad aftertaste. The overall sound is indicative of the time. Sonically, and arrangement-wise, it sounds like a Seal album, or The Wallflowers, or any number of dark, late-'90s, corporate mood rock. Like Invisible Touch, Calling All Stations is a product of its time. Unfortunately, the late '90s was an awful time for popular music. *
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 28, 2010 3:07:51 GMT -5
Holy crap! He isn't dead!
Phantom, you own me twenty bucks.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 28, 2010 3:05:03 GMT -5
Mrs. Atari got me the best present ever. This Puma Man T-shirt: Now the whole world can know about my super puma powers.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 24, 2010 15:29:45 GMT -5
Gee sky, you're a regular George Bailey.
A toast to my big brother skyroniter! The richest man in town!
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 22, 2010 15:36:49 GMT -5
It was beautiful here in Denver. I woke up the kids, and we put blankets and pillows out on the deck and watched it.
We started when the shadow was covering about half of the moon, and watched until it was all covered. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience with my 8- and 10- year-olds.
What impressed me the most wasn't the color so much as the effect the shadowed moon had on visual perspective. When the moon is bright, it just looks like another celestial body up there. When it was eclipsed, it looked remarkably closer than anything else in the sky (which, of course, it is). It looked like an old Viewmaster slide. My daughter said it looked like a cocoa puff.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 19, 2010 22:07:57 GMT -5
77,774
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 19, 2010 17:34:19 GMT -5
At the 2007 Denver meet-up, we watched this in a hotel room at Dr. Z's insistence, and tried to riff it on the spot. Truck Farmer & crowfan stole the show with their riffs. I haven't been able to watch it since, but I'm going to download it today. If Mike & Co. are as good as the members of our board, it will absolutely be worth the money.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 15, 2010 19:08:15 GMT -5
I saw most of the "30 for 30" films, and a couple of them were outstanding. The one on Reggie Miller was a lot of fun. The USFL documentary brought back a ton of memories from my childhood. I never knew Donald Trump essentially killed the league.
But my favorite one was the documentary on the events of June 17, 1994. The O.J. chase, the U.S. Open, the World Cup, the N.Y. Rangers' Stanley Cup parade, the NBA Finals, and some baseball. I remember that day well. I helped a friend move all day. We gathered around a tiny 17-inch TV we threw on the floor of his vacant living room in the new house to watch the chase.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 15, 2010 18:52:11 GMT -5
Growing up in Chicago, I got to experience the classic, drunken audio stylings of Harry Caray. No one could butcher a name or a call like Harry. There was the unforgettable year when the Cubs had Ryne Sandberg, Jim Sundberg, and Scott Sanderson on their roster. Or the time when an exasperated Harry said of shortstop Jose Vizcaino, "How does a player from the Dominican Republic lose a ball in the sun?"
After Harry died, the announcing of choice was the equally slurred ramblings of Ron Santo. Listening to his unfiltered homer-ism, especially during a close game in a pennant race, was an experience not to miss.
But to be honest, neither Harry nor Ron was my favorite. I am actually a huge Steve Stone fan. He not only put up with Harry's non-sequiturs, he held the whole circus together. No color man in the game is more knowledgeable about baseball than Stoney. I'm bewildered that he's never been given the chance to manage or be in a front office. He had the uncanny ability to predict what was going to happen next in the game, and he did it all the time. I'm not sure what sin he committed to be sent into exile on the South Side, slumming it with that blowhard Hawk Harrelson (who might be the worst announcer in all of sports, now that Joe Morgan finally got fired). But even on Sox broadcasts, Stoney brings a touch of class, a sense of ease, and a baseball IQ that's worth listening to.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 9, 2010 1:34:45 GMT -5
Adam Dunn could make a decent DH. Too bad he's a strikeout machine. Plus he's never gone against American League pitching.
For the north siders, Carlos Pena is a bit of a gamble, what with his .196 average last year. But he's never played a season outside of the AL East pitching. He should tear up the NL Central.
So far, though, I think the Red Sox are winning the free agent wars. I think Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford were the two best position players available. Now we'll see who lands Cliff Lee and Zach Grienke.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 7, 2010 11:46:14 GMT -5
Torgo and Mitchell are no-brainers.
I agree with SuddenlySushi that the monster movies need to be represented, so Gamera.
