NEWS IN THE WORLD OF GENESIS - JUNE  2001

Rumors have started circulating that Phil Collins is considering pursuing a new record company in the United States. Collins has been represented by Atlantic Records, a division of Warner/Elektra/Atlantic (WEA), since his debut solo effort Face Value and prior to that as a card carrying member of Genesis since the early '70s.  Adding to the rumors are insiders saying that Phil was disappointed by sales of his Both Sides and Dance Into The Light albums in the U.S.

After Collins' recent resurgence in popularity with an extremely successful greatest hits release, Hits, and the multi-platinum selling soundtrack to the Disney motion picture Tarzan (which also earned him a Golden Globe and an Oscar), it is said that Phil is supposedly "shopping around" for a record company that can build on that resurgence of popularity (something Atlantic has had trouble doing on his last two solo efforts). Collins left his long-time European record company,  Virgin Records, after the release of his moderately successful Both Sides album. He then formed his own label in Europe, Face Value, which is distributed by East West Records (which is ironically part of WEA). Like Atlantic Records, Collins had been with Virgin Records in Europe since his debut solo effort and throughout many of his years with Genesis. Interestingly, Phil Collins is no longer listed on the official Atlantic Records website (as of April 2001) as an artist on their roster. I contacted a representative for Atlantic Records in New York for comment, but she had no comment by press time. Once Collins' departure can be officially confirmed or denied, it will be posted here.

Details Revealed On Phil's Next Walt Disney Project, Brother Bear

Brother Bear, the new Walt Disney project that Phil Collins is writing the soundtrack for, is now officially scheduled for release in 2005. Originally, Disney wanted Brother Bear out by 2003, but due to production schedules that has reportedly become impossible. The film goes into production in late 2001 or early 2002 at Disney Feature Animation Studios in Florida. This is the third project that this group has been in charge of following Mulan and the forthcoming Lilo and Stitch. The Directors of the film are reported to be Aaron Blaise and Book Walker and the producer is Chuck Williams.

Ain't It Cool News reports that "the story is set in the Pacific Northwest before the invasion of the white man. The focus of the story is the son of a great chief who is killed by a bear. The chief, a wise and good leader, accidentally disturbed a mother bear, who killed him thinking he wanted to harm her cubs. Enraged, the young man (featuring the voice of Joaquin Phoenix) sets out to hunt the bear himself when his older brother, the new chief, refuses to form a hunting party right away. In his hunt for vengeance, the young man is transformed by the spirits of the forest into the very thing that he sought to slay...a bear. Seeing the world through a bear's eyes, the young man will learn valuable lessons about the cycle of life...especially when he learns that his brother has finally formed a hunting party, aiming to kill all bears to avenge their father's death...which means him too." Ain't It Cool News is actually fairly credible in the movie world, but obviously this is not confirmed officially.

As for Phil Collins' soundtrack, the following is known (Courtesy of "Sir. Etch-A-Sketch," who is confirmed to be someone inside the Disney Corporation who chooses to remain anonymous). At the beginning of the year, six tracks were performed by Phil Collins for a handful of Walt Disney executives. According to the source, "There was a three and a half minute 'Intro Song' that has yet to be titled. A little over a minute and a half song called "Father's Footsteps". A long 4 minute innocuous whiney piece called "Grizz's Song," which basically is an elevator music twist on "this can't be my destiny" -really not very pleasant. The next two were upbeat and fun, think montage sequence showing the pleasures of being a bear, and these were two parts of the "Fishing Song," each about a minute and a half. And lastly there was the title song called "Brother Bear," a long 5 and a half minute apologetic and learning to live with the past song." The source added, "In all, I feel the songs do not necessarily serve to help make this a better film. Sure for tie in and music CD considerations, it is absolutely important to have the songs and Phil Collins, but frankly the music is some of the worst in Phil Collins' career. And if you remember, I was a fan of his Tarzan work." The source concluded by saying, "It is strange to see Brother Bear moving on the development chart here at Mousedom, but holding it side by side Lilo and Treasure Planet (another forthcoming Disney project), this feels stylistically unevolved."

In addition, I have learned that Disney has played with different "looks" for the Indian boy in Brother Bear ranging from a more manly character to a childish boy. Apparently, they are leaning toward a drawing which apparently closely resembles Mowgli (from The Jungle Book) with a few extra animal pelts on him. World of Genesis.Com will keep you updated as more news and updates become available. Please note: The views of this source do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this site. I would also guess that the song titles listed here are "work in progress titles" based upon the information provided above and may or may not reflect the final song titles for the soundtrack.

