The new video & DVD - THE GENESIS SONGBOOK

A look inside the Songbook
The Genesis Songbook video reviewed by Alan Hewitt

It all started with a telephone call one afternoon in the office from the researcher for a project called "The Genesis Songbook" a project which I had not even heard of at the time, but which I would soon become heavily involved with.

Initially I took this telephone call to be someone's idea of a joke but after a couple of further calls I established that these people were indeed, genuine and that I was about to become involved in a fascinating project. Having had a fascination for television and video for years, it was exciting to think that I would be creatively involved in this project. Initially my brief was to assist the researchers in their search for film and video footage which could be used to illustrate the key Genesis tracks which this project was all about. This itself entailed several trips to London (all expenses paid - great!) and a dream come true for me: a chance to actually examine the band's own film archive!

The project soon took on other dimensions for me as I was called upon to actually identify footage and tell the researchers where it came from and actually date several items. In addition to this, the TWR cutting and photo archives were well and truly plundered for accompanying materials. This was heaven for me; here I was actively involved in a Genesis project which was going to be seen by thousands (millions perhaps?) of people. I was still somewhat surprised when, in addition to this I was also informed that the producers also wanted to interview ME for the project to give a fan's perspective on the band. Yes, I thought they had lost their reason too but eventually the day arrived and I was whisked off to Steve Hackett's new studio (still under construction at the time) which itself was the subject of some amusement for me, because the producers were blissfully unaware that this had been the scene of several TWR "triumphs" over the years. The producers got me in the glare of the spotlight and grilled me for about 45 minutes before declaring themselves happy with the "footage" and then I was off back next door to interview Steve Hackett himself; the perfect end to a perfect day really.

That was last September; and even after all of that I was still called upon to help the project from time to time and was looking forward to seeing the finished result. That opportunity finally came this weekend, when an advance copy of the finished programme arrived at my home. Settling in with a cup of tea I set the VCR to play and off we went… The programme itself examines several of the major songs from the band's career and features interviews with all the key players: Ant, Mike, Tony, Peter, Phil, Steve; Daryl and Chester and Ray as well as many other important people in the Genesis story including Tony Smith, their manager for so many years; David Hentschel, John Silver and Armando Gallo, oh and of course… me! Utilising old footage and some new performances specifically recorded by Tony, Phil an Mike last autumn including a truly glorious acoustic Afterglow with just Phil and Tony, the programme manages to tell the Genesis story succinctly and without any undue nostalgia although it was noticeable that most of the conversations were in the "past tense" and this really should be seen as the final word on the band. As such, perhaps to those expecting masses of "new" old footage etc then it will be a disappointment. But before they say that the producers couldn't be bothered to put the footage in let me point out a simple fact; the acquisition of such footage is VERY, VERY expensive; I was told how expensive it was and let me assure you it ain't cheap! Neither are there any new slants on the Genesis story but then again, the Genesis story is one of MUSICIANS, not trendy hedonists. However, as another all too rare look at the band these days, this is another item to be treasured and savoured. I doubt if there will be another documentary of this calibre about the band unless, God forbid, one of them dies, so make the most of it.

Personally, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in something like this and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will always treasure my part in it - look out for it on video and DVD soon folks and enjoy!

Liverpool, UK - 29th March 2001
Alan Hewitt, editor of The Waiting Room