2002 CD Inside Out Music 6516
2005 CD Inside Out UK 454052
2002 release for the ex-Stiltskin/Genesis singer recorded live at the Edinburgh International Festival. 18 tracks. Digipak.
Ray Wilson's short stint as lead singer of Genesis propelled him to
stardom, but the fact that the group's last lineup failed to catch on
(prompting a disbanding that seems to be definitive) will remain
attached to his resumé. Live and Acoustic documents a series of
solo concerts in 2001. For Genesis fans, it partly fills the gap left
by the lack of a proper live album documenting the group's final tour.
Accompanied only by his brother Steve Wilson (guitar, vocals) and
Amanda Lyon (vocals), he presents a selection of songs from his various
projects, plus a few covers. The acoustic setting establishes an
intimate atmosphere, but it can bite back if you don't choose the
repertoire accordingly. When stripped of their full instrumental
buildups, Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" and Genesis' "Mama" are
left highly repetitive and empty. The versions of "Inside" and "Rest in
Peace" (off the only CD by his group Stiltskin) work a lot better. From
his Genesis album, Calling All Stations, he picked "Shipwrecked" and
"Not About Us," both elegantly performed. There are also three tracks
from the Cut project, and two of the Peter Gabriel-era Genesis tracks
performed during the 1997 tour. The Dylan, Eagles, and Springsteen
covers feel like the obligatory fillers in the set list of an artist
who has been pushed under the spotlight quicker than he could write
songs. For fans only.