The Way We Walk – Live in Concert, originally released in 1993 and reissued on DVD in 2001, offers fans an intimate and electrifying glimpse into the band’s We Can’t Dance tour. Filmed over three nights at London’s Earls Court in November 1992, this concert video is a vibrant showcase of Genesis’s remarkable musicianship and theatrical flair.
Continue reading “Genesis – The Way We Walk: Live in Concert DVD Review”‘We Can’t Dance’ in Tampa – The story of the 1992 tour
Tampa, Florida, 17 May 1992. Genesis leave the stage at the fourth show of their gigantic We Can’t Dance tour after just two songs. They leave behind an almost rioting audience. The band had to cancel the show after ‘Land Of Confusion’ and ‘No Son Of Mine’ due to Phil Collins’ throat problems. Luckily enough, this was just a one-time affair. The We Can’t Dance tour became one of their biggest productions in terms of stage setup and venues.
Let’s take a look back at the massive production of the We Can’t Dance tour.
We Can’t Dance
We Can’t Dance*, the band’s fourteenth studio album, was released in 1991. It was another monumental blockbuster and a huge success all over the world. Despite being in the business for almost 25 years, Genesis still reached top of the charts. In terms of sales, We Can’t Dance was one of their most successful albums. It produced four hit singles: ‘No Son Of Mine’, ‘I Can’t Dance’, ‘Hold On My Heart’ and ‘Jesus He Knows Me.’ All of them were accompanied by elaborate music videos. Especially ‘I Can’t Dance’ and ‘Jesus He Knows Me’ stand out for their high production and sense of humour.
Massive venues and Jumbotrone video screens on the We Can’t Dance tour
Of course, this blockbuster of an album had to be followed by a massive tour. Over 60 concerts were planned for North America and Europe in 1992. The band decided to play stadiums, although they were not too happy to play bigger venues. But the idea of playing three months of stadiums instead of ten months of arenas appealed to them. They did not want to be on tour for too long.
Therefore, the stage set up reached another level on this tour. With new technology available, three Sony Jumbotron video screens were put behind the stage so that everyone in the stadium, right to the back, could witness the action onstage. The band rehearsed in the Goodyear blimp hanger in Houston. It was one of only a few spaces that was large enough to accomodate the new stage set-up.
The setlist
Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks were of course accompanied by their long-time live members Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer. The band rehearsed for a few weeks. The setlist included mainly material from the new album. They added a few tracks from its predecessors Invisible Touch* and Genesis* and the inevitable ‘Turn It On Again’ as an encore. A 20-minute medley was played that included the band’s most prominent material from the 1970’s. It was different to the ‘In The Cage’-medley they had played for 15 years and a welcoming change.
Leaving the stage in Tampa, Florida
They started the tour on 8 May 1992 in Texas. On the fourth night of the tour in Tampa, Phil Collins’ voice gave up. When necessary, he had supported his voice with various medical methods on tour. And he knew that a stadium full of fans could sing the songs word by word and help him out. But on that night he could not continue. The band left the stage after just two songs, ‘Land Of Confusion’ and ‘No Son Of Mine.’
But his voice worked for the rest of the tour. They ended the first leg of the tour with a huge open-air show in Knebworth Park in August that was broadcasted on Premiere. In the autumn of 1992, the band continued their tour and played various cities in their home country. Throughout the 80’s, the had not played that many shows in Great Britain. On this leg of the tour they made up for that. The concerts at Earl’s Court in London were filmed for video and later DVD release: The Way We Walk Live in Concert.
Purchase The Way We Walk Live In Concert here at Amazon*
“The Way We Walk”
The tour also produced a double live album, Live – The Way We Walk (The Long And The Shorts). It was split into The Shorts* and The Longs instead of splitting an entire show in its middle. Some fans did not like this approach, but at this point in Genesis history, it was a wise decision. Many listeners knew them for their single hits. Other fans just liked their long and epic songs. In later releases of the double live album, the songs were put into the right order.
