Genesis - The full 5.1 high rez collection

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JonFo

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OK, long time Genesis fan here, so bear with me.

I got hooked on Genesis back in 1976, upon hearing their Trick of the Tail album. That moment, now more than 30 years ago, was a watershed in the evolution of my musical tastes. The sheer creativity and musicianship of these guys floored me. Even today, the music still holds its own against modern groups.

I’ve purchased every single Genesis album ever made, sometimes more than once (I wore out two copies of Trick of the tail on LP) and on every available format. So when they announced a 5.1 mix destined for high-rez formats a few years ago, I was super, super psyched.
Then the interminable delays started, as the DVD-A and SACD war was in full swing and company allegiances were pitted against each other to delay the delivery (EMI (UK) is SACD, Warner (US) is DVD-A). Anywhoo, here we are, finally able to procure these discs.

This is a very careful remastering job by their engineer, Nick Davis, in which each master track was carefully restored, then remixed for full, immersive multichannel playback.
You can read more about the remastering in this interview .

The first wave of discs is a 5 disc collection featuring:

  • A Trick Of The Tail (1976)
  • Wind & Wuthering (1977)
  • …And Then There Were Three…(1978)
  • Duke (1980)
  • Abacab (1981)


The full set is available from this importer Music Direct, for the pretty steep price of $129. But I wasn’t going to let a few bucks get between me and this music in high-rez. Short of getting hold of the master tapes, this is going to be as good as it gets.

Or for more than twice the money, get these along with additional DVD content and booklets in this box set through Amazon

Listening to the ending minutes of Squonk on TotT (pure instrumental segment) brought tears to my eyes. This is one of my favorites, along with Ripples, on this album, both sounded like I’ve never heard them before. Even the remasters from the 90’s plus the upsampling I apply to the ripped media can’t even begin to compare to the clarity of these new SACD’s.
The bass notes in Ripples now are fully there, with ultra-low extension and appropriate levels (better have a good sub though, it will get a workout).
The instruments are much better balanced in Wind and Wuthering. This is a whole new experience of that great album, you will be floored.

The ability of the big center channel to correctly handle the onslaught of the SACD mix is impressive. Don’t know that this album would have quite the same impact otherwise.

This session reinforced why I built up the rig to this level, as I was able to listen to selected portions of these tracks at avg levels of 96db (peaks into >100db) with no, I mean no distortion. Tonal balance remained the same. Got to love ML’s ability to put out SPL’s when set up right.

The discs also include supplemental content on DVD’s. These are interesting interviews regarding the reissues, concert footage as well as 5.1 DTS / DD mixes of selected tracks.

Note that the CD/SACD’s are hybrid multi-layer affairs. So make sure you have a player that can deal with that. My Denon DVD2900 plays them perfectly.

If you are a Genesis fan, you probably already knew about these, but if you are a casual fan of good progressive rock, these are highly recommended for their content as well as their presentation.

If you do not have SACD playback capabilities, I understand Warner will be issuing these in the US as plain DVD-V’s with DTS versions of the multichannel. Should be good, but not reference quality.

More comments later as I listen / watch these some more.
 

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Pfff Jonathan...

read your post, went to my LP collection, almost blindly snaked my arm in the middle of it, look what came out... do I need to comment more ?

:)


Lugano, sure, I understand. My CD collection has every Phil Collins, Steve Hacket, Tony Banks Mike Rutherford and Anthony Philips disc. I even have all the Brand X (Phil plays in that Jazz fussion group).

One of my favorties is 'Smallcreeps Day' by Rutherford, that combined with hackett's 'Spectral mornings' could have been the sequel to trick of the tail.

Are you catching any of the EU tour dates?
 
I am also an old Genesis fan, although keen mainly in their 'first' era with Gabriel.
I feel that somehow bit of the magic and wit left with him. I regard 'Trick of the Tail' as essentially Gabriel because it looks as if it was written and debugged with him and Collins only sang because he was forced to.

So I only got Trick of the Tail and eagerly await 'Selling England by the Euro' etc early next year.

It does sound awesome in SACD, better than the 'definitive' CDs and dare I say better than the LP.

However the general consensus (Quadraphonic forum) is that the remastering is harsh and compressed. I don't agree with that opinion, I would put it next to the Dark Side of the Moon SACD technically.:rocker:
 
...