GTR To Be Reissued In The USA On Compact Disc

After more than 10 years of being unavailable in the USA, the first GTR album will finally be reissued on One Way Records on May 22, 2001. The album, which was the result of a collaboration with axe-men Steve Hackett and Steve Howe, produced the U.S. hit singles "When The Heart Rules The Mind" and "The Hunter." The CD will be available at budget price (suggested retail list is $9.99) and claims to be remastered (but I seriously doubt it is). One Way Records is an established purveyor of classic rock relics having reissued vintage albums on CD by artists such as Styx, The Strawbs, Trevor Rabin, The Babys, Ultravox, and Peter Banks among others. If previous One Way reissues are any indication, the packaging will be minimal and the remastering (as they call it) will probably mean that they used the old Arista Records CD pressing as the master tape. Still, at under $10, it sure beats paying European CD prices or forking out serious cash on EBay! If you're interested in picking yourself up a copy, be sure to visit the shopping section or simply click here.

Genesis DVD and Broadcast of New 60-Minute Documentary On The Band

Isis Productions, the team which brought us the Classic Albums and The Beatles Anthology series have produced a 60-minute documentary on Genesis, called The Genesis Songbook. The Isis press release for the program says ..... "A 60 minute documentary about the legendary band Genesis. Through archive film, new performance footage and interviews with band members past and present including Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel, we discover the songs that plot their development from leaders of the Seventies progressive scene with albums such as Trespass and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway to becoming household names with the multi million selling albums Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance.  With added comments from journalists, their record producers and fans. It provides a unique insight into the songwriting process and why the band have been able to sustain success for over 30 years." Directed by Bob Smeaton, Producer Martin R. Smith for Isis Productions. The DVD and VHS video (in PAL format) will be tentatively available for sale on July 16, 2001 in Europe via Eagle Rock. A U.S. release is still unconfirmed, but anticipated. more details on this project will follow when known!

Paul Carrack's Shepherds Bush Empire DVD is Finally Available!

After months of waiting, the DVD version of Paul Carrack's 2000 concert tour (recorded last June) is finally available. Released April 25th (PAL/Region 2) and May 18th (NTSC/Region 0), the DVD had been delayed since late last year due to a number of issues. While the video release made it out before the Christmas holidays, the DVD did not. The DVD and video can both be purchased exclusively at Paul's official website. Reportedly, the DVD will include bonus promotional videos! Stay tuned for more details!

Steve Hackett finished 'Outwitting Hitler'

Steve Hackett recently completed work on music for a new documentary. Directed by Chris Ward and shot on location in America, Australia and Israel, Outwitting Hitler is the true story of a Jewish art student living in Poland during World War II who used his skill as an artist to forge Nazi documents. He saved himself and many others from the Holocaust.  As of now, there is no information available as to whether this soundtrack work will be available commercially or strictly be used in the film. The film will be shown initially by the American Showtime network. For information on broadcast schedules etc. click here and search by title for Outwitting Hitler.  For those of us who won't get to see the film right away you can check out some samples of the music here.

Things Are Looking 'Up' For Peter Gabriel

According to the official Peter Gabriel website, he is finally nearing completion of his latest studio album. The new project, called Up, is a rock album and is tentatively scheduled for a Fall 2001 release. Peter added some of the final touches on the project in late December 2000, recording a string section at Air Lyndhurst Studios in London and is apparently still tinkering with it. Up is reportedly in the final mixing stages. Tchad Blake, who has been involved in many Real World projects in the past, is working on some of the mixes with Gabriel. If that wasn't enough, look for Gabriel's digitally remastered back catalog be reissued coinciding with the release of his new album. As a fan, I wouldn't get my hopes up that a Fall release is coming, because on Tony Levin's website he comments that completion of Gabriel's album by this summer seems unlikely. Sadly, I'd expect more delays. I'm sure Peter (and his record company) will push to make sure it gets out before Christmas (which is a major album selling period, obviously).

In the meantime, Peter Gabriel will also appear on the Afro Celt Sound System's third album, Further In Time, with Peter playing keyboards and providing guest vocals on one track, "When You're Falling." The album will be released on June 19th. To order your copy now, click here.

