When in Rome 2007 is the video document of the band’s massive appearance on the Turn It On Again reunion tour. After a 15 year absence, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford reunited with longtime compatriots Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson to play 40 shows (20 in Europe and 20 in the U.S.) that featured music from the band’s entire catalog. This tour was significant for more reasons than a simple reunion though as vocalist/drummer Phil Collins has long been retired from touring and the show featured a stage set designed by Mark Fisher (who designed Pink Floyd’s The Wall tour and U2’s Zooropa tour among others).
The band sound great throughout this two-disc set. As a longtime fan I was disappointed at first that this reunion would not feature Peter Gabriel or Steve Hackett as the original rumblings were of a restaging of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. This lineup, yet again, proves though that they are the quintessential Genesis, leaving longtime fans satisfied at the inclusion of a large amount of Peter Gabriel fronted material and later fans satisfied that all the worldwide hits, such as “Invisible Touch,” “I Can’t Dance,” “Domino,” “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight,” “Throwing It All Away,” “Home by the Sea,” “Follow You, Follow Me,” and “No Son of Mine,” are included.
The stage set here is an event in and of itself. It is arced in an odd way and features tons of background video footage with oval big screens on either side. It really enhances the show quite a few times, such as the desperate running man that appears throughout “In the Cage” or the appearances of the puppets from the video during “Land of Confusion” or the dark twinged, ghostly imagery during “Home by the Sea” or even the album cover collages at various points. It brings the songs to life as only THIS band can do. Genesis has no copycats and no peers.
The extra disc included here is a documentary that covers what it actually took to make this tour happen. Directed by David Mallet it contains footage of everything from the design and effects decisions for the $10 million dollar stage to the number of shows Collins was willing to do to whether or not the shows would be stationary 4 night stands or move from city to city as an arena tour to the publicity surrounding the “selection of dates” (including the barrage of “Where are Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett?” questions) , as Collins consistently refers to it, to behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage.
If you are a fan of any Genesis era you should own this DVD.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
