Venue: Madogs, Edinburgh                 Date: 22nd August 2001

Set list: Wish You Were Here; Follow You Follow Me; Shipwrecked; True Story; Rest In Peace; Lovers' Leap (Suppers Ready); The Carpet Crawlers; Inside; In The Air Tonight; Forever Young; Sarah; Swing Your Bag; Gouranga; Another Day; Always In My Heart; Gypsy; Biko.
Encores: Mama; Born To Run.

One of the more interesting musical events at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival was a residency by Ray Wilson titled 'The Storyteller Tour'.  Ray originally came to prominence through his stint singing with Stiltskin, who had a number one hit with 'Inside' (which was also successfully used for a Levis' advert). However, for many folk he's better known (so far) for stepping into Phil Collins' shoes when he quit Genesis.

Sadly, after a promising start, it all seems to have fizzled out for Genesis, so Ray has struck out alone with this series of acoustic gigs in an intimate setting, to promote his forthcoming solo album and play a few of the songs that have inspired him along the way.

It was the Genesis connection that drew me to his show and, sure enough, there were a handful of the band's songs played, although only one - 'Shipwrecked' - from the album that Ray recorded with them.  What surprised me though, was how good songs like 'Carpet Crawlers' and 'Mama' sounded in this acoustic setting.

The two hour show included a mixture of new material and covers of old classics and, although I'm sure Ray would agree that his new material is unlikely to be considered 'prog', it was refreshing to listen to a contemporary performer happy to cite prog rock as one of his influences, and play the songs with a genuine enthusiasm and affection. But it wasn't all prog, and the covers included classics by Dylan and a knockout rendition of Springsteen's 'Born To Run'.

The intimate setting also allowed Ray to spend time between songs chatting about his experiences on the road and in the studio, and tell us some highly amusing stories about life with Genesis that are very unlikely to ever make it into an official biography!  It's a shame he never got a chance to record a second album with them, as his throaty vocals brought something new to their sound, but then I guess it's their loss and our gain as Ray now has the freedom to write his own material - and if this showcase is anything to go by then his forthcoming album sounds promising.

Ray was joined by his brother Steve to flesh out the guitar sound on some of the songs, as well as a singer called Amanda Lyon, who's distinctive voice was a good accompaniment for Ray's - especially on the new material.

All in all, this was a most entertaining evening, with a satisfying mix of the old and the new and good-humoured banter between songs, and if The Storyteller Tour comes your way then I'd recommend you pop along to it and lend your support to this talented bloke.

John Stout
ps - if anyone knows where I can find a copy of the Stiltskin cd Mind's Eye, please email me as I've trawled all the second hand shops with no luck.