New Genesis box sets repackage old songs

The current Genesis reunion is absent of new music. But that doesn't mean the band can't make you shell out money for music you might already own.

Genesis' impressive but unwieldy 40-year history is getting organized and being attended to by Rhino, resulting in two box sets and a double-CD set of hits. There is also "Genesis: Chapter and Verse," an officially sanctioned oral history of the band, due in the fall. Plus, a DVD and live album documenting the European tour are in the works for release in December.

Any new material is still up in the air.

"It's not like we reformed the band and we're going to get back and do an album," Mike Rutherford told Billboard early this month. "But that doesn't mean we can't do stuff together -- but in a slightly different way. … We're enjoying ourselves, and so we'll talk when we get there about what else we might do rather than map this big, long plan out."

In the meantime, here is a brief rundown of new Genesis products in stores now (or coming up fast).

"Turn It On Again: The Hits" (Rhino/Atlantic)

A two-CD set bounces back and forth through 40 years of material, featuring the memorable ("Misunderstanding"), the obscure ("The Knife Part I"), the unexpected pleasures ("Paperlate") and the irrelevant ("Congo," the sole hit from the single Ray Wilson album). A bonus is the 1999 re-recording of "The Carpet Crawlers," featuring a reunion of Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett with Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, but the set is too top-heavy with Collins fluff from the dreaded "We Can't Dance" days.

"Genesis 1976-1982" (Rhino/Atlantic)

This nifty cube collects both the little-known and hit Genesis albums through its transitional, post-Gabriel phase, starting with "Trick of the Tail," the band's best-selling album at that point, and continuing with "Wind & Wuthering" (1976), "And Then There Were Three" (1978), "Duke" (1980) and "Abacab" (1981). Each CD arrives accompanied by a respective DVD including tour footage from that year, band interviews, videos and other highlights. A sixth disc (slipped into a handsome book) completes the bounty, offering extra tracks including the little-known gem "Paperlate" and the 1977 EP "Spot the Pigeon."

"Genesis 1983-1998" (Rhino/Atlantic)

Another cube, another collection of full albums plus extra goodies. This set surveys the band's years as a commercial powerhouse that ultimately petered out starting with "Genesis" (1983), one of the band's best albums, followed by the blockbuster "Invisible Touch" (1986), the MTV-friendly but irritating "We Can't Dance" (1991) and the nominal post-Collins album "Calling All Stations" (1997) featuring unknown Ray Wilson on lead vocals. Each CD is packaged with an accompanying DVD of rarities, tour footage, television appearances and interviews. A fifth CD collects eight unreleased songs plus a 40-minute live performance from 1983 and an acoustic reunion performance in 2000. In stores Oct. 2.