Live and Acoustic

Artist: Ray Wilson
Label: Inside Out U.S.
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Live
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 693723651620
EAN: 0693723651620
ASIN: B000069B48

Release Date: 2002-08-13

Live and Acoustic

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Tracks:

In The Air Tonight
Inside
Rest In Peace
Shipwrecked
Not About Us
Another Day
Sarah
Gypsy
Swing Your Bag
Always In My Heart
Lovers Leap
The Carpet Crawlers
Biko
Mama
Forever Young
Desperado
Born To Run
The Airport Song

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Album Description

2002 release for the ex-Stiltskin/Genesis singer recorded live at the Edinburgh International Festival. 18 tracks. Digipak.

Customer Reviews:

Genesis lost out.......2004-12-01

This album (I still call them albums)along with Ray's other solo albums prove that Genesis lost out! Ray Wilson is a fine singer and songwriter. This live acoustic set is rich, warm, and very well done. Ray Wilson's voice WAS suited for Genesis and is very well suited for this type of material. I've read reviews of the final (or so it seems) Genesis album and, though many of the reviews were favorable, there are quite a few "fans" who felt Ray Wilson was the wrong singer, with a weak voice and no appeal
at all. They bemoan the fact the Ray was not Phil and things will never be the same. Well, so sad for them. They(and Genesis) did not give Ray a chance. With the loss of the bombastic, big headed Phil Collins, Genesis could have gone on to even better (if not bigger) things. Oh well, we have Ray Wilson's solo work to listen to, and we are much the better for it. This album is wonderful, and should be bought and listened to by many, many people.Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford can go on making movie music, or whatever it is they're doing, while Ray Wilson can go on making MUSIC as good as this. By the way, the stripped down version of Shipwrecked is as good, if not better, than the Genesis version. And who sang lead on both versions? Hm, I wonder?

Excellent Acoustic Performance from a Lesser Name Artist.......2004-10-27

The career of Ray Wilson can best be summed up as being as close to a rollercoaster as any career in the 1990s. Ray Wilson rose to fame in the early 1990s as the front-man for Stiltskin. But Wilson is best known for being the vocalist selected by Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford to replace Phil Collins as lead singer of Genesis. As a member of Genesis, Wilson was part of a very underappreciated effort called "Calling All Stations". I personally think that "Calling All Stations" was an excellent album, but the album didn't do well commercially - particularly in the United States. As a result, Wilson took the fall and that would be the only album he would do as a part of Genesis. Despite no longer being a part of Genesis, Ray has kept busy - as a frontman for the group Cut, participating on the Scorpions album "Moment of Glory", and of course a solo career. Ray Wilson "Live and Acoustic" represents a terrific cross section of all of the music collaborations that Wilson has been a part of. It was recorded when Wilson played the Edinburgh International Festival in a true "Unplugged" setting. In fact, this album was also released under the title "Ray Wilson - Unplugged". The result is a performance that gives you a true up close and personal of Wilson himself.

There are several things that make this a terrific performance. First the "Unplugged" setting itself. This is a performance that consists of vocals and guitars - and nothing more. There is no Bass, no percussion. Wilson does use some other vocalists (Amanda Lynn and Steve Wilson) and has some help on guitar (Steve Wilson). But most of this performance focuses on Wilson himself. The "Unplugged" setting works real well with Wilson's voice as he is able to quickly make you forget that there isn't much else besides a guitar on this performance. The second thing is the way Ray will communicate with the audience throughout the show. He gives the audience background on a lot of songs. You will get a real sense of connection with Wilson as the performance goes on. The third is that Wilson really gives you a great cross section of his career and some of the artists that influenced his career. You will hear songs that Wilson did with Guaranteed Pure, Stiltskin, Genesis (pre Wilson and Wilson era), Cut, and solo stuff. You will also hear covers of Bob Dylan ("Forever Young"), The Eagles ("Desperado"), Phil Collins Solo Work ("In the Air Tonight"), Bruce Springsteen ("Born to Run"), and Peter Gabriel ("Biko").

Another nice thing about this set is that it gives you the concert experience. Much of this is due to the intimate setting of the performance that is captured so well on this recording. However, the nice thing is that the songs are presented in the actual order of which they were performed. Many Live CDs make the mistake of reordering the songs or collecting songs from different nights of the performance - the result of this often is a recording that lacks continuity. Not such the case with this collection - the continuity isn't lost at all. In fact you even are told when the main set ends (with "Biko") and when the encores begin. On the "Unplugged" version of this CD, there is one strange thing: "Mama" kicks off the encore set. Following "Mama" there is 3 minutes of nothing (i.e. no sound) before "Forever Young" starts. I'm not sure why this was done. Right before the final song there is 30 seconds of nothing (again no sound) before "The Airport Song". Perhaps these songs are out of order or from other nights (although its hard to tell). Another strange thing is that "Mama", "Forever Young", "Desperado", "Born to Run", and "The Airport Song" are on the same track (i.e Track 14).

Wilson does a good job at using the "Unplugged" setting and is able to pull off many of the covers with some new twists. Wilson's cover of "In the Air Tonight" has no drums - which is a staple of the song. However, the combination of Wilson's vocals with some solid acoustic guitar work make up for the absence of percussion and give a whole new twist to the song. On Wilson's cover of Springsteen's "Born to Run", the acoustic guitar does a great job at replacing the electric guitars - plus Wilson's raspy voice lends itself well to Springsteen. Even on Wilson's cover of "Mama", he nails down the haunting laugh that Phil Collins did perfectly (he must have been able to nail this down from his Genesis days). Wilson has a haunting voice on many of his songs - and as a result it lends itself very well to covering Peter Gabriel's "Biko". The most interesting cover is "Desperado". This is a true a cappella version - there are NO instruments whatsoever used - only Wilson's voice. Wilson's octave ranges again find away to pull this off.

If you aren't familiar with Wilson's own music, this collection will provide a great introduction. "Swing Your Bag", which Wilson did as part of Guaranteed Pure has a true alley-cat/swing theme. Wilson's original (and new) song - "The Airport Song" is a humorous experience about being stuck in an airport (even Wilson points fun at it) - almost a cross between Lou Reed and some folk music. There also is a new song called "Sarah" which isn't bad. There are two terrific Stiltskin tracks ("Inside" and "Rest in Peace") and two Wilson-era Genesis cuts ("Shipwrecked" and "Not About Us").

My CD didn't come with much in the way of liner notes. There are no lyrics included. Musician and production credits are given with some acknowledgements. There is a short writeup (1 paragraph) about Ray Wilson and this particular performance. This is a very good acoustic performance. I'd highly recommend it.

Ray proves he was the best vocalist that Genesis ever lost.......2003-12-09

This is a terrific transitional album between Genesis: Calling All Stations and Ray Wilson: Change. It includes the best of Ray's outings with Cut and Stiltskin as well as incredible versions of Genesis and Genesis related songs. Ray's versions of Genesis classics demonstrate why Tony and Mike chose him to replace Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel. Where this album really shines is in Ray's treatment of his own songs. Ray Wilson should be an international superstar, and probably would be if Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford had the foresight to continue with Genesis and allow Ray to show what he can do as singer and song writer to a broader audience.

a very enjoyable release.......2003-11-14

As one of the Genesis fans who was deeply disappointed by the cancellation of their US tour with Ray at the helm, this collection further deepens my sadness. On this CD, the classic "Lovers Leap" and "Carpet Crawlers" are beautifully interpreted and the female harmonies of "In the Air Tonight" and "Mama" are just plain chilling. Ray's solo material is nicely presented here and hearing the Dylan and Springsteen interpretations just solidifies my respect for his range and talent. The backing duo offers just enough support to his leads throughout the CD and the sound quality is excellent - very raw, yet warm. From the little press I saw regarding "Calling All Stations", Ray certainly had a great attitude about carrying Genesis forward. A pity he wasn't given the chance.

Ray Wilson's Dynamic Comeback........2003-05-12

After a couple of years out of the spotlight, Ray Wilson has returned with a bang. This live acoustic setting is his very first solo album and it spans music from all areas of Ray's career. On this CD, Ray revisits his past delightfully from his days as lead singer for Guaranteed Pure ("Swing Your Bag"), Stiltskin ("Inside","Rest In Peace"), Genesis ("Not About Us","Shipwrecked") and Cut ("Sarah","Gypsy","Always in my Heart"). As you probably now can tell, Ray Wilson has had quite a career already. He also does some superb covers of Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel's solo material as well as songs by Bob Dylan ("Forever Young") and Bruce Springsteen ("Born To Run"). His acapella rendering of The Eagles' "Desperado" shows just how dynamic Ray's voice is (Eat your heart out Don Henley). For good measure, Ray also performs Genesis tracks from the earlier years of the band. His takes on "Supper's Ready" and "The Carpet Crawlers" sound eerily reminiscent of Peter Gabriel while his version of "Mama" knocks Phil Collins in the dirt (Sorry Phil).
Ray also displays a good sense of humor throughout this performance cracking jokes and stories at every chance he gets. The closing track, "The Airport Song", displays Ray's humor at his fullest singing in a mock American/Country-Western accent and even going into a brief Bob Dylan impersonation.

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