Peter Gabriel Headlines U.S. WOMAD Festival

Peter Gabriel will be performing live at the WOMAD (The World of Music, Arts and Dance) shows in Seattle, Washington from July 27th to the 29th. Gabriel will open and close the U.S. festival, which will feature 40 artists from 22 countries, including Robert Plant, The Neville Brothers, Youssou N'Dour, Yungchen Lhamo, Steel Pulse, The Asian Dub Foundation, and the Afro Celt  Sound System to name but a few. 

Tickets for the festival went on sale May 4th at 10 a.m. on the WOMAD site. WOMAD USA offers a $10 discount on tickets ordered by July 26th. You can also call Ticketmaster and charge by telephone at: (206) 628-0888. Discounted ticket prices are $25 per day or $65 for a 3-day pass (camping packages are also available). The concert marks co-founder Peter Gabriel's first performance at a U.S. WOMAD festival since 1994. It is anticipated that Gabriel will tour in his own right in 2002 for the Up album, but no official plans have been announced.

Tony Banks Is Working On A New Orchestral Solo Project

It has been confirmed that Tony Banks is working on material for a possible new solo album. In a recent interview, Banks mentioned that he would like to do an orchestral album featuring approximately 6 to 8 orchestral pieces written at varying times in his career, all of which are either new or previously unreleased. This orchestral album is expected in late 2001 or early 2002. Once more information is available, we will post it here.

Steve Hackett Guests On New Album By Ian Mosley and John Wetton

Steve Hackett recently made a rare guest appearance on a new project by Marillion (and former Hackett) drummer Ian Mosely and woodwind king Ben Castle, who recently toured Italy in Steve's band. The album, entitled Postmankind, features performances by Pete Trewavas of Marillion on bass and keyboardist Mark Edwards, as well as appearances by Steve Rothery (also from Marillion), Steve Hackett, and John Etheridge on guitar. Mike Lovett and Mike Innes also guest on brass. 

Also be sure to also check out Steve's harmonica playing on John Wetton's new solo album Sinister. Wetton is best known for his work with King Crimson and Asia (not to mention Steve's Tokyo Tapes album). The John Wetton CD can be purchased in the shopping section (in the Steve Hackett section). The Ian Mosley album can be purchased at Steve's official site.

Ray Wilson Plans European Acoustic Tour

Ray confirms on his new official website that he is planning a solo acoustic tour of Europe. The Storyteller Tour, which will include songs from his tenure with Stiltskin, Genesis, and Cut, has 13 shows scheduled for August in Edinburgh and one show scheduled near London with more European dates expected shortly. Wilson is currently writing and making demos for a new solo album. Samples of those demos can be heard on his new site. Be sure to check back regularly with us for details on the new album and tour. For more on the specific tour dates, go to the On Tour Section and be sure to read the new interview with Ray here at WorldofGenesis.com!

Hackett Reissues Tokyo Tapes DVD with added footage and A Midsummer Night's Dream on CD

Steve Hackett Re-issues Enhanced CDs

In March 2001, Camino Records, Steve's own label, announced that many of Steve Hackett's back catalogue titles have now been given the E-CD makeover. Anyone familiar with the Feedback 86 CD will know just how much info is available from the one disc! E-CD editions are now available of Bay Of Kings, Till We Have Faces, Time Lapse, Blues With A Feeling, The Tokyo Tapes, and Feedback86. Because the Steve Hackett catalog (at least the titles Camino owns) have been reissued so many times in the past few years, make sure the version you buy is the new edition. Go to the Shopping Section if you'd like to buy them!

Anthony Phillips Reissues Missing Links Volume II On CD

One of the last hard-to-find Anthony Phillips titles on CD, Sky Road: Missing Links Volume II, was re-released on CD in Europe on May 7th and in the USA on May 8th. The reissue is available on Phillips' Blueprint Records (catalog #: BP329CD). Collectors will note that the reissue has new cover art and digital remastering but no added bonus tracks. Go to the CD shopping section and get yourself a copy!

Daryl Stuermer Wins 4 WAMI Awards; Plans for His Next Studio Album

The Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) held its annual awards recognition ceremony Monday, April 30, 2001 at the Potawatomi Casino's Northern Lights Theater, and the big winner was Daryl Stuermer, being recognized in the following categories:

•       CD of the Year - Another Side of Genesis

•       Artist of the Year

•       Contemporary Jazz Artist

•       Best Guitarist

Daryl's bass player Eric Hervey, and keyboardist Kostia, also won WAMI's in their respective categories.

