Given his already lengthy and turbulent career path through the music business, it's hard to believe that 2003's
Change qualifies as the first proper solo album from erstwhile
Genesis lead vocalist
Ray Wilson. Five years on from that particularly nasty debacle, which saw
Wilson left holding the rope
Genesis fans tried to hang him with while Messrs.
Banks and
Rutherford conveniently looked the other way,
Wilson wisely chose to stick with family for this release, relying on brother and longtime collaborator Steve for assistance. Together, the siblings composed a set of relatively mellow and introspective numbers, rich in vocal harmonies to back up
Wilson's warm tones and often marrying acoustic simplicity with lush strings for a nicely soothing mix. Outstanding examples of this include opener "Goodbye Baby Blue," the haunting ballad "Beach," and the all-purpose radio-friendly title track and "Along the Way." The also-excellent "Cry if You Want To" adds some crunchy riffing to the equation to wrap up the album's stellar first half, after which
Wilson's inspiration seems to taper off somewhat until dreamy closer "The Last Horizon" wraps everything up with a nice flourish. Still,
Change represents a solid comeback statement and promises much for
Ray Wilson's future solo career. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia