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Calling All Stations

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Calling All Stations
Calling All Stations cover
Studio album by Genesis
Released 1 September 1997
Recorded January - June 1997
Genre Pop rock/Progressive rock
Length 67:42
Label Virgin (UK)
Atlantic (US)
Producer(s) Nick Davis, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford
Professional reviews
Genesis chronology
Live/The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs
(1993)
Calling All Stations
(1997)
Genesis Archive 1967-75
(1998)


Calling All Stations is the fifteenth (and latest) album by veteran progressive rock/pop band Genesis and was released in 1997. Recorded following Phil Collins' departure from the band in 1996, it was an attempt by bandmates Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks to continue the Genesis moniker while returning, to a certain degree, to Genesis' roots as an album-oriented band.

Vocalist Ray Wilson, who had fronted a brief but popular grunge-influenced outfit called Stiltskin, was brought on board after a lengthy auditioning period. Wilson's darker vocals were more reminiscent of Peter Gabriel than Collins. Because Wilson was not a drummer, both Nir Zidkyahu and Nick D'Virgilio were called in to supply the necessary percussion work.

But while Calling All Stations sold well throughout Europe, it failed to find an audience in the United States, despite an elaborate publicity launch at, of all places, Cape Canaveral in Florida. Critics were derisive, and while Calling All Stations was notable for attempting to bring Genesis' progressive rock roots more to the forefront, many found the results somber and lacking the dynamics of their 1970s work, let alone the fact pop and hip hop were in vogue at the time—genres far removed from progressive rock. As a result of the slim North American sales, the American leg of the tour was canceled. Although a European tour was undertaken in 1998, Banks and Rutherford ultimately decided to relieve Wilson of his vocal duties and put Genesis on an extended hiatus, leaving Calling All Stations as Genesis' most recent studio release.

While many observers maintain that Phil Collins' absence contributed to Genesis' dramatic loss of commercial standing, it is interesting to note that Collins' solo career began stalling as early as 1993 with the release of his Both Sides album.

Since the album's release there has been, among some Genesis fans, a belated appreciation for Wilson's contribution to the band's history. There is agreement even among many fans who dislike this album that Wilson was a strong vocalist. Bootleg recordings of the 1998 European tour have been sought-after downloads on peer-to-peer networks, if only for the opportunity to hear Wilson's rendition of older Genesis songs like "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway," "The Carpet Crawlers," and "Lover's Leap" (the opening section of "Supper's Ready").

Of the three singles excerpted from the album, only "Congo" met with a limited measure of success.

Music videos were made for "Congo", "Shipwrecked" and "Not About Us." Congo was a faovrite among MTV UK, however, it had been played on MTV once.

Calling All Stations, which reached #2 in the UK, remains the only Genesis album to have been deleted in North America, having only reached #54 in the US in a brief chart stay.

A SACD / DVD double disc set (including new 5.1 and Stereo mixes) is planned for release in June/July 2007.

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Tony Banks/Mike Rutherford, except where noted.

  1. "Calling All Stations" – 5:43
  2. "Congo" – 4:51
  3. "Shipwrecked" – 4:23
  4. "Alien Afternoon" – 7:51
  5. "Not About Us" (Tony Banks/Mike Rutherford/Ray Wilson) – 4:38
  6. "If That's What You Need" – 5:12
  7. "The Dividing Line" – 7:45
  8. "Uncertain Weather" – 5:29
  9. "Small Talk" (Tony Banks/Mike Rutherford/Ray Wilson) – 5:02
  10. "There Must Be Some Other Way" (Tony Banks/Mike Rutherford/Ray Wilson) – 7:54
  11. "One Man's Fool" – 8:46

[edit] Singles

  • Congo Maxi-CD
  1. "Congo [Radio Edit]"
  2. "Papa He Said"
  3. "Banjo Man"
  • Congo Enhanced CD
  1. "Congo"
  2. "Second Home By The Sea [Edit]"
  3. Enhanced feature with interviews, video of "Congo" and the upcoming Calling All Stations World Tour.
  • Shipwrecked CD1
  1. "Shipwrecked"
  2. "No Son Of Mine [Acousitc]"
  3. "Lover's Leap (from Supper's Ready) [Acousitc]"
  4. "Turn It On Again [Acousitc]"
  • Shipwrecked CD2
  1. "Shipwrecked"
  2. "Phret"
  3. "7/8"
  • Not About Us CD1
  1. "Not About Us [Radio Edit]"
  2. "Anything Now"
  3. "Sign Your Life Away"
  4. "Run Out Of Time"
  • Not About Us CD2
  1. "Not About Us"
  2. "Dancing In The Moonlight Knight [Acousitc]"
  3. "Not About Us (extended) [Acousitc]"
  4. "Turn It On Again [Acousitc]"

[edit] Personnel

Additional musicians

Genesis
Tony Banks | Phil Collins | Peter Gabriel | Steve Hackett | Mike Rutherford
Anthony Phillips | John Mayhew | John Silver | Chris Stewart | Daryl Stuermer | Ray Wilson
Discography
Studio albums: From Genesis to Revelation | Trespass | Nursery Cryme | Foxtrot | Selling England by the Pound | The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | A Trick of the Tail | Wind & Wuthering | ...And Then There Were Three... | Duke | Abacab | Genesis | Invisible Touch | We Can't Dance | Calling All Stations
Live Albums: Genesis Live | Seconds Out | Three Sides Live | Live/The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts | Live/The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs
Compilations: Turn It On Again: The Hits | Platinum Collection
Box sets: Genesis Archive 1967-75 | Genesis Archive 2: 1976-1992
EPs: Spot the Pigeon | 3 X 3
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