River of Constant Change 2cd Import by Tribute: Genesis

River of Constant Change 2cd Import

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River of Constant Change 2cd Import

Reader Reviews
A thinly-veiled record label advertisement disguised as a tribute album. All of the bands featured are on the Mellow Records label, which seems largely Italian in membership but also features bands from the UK, Sweden, and other European nations. This can be picked up on pretty quickly by listening to a sampling of the band names (Notturno Concertante, Lincoln Vernonese, Max Michieletto, Dracma) and also to the vocalists, who largely sport very heavy European accents (this is your chance to hear a Genesis song sung with a Swedish accent). Also I have never even remotely heard of any of these bands, except one of the more famous Genesis tribute bands, Seconds Out, who contribute a typical live cover of "Watcher of the Skies." A good deal of the covers are really by-the-numbers, and I found many of the aforementioned vocalists to be lacking in range and ability. However, the rare tracks do actually do some interesting things. "Ravine," for instance, which I would have judged about the last Genesis song anyone would want to cover, gets a very creative treatment while still staying faithful to the main theme of the original. "Am I Very Wrong/A Place to Call My Own" are also done surprisingly well; maybe Jonathan King was actually right when he said covers of songs from Genesis' first album would do well. "Lamia" has an utterly fantastic flute/drum passage at the end, replacing the original guitar solo. "Entangled" is given a nice instrumental treatment; the band (Submarine Silence) does a fine job of capturing the meditative, ghostly atmosphere of the song. Some of the songs which should be played harder ("Twilight Alehouse," "The Knife") seem to be lacking in real aggressiveness--perhaps a result of inadequate production, but probably due to the bands just not being able to rock as well as 70s era Genesis. If nothing else, you get an interesting range of Genesis covers--like most tribute albums of the band, this one does focus on the Peter Gabriel era quite heavily, but the songs chosen from that era are somewhat unusual (vis. "Time Table," "Harlequin," "Ravine," "Hairless Heart") and--surprisingly--two tracks from the 1991 We Can't Dance album got thrown in for good measure. Also there are two Genesis b-sides, the old live classic "Twilight Alehouse" (Genesis did it better) and, perhaps oddest of all, "The Day the Light Went Out," a leftover song from the 1978 ...And Then There Were Three... sessions whose meaning I have never understood. It's a fairly faithful cover of the song, with the interesting change of operatic-style female vocals instead of Phil. If you're looking for a really great, creative, original, but still loving and faithful tribute album, I highly recommend "Genesis for 2 Grand Pianos" (available through Amazon's classical music section). This one has some good numbers, but only a small percentage out of the whole; the main reason one might want to get it is to hear Italian and Swedish guys trying to sound like Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins. Or to check out the talent at Mellow Records.

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