Did they really blame the guy they only let sing? I think Tony and Mike are responsible for anything good or bad about the album. They made it pretty clear it's their band. Can't have it both ways
Yup they did Mark. It was both in writing and in video interviews. They pretty much dismissed it as a mistake and that Ray couldn’t compete with Phil, didn’t have his musical ability, and called out Ray for being “not a songwriter” I remember watching thinking yeah. It’s shady to throw that on someone that you wouldn’t even let write.
More: Press release GENESIS ANNOUNCE NEW VOCALIST AND ALBUM ne of the most prestigious job vacancies in the world of rock and roll is vacant no longer! Following Phil Collins' departure from Genesis last year, the band has chosen as its new vocalist 28 year old Ray Wilson, formerly frontman with chart topping rock band Stiltskin. Wilson is the third vocalist Genesis have employed- Collins and Peter Gabriel were the other two- in a career which has spanned 4 decades and accrued album sales in excess of 90 million. "We listened to hundreds of tapes, but Ray's voice really stood out," said Genesis keyboard player Tony Banks "It had a quality that really moved me. His voice is thicker and harks back more to the earlier Genesis" Guitarist Mike Rutherford added; "When we met Ray he seemed totally confident in his ability, which is essential when you take on a role like this." Edinburgh born and bred, Wilson has been performing in bands since he was 14, "Although no-one has asked me to sing songs that last up to ten minutes before! Fronting a band with such a history is an incredible challenge." As well as singing on all 11 tracks Wilson has contributed some lyrics to the new Genesis album, Calling All Stations, which is due for worldwide release later in the summer. As on past albums, Banks and Rutherford co-wrote the material. Rutherford commented: "Fitting in and at the same time making your mark is the most difficult thing in this situation and Ray has handled that brilliantly."
That's messed up. I don't know much about the guy, but a) they chose him b) they wouldn't let him do anything but sing c) they made it and didn't stand behind it That's pretty weak if you ask me
Oops, sorry ... I never thought about them to be honest ... We can cover them after this I guess and do a bit of what happened between Calling and 2007.... Will that work?
Ive just read the CAS portion in the Chapter & Verse book, and well the "blame" is going both ways. Tony mentioned that they had to find a new way to work in the studio, because with Phil he always made his own drumtrack, and put there his voice over it for the song structure, now all that had to come from Tony and Mike, including the drumtrack. So thats maybe the structure of a lot of songs a bit boring maybe? Tony also mentioned that Ray would never give that extra bit in a song when Phil (or Peter) "go over the top" at the end of a song. With Ray it was more conservative. Ray mentions that while they were working on CAS he was waiting for that hit song like Land of Confusion, or Mama, but that never happened. I think you hardly can call it blame, its more looking for a reason why it failed. They were all dissapointed by how it turned out. Ray and Nir thought the band would go on, but Tony and especially Mike thought it would hurt the band's reputation to continue. So that called it a day.
If you were basing it on chapter and verse I agree, however I’m basing my opinions on interviews I have seen with Tony, and read. Ray kept a very dignified silence for a long time, but I’m sure he got frustrated with being blamed for CAS not being a success.
CALLING ALL STATIONS Web Chat Transcript On the 6th June 1997 the CAS site went live at 12 noon British Summer Time. To mark the occasion there was a live chat with the band that went out to the world. Here's the transcript of that chat. Nick Rose asked... When did you know that the new singer would fit better than the others who auditioned? Mike: When Ray first came down, he sang some old Genesis Songs, and straight away I could imagine him singing old material. Tony: The first song he sang was no son of mine, and we had one or two other people down already, and when he sang the first line, it sang a shiver down his spine and we knew he was the man. Ray: After the audition I didn't think had the job. A lot of the songs I was singing were high, and if it hadn't been for the fact I was s***** myself, Gerry Swienton asked... Will your tour stay on the cutting edge of stage shows with lighting special, special effects, etc.? Mike: YES ! We're working on the development of where the last show ended, using the screens Tony: We're still working on it. It's very expensive at the moment. What shape it will take we don't know, but we have lots of ideas. Look out for the plastic tea trays, and the worms ! All will be revealed !!! Eugene Menendez asked... What was Ray's input in the new album? Ray: Firstly my job was to take Mike and Tony's melodic and lyrical ideas and adapt my own style to it. I was also asked to write lyrical and melodical ideas myself which seemed to work quite well. David Veldhuizen asked... What type of stuff will be played on the next tour? Mike: We'll play hopefully a fair proportion of the new album, as regards to the old songs, we'll cover a very wide range decided a little bit by which ones work best with Ray's voice. So far, most of them sound great. Paul Mawdsley asked... Was Ray Wilson a big fan of Genesis before he got the job as new singer? Ray: Genesis were introduced to me by a school friend. The album Selling England by the Pound which I enjoyed a great deal. I then went onto buy Trick of The tail, and during the eighties thought the song Mama was one of the best songs of that decade. Marc Lederman asked... Have you decided on a live lineup for the upcoming tour? Tony: Yes we have. On drums will be Nir Z, who is the main drummer on the album. And on guitar, we have Anthony Drennan, who has played with the Corrs amongst others and Paul Brady. We have not started rehearsing together yet. Mark Nichols asked... Was your writing method different for this album? Mike: The main difference this time was that Ray was not around until a large part of the instrumental music was written. For the last few albums, obviously, Phil has been there from the word go. I think the songs are probably slightly more complex as a result. Good or bad ??
...Continued Is there any place over the world where you would like to play and that you've never been before? Mike: So far the tour plans are North America in the Autumn, and Europe in Spring. Obviously, the reaction will decide how much more we do. Having never played in Asia, we would like to go there, as well as South America which we haven't played since 1977. Deb Wentorf asked... Genesis did a lot of writing as a group. Will that still hold true? Mike: On the next album, I'm sure Ray will be much more involved in the writing process which will again produce a different new area for us. Ray: Mike and Tony have been writing together for such a long time, and it's very different from the style that I write. Subsequently it will be very interesting to see what happens when we approach the musical element of the next album. But all that matters to me is that the record is good. peter gabriel asked... why Ray? Tony: Because we liked the tone of his voice, and felt that it would fit in with the kind of music we were writing which is a little darker and more dramatic. Hugo Daniel Caro asked... Will there be a world tour with the new album, and will you come to South America? Mike:: We're gonna go on tour in North America in the Autumn, Europe in the Spring and hopefully after that South America, Asia and the World. Nick Rose asked... Were the songs written before choosing the singer? Mike:: An interesting point - having written for Phil's voice for so many years, it was a challenge with Ray's voice as it took the songs into a new area for us. Tony: A large part of the music for the songs was written before we had chosen Ray. But we adapted many of the melodies and lyrics after he had joined, he also contributed to both melodies and lyrics. Stefan Magdalinski asked... Will Genesis experiment with Drum and Bass like David Bowie? Mike: I think at the moment we have our hands full with Ray singing, Nir drumming and Anthony playing guitar all for the first time.So here we are faced with a whole lot of new challenges which is keeping us pretty busy. Ray: I joined the band during the writing process and contributed only to lyrical and melodical ideas. It will be interesting however on the next album to be involved at an earlier stage and contribute musically also. Mike Moreon asked... Will you miss Phil most for his playing, for his contribution to writing, or for his hair cut? Mike: Phil is one of the best drummers in the business, so replacing him on an album was hard. Perhaps this is why although most of the drumming was with Nir, we also used some of Nick D'Virgillio's playing. Tony: There can be no more jokes about bald people. Mind you, Mike is close ! We obviously miss Phil in all departments but it has left us with some great challenges. Ray: I think it would be hard not to miss Phil Collins from a bands line up. However, Nir, Nick and myself seem to have done the job pretty well, and hopefully we will prove this when we start our World Tour later in the year. Todd Crane asked... What does the future hold for Genesis beyond Calling All Stations and the upcoming tour? Mike: The only reason the Genesis albums are not these days so frequent, is because of the outside musical work we all do, in my case, The Mechanics are a big part of my life. But this for us, is the start of the new Genesis. Tony: The plan will be to do another album incorporating Ray more fully, but will obviously be sometime in the future. Ray: Obviously I am greatly looking forward to the next Genesis album, but I would like to take the opportunity to release my own record when the time is right. Kevin Douglas asked... What do you think you'd be doing if you weren't making music? Mike: Many years ago, I wanted to be a journalist. Having met many journalists..... I'm happy with my choice. Tony: I've no idea. Ray: It's hard to imagine life without music, but given the chance and the ability, I'd like to play professional football. Greg Fayard asked... Mike and Tony: Was there ever a time when you both considered calling it quits after Phil left? Mike: It crossed our minds, that maybe the time had come to stop. The last thing I wanted to do was to carry on for the sake of it so we decided to have a writing session, and in the first day we wrote some music that excited us, the opening track Calling All Stations was part written on that day. Tony: When Anthony Phillips left the group in 1970, I thought we would not continue. But every time since then, someone has left, I have seen it as almost a challenge to keep going. Ray: Obviously I'm biased, but I feel it would be a great loss to millions of Genesis fans had they not of carried on. Damon C Capehart asked... Ray: What's your favourite Genesis song? Ray: This is a difficult question to answer because there are so many to choose from. However I would say that the title track Calling All Stations is my favourite on the new album, and Mama is my favourite of the past. Bizouard Franck asked... How did you manage after thirty years of Genesis to keep fresh, creating new stuff again? Mike: I would hope it's obvious that although the personnel changes were never really looked for, when they do happen, you take to positive approach, which is once again, you are able to change a little. This is something that not many long standing bands have done. I think over the years it's been a real help to us. Tony: I think the solo work done outside the group has also helped to keep us fresh. Each time we get back together, even with Phil, it felt like a slightly different group. Kevin Douglas asked... If you could have one ex-Genesis member back, who would it be? Mike: None. Only because I think all of us, ex members included, feel it is more exciting to move on with something new musically, than to redo something. This doesn't