For die-hard early Genesis fans only!

This could have been so much better!

This boxed set will appeal to the most die-hard early Genesis fans..of which I am proudly one! Before I sing it's praises in my deep bozza nova bass voice, I must..yes I MUST, point out it's flaws..of which there are a few, unfortunately!

It is a tad on the pricey side!

When this was first released, the going retail price was between 60 and 70 dollars, which in my grumble epinion is WAY too expensive, especially for what you are getting. Yes, all of this has never been released before and some of it,(especially the third disc) IS essential, but if they really wanted people to buy it, they could have lowered the price by about ten dollars!

The packaging is very cheap and flimsy!

I have had bad luck with this and the second Genesis Archives boxed set...my booklet for both of them started falling apart and losing pages within a few weeks! WAAAAHH! Also, those little thingamuhjigs that hold the cds themselves( I wish I knew what they called them!) broke just as quickly! THIS MAKE MATZABALLMAN NOT HAPPY!

The fourth disc is not worth listening to..for the most part!

The fourth disc contains nothing but live and previously unreleased songs and demos from their first album and Trespass. This would be okay if you like their first album, but I don't! The only highlight of this disc may be Tony Banks' vocal performance on the song Shepherd. Gabriel's voice sounds nice on the early songs, but the performances are sloppy and the production is shoddy!

Also, given how much has been hyped up about it's live presentation, I think a concert video of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway would be more welcome than just a live audio recording of it! Not that it's bad..I listened to it this morning while cleaning my apartment and the performances are flawless and the band sounds very tight, but it doesn't sound that much better or different than the studio recording...it's just The Lamb with applause!

HOWEVER...the third disc is a must have for fans of the Gabriel-era Genesis!!!!!#@#@# The third disc consists of live performances of songs from Selling England By The Poundand Foxtrot, along with a performance of Stagnation and a few previously unreleased songs like Happy the Man and Twilight Alehouse.This is a much better live document than Genesis/Live for two reasons: the band sounds infinitely tighter and they also include some of Peter Gabriel's stories in between songs!This second reason is the main reason this disc is essential, for it is the only official live Genesis audio recording to include his stories! So, we get treated to Gabriel's story of Old Henry and The Worms at the beginning of Supper's Ready...the funniest part is where Phil Collins admits that he wasn't paying attention during Gabriel's story...this gets a HUGE round of applause from the audience!!! Gabriel also gets in a humourous monologue at the beginning of Dancing With The Moonlit Knight! Somebody(probably Gabriel) speaks French at the beginning of a very rare perfomance of the Phil Collins-sung ballad More Fool Me...the live stuff is very well performed, especially given the complexity of the music!

As for the two songs, Twilight Alehouse starts out rather quiet, with some soft vocals from Gabe.The vocal melody is awkward and silly at times, but the song gets better as it goes along.There is a little part right after the vocal section that has some very jazzy flute playing and drumming , then the band starts to rock out a bit and the song ends on an exciting note with the band jamming on a very heavy, machine gun like riff. Happy the Man is a laid back song that does little for me.

The booklet has a plethora of photos, both B&W and color, and shows pictures dating back to the recording sessions for From Genesis to Revelation up to the band during and around the tour for The Lamb. It shows many photos of Gabe in his various costumes, like the foxhead and the old man.
The 80 page booklet also has liner notes by Tony Banks, music critic Chris Welch and Genesis manager Tony Stratton-Smith, along with Peter Gabriel's original press release about why he left Genesis. Brief mention is also made of guitarist Mick Barnard, who played with the band in the Autumn of 1970..right before Steve Hackett joined.

Is this worth buying?

Yes, it is, though not at full retail price! It's worth buying used or at a nice discount, though it's appeal is obviously limited.
CIAO!