Some ramblings

Caricature by © Alexis Hamel

Early last month I met the band after 20 years of fandom, and I watched them play for the second time. The European tour reviews sent to The Path were quite enthusiastic, and the general impression of Genesis anno 1998 is very nicely summed up in 'Pete's Petit'. BTW - Volker Warncke has dowloaded an excellent live performance of 'Small Talk' from Genesis' visit at RTL in Paris December 13. Listen to Ant's guitar!
REVIEWS

'Genesis Archive - 1967-75'
Finally the first box set seems to materialize - and 'The Gabriel Years' is now scheduled for a mid June release, in both Europe and the US. Unfortunately, no 'Carpet Crawl' or other single will promote the box. The second box - with Collins-era material - is scheduled for a 1999 release. Last week there was a reunion of past and present members of the band at Heathrow - for a photo session promoting the first box set. There are visual evidences of this happening on the updated official genesis-web. Read more about the first box on The Path - click below.
THE BOX

Ray exclusive!
Ray Wilson - the new lead singer with Genesis - talked from Germany to Peter Blight from radio station 3MP, Melbourne, Australia - December 11, 1997. Ray tells us how he got the job - and about his earlier experiences with the band's material. Ray - who's the main contributor to what most people regard as the Genesis sound?
UNRAY

The Waiting Room
Finally - The Waiting Room is on-line! Alan Hewitt is famous in the world of Genesis for his accurate and interesting information about the band through his printed edition of TWR - and was the name on everybody's lips when discussing who should run the official site. I'm sure he - together with Martin Dean - are happy to run their own site. You're highly welcome!
DON'T WAIT

'Peaceful Shades of Green'
With references to mythology and literature, Uwe Hoppe has written a very interesting article on the pastoral elements in the music of early Genesis (1969-1971). Hoppe shows us how important the relationship between man and nature is in the band's early productions - and how pastoral imagery appears in cover art, words and music. Thanks a lot, Uwe!
ENJOY

Dale's 'The Eyes Have It'
Another CD from the world of Genesis! Dale Newman has worked close to Genesis since 1975 - originally as a guitar roadie and then full time at the band's Fisher Lane Farm. Now Dale's releasing a nice collection of songs written and played all by himself. Ray Wilson has been very supportive, and his comments on the album - together with mine - will appear on The Path very soon. Until then - check out further information and sound clips at Dale's own site.
ENJOY

Steve's 'The Tokyo Tapes'
Soon available! Many of you have hopefully had the opportunity to get the 'Genesis Revisited' CD. Steve Hackett is now releasing documents from his "all star band's" performance in Tokyo, December 1996. Both a double CD and a video are scheduled for an April 27 release.
MORE INFO

New single - 'Not About Us'
A third single from CAS has been released in Europe - 'Not About Us' - with some interesting bonus tracks. 'Anything Now', 'Sign Your Life Away' and finally - one of my favourites from the early tapes - 'Run Out Of Time'. There is also another edition with tracks from the acoustic live set. Some days ago I received both editions from Music-Stop in England - and they're great! Read my review.
ABOUT US

Updated tour dates
There have been some changes in the tour dates for Genesis' current European tour. Last news is that the band will be playing a gig or two late May in Germany. There are unfortunately no news on a possible North American tour. Watch this space for further information.
GET UPDATED

Welcome to Europe!
Genesis played two preliminary gigs in Europe in November and December, and they really sound great. The shows in Copenhagen and Paris demonstrated a very carefully arranged and powerful set-up - with some surprises I'm sure most of us will enjoy very much.
ON TOUR

Genesis 'hot' in Poland
Genesis kicks off their European tour in a very few days - and one of the first countries on the list is Poland. Andrzej Piotr Gilek has written a very interesting report on Genesis' huge popularity in his country. I'm sure the band will meet a very faithful audience in Katowice on January 31.
SPRAWDZIC!

Nir Z quits smoking No, not really - but Nir Z is profiled in the February issue of Modern Drummer. The new Genesis drummer talks about his Israeli background and his life with his new band. LIGHT?

