PLATINUM COLLECTION
If ever a band went through a massive metamorphosis, it's GENESIS. The
band originated in Surrey, England from the remains of bands featuring
friends Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford, and Anthony
Phillips...and it was known primarily as a progressive, art-rock
outfit. It wasn't until Gabriel left and drummer Phil Collins took over
as frontman that the band achieved its international super-stardom
(Gabriel emerged as a superstar in his own right, blending various
styles of world music). Switching gears so drastically is risky for a
band, because the results can often be catastrophic. In the case of
Genesis, it worked out very well.
I was a child of the 80's, so I was more familiar with the more
mainstream pop-music era of the band. The discs are in
reverse-chronological order, with all of their 80's and 90's hits on
Disc 1 (including the 1997 "Calling All Stations" with Scottish singer
Ray Wilson). The bulk of the re-mastered tracks are on Disc 2 and Disc
3, which stem from the bands more progressive years. The difference in
the sound between the band's earlier years and the 'hit' years is
really astounding, but the re-mastering of those older tracks makes
such a big difference in the sound, it's worth the money for the casual
Genesis fan. I think the die-hards might scoff at
The Platinum Collection,
only because some of the more classic tracks have been left off.
However, for the fan that isn't that well-versed in the band's 35 year
history, this is a nice retrospective to fill in the gaps.
