I personally like this album. I was a manager of a record store (remember them) and got the album preview a month or so before it was released. I was ready to listen to a Phil Collins - less Genesis album and I really enjoyed it, it sounded so refreshing and new. I was so upset when this album was poo pooed and not given a chance, especially by so called Genesis "Fans". Genesis is JUST NOT Phil Collins or Peter Gabriel......Rutherford and Banks are accomplished songwriters in their own right, and this album showcases it. I love lush productions, keyboard and synth layers along with Rutherfords guitar and bass skills. Ray's vocals worked very well for this incarnation, and its a shame he wasn't given the time to find his trye Genesis voice, so again, GET OVER IT, THIS ALBUM IS GREAT!

Really great album. If Mike and Tony got together and made a new solo collaboration called “BR” short for their last names and brothers in music, it would be held in high regard. With Genesis name it Is held in a box by others and judged unfairly. This is a solid album.

Absolutely spellbinding album. Rich textures and melodies. Wish they would have gone on with more releases...

I lay this album solely at the feet of Tony Banks. The man is and was, one of the premier keyboard players alive today and not the slightest bit of inspiration from him on this one. Yes Phil had the keys to the locomotive of the money train Genesis was on all through the 80's. And yes, Phil left. But the track wasn't taken up and Tony did not push the train forward. Sad, that this is the same man who gave us Riding The Scree's solo, but, we didn't even get something pop-oriented like Deep In The Motlherlode. I stopped listening!

On which Tony Banks joins Mike and The Mechanics. One would think that with Phil no longer in the band that perhaps they would sound more progressive. Well, that was not the case unfortunately. Most of these songs are rather forgettable. Ray Wilson sounds more like one or all of the singers in Mike and The Mechanics than Phil Collins or Peter Gabriel. All that being said, I really like the song Shipwrecked.

I bought this album with little understanding of the changes that had happened inside Genesis, and I probably didn't give the album a fair chance. I put the CD aside for a while and re-discovered it later on. I didn't get into the CD after the first time through. Perhaps it was the second time through that I started to open myself up to Genesis without familiar front man, Phil Collins. Even Phil himself said in an interview that if you could pull any of the three members from the band and it would still be most like Genesis, it was him. Tony Banks is an exceptional writer, and this album really showcases his work. The drummer is outstanding, but still maintains that "Phil" type atmosphere, but is able to really push some boundaries. Congo is certainly the song that most will indentify with this album, and it may be the only song recognized from the album. This is a shame, because the musical and lyrical efforts are no-less Genesis then previous efforts. For those who love to rock out with a great drum beat (ala Tusk, etc), you will love, "The Dividing Line". I find myself listening to this over and over and I'm finding I appreciate it more each time. Other songs might have a slower tempo, but they capture a mood and take you on a ride. There are days when I set up to shuffle this album on my iPhone because it is one of the few I can listen all the way through without the desire to skip to the popular songs. This album didn't get my 5 star rating from the first time I played it. I listened. I appreciated. I warmed. Now, I love. Update: 01-Mar-2016 It has been a long time since I wrote the first review and now I’m updating it for the Remastered version of the album. While, I do not intend to blaspheme, I can say for certain that this has become my favorite Genesis album. Every track gets four or five stars, but it didn’t start that way. It took some time for me to get over my preconceived notions of what a Genesis album should sound like. Phil brought a lot of what was recognizable to the song, but the lyrics and music were heavily driven by Mike and Tony, so they stayed relatively true to the Genesis heritage. Tracks like “The Dividing Line” with their strong guitar and pounding drums always is a great listen. Ray Wilson felt like a throwback to the Peter Gabriel era sound, but he stands on his own and his gritty sound works. I grew to love this album. It didn’t grab me on the first listen, but transitioned into the most listened to album in my library.

As a lifelong Genesis fan I really tried to like this CD. I really did. I have given it many listenings both critical and casual and I just can't get past the mostly pointless and inane lyrics and uninspired music. It sounds a little like a band trying to be progressive. At its best the music sounds like it was produced by a Genesis cover band, at worst, like a parody of the great band. The track Is that what you need, for me is the most listenable track of the lot, but only in the most superficial sugary pop/love song kind of way. I would look for it in a used bin at a record store you shoudl be able to score one for 99 cents which is about what it is worth.

Peter Gabriel has been away from the band for nearly fourt years, Phil Collins left in 1996, and Steve Hackett left in 1977, so with their indefinate hiatus and Collins' degrading health, will Genesis ever get back together and record, or at least tour? Calling All Stations isn't bad at all, but it would be a shame if this was their final album.

I remember when this album came out, I knew Phil Collins had left the band, but I also knew that Banks and Rutherford were great musicians and songwriters as well, so I went out and bought this album with high expectations. That being, I was severely let down. The entire album seemed flat, watered-down and bland. The songs didn't have the energy and enthusiasm as the songs on their previous albums, the musicality didn't seem as strong, and Ray Wilson sounded at his most uninspired, like a typical session guy singing someone else's songs. Perhaps this was due to the absense of Collins, who contributed far more to the band than just being it's singer. His contribution to the arrangements, songwriting, and above all, drumming were sorely missed. And as many have said, and I make no apology for my opinion, Ray Wilson was a poor choice for Genesis. His voice was not that great, very generic sounding, like a typical early 80s singer turned lounge act by the late 90s, and lacked the uniqueness and personality of his predecessors Collins and Gabriel. But even Banks and Rutherford's contributions were not as strong as they once were. Some of the arrangments weren't that good, and some of the lyrics were a bit suspect. Genesis was running out of steam here, sputtering and petering out. They were, at this point, more of a Genesis cover-band with two guys from the real Genesis plus some sidemen. Not a good way for the name Genesis to end on, but we can give them credit for trying. n the end though, Banks and Rutheford, after 30 years together, decided to close the curtain, and bid us adieu.

Chapter 1 - Peter was great, BUT GET OVER IT, HE LEFT DECADES AGO, and let's face it, he needed to go. Chapter 2 - Phil began like Peter (Drugs) but morphed into more commercially marketable music (less drugs) that stands on it's on as great for it's time and place. Chapter 3 - Ray's lyrics are a combination of both though bordering on superficial. Chapter 4 - Hopefully there is one. There is however, one thing that is a constant through it all and that is the signature of Rutherford and Banks with an emphasis on Banks. All the same parts are there for Calling All Stations check the credits. 100% of the music is written by them. The album contains signature radio friendly songs along with more instrumental pieces that harken back to Genesis-Genesis. Top five: Alien Afternoon, The dividing line, Uncertain Weather, There must be some other way, and One man's fool. Worst: Small Talk. Please stop writing reviews that compare the music with older efforts. Allow the group to grow and perhaps we'll be blessed with at least one more....