GENESIS: Turn it On Again - The Hits (Atlantic)
Well, I guess it was just a
matter of time. Genesis has been around for over 30 years now. It's only
fitting that they release a greatest hits album. Could it have been better? Of
course. They could have left off the sappy ballads ("In Too Deep" and "Hold on
My Heart") and pop fluff ("Invisible Touch" and "Misunderstanding") in favor of
infinitely better material. Sure, back in the 70's (when most fans will agree
they were at their creative peak), they didn't sell anywhere near the number of
albums that they did after 1980 and the advent of MTV. But they should have
included more than just two pre-1980 tracks (actually, they did--more on that
later).
Turn it On Again is sure to please the fans that think Duke was the band's first album. All the hits from 'the video years' are here, albeit some are in edited form. Longtime fans will undoubtedly be disappointed - that is until they get to the end of the CD. Original members, Peter Gabriel & Steve Hackett went back into the studio with the three remaining members to record a new version of "The Carpet Crawlers" (originally from the band's 1974 album, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway). In this age of big reunions, it's too bad they didn't do more while they were in there.
For a band that's been around as long as Genesis, they should've made this a double CD. The first CD could have included the older (read: better) material, like "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway," "Dance on a Volcano," "Watcher of the Skies," "Firth of Fifth," etc. The second CD could include the hits from 'the video years' in unedited form. Maybe Atlantic will release a companion disc for the longtime fans. Let's keep our fingers crossed…
TRACK LIST:
Turn it On Again * Invisible Touch * Mama (edit) * Land of Confusion * I Can't Dance * Follow You, Follow Me * Hold On My Heart * Abacab (edit) * I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) * No Son of Mine * Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (edit) * In Too Deep * Congo (edit) * Jesus He Knows Me * That's All * Misunderstanding * Throwing it All Away * The Carpet Crawlers 1999