Platinum Collection

Disc 1
1	No Son of Mine 6:35
2	I Can't Dance 4:00
3	Jesus He Knows Me 4:17
4	Hold on My Heart 4:37
5	Invisible Touch 3:28
6	Throwing It All Away 3:50
7	Tonight Tonight Tonight Edit 4:29
8	Land of Confusion 4:46
9	In Too Deep 4:56
10	Mama 6:48
11	That's All 4:25
12	Home by the Sea 5:07
13	Second Home by the Sea 6:06
14	Illegal Alien 5:17
15	Paperlate 3:23
16	Calling All Stations 5:45
Disc 2
1	Abacab 6:55
2	Keep It Dark 4:34
3	Turn It on Again 3:51
4	Behind the Lines 5:43
5	Duchess 6:06
6	Misunderstanding 3:13
7	Many Too Many 3:34
8	Follow You, Follow Me 4:08
9	Undertow 4:46
10	In That Quiet Earth 4:55
11	Afterglow 4:08
12	Your Own Special Way 6:18
13	A Trick of the Tail 4:35
14	Ripples 8:08
15	Los Endos 5:46
Disc 3
1	The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway 4:49
2	Counting Out Time 3:36
3	The Carpet Crawlers 5:01
4	Firth of Fifth 9:28
5	The Cinema Show 10:48
6	I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) 3:53
7	Supper's Ready 22:51
8	The Musical Box 10:24
9	The Knife 8:53

Barnes & Noble

In the nearly three decades of their existence, Genesis went through a rare, wholesale stylistic change that left the group with two distinct musical personalities. As fronted by original vocalist Peter Gabriel, the quintet was a prog-rock juggernaut given to complex lyrics, lengthy compositional flights of fancy, and fantastical stage shows. And while drummer and replacement frontman Phil Collins started out on a similar path following Gabriel's 1975 departure, by the time Collins himself left 21 years later, the then-trio had morphed into a global hit-making machine whose proggier tendencies bubbled up only amid the deeper album cuts. As such, this three-CD anthology -- the first-ever comprehensive Genesis retrospective -- nicely compartmentalizes the band, both for fans of their hits and for prog diehards. Disc 1 focuses on the mid-'80s forward, beginning with material off their breakthrough, self-titled 1983 album, including the resigned "That's All," the sinister "Mama," and "Illegal Alien," a lighthearted yet pointed think piece on undocumented immigrants trying to cross the border. But Genesis always showed an impressive range, dishing out punchy pop hits like "Invisible Touch" and the yearning "Hold On My Heart" as well as songs spiked with topical commentary (e.g., the crooked evangelists at the heart of "Jesus He Knows Me") and those revealing the group's art-rock roots (the synth-soaked and occasionally ethereal "Home by the Sea"). If there were a '70s prog-rock primer, then Disc 3 would make up a substantial chapter, thanks to Gabriel's fervent imagination and the band's instrumental prowess. The closest this incarnation of Genesis comes to the outward melodicism of their later years is the lush title track from the 1975 concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, its complex rhythms comparable to Yes's Chris Squire/Alan White tandem, and the Beatlesque "Counting Out Time." Most of the songs, however, boast intriguing time changes and suite-like structures, such as the 20-plus-minute epic "Supper's Ready." Disc 2 serves as a bridge between the two sides of Genesis's musical personality. Classic rock fans will sup on staples like the angular "Abacab," the anthemic "Turn It On Again," and weighty yet non-schmaltzy ballads like "Follow You Follow Me" and "Your Own Special Way." In addition, they'll be exposed to bite-sized prog pieces, such as the very Yes-like "Behind the Lines" and the gorgeous "Ripples." Given the twists and turns of Genesis's career path, Platinum Collection is an artfully laid musical buffet, allowing fans to pick, choose, and sample whichever sounds suit their fancy. Dave Gil de Rubio

All Music Guide

Platinum Collection is a triple-disc covering the biggest hits and anthems from Genesis' career. Not a bad idea for a set, especially because it does contain the relatively rare non-LP single "Paperlate," but it's not necessarily executed as well as it could be. First off, there are the inevitable omissions, highlighted by such Genesis standards as "Man on the Corner" and "No Reply at All," but also extending to such smaller '80s hits as "Just a Job to Do" and "Anything She Does," not to mention various album tracks, particularly from the Peter Gabriel era. Nevertheless, Platinum Collection handles the Gabriel years better than 1999's Turn It on Again: The Hits, primarily because it has the space to stretch out and serve up a full disc of early Genesis, and while "Watcher of the Skies" is missed, it's hard to argue with any Gabriel comp that includes "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway," "Counting out Time," "Carpet Crawlers," "Firth of Fifth," "The Musical Box," "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)," and a full-length "Supper's Ready." Actually, that's not entirely true -- there is one complaint that can be lodged against the Gabriel disc and that can be lodged against Platinum Collection as a whole: it's sequenced in reverse chronological order (with the notable exception of the post-Phil Collins cut "Calling All Sections" being tucked away at the end of the first disc, since there's absolutely no way that even the most devoted Genesis fan would stick with rest of the comp if it began with that tune). While it's not a fatal blow to the value of the compilation -- this does, after all, contain most of the songs casual fans would want in one handy little set -- starting with We Can't Dance and slowly rolling back over the years makes for some uneasy listening, since the reverse order not only prevents the album from gaining momentum, it doesn't provide any new insights to the band's work, the way that Jimmy Page's non-chronological sequencing on the Led Zeppelin box did. If the entire set was flipped around, beginning with "The Knife" and ending with "No Son of Mine," it would be a better listen as an album, but as a clearing-house for most, but not all, of the big Genesis songs, Platinum Collection is worthwhile for casual fans. Stephen Thomas Erlewine