Purchase “Genesis – The Shorts” here at Amazon*
Purchase “Genesis – The Longs” here at Amazon*
The tour turned out to be Genesis last with Phil Collins until 2007. It was also the last tour for drummer Chester Thompson and guitarist/bassist Daryl Stuermer until 2007. By the end of 1992, none of them knew. Also, the fans did not know that they had witnessed Genesis for the last time in this incarnation (if they even to to see the 1992 tour). But as we know, the band got together again 15 years later. But that is another story.
Title photo: Genesis Live- Land Of Confusion. Photo taken during the performance by Genesis of “Land of Confusion” in Knebworth, England (August 2nd, 1992). Source: Wikimedia Commons, Manny Hernandez/ CC-BY-SA-2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0).
Listen to live versions from the 1992 gig at Knebworth on “Genesis – BBC Broadcasts” – Get it here!*
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The Longs (1993) – Genesis
After the ‘We Can’t Dance’ tour in 1992, Genesis released two live albums titled The Way We Walk (1992/93). A ‘typical’ Genesis concert from that period was split in two. The first volume, The Shorts contained the hits, the second volume The Longs contained longer epics. Live – The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs was released in January 1993 . It was their last release with Phil Collins before he left the group and the band’s last no. 1 album in the UK.
The second volume of the live release The Way We Walk
All the songs on the live album were recorded on the We Can’t Dance tour in 1992. It starts with an impressive ‘Old Medley’ which incoporates snippets from ‘Dance On A Volcano’, ‘The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway’, ‘The Musical Box’, ‘Firth Of Fifth’, ‘I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)’ and more. The sound of the album is pristine, Mike Rutherford’s and Daryl Stuermer’s guitars are much more prominent than on previous live releases. This shift in sound came with new producer Nick Davis, who had also produced Genesis’ last studio album We Can’t Dance. Daryl only plays guitar on the ‘Old Medley’, Mike plays guitar on all the other tracks of the album and rhythm guitar on ‘Dance On Volcano’ in the ‘Old Medley’.
The medley is followed by ‘Driving The Last Spike’, ‘Domino (Part I: In The Glow Of The Night, Part II: The Last Domino)’, ‘Fading Lights’, ‘Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea’ and the ‘Drum Duet’ between Phil Collins and Chester Thompson.
‘When we came down to the dressing room afterwards the roadies had put down what tonight’s timing was, because it always got a bit longer’, Phil laughs. ‘They put bets on it and see if we were going to break the 10-minute mark tonight. It was definitely the highlight. Tony Banks would debate because he used to go and have a beer, but it was one of the highlights of the show for sure.’1
‘There’s something that happens when you got two drums locked in together’, Chester says. ‘The power is just so amazing. […] Those moments for me were the ones where there was, for a lack of a better word, a majesty to it.’2
Apart from the medley, the other songs come from the most recent albums Genesis (1983), Invisible Touch (1986) and We Can’t Dance (1991).
Their last number one album with Phil Collins
All of the songs sound stronger than on record with Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer playing an important part in it. Chester’s drumming and Daryl’s bass lines on ‘Driving The Last Spike’ lift the song up on another level.
‘Fading Lights’ is interesting as it is only played by the three band members Tony, Phil and Mike. It is a typical long song in band tradition with an extraordinary instrumental part (also way better than on record). The lyrics about fading memories were written by Tony and it almost seems as if Genesis were discreetly saying goodbye to their fans. Was it irony or prophecy that the band really split up afterwards?
‘Domino’ and ‘Home By The Sea’ both sound better than on record because the e-drums are replaced by real drums and there is much more energy in the performance. The ‘Old Medley’ songs that would have sounded interesting as standalone tracks are ‘Dance On A Volcano’ and ‘The Musical Box’. ‘The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway’ and ‘I Know What I Like’ would have sounded very modern between the more recent hits.
Many fans do not like the way the band split up the two The Way We Walk volumes. Nonetheless, The Longs is a great compilation with many of the songs presented in their best versions.
Purchase “Genesis – The Longs” here at Amazon*
Get “Genesis – The Shorts” here at Amazon*
Genesis Music on Amazon*
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