The overflow BBC broadcasts, 53 songs in total, is an Alternative Greatest Hits collection by Genesis. Curated by the band’s keyboardist Tony Banks, along with engineer and producer Nick Davies, the material covers the span of 27 years (1970 – 1997) with some spectacular performances and indeed unusual picks.
early bbc, The first CD contains the program from 1970 night drive featuring tunes like “Shepherd”, “Pacidy” and “Let Us Now Make Love”, all non-album tracks. There are a couple from when the band was playing at the Paris Studios in London, then a couple of tracks from the infamous BBC Radio One two years later John Peel Sessions. A gory encore of ‘Watcher Of The Skies’ from when Genesis played the Wembley Empire Pool in 1975 rounds out the disc. Peter Gabriel’s unique vocals make a remarkable impression in the last year of his tenure with the band. And you can definitely hear what a great drummer Phil Collins was.
The second CD consists of four songs from the band’s 1978 Knebworth performance and songs from a 1980 Lyceum theater show. The Lyceum performance features mostly tunes from dukethe album the band was touring behind at the time, with Collins on vocals and central on “Behind the Lines”, “Duchess”, “Guide Vocal”, “Turn It On Again” and “Duke’s Travels”.
The Lyceum performance spills over into the third disc. “Mama” and “Domino” from Wembley Stadium in 1987 follow. The fourth disc continues with the 1987 Wembley show. It’s a bit confusing how these shows are spread across the CDs. Overall, however, the sound quality is pretty fantastic. The band and crowd rock out especially at the Lyceum shows. Songs like “Raven,” “Follow You, Follow Me,” and “I Know What I Like” are brimming with audience participation, especially when Collins breaks into the tambourine solo, exposing Genesis for the live monster they’ve become.
The fourth CD contains eight more from Wembley 87. “Not About Us” and “The Dividing Line” are from a show at the Birmingham NEC in 1998 with singer Ray Wilson, who appeared on a Genesis studio album, Call all stationsS. Including Wilson power BBC broadcasts unique if for no other reason it has become the only Genesis release to feature all three of the band’s lead singers.
Live at the Knebworth Festival 1992 includes six songs that fill the fifth CD. Featuring mostly numbers from the band’s 1991 album, We can’t dance, we also get ‘Old Medley’ with snippets from the 70’s – ‘The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway’, ‘The Musical Box’, ‘Firth Of A Fifth’ all of which really get the crowd screaming. When I saw the band on tour, I was particularly blown away by this special hat to Collins, Banks and guitarist Mike Rutherford’s past. Other goodies include a 40-page book and notes by author Michael Hann.
The last domino Tour in 2022 was reportedly the last time for Genesis on the concert stage. That makes BBC broadcasts a real treat and a great reminder of what an incredible live band they once were. You have to wonder what else could be out there that we still haven’t heard from Genesis.
~ Ralph Greco Jr.
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