{"id":1215,"date":"2010-03-29T00:24:24","date_gmt":"2010-03-29T04:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/?p=1215"},"modified":"2010-03-29T01:07:53","modified_gmt":"2010-03-29T05:07:53","slug":"the-watch-impersonation-or-reincarnation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mpomy.com\/?p=1215","title":{"rendered":"The Watch – impersonation or reincarnation?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Simone Rosetti<\/p><\/div>\n

Cover bands. \u00a0Tribute bands. \u00a0“Experiences.” \u00a0Do not get me started! \u00a0Have you never wanted to do something creative? \u00a0Something that was truly yours? \u00a0Do you see your job as, essentially, one of impersonation? \u00a0The only passion that really comes across to the audience is the passion for perfection. \u00a0At best, the performers disappear, or, as is often the case, wear costumes. \u00a0But part of it is still an exercise in impersonation.<\/p>\n

But I am a good one to talk. \u00a0Let us not even, for the moment, mention the dozens of shows by a certain Genesis tribute band that I have witnessed. \u00a0As an audience member I delight in the opportunity to see something I never had the opportunity to witness the first time around. \u00a0And, taken on its merits, the performance is inspiring – sound, vision, composition. But here’s the sick part: I also have audio-only recordings of tribute bands! \u00a0Why not just listen to the original? \u00a0That’s the thing I’ve been listening to for twenty-five years!<\/p>\n

But that’s just it. \u00a0After all this time, I’m looking for something different, another level of genius. \u00a0And when that raw material is in another’s hands, the possibility for “interpretation” or variation is dangerously prominent.<\/p>\n

Well, The Watch<\/a> is your cure for the common tribute band. \u00a0Part of what motivated Genesis (a BIG part) was the desire\/need to write music. \u00a0That push to be creative, to do something new, was, no doubt, a big part of what moved the real Genesis on stage. \u00a0The Musical Box<\/a> has never had that. \u00a0New music has always been explicitly excluded from their mandate. \u00a0The Watch, on the other hand, \u00a0has four studio albums of original material and a live album of that material. \u00a0They are established original artists. \u00a0They have also created two Genesis programs that perfectly\u00a0imitate\u00a0the dominating force of Foxtrot and Nursery Cryme. \u00a0Those records have had a profound, though often overlooked, influence on music throughout Europe, North America and South America.<\/p>\n

Will The Watch have that kind of impact? \u00a0I don’t think so, but one never knows. \u00a0The point is that they are making the music that they want to make, and while it is overwhelmingly influenced by Gabriel-era Genesis, it is also their own. \u00a0Or is this what Genesis would have sounded like if that remarkable quintet had never disbanded? \u00a0That’s a fanboy question for the ages.<\/p>\n

For now, I count myself very lucky to have come across this band from Milan. \u00a0Thirty-eight years ago, Genesis was looking for a break with a live show that they new was good, but it wasn’t getting through outside England. \u00a0Italy was a home for Genesis when they were on the road<\/a>. \u00a0Now, it seems, Genesis has become a musical home for a few gifted musicians from Italy.<\/p>\n

I have ordered The Watch’s two most recent titles from Amazon – Primitive<\/a> and Planet Earth<\/a>. \u00a0I also want to thank Sommutante<\/a> for having an amazing music blog. \u00a0It’s in Portuguese, but it’s pretty easy to see he’s pretty hip. \u00a0And I don’t recommend Google Translate. \u00a0Just listen to the music.<\/p>\n

Shining Bald Heads (5:55) – from Vacuum (2004):<\/p>\n

04 Shining Bald Heads<\/a><\/p>\n

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