Published on Oct 15, 1999
If I had really thought about things back in the early ’90s, I
would not have been surprised to eventually hear that Phil Collins
was leaving Genesis. Sure, they had just scored a big hit with
their album
We Can’t Dance, and some of the music on that disc was
absolutely incredible. But underneath it all, the band was really
starting to sound bored.
You need proof? Check out
Live – The Way We Walk Volume One: The Shorts. Though I have
never had the privilege of seeing Genesis live, it absolutely
sounds like the band is just going through the motions over the
course of these 11 songs — and if the band is bored, you can bet
the listener is going to feel the same way.
True, there are moments when things seem like they’re clicking
well. “Jesus He Knows Me” sounds like Collins is having some fun
mocking the liars-posing-as-men-of-God who waste bandwidth on my
television. Chester Thompson’s drumming is especially noteworthy on
this track.
But there are other times where the rhythm section sounds far
too plodding. Ozzy Osbourne once said he didn’t like working with
British drummers because they sounded like a Space Invaders
machine. While Thompson didn’t write the drum beats on songs like
“That’s All” and “I Can’t Dance,” there are times I found myself
listening to the beat and imagining the invaders coming down to
earth, the beat was that blah. Not a good sign.
What strikes me about
Live – The Way We Walk Volume One: The Shorts is that the
band just sounds like they have no spunk in them. I’ve seen more
life in morgues compared to songs like “Hold On My Heart,” “In Too
Deep” and “Land Of Confusion”; it actually sounds like the band
would prefer to be doing anything but playing these songs again.
Even the ad-lib obscenity near the end of “Invisible Touch” doesn’t
sound spontaneous, but forced.
Granted, this is a problem that I’ve heard with many British
bands who have some root in the progressive vein. Pink Floyd
sometimes sounds sterile in their concerts — but they at least
find some way to bring some life to the material at times. Genesis
seems content to leave their music on life support – and there are
times I wish I could have pulled the plug on this album.
Live – The Way We Walk Volume One: The Shorts is a
disappointing effort from a band who was capable of much better,
and should have known better than to put such dreck out on the
market.