Something Else! sneak peek: Genesis’ Ray Wilson, “Mama” from 20 Years and More (2014)

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Ray Wilson took the stage last year with an eye on framing his legacy, both in Stiltskin and in Genesis. But the Polish Radio Hall concert, being released in April as part of a first-ever video project called 20 Years and More, also gave Wilson a chance to revisit select favorites from outside his own tenure in one of prog’s best-known bands.

We get a taste of that with the lead track from this forthcoming CD/DVD release — an emotional update of 1983’s “Mama,” Genesis’ best-charting single ever in the UK. Wilson deftly modulates from a string-driven middle-section (sounding gruff but melodic) into the song’s open-throated final cries, even as a thunderous 10-piece band adds new shadings to the original’s nervy three-piece presentation.

Elsewhere, Stiltskin’s UK charttopper “Inside” is featured, as is “Constantly Reminded,” “Show Me the Way” and “American Beauty.” Wilson also offers selections from the underrated 1999 Cut_ album Millionairhead (“Sarah,” and the show-opening “Another Day”) as well as more recent solo items like “Easier That Way,” “She’s a Queen” and “Wait for Better Day” — all of which were part of Wilson’s most recent album, 2013’s Chasing Rainbows.

Of particular interest to Genesis fans, of course, are his darkly committed takes on the title track and “Congo” from Wilson’s 1997 studio effort with the group. In addition to “Mama,” he also explores several other songs from before his tenure — including “Carpet Crawlers,” which Wilson recently reworked with fellow Genesis alum Steve Hackett; “Ripples,” “That’s All” and “No Son of Mine.”

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Nick DeRiso