For the fourth, I'm gonna go with Trumpy. Not only is Pod People a classic, but it would be awesome to see that snout carved in stone.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 6, 2010 12:22:14 GMT -5
We Can't Dance (1991)I've really enjoyed this process, and with each album, I've found new things to love. But I don't think I enjoyed rediscovering any album as much as We Can't Dance. I forgot how much it was a soundtrack to my high school days. By 1991, Genesis didn't need to impress anyone anymore. Not the record company, not the prog nerds, not the top-40 crowd. They didn't need the money, and they didn't need the fame. They had 20+years of experience and quality under their belts. As a result, there is a relaxed confidence on We Can't Dance. All of the songs are tight, all of the playing is crisp, and the mix is perfect. There's nothing too showy or serious, but nothing too loose or messy either. It's a professional, classy, and high-quality album. "No Son of Mine" is one of my favorite songs they ever did, played with passion, sung with power, and based on a behind-the-beat groove that lays back perfectly. "Jesus, He Knows Me" and "I Can't Dance" were other hits, both with silly videos showing the irreverent side the band always had. The former is a far better song than the latter, but I always enjoy when a band sounds like they're having fun. There are probably two or three too many songs here; I wouldn't have missed "Way of the World" or "Tell Me Why" or "Hold on My Heart" or "Since I Lost You". It's not that they're bad songs ("Hold on My Heart" was a huge hit, and "Since I Lost You" was written for Eric Clapton's son), I just wouldn't have missed them; and the album would have been tighter without them. The long songs on this album are amazing. "Driving the Last Spike" is so well written, it doesn't feel like a ten-minute song. "Dreaming While You Sleep" is the type of song only Genesis could pull off. It's a story of a hit-and-run driver living with the guilt of his crime while his victim lies in a coma. The main riff is on a marimba. Awesome. The jam on the second half of "Living Forever" is as impressive as any of the '70s output. "Fading Lights", the final song these three amazing musicians left us with, is a flawless send-off. It's a slow burn that builds into an avalanche of drum fills underneath a classic Tony Banks solo, then fades out quietly into the distance. The perfect bow on the career. Like 1983's self-titled album, this is one that I enjoy far more than most Genesis fans. So I rate it higher than it probably deserves. But too bad; it's my review. As I said before, I think the phrase, "relaxed confidence" best describes this album. The production, songwriting, performance, and overall feel of the album is relaxed and confident. And that makes for some damn fine listening. *****
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 5, 2010 15:37:17 GMT -5
Invisible Touch (1986)In all of the reviews so far, I have been making the case that Phil Collins is not to blame for the changes in Genesis's sound. Anyone who believes that is just flat out wrong. It was a group effort, made up of many small changes. But now, I'm going to take a different angle. Let's say Phil is to blame; and that with his use of drum machines, a push towards simpler songs, and his runaway solo success, he made Genesis into an '80s pop radio behemoth, abandoning their former days of complex, deep rock for bigger audiences and more money. Explain to me how that's such a bad thing? I like Phil's solo stuff. He wrote some great songs, and was a powerful force in some amazing music of my childhood. "Against All Odds"? "Take Me Home"? "Don't Lose My Number"? There is nothing wrong with those tracks, and a whole lot that's right. He also worked on Peter Gabriel's solo stuff, produced and played on a couple of huge hits for Frida (from ABBA) and Howard Jones. At the same time, Mike Rutherford was hitting it out of the park with The Mechanics on hits like "All I Need is a Miracle" and "Silent Running"- both OUTSTANDING songs. With that as a backdrop, it should come as no surprise that I love Invisible Touch. 8 songs on the album, 5 of them made the Billboard top 10. It stayed on the charts for 96 weeks, went 6-times platinum in the U.S., and sold 15 million copies worldwide. A bona fide classic. The hits are hits for a reason. "Invisible Touch", "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight", and "Land of Confusion" are required for any '80s mix. (Especially "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight", which never gets old for me.) "In Too Deep" and "Throwing It All Away" aren't as good as other ballads in their catalog, but they're instantly recognizable. There's nothing in here to be ashamed of, and a lot to enjoy. The three non-hits are also valuable. "Anything She Does" is very fun, and a great driving song. It could easily have been just as big a hit as the others. "The Brazilian" is a nice atmospheric instrumental, but loses some points for being too electronic sounding and synth heavy. Then there's "Domino". Anyone who thinks that Genesis went soft and lost their progressive edge on this album really needs to listen to "Domino". It's one of the longer songs in their career (10:45), and an amazing ride through a great story about the pointlessness of violence. It's some of their best lyrics and most interesting music since the Gabriel days. Seeing it live is an experience not to be missed. When Phil starts singing about children playing with boats in a river of blood, well...that's pretty messed up. When he hits the climax of, "there's nothing you can do when you're next in line", it's transcendent. One of my all-time favorites. Yes, Invisible Touch is a product of its time, but I loved the time, and I love the product. It didn't sell 15 million copies because it sucks. ****1/2
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 5, 2010 14:39:33 GMT -5
Thanks, Raja. You're right about the diversity in their catalog. I was in the car with Mrs. Atari last night, listening to Invisible Touch, since that's the next review. She mentioned that "a little Genesis goes a long way" (meaning their synth-y '80s pop). So I turned over to "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" on my iPod, and she LOVED it.
