Review:
“Trademark turns into travesty” (Pareles). “Phil Collins left Genesis following the We Can’t Dance tour and many observers expected Tony Banks and Michael Rutherford to finally call it a day. They decided to persevere instead, hiring former Stiltskin vocalist Ray Wilson to replace Collins” (Erlewine). The result was a reshaping of “Genesis as a muscle-headed bar-band imitation of its cheesiest self” (Pareles).
“The music on Calling All Stations is long, dense, and lugubrious, but it’s given the same immaculate, pristine production that was the hallmark of their adult contemporary work with Collins. It wants to be an art rock album, but not at the expense of losing the pop audience – which makes it all the stranger that the group doesn’t really write pop songs on Calling All Stations. That may be because Wilson’s voice isn’t suited for pop, but works well with languid, synthesized prog settings. But even ponderous prog rock has to have musical themes worth exploring, and on that level, Genesis come up dry on Calling All Stations” (Erlewine).
“The title song wonders, ‘Can anybody tell me, tell me exactly where I am/I’ve lost all sense of direction.’ Ain’t it the truth…And they haven’t released an album since” (Pareles).
110,000
100,000
1.5 million
