Rhino presents

Genesis: The Video Show (2005)

"Baby, there's a hole in there somewhere."- lyric from Abacab

Stars: Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks
Other Stars: Peter Gabriel
Director: various

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (nothing objectionable)
Run Time: 02h:36m:00s
Release Date: 2005-09-13
Genre: music

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B+	B+	B-	A+	D-

 

DVD Review

Genesis basically ceased to exist once Peter Gabriel left the band back in 1975. Moving on to a genius solo career, Gabriel made Genesis one of the pioneers in progressive rock. Crafting such landmark albums as Selling England By the Pound, Foxtrot, and the concept album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Gabriel's songwriting skills and unique voice put the group on the map. When he left, drummer Phil Collins took over as lead singer, and the band never looked back. Successful album after album made the band a household name internationally. Phil Collins went on to his own successful solo career in 1992, and Ray Wilson replaced him. With both Collins and Gabriel gone, only a shell of Genesis remained when 1997's Calling All Stations was released. (Wouldn't it be great to see Gabriel and Collins join forces again?)

Genesis: The Video Show made me rethink the value of post-Gabriel Genesis. While the second incarnation of the band's hit songs like Invisible Touch and Land of Confusion were inescapable on '80s radio, the work by the last group of guys has made it easy to write them off as just trying to ride the wave of success behind the name. This DVD, however, gives Phil Collins and the boys a fair shake, as it compiles a whopping 32 videos spanning from 1976 to 1997. The ones made after 1990 are weak (except for Carpet Crawlers 1999, which even features Gabriel), but there are some hidden gems that I had not heard before.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed the early Collins-led tunes, especially the great Abacab, Turn It on Again, and No Reply at All. Buoyed by superb Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS tracks, these clips brought my speakers to a level they haven't reached in quite some time. There are some other treasures here as well, including A Trick of the Tail, Duchess, Follow You Follow Me, and Illegal Alien. We also get hits like Tonight Tonight Tonight, Throwing It All Away, Land of Confusion (still an amazing video), Invisible Touch, and That's All.

Unfortunately, there are a few, well, clunkers as well, tunes like I Can't Dance, Jesus He Knows Me, and No Son of Mine are all from Collins' last stint with the band, We Can't Dance (although the good Hold on My Heart did come from that album). The absolute worst of the bunch are courtesy of the final Genesis LP, Calling All Stations. These songs, Congo, Shipwrecked, and Not About Us are flat, poorly written songs, and without Collins or Gabriel on vocals, completely lack the Genesis sound.

The videos featured are:

No Son of MineI Can't DanceHold on My HeartJesus He Knows MeTell Me Why?Invisible TouchThrowing It All AwayLand of ConfusionTonight Tonight TonightAnything She DoesIn Too DeepThat's AllMamaIllegal AlienHome By the Sea/Second Home By the SeaPaperlateAbacabKeep It DarkNo Reply at AllMan on the CornerTurn It on AgainDuchessMisunderstandingFollow You Follow MeMany Too ManyA Trick of the TailRipplesRobbery Assault and BatteryCongoShipwreckedNot About UsCarpet Crawlers 1999

Rating for Style: B+
Rating for Substance: B+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: The video quality varies with the age of the individual clips, but overall, they seem to have been cleaned up, at least a little bit. Older footage results in a lot of grain, dirt, and other defects, but many of these aren't flashy videos to begin with and often just show the band playing together on a makeshift stage. The '80s tracks, including the old MTV-staple Land of Confusion have held up quite well, and the newest videos are almost good as new.

Image Transfer Grade: B-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	yes
Dolby Digital 5.1	English	yes
DTS	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: These audio tracks are, in a word, incredible. While the DTS usually gets the nod over the Dolby Digital 5.1 (there's a DD 2.0 track as well), that's not exactly the case here. The latter has a slightly fuller effect than the former, but really there's no wrong turn in either one. Each and every horn, guitar, and drum beat can be heard distinctly in these mixes, with the bass of Collins' drumming consistently thumping loudly, yet still sounding balanced among the rest of the music. It's hard to believe that some of these songs were recorded 25 years ago, with the newer tracks (including the 1999 version of The Carpet Crawlers) sounding even better.

Audio Transfer Grade: A+ 

Disc Extras

Animated menu with music
Music/Song Access with 32 cues and remote access
Packaging: Tri-Fold Amaray with slipcase
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extras Review: Unfortunately, there aren't any extras on this disc.

Extras Grade: D-
 

Final Comments

While it doesn't completely change my negative feelings towards post-1975 Genesis, this new DVD video collection is much better than I originally anticipated. Die-hard Phil Collins fans will love having 32 of their favorite Genesis videos easily at their disposal, and the Peter Gabriel fans who share my feelings will even find some surprisingly fun clips along the way as well. Rhino Home Video has crafted an excellent DVD release of Genesis: The Video Show, thanks in large part to awesome Dolby Digital and DTS tracks that have these songs sounding better than ever.

Chuck Aliaga 2006-03-09