More opinions In last month's 'Shipwrecked' review I was wondering what was going wrong in the States. CAS has not done very well in the US, and here are more possible explanations. OPINIONS

Travelling back with LA Times Here's an opportunity to bring back some memories from the time Genesis was making their initial visits to America's West Coast. Los Angeles resident Joe Harden has dug in his archives and found some very interesting newspaper articles following Genesis' and Peter Gabriel's live shows in LA during the 70's and the 80's. Together with providing these treasures for The Path, Joe has added his experiences connected to each of the events. If you ever were in doubt - the times they are... LA-CHANGIN' Steve talks to The Path Here it is! Steve Hackett shares some of his thoughts with The Path's visitors. His 'Genesis Revisited' has been well received among Genesis and Hackett fans, and here are some of his thoughts on the album and other issues which are more or less relevant in the study of one of our heroes. Thanks to Billy Budis and Kudos Management! PLEASE TOUCH Jim meets Genesis! Jim Beckwith won a contest - and met Genesis! Here is his story about his trip to England and one of his dreams being fulfilled. Jim found Genesis rehearsing for their upcoming tour, and was able to meet the guys, speak with them - and take some excellent pictures from the sessions. JIM'S STORY 'Genesis Revisited' out now! Steve Hackett's 'Genesis Revisited' was finally released in Europe last week. And what a masterpiece! Steve melts together the best parts of his past in Genesis with his best solo trade marks - his "crazy" arrangements as well as his more tender acoustic style. A beautiful tribute, Steve! And - Kudos Management has established an official Steve Hackett site. While you are out there searching for information about Steve, don't miss 'Please Don't Touch' - a beautiful tribute site made by my friend Ian Barrow. REVISIT GENESIS - 'Early Genesis' - a most pleasant and interesting e-mail from Andy Wilkinson. - 'Shipwrecked' - the second single from 'Calling All Stations' - released in Europe on November 3. - See animated video clip from forthcoming Genesis tour Stage Set-up - Genesis started rehearsals for the upcoming tour at September 22. - Genesis in Q - September 1997. - A Mike Rutherford interview + CAS review - on Music Central - Tony, Mike and Ray talk about 'Calling All Stations'- on Jam!Music - 'Genesis Soldiers On - with Ray Wilson picking up where Phil Collins left off - they hope', from E! Online. - Mike Rutherford in The Independent - August 2, 1997. - 'Genesis III - Calling All Radio Stations', from Wall Of Sound. The Cape Canaveral event First they took Berlin, then they took... No, not really - Genesis charmed the whole world with their album launches and acoustic mini-concerts on both sides of the Atlantic late August. Genesis played (cuts from) four songs - read carefully: 'Not About Us' - from the new album, 'No Son Of Mine', 'Lover's Leap' - from 'Supper's Ready', and 'Turn It On Again'. Ray sang beautifully - and Tony even played guitar on 'Not About Us' and on the intro of 'Supper's Ready'! There are more than indications telling us that we will hear cuts from the latter on the band's upcoming tour. Ray's voice was remarkably close to Peter's in the "Walking across..." section. These shows, and a lot of the stuff from the new album, are very promising regarding Ray's voice and his capability of coping with some of the really old material. I think there are some carpet crawlers in the air... This week you'll be able to download both the audio and video parts of the Canaveral show via Atlantic Records' web site. Or just check out the web site for more pictures and a detailed report! DIGITAL ARENA Armando Gallo's 'I Know What Like' Armando Gallo plans to re-release his 'bible' in connection with the first Genesis box set. The results of the registration through this site has been great, but I'll continue this service until any firm decision is made. For those of you who haven't got the book, but really want it - please click on the cover to the right, send the mail - and I will register you as another potential buyer. [PS: Watch this space carefully for further updates!] 'I WANT WHAT I LIKE' Some serious links: The official Genesis web-site www.genesis-web.com The famous FAQ - maintained by Syrinx A Desktop Genesis Live Theme for Win95 + PFM 'Photos of Ghosts' - by Ian Barrow The more than complete Genesis-discography- by Scott McMahan The ReGenesis Web Page - by Doug Melbourne 'And Through The Wire' - Peter Gabriel- by John N. Underwood The "think-tank" alt.music.genesis Even more serious links: A few words from Chester.., March 30, 1996. Hackett "Revisited" Update from Chester, January 12, 1997. MORE SOURCES