Daryl will be doing some selective touring this summer. Check out the On Tour Section or Daryl's official website for details. Congratulations to Daryl and his band mates on this great achievement! To buy this CD go to the Shopping Section.

Paul Young's Last Studio Recordings To Be Released In July
 

In July, the band Radio Silence will release their new album, Sirens, on Escape Music in Australia. The album features the last studio vocal contributions from Paul Young recorded just before his tragic death on July 15, 2000 in England from a heart attack. Young had also appeared on the band's debut album several years ago. A European release is also anticipated, but no record label has been confirmed at this point. To read an obituary on Young, click here.

New Paul Carrack Studio Album Confirmed For 2001; Live Album Confirmed For Release

According to an e-mail dated June 7th from Paul Copley, a member of Paul Carrack's band,  Paul Carrack is working diligently in the studio on a new album with plans to release a new single some time this summer. Paul Carrack has also confided that he has written some new material with Mike Rutherford, but a date to record a new Mechanics album has not been set.

Mr. Copley also informed me that Paul Carrack will release a live album in the near future although no official release date is currently scheduled as of June. He expects that the recording will most likely be from the Royal Albert Hall performance on May 4, 2001. Among the guests at that performance were Mike Rutherford, B.A. Robertson, Rod Argent, Nick Lowe, and members of Squeeze. We'll keep you posted.

Nir Z Joins Billy Squier, Styx, Bad Company & Joe Stark

Nir Z, best known to Genesis fans as the drummer who recorded and toured for the album Calling All Stations, joined veteran rocker Billy Squier for a U.S. tour. The tour, which also features arena rockers Styx, Bad Company and blues rock prodigy Joe Stark, will be playing outdoor venues together throughout the summer. For tour information visit the On Tour Section. Nir Z is supposedly working on his own work as well. More details will follow when available.

...And Then There Were None? Are The Days of The Official Genesis Website Numbered?

M3W, the company that hosts Genesis official website apparently went into bankruptcy in May, leaving the fate of the official site unknown. Fans have complained that the site has not undergone any significant changes in nearly six months, and it appears no new modifications will be in store for some time. Sources report that the band could stand to lose quiet a bit on money on the venture, in which they all (Banks, Collins, Rutherford) had a stake. More to follow.... 

Phil Collins Faces 'Urban Renewal' ~ Fans Cringe With Dismay!

Yes, the long-standing rumors are true. Spring 2001 saw the long feared European release of Urban Renewal, a Rap and R&B tribute to Phil Collins. Among the artists performing on the tribute are Ol' Dirty Bastard (of The Wu Tang Clan) on "Sussudio", Brandy and Ray J on "Another Day In Paradise", Deborah Cox on "Something Happened On The Way To Heaven", Lil' Kim with Phil Collins on "In The Air Tonight", Montell Jordan on "Against All Odds" and more. Interesting collection... The only problem is that most modern Rap and R&B fans don't care for Phil Collins' music, and most Collins' fans don't care for Rap! Still, for the comedic value alone, I just have to hear that Ol' Dirty Bastard track! A U.S. release of the tribute is expected on Atlantic Records, but has yet to be confirmed by the record company.

Jonathan King Arrested ~ Mogul Questioned Over Sex Offences

According to a report by the British magazine Q, Jonathan King has been arrested for a second time in the span of less than six months by detectives investigating a series of sex offences. Staines police issued a statement on January 23, 2001 saying that a 55-year-old man had been questioned and was later released on bail.

The pop mogul was first arrested in November 2000 after a police raid on his Bayswater home, in which computer disks and videos were reportedly seized. The raid had apparently followed months of research by the Serious Sex Offenders Unit of the National Criminal Intelligence Service. King was charged with offences concerning three boys aged between 13 and 15, that allegedly took place between December 1970 and December 1971. The writer of UK hits such as "Everyone's Gone To The Moon" was later released on bail and remanded to reappear in court on January 2, 2001, but the date was subsequently postponed until February 13, 2001. No further news was available from Q on the case at this time.

Educated at the top public school Charterhouse, King’s pop career was boosted by his discovery of acts like 10cc and Genesis and his high-profile television productions, including Entertainment USA, No Limits and The Brits. In a statement, King strongly denied the charges, claiming, "I have great faith that the British legal system will vindicate me."