...Calling All Stations...
| Calling All Stations | ||||
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| Studio album by Genesis | ||||
| Released | 1 September 1997 | |||
| Recorded | January–June 1997 at The Farm, Surrey | |||
| Genre | Art rockalternative rock | |||
| Length | 67:42 | |||
| Label |
Virgin (UK) Atlantic (US) |
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| Producer | Nick Davis, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford | |||
| Genesis chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Calling All Stations | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Blender | |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Entertainment Weekly | C− |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Tour by Genesis | |
| Associated album | Calling All Stations |
|---|---|
| Start date | 23 January 1998 |
| End date | 31 May 1998 |
| Legs | 2 (1 cancelled) |
| No. of shows | 47 |
| Genesis concert chronology | |
Calling All Stations (stylised as ...Calling All Stations...) is the fifteenth and (presumed) final studio album by English rock band Genesis. Released on 1 September 1997, the album was recorded following the departure of longtime drummer/vocalist Phil Collins from the band in 1996, leaving only keyboardist Tony Banks and guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford from earlier incarnations of the band. Ray Wilson joined the band as lead vocalist for this album.
Of the three singles excerpted from the album, only "Congo" broke the top 40 in the UK. It achieved a top 40 placing in at least three other European countries.Calling All Stations reached No. 2 in the UK. It reached No. 54 in the United States during five weeks in the chart. The album received negative reviews from critics, who chastised its lack of direction.
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, theatrical vocals were more reminiscent of former Genesis singer Peter Gabriel than Collins's more pop/rock vocals. Nir Zidkyahu and Nick D'Virgilio (Spock's Beard) were called in to supply the drums.
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.
Calling All Stations became the first Genesis album not to hit number 1 since ...And Then There Were Three... (number 3 in 1978) in the UK and was the first Genesis album since Selling England by the Pound (number 73 in 1974) to not crack the US Top 50.
Steve Knopper reviewed the album in the Chicago Tribune, calling it "a formless blob of synth sounds" and asserting that new singer Ray Wilson has "no confidence or personality, let alone the vision to stave off his bandmates' meandering ideas". Both AllMusic and Rolling Stone commented that Ray Wilson was a fitting vocal replacement for Collins, 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 likeable elements of either genre; Rolling Stone summarised it as "a Mike and the Mechanics artrock album". In 2014, Stevie Chick of The Guardian dismissed the album as "inexplicable".
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Wikipedia