However the general consensus (Quadraphonic forum) is that the remastering is harsh and compressed. I don't agree with that opinion, I would put it next to the Dark Side of the Moon SACD technically.:rocker:

Updates to this based on months of listening and arrival of the second wave of discs.

The mix, is a bit more compressed than I would have expected from a high-rez target remaster, but I understand they used the same set of 5.1 mix downs for both the Dolby digital and the SACD versions, so they went lowest common denominator.

Still, it is the best I’ve ever heard these pieces sound.

One big note: A lot of people claim they are shrill, and while the highs are on the bright side (I even created a custom EQ profile to tame the highs so I can get the most of out of these), one possible reason many have an issue is that their SACD players bass management is incorrectly set.

For instance, many of the universal players out there that integrated bass management had a problem with high-rez multichnel bass levels.

My Denon DVD-2900 is a good example. If you just use its built in test tones (or even a calibration DVD) your bass will be –10dB off on SACD. That’s huge.
Subsequent models (DVD-2200) had a +10 setting for high-rez sub analog audio out.
Also some pre-amps and receivers let you apply a +10 on the subwoofer analog in to compensate.

Everyone should double-check their players and processors to make sure you are actually getting the full spectrum.
 
...My Denon DVD-2900 is a good example. If you just use its built in test tones (or even a calibration DVD) your bass will be –10dB off on SACD. That’s huge...players and processors to make sure you are actually getting the full spectrum.

Maybe there is something in this theory.
I've got the universal Pioneer (989, highest in that range) and always suspect there is something wrong with bass management.
I've set all speaker levels dead equal, but with some DVDAs the LFE level is all over the place. Easily +10db.:confused:
 
I also love Genesis

but I prefer the Gabriel era stuff. Totally agree with the comments on the remasters. All things considered, its amazing they sound as good as they do. Also, check out IQ. They took neo-prog to a whole new nerve-ah-na.
 
... Also, check out IQ. They took neo-prog to a whole new nerve-ah-na.


Excellent recommendation, as the 'Dark Matter' album will undoubtedly please any Genesis fan. I have all the IQ albums.

If you like early Genesis, check out a band called ‘Watch', you'd swear it was encore tracks from Nursery Crime.
 
but I prefer the Gabriel era stuff.

Box, I read on the Genesis fansite that the Gabriel era box-set won't be out for a while... Conceivably early 2009. Basically, Genesis management thought there was a bit "too much" product coming out at one time, flooding the marketplace, between the box sets, remasters, tour material, etc. (Damn Capitalists!)

BTW, got to see their "last" live performance in LA (2 rows from stage) last year with my brother - it was a blast and something I'll never forget!
 
Just got the 70 - 75 Genesis SACD box

I'll be back with impressions:music:
 
All SACD multichannel -

Tresspass: Not bad for an 8track from the very early 70s
Reasonably discreet placement, sub channel a bit fuzzy, vocals acceptable. Overall an 8/10

Nursery Cryme: Feels to me like a step backwards, both technically and musically. 6/10

Foxtrot: Better than Cryme, still not at 'Selling England' league. 7/10

Selling England by the Euro: Very nice indeed. Crystal clear, multichannel positioning well done. The odd typo here and there (same as Tresspass), good DVD extras. Overall 9.5/10


The reissue interviews I found all worth watching. They help explain what is behind the music.

The LFE channel doesn't sound very good on these versions (not on my system at least). It was a bit better on 'trick of the tail'.
The whole surround experience is certainly not at 'Dark side of the moon' levels, but it is still quite good. These are 'must-buys' for Genesis fans.
 
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Thanks John.

I'm waiting for Camino records in the UK to post the box sometime in the next week or two. EMI had to do another pressing as they ran out of the first run.

I'm most eager to hear Selling England... on my system.

I'll let you know if the LFE is ok or not, as my IB sub is pretty clean.
 
Lamb lies (dies) on Broadway: I'd give it a 8.5

There is something I don't like about this whole set, can't put my finger on it exactly.
The LFE not being quite right is part of it.
A certain harshness of the sound is another part. Especially vocals, they sound very harsh.
Perhaps I need to play the previous CDs and compare them side by side.

I had very high hopes for this boxset, maybe my expectations were unreasonably high....
 

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