mean that I don't miss them. Michael Baldini asked... What's the reason for the delay with the Box sets? Tony: The first part is pretty much completed, but we feel until the new group is established, it would be confusing to put it out. Also it is difficult to find a gap in everybody's release schedule, because this also concerns Peter, Phil, Steve etc. Joe Brennan asked... Aren't you getting a bit old for this pop music lark? Ray: It's funny you should say this, but at 28 years old, I feel that I should not quite stop yet. But thanks for asking! Damien Dee asked... Is it true that you are going to use Junior Vasquez as a remixer for some of your tracks? Mike: No. Over the years there have been quite a few remixes for additional single tracks. I think we feel that very few have worked. I'm not really sure if Genesis fans want to hear our music in that form, or me for that matter. Tony: On my last solo record, Strictly Inc. we had one remix of the track Only Seventeen, which contained not one note of the original. What is the point ? Ray: I don't believe that remixing Genesis songs is really to anyone's benefit. Joe Wiencis asked... Do you ever want to strangle people who ask you why you don't do stuff like Supper's Ready anymore? Mike: No I don't want to strangle them. I sympathize, because when I see a group I want to hear the songs I know. But I think they should understand that it is important for us to play a set list that really excites us, and this obviously includes a mixture of new and old. However, you never know.... Tony: We have such a large catalogue of old material to choose from, we can't please everybody but we are still proud of Suppers Ready, and many other songs from the early period, and we will do some. Ray: I feel it's very important to include key Genesis songs from the past in our forthcoming tour. We are discussing at present, which songs to include due to my voice being different to Phil's, it may well throw up some surprises.
Yeah, the fades do seem awkward at times. Apparently, Phil was the one who typically influenced the editing of tracks. Seems that was a noted role for him in the band. So it’s my guess that his absence was to some extent felt by these odd and incomplete song endings.
Simply put, I’ve always liked this album a lot, despite its flaws. It’s a great collection of songs. What amazes me is that they had written enough material to fill a double LP and still would have had leftover tracks. And I think some of the best material was left off of the final release. I tend to disagree with many criticisms about this album, mainly because it seems folks tend to over analyze it as a “Genesis” album, coming in with certain expectations and misconceptions. I think it’s best looked at in a fresh new light, which is apparently what Mike and Tony had intended.
This is a top 5 Genesis album for me. Extremely dark and in many ways a throwback to earlier times. Melancholy, moody and powerful. Fell in love with my wife and danced to “If That’s What You Need” at our wedding. Ray’s voice has remained with me through the years and his solo music is superb. I don’t mind the fades, I don’t mind the simple structures of some songs. The title track and “Alien Afternoon” floor me every time I hear them. So many memories in my life at that time that were incredible and the album complemented them nicely. A masterpiece in my book.
In fairness I haven't given this album a full listen since 2013, the year I got into the band at all With that said, seemingly anytime I come back to it I can't stand it.
I remember learning from the radio one day back in 1993 that Phil was leaving the band. It was a shocker. When Calling All Stations was set for release 4 years after, i had already well absorbed Phil loss. In truth, i never hoped the band would have carried on and release a new album. So, i decided to give it a chance and i purchased the cd on release day. I remember waiting impatiently for the vocals to enter into the title track, and i immediately liked the new singer. Actually, i very much liked the album itself. I bought all the cd singles - in their multiple configurations - and i quite liked the ''3 brand new bonus tracks'' on the Not About Us single. I also went to see them live. When they disbanded i never thought twice, and i kept listening to Calling All Stations lesser and lesser. When i played it again after many years i liked it way way less than i used to like it. I listened again to it recently and i found myself skipping one track after the other except Uncertain Weather, which still remains to me the best one in the bunch. So, it's maybe that my taste has changed in the last 20 years, or maybe i was just over-exited for the fact Genesis were still unexpectedly alive and kicking in 1997, but the record i once liked a lot does very little to me now.
Calling All Stations This song gets off to a great start. We have a strong guitar riff and a good sound. Tony is making a synth bed for it to sit on. The drums are very straight. Wilson puts in a solid vocal. This is actually a good song, and Mike puts a nice lead break in here as well. I can understand the Mike and the Mechanics comparisons, but I think that's just the MOR sound and feel that we have going on. Then we get the problematic fade. Wilson is starting to stretch out on the vocals and midway through a section the songs just fades ... It spoils the atmosphere the song was trying so desperately to build.
Calling All Stations - Mike and the Mechanics go hard rock? The guitar in this certainly sounds crunchy and gives me hope for a decent track, but the song doesn't do anything really. It's as repetitive as the title on the album jacket. The fade sounds like everybody in the mixing booth just lost interest in it and decided enough was enough.
