Genesis – ...Calling All Stations...

Well, at least it doesn't have Phil Collins. Points for that

This album has some good stuff. Track 7 onward is good. Track 1&2 are meh. Tracks 3,4,5&6 are in various ways problematic. The lyrics for "Shipwrecked" don't match the music. "Why'd you say you want to be with me and the next day say you don't?". I can't help but roll my eyes on that one. Then "Alien Afternoon" is...idk. It just feels kind of random. The lyrics probably make perfect sense to whoever wrote them but they sound to me like they were written as an homage to The X Files, which I'm sure is flattering for the TV shows' writers and producers etc but I'm not interested in hearing other people's hero worship. That may not be what the song is, but that's the only logical summation I can see. The music itself, there's nothing wrong with it, per se, it's my kind of thing, but it's just dull in its composition and delivery. The vocals are probably the most lively thing about the song if you disregard the limp melody and vapid lyrics. Then it gets worse. "It's not , it's about the loneliness we feel". Ya, this just in--- "we" is another way of saying "us". It's got the ingredients of a good song. If the band were willing to go all in and see this song through to its fullest potential it'd be great, but instead it just sounds annoying. "If That's What You Need" is ok...it drags on longer than it has any reason to. Track 7-11 are not emotional outpourings or catchy bops. They're just really atmospheric and engaging. If only they'd expounded on it and left off the imitation pop songs. They struck gold when Phil Collins started contributing more to their songs, but without Phil Collins, they should have just stuck with what they were good at before Phil Collins became prominent in their songwriting. This album attempts to follow a template they succeeded with in WE CAN'T DANCE, a combination of more artsy material mixed with some radio ready material but the radio ready material here just isn't even close to being good enough. I realize radio has some garbage on it, but the garbage that's on the radio is not trying to be anything else. When a soulful breakup song is heard on the radio, it's either gotta be really good or nobody ever hears it. If you think "Said I Loved You...But I Lied" by Michael Bolton or "Believe" by Elton John are garbage then I'm really questioning what your standards are. Granted, those songs are not as poignant as other pop songs but they're not garbage. "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" by Sting and U2s "With Or Without You" accomplish something akin to what it appears these guys were trying to accomplish....