Finally got the chance to properly sit down with this beast last night and now tonight again. Here are some random thoughts.
Thought the first: The accompanying artwork for some of the tracks is outstanding - I mean, I really love it. (side note: the booklet smells amazing - I'm one of those freaks who loves the smell of cd booklets)
Thought the second: "Entangled" sounds great but it is just too jarring for me that the crunch of "Squonk" does not immediately follow. Those two tracks for me are like "Heartbreaker/Livin' Lovin' Maid" or "We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions". What's worse is the intro to the usually excellent song "Eleventh Earl Of Mar" (which is what does follow) sounds painfully lifeless here. The song improves as it goes on but overall lacks the oomph of the original. The weakest moment of the album for me.
Thought the third: (is that getting pretentious yet?) I adore "Shadow Of The Hierophant" and I'm so pleased Steve has resurrected it in recent years (live DVD with Steven Wilson joining in, etc.) - I'll take any version I can of this stone-cold classic. I really like how Steve mixed in a few of his own Genesis-like tracks with this collection, it really works well IMO. I had no idea this was partially rehearsed as far back as Foxtrot.
Thought the fourth: I love how Steve used his 'police siren' guitar wails from the High Voltage festival appearance in "Hogweed". And I do like Neal Morse a lot, he has obvious fun singing this track (nice to have Stolt there as well but I kinda miss Portnoy's thunderous drums at the end section).
Thought the (firth of) fifth: Is it just my player acting funny, or do the tracks that flow together (Windshield/Broadway Melody and Unquiet Slumbers/Quiet Earth/Afterglow) have a two-second gap? Ugh.
Thought the sixth: Overall I was more pleased with this than I thought I would be. I've heard that Mike Rutherford made some disparaging remarks regarding this release but I have yet to actually see those for myself. If it's true, that's not cool - there's absolutely nothing wrong with ONE ex-member showing a fondness for the past. I had originally heard comments about how the tracks were largely 'carbon copies' - and while that's true to a point, they still sound great and are treated with love and respect. In some ways it was like listening to the Genesis songs in a particularly arranged playlist. In some ways.
Edit - Additional thought (the minor seventh): As much as I truly enjoy this release, make no mistake - there ain't no replacing the original guys, most notably in this case Phil.
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