GENESIS!

Update - Oh yeeeaaah, it's official now. 'Turn in on Again - The Tour'.
There's also word that there might be new material too, which has gotten me thinking, what do they need to do to make it work?
Good question Brett! A very tricky situation indeed, but a very straighforward answer from me...Here's what they need to not do...sound like Coldplay, or one of the hundred million variants of them in existence today, I don't want to hear piano OR acoustic guitar on this record, and the drum beats better be phat, heavily gated and complexly rhythmed, the minimalist angsty crap needs to go. Anyway, trying to sound like contemporary music was one of 'Calling All Stations' big mistakes. What Phil, Tony and Mike should do, if they decide to do this, is just go balls out and remind the world why Genesis is one of the greatest bands of all time. To accomplish that, and have a new record that will be taken seriously, they MUST find a timeless middle ground. If they try to just outright duplicate one of their previous albums all it will do is instantly raise comparison between the two and draw focus away from itself. I know it would be interesting and or hilarious, but I'm pretty sure we can forget about a straight up classically inspired prog-rock album. Because, unless they've had a recent, amazing stroke of artistic genius then it just wouldn't work anymore, it would only sound forced and cheesy (but who knows, maybe they could surprise us). I also think they've learned their lesson from Calling All Stations and realize that a generic Genesis template placed on a modern pop sound has less than stellar results. To find that solid middle ground I've gone through the different Collins era albums and picked out certain songs that seem to have stood the test of time better than others, not saying that makes them better, it just means that some of their song's productions are noticeably 80's or noticeably cheesily. So, what I think would work best for them now is this, an album that is stylistically in-between Abacab and Trick of the Tail, but that has the focus, structure and earnesty of Duke, a more inwardly reflected album, something that doesn't feel like it's pandering to the audience; old, new, of a certain era, whatever it may be. This way they can achieve a work that has a balance of the elements that made pop oriented Genesis great, and will create a rich (but not overly nostalgic) palet for the more matured band to explore.
Huzzah! I've emerged from my cave to bring this wonderful news to the world...
http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/1180945

Genesis to tour next year

Artists: Genesis

Prog-rockers of your dad's youth Genesis are to reform next year, albeit without original singer Peter Gabriel. Which isn't all that surprising, really.

Rumours of the reformation have been circulating for many a year, but now reports suggest it is definitely on: The Sunday Mirror yesterday stated that drummer and vocalist Phil Collins is particularly keen to get things moving.

Collins will be joined by both Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks for a series of gigs across America and Europe; expect their pockets to be bulging with hard cash come its conclusion. Gabriel hasn't totally ruled out joining his former bandmates, either, although he won't be able to play with them again until 2008 at the earliest.

Collins recently split from his third wife, and the aforementioned tabloid implies that this comprised something of a catalyst in the decision to go ahead with the reunion tour.

Well it's not a Gabriel-style Genesis reunion, BUT, I love everything they did, so any form of a reunion is just great with me. So Mr. Collins, would you like my life savings in cash or check?