Calling All Stations

Calling All Stations, (also known as ...Calling All Stations...) is the 15th studio album by rock band Genesis. It was recorded following Phil Collins's departure from the band in 1996, and was released in 1997. The band returned, to a certain degree, to Genesis's roots as an album-oriented band.

Of the three singles excerpted from the album, all three made the charts,^[1] but only "Congo" was a major hit, breaking the top 40 in the UK^[1] and at least three other European countries.^[2][3]

Calling All Stations reached No.2 in the UK.^[1] It reached No.54 in the US during five weeks in the chart.^[4]

Background

Vocalist Ray Wilson, who had fronted a short-lived but popular grunge-influenced outfit called Stiltskin, was brought on board after a lengthy auditioning period. Wilson's darker vocals were more reminiscent of Peter Gabriel than Collins. Nir Zidkyahu and Nick D'Virgilio (Spock's Beard) were called in to supply the drums.

While Calling All Stations sold well throughout Europe, it failed to find an audience in the United States, despite an elaborate publicity launch at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

As a result of the slim North American sales, the American leg of the tour was cancelled. Following the conclusion of the European tour 1998, Banks and Rutherford put Genesis on an extended hiatus, leaving Calling All Stations as the band's last studio release. Ray Wilson was keen to continue and has continued to include all era Genesis songs on his solo tour, including touring a World of Genesis set.

The 1998 European tour had the songs from the Phil Collins era transposed to a lower key to accommodate to Ray Wilson's limited vocal range, something Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford had to work out during the rehearsals. In the 2007 reunion tour this was done again, but with Phil Collins on vocals.

The music videos for "Congo" and "Shipwrecked" featured Wilson, Rutherford, Banks and Zidkyahu surrounded by extensive use of water imagery. "Not About Us," however featured just Banks, Rutherford and Wilson.

A SACD / DVD double disc set (including new 5.1 and Stereo mixes) was released in September 2007 and was re-released as a CD/DVD double disc in the US and Canada in November 2007.

Reception

The album met with resoundingly negative reviews upon its release. Both Allmusic and Rolling Stone commented that Ray Wilson was a fitting new vocalist for Genesis, but that the album is wholly lacking in good material. Both also commented on the album's odd mix of art rock and pop, saying that it failed to capture any of the likable elements of either genre; Rolling Stone summarized it as "a Mike and the Mechanics artrock album."^[7][5]

Track listing

All songs written by Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, except where noted.

1. "Calling All Stations" – 5:43
2. "Congo" – 4:51
3. "Shipwrecked" – 4:23
4. "Alien Afternoon" – 7:51
5. "Not About Us" (Banks, Rutherford, Ray Wilson) – 4:38
6. "If That's What You Need" – 5:12
7. "The Dividing Line" – 7:45
8. "Uncertain Weather" – 5:29
9. "Small Talk" (Banks, Rutherford, Wilson) – 5:02
10. "There Must Be Some Other Way" (Banks, Rutherford, Wilson) – 7:54
11. "One Man's Fool" – 8:46

• Note: The CD liner notes state that track 7, "The Dividing Line", is 8:59.

B Sides

1. "Papa He Said" - 4:09
2. "Banjo Man" (Banks, Rutherford, Wilson) - 4:22
3. "Phret" - 4:05
4. "7/8" - 5:13
5. "Anything Now" - 7:03
6. "Sign Your Life Away" - 4:45
7. "Run Out Of Time" - 6:36
8. "Nowhere Else To Turn (Banks, Rutherford, Wilson) - 4:35

"Papa He Said" and "Banjo Man" are from the single "Congo". "Phret" and "7/8" are from the single "Shipwrecked". "Anything Now", "Sign Your Life Away" and "Run Out Of Time" are from the single "Not About Us". "Nowhere Else To Turn" is an unreleased track from the sessions.

Singles

• Congo Maxi-CD

1. "Congo" (single version)
2. "Papa He Said"
3. "Banjo Man"

• Congo Enhanced CD

1. "Congo"
2. "Second Home by the Sea" (instrumental version)
3. Enhanced feature with interviews, video of "Congo" and the upcoming Calling All Stations World Tour.

• Shipwrecked CD1

1. "Shipwrecked"
2. "No Son of Mine" (acoustic)
3. "Supper's Ready (part i: lover's leap)" (acoustic)
4. "Turn It On Again" (acoustic)

• Shipwrecked CD2

1. "Shipwrecked"
2. "Phret"
3. "7/8"

• Not About Us CD1

1. "Not About Us" (single version)
2. "Anything Now"
3. "Sign Your Life Away"
4. "Run Out of Time"

• Not About Us CD2

1. "Not About Us"
2. "Dancing with the Moonlight Knight" (acoustic)
3. "Follow You Follow Me" (acoustic)
4. "Not About Us" (acoustic)

A total of seven previously unreleased songs were included on the single releases as B-sides. One other song recorded at the time, "Nowhere Else to Turn", was never officially released.

Personnel

• Ray Wilson – vocals
• Tony Banks – keyboards
• Mike Rutherford – guitar, bass

Additional musicians

• Nir Zidkyahu – drums on tracks 1–3, 4 (second half), 5, 7, 10–11; percussion on 2
• Nick D'Virgilio – drums on tracks 4 (first half), 6, 8–9

Production

• Producers: Nick Davis, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford
• Engineers: Nick Davis, Assisted by Ian Huffam
• Recorded at The Farm, Surrey, England
• Technical Assistance: Geoff Callingham, Mike Bowen
• General Assistance: Dale Newman
• Sleeve Design: Wherefore ART?
• Photography: Kevin Westernberg, Peter Robathan

Tour

Dates

Rehearsals for the 47 date European tour took place at Bray Film Studios in Windsor, England between 5 and 25 January 1998.

Personnel

• Ray Wilson – lead vocals, percussion, harmonica
• Tony Banks – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
• Mike Rutherford – guitar, bass, backing vocals

with

• Anthony Drennan – guitar, bass, backing vocals
• Nir Zidkyahu – drums, percussion, backing vocals

References