I often wonder how incredible Genesis could have been after Calling All Stations.

If they only gave it a chance.

If only anyone gave it a chance, actually.

And unfortunately, I count myself in that group, too.

I bought Calling All Stations when it came out. I wasn't impressed, but then again, I didn't spend much time with it either. I just brushed it off. And I completely ignored them when they came to Poland on that tour.

I regret it now. Not just not seeing them. I regret not supporting them more at that time. Part of me thinks that if I did, if I went to see them, if I praised the album more, perhaps things would have been different. Perhaps my insignificant voice would have actually made a difference...

Over the years, Calling All Stations grew on me. In fact, it slowly carved a solid place for itself among my favourite Genesis albums, right next to A Trick of the Tale and Duke.

I came to love it so much that today, I also regret that we'll never know how incredible Genesis could have become over another one of two albums, had they done them.

And the signs were there already.

Yes, Calling All Stations isn't as coherent as their work with Collins, for example. But we have to remember that they had more than plenty of time to gel together. And more than once, at that (i.e., like after Gabriel and Hackett left.)

But to see what they could have become, we need to first consider Genesis for what they always were, the sum of all parts.

Regardless of whether they created music in trio or all five of them were in the studio, what they wrote was a result of the combination of the unique elements that each of them brought.

And you can clearly tell what these elements were by looking at what each of them did on their solo albums.

Collins had that pop sensitivity with a bit of funk underneath. I agree that it took a while for it to fully come through. But once it did, we got a string of absolutely amazing pop-infused albums, from Duke onwards.

Banks was all about structure. He could write nice melodic parts but catchy tunes were never his strong suit. I am not even surprised that he eventually abandoned rock for classical music. And even there, his pieces are more about structure than melody. It's just who he is.

And Rutherford? Well, he was all about that rhythmic flow. It's what his records with the Mechanics are based on, too, after all. He's good with melodies but again, not on the Collins' level.

And so, with Collins went that pop sensitivity, and you do feel that on Calling All Stations. But it doesn't mean that Wilson had nothing to offer.

Quite the contrary.

His solo post-Genesis albums reveal where his artistic sensitivity lies. His music is more perceptive, very close up, mellow, I'd even call it introspective at times. And he certainly brings up a lot of darkness in his songs. His voice pretty much calls for it, anyway.

Listen to tunes like the title track or Beautiful Child on Change, his first proper post-Genesis album. They're dark, mesmerizing, mellow and incredibly beautiful pop songs. They flow so amazingly nice, feature solid melodic lines and choruses you remember after the song is over, and never get boring even for a second.

The Fool in Me from his second post-Genesis album, The Next Best Thing, is even better. It's a clever song, with intriguing instrumentation and a really catchy melody underneath.

Lately on Propaganda Man has real intricacies to it that make your ears perk up.

Some of that already shows on Calling All Stations.

The title track's vocal melody has Wilson written all over it.

Not About Us could have easily been on any of his solo records. It's one of the moments where his sensitivity and knack for writing very simple but beautiful melodies fully come through. Well, there is a tiny bit of Mechanics in that track. Rutherford is a co-writer here, and that blend of the two sensitivities works so amazingly well here.

The opening melody of Uncertain Weather is unmistakably Wilson, too. Once the keys come in, it's all Banks. But there is no mistake who wrote the opening.

In contrast, the closing track, One Man's Fool shows very little Wilson. It's not his way of writing melodies. To me, it sounds closer to Banks' solo records.

However, I don't think Wilson ever got the chance to explore his role in the band fully. Not to mention, getting enough time to blend his sensitivity with those of the other two.

His post-Genesis career shows his sticking to that darkness. Changes, The Next Best Thing, or Propaganda Man are fantastic, dark, but also intimate and simpler records.

Based on what I hear on them, I can't help but think what future Genesis records with Wilson would have sounded like if they had given themselves a chance.

But we know they didn't.

They played the European tour in 1996 (and I missed it!), and that was it.

We know that, even though Wilson's original contract was for two records, they never went to the studio again.

We also know who called it a day.

Mike Rutherford admitted it in 2019:

I just felt that the mood had changed, and what Genesis needed to do then to make it work, was go back to the early days, and do album, tour, album, tour for about four or five years, you know, to get it back established again. And I just felt I couldn’t do that.

And that was it.

Pity. Real pity.

And listening to Calling All Stations today, I can't help but regret what amazing music we'll never hear...