Genesis at Bray Film Studios, January 23, 1998. Review by Peter Morton.

 

Being one of the few lucky people to be invited to this very special event, I thought it only right to report on the day itself.

Bray Film Studios are about seven miles from the beautiful village of Bray in Berkshire; a devil of a place to find but find it I eventually did. On my arrival I met up with a rather sober character called Alan (I was informed however, that this was only a temporary measure), and sixteen other lucky TWR readers who had been chosen randomly from our subscriber's list.

After the band had finished their work through of what was the final section of "Domino", we all gathered and went into the brick built studio to be greeted by a small seating arrangement, a mixing desk and a fully loaded stage and lighting rig.

After introductions and chats to magazine members it was time to settle down for the show itself. I think we were all excited about the show because there was so much anticipation. What would they play? Could Ray stand up to what was a huge act to follow? However, once the lights dimmed to the opening sounds of "No Son Of Mine", it was obvious that the vocals were in perfectly safe hands with Ray. "Land Of Confusion" followed note perfect by both band and Ray. "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" came next, and not the shortened version, which was good to hear.


Ray Wilson with Genesis

Only four songs were played from the new album "Calling All Stations": "There Must Be Some Other Way", "Congo" and a blistering version of "The Dividing Line". I was hoping for more but talking to Ray afterwards, the band had decided to drop "Alien Afternoon" at the last minute.

Old favourites such as "Domino", "Home By The Sea", "Mama", "Turn It On Again" and "Carpet Crawl" as well as the middle section of "Firth Of Fifth" were all there; but the highlight for me was the acoustic medley of "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight", "Follow You Follow Me" and "Lover's Leap". Genesis have always been first rate when choosing fantastic drummers, and the latest, Nir Z is no exception, coupled with an excellent drum kit and sound system; his drumming was outstanding.

To sum up this great day, I think most fans will be pleased with the live tracks selected. Maybe it was a bit of a shame that more songs weren't played from the new album, and maybe a few that haven't been played in a good few years would have been nice, but as Mike and Tony said afterwards; 'We have selected songs to play that have been some of our biggest sellers over the last few years..'


The acoustic moment