My favorite musical group has always been Genesis. The first cassette I ever purchased was "Abacab", by Genesis. I now have all their albums, and am looking forward to their next. They have an interesting history, with several member changes over the years.

Genesis announced June 6, 1997 that their new singer would be Ray Wilson. Ray was with the band for their most recent studio album, "Calling All Stations". The album didn't do as well as they wanted, and an American Tour ended up being scrapped. In interviews, Tony Banks has now stated that Ray Wilson will not be returning with the band in any future studio work, if there is any.

Until early 1996, Phil Collins was their lead singer and drummer. Phil left the band to persue other opportunities, including writing and recording movie scores, jazz, and big-band music. The two other famous artists who have been members of Genesis, but have left are Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett. Genesis, thankfully, has always been a band where each of the members have made significant contributions to both the writing and performing of their music. Thus, when I have been exposed to members' work outside of Genesis, it has usually impressed me. Phil Collins did a lot of solo work while a member of Genesis. He was also a member of a band called Brand X. Mike Rutherford did some solo work, and is now also in a band called Mike and the Mechanics. Peter Gabriel, after he left Genesis, had quite some success as a solo artist. Tony Banks has been sucessful with movie scores, and has also released several solo albums. Steve Hackett has been in a number of groups since his departure from Genesis, as well as releasing solo material. All in all, the musicians who have been with Genesis have been a pretty prolific bunch. I look forward to hearing each of their next projects.

There has been alot of discussion of Box Sets in the past few years, and Genesis released two several years ago. Phil had stated at one point that he would rejoin the group for a tour if such a tour is launched to promote the box set. He also stated that Peter Gabriel might do the same. Let's hope this is a true rumor.

Well, the rumors were true! Phil Collins has re-joined Genesis and they agreed to go on tour in 2007. I got to see them in person for the first time ever at Quicken Loans Arena! I will post some pictures here from the concert later. They have now released a live album from the European leg of the tour which, in my opinion, does a very good job capturing the essence of the concert. I've provided a link here to pick up the album from Amazon.com, one of my favorite online shops.

The Genesis Movement is one of the most complete musical resources I've found on Genesis and their music.