There really is something for everybody in their history.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Dec 4, 2010 0:31:24 GMT -5
Genesis (1983)Even though the band and the fans refer to this as the "Mama" album, it was officially self-titled to signify that all three guys wrote all of the songs together. Which is odd, because most people think that by this point, Phil Collins had taken over the band and single-handedly led them into the promised land of big bucks, huge audiences, and insipid pabulum masquerading as music. But that was not the case. In Phil's own words, " You try telling Tony Banks to play something he doesn't want to play. Good luck." The accusation that Phil's solo sound altered the Genesis sound has some merit, but not for the reason you think. In between Abacab and Genesis, Phil hit it big with two solo albums and the huge singles, "In The Air Tonight" and "You Can't Hurry Love". He had also played drums on his old friend Peter Gabriel's third solo album, working with an up-and-coming engineer named Hugh Padgham. Padgham, while experimenting with microphones and studio feedback, stumbled upon a new effect for Phil's drums -- a heavy noise gate effect. It gave a huge reverb to the snare and toms, which was suddenly cut off before the natural decay. It became Phil's signature drum sound, and became an industry standard in the '80s. Guess who produced Genesis? That's right, Hugh Padgham. He also worked with The Police, David Bowie, and The Fixx. So he knew how to get a talented band to sound good on the radio. Is that why "Mama" (the song) sounds so much like "In The Air Tonight"? Maybe. He had as much to do with the sound similarities between Phil's solo work and Genesis as Phil did. He deserves a lot credit/blame for the '80s Genesis sound. And I choose credit. I love the '80s Genesis sound. I loved '80s radio. My musical tastes are exceedingly diverse, but I cut my musical teeth listening to Z-95 and B-96 on my radio dial in the suburbs of Chicago between 1982 and 1987. You never forget your formative years. The very first "favorite song" I ever had was "That's All". I was 8 years old and had just received a Walkman as a birthday present. I heard the song and the world changed. I grabbed my sister's boom box -- the kind that could tape songs from the radio as they played-- and waited for the DJ to spin it again, with my fingers hovering over the "REC" button. "That's All" was the very first song I had my very own recording of, to play over and over again at my leisure. Even listening to it today, I'm amazed. Although the piano drives the song, it is so understated and quiet that the mood stays mellow. Phil, one of the world's best drummers ever, spends half the song just hitting the hi-hat on the off beats. The melody is perfect, the guitar accents are perfect, and the solos are perfect. The B-Section ("I could leave, but I won't go...") always makes me happy. It's what I call an "Antenna Song"; a song that exists somewhere up in the universe that simply had to be written (like "Yesterday" or "Love Shack"). Genesis just got their antenna up first. The rest of the album is also awesome. "Mama" is the polar opposite of "That's All". It's dark, brooding, atmospheric, and intense. The "Home By The Sea" suite is a fan favorite "long song", and even better live. "Takin' It All Too Hard" is an underrated and stellar ballad, far better than their later ballad hits. "Illegal Alien" and "Just a Job To Do" are great rockers with nice riffs and fun vocal tracks. The album closes out with two of my favorite Genesis songs, "Silver Rainbow" and "It's Gonna Get Better". They're both laid back and relaxing, but still quite interesting musically. Genesis isn't the band's most impressive album, nor is it their most well-known. It's simply the one that makes me feel the best when I listen to it. From the haunting opening of "Mama" to the uplifting conclusion of "It's Gonna Get Better", there's no filler, and there are no jarring moments that ruin the flow. One of the best albums of the '80s or any decade. *****
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