Genesis have a very strange place in music history. They existed outside of fashion, sold an incredible number of records (particularly albums), filled some of the world's biggest venues and launched two hugely successful solo careers. And yet, as has been commented by many music critics over the years, it's hard to imagine the music business would have developed very differently without them (excepting the outstanding solo career of Peter Gabriel) and they have few outstanding songs which have become part of popular culture. This documentary merely confirmed that when it comes to rock royalty and national treasure status, Genesis are way behind bands like The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, Queen and Fleetwood Mac.One of the most glaringly noticeable things about the documentary is the complete absence of any major musicians influenced by the band or famous music critics talking about them. There were a number of talking heads but I honestly had no idea who any of them were (with the exception of a brief appearance by the convicted sex offender Jonathan King, who discovered the band, and the comedian Al "The Pub Landlord" Murray). Even the usually ubiquitous Paul Gambaccinni couldn't be bothered to turn up for this! This led me to think that this documentary was really done on the cheap (which it did look like, to be honest) or it confirmed that few people of any note have anything interesting to say about the band. Probably both. On the plus side, one of the speakers was a quite an attractive posh young blonde woman, which was quite a surprise to see on a programme about Genesis.The Genesis members themselves came over as they have always been caricatured: a bunch of polite but rather dull middle class men. Listening to them talk was about as interesting as listening to a bunch of old codgers from the Cheltenham Conservative Club talking about golf. What was really shocking was how rough Phil Collins both looked and sounded. I never thought I'd feel sorry for someone who's had so much bad press, is worth over £100 million and who wrote the egregious "Another Day in Paradise" before disappearing to live in the luxurious rich man's utopia of Switzerland - but I really did. He was a shadow of the man he used to be.

Genesis has slowly become one of my all time favorite groups, because they managed to adapt and survive. They didn't have a couple of hits and then play those for 20 years, they were able to go and go and write and write and produce hit after hit. Not only as a group, but also Collins and Gabriel. I mean the list goes on and on. For Genesis you have "Abacab", "Invisible Touch", "Duke", "And Then There Were Three", "Self Titled (1983)", and the countless classics from all of those albums. Then there's Collins who had "Face Value", "Hello I Must Be Going", "No Jacket Required", "Disney's Tarzan Soundtrack", and all the hits from those. And then you have Gabriel who has "So", "Us", "Self Titled (1978/80/82), and all the hits from those. That's an incredible amount of talent! Then you have Mike and the Mechanics (which I'm not too familiar with), but the documentary made me want to listen to them. They managed to be together over 20 years, and they were always changing. Whether it was prog rock in the late 60s and 70s, or pop rock in the 80s and early 90s. Any band that can do that, is phenomenal. "Together and Apart" pays respect to each member of a great group, and shows that while a lot of people may just remember Collins and Gabriel, it was all of them that made Genesis the powerhouse that it is.

This was a reasonably good telling of the band's evolution, but missed some critical opportunities. The thing I enjoyed most was that some of the guarded parts of the inner workings and band dynamics were revealed. The Brits are generally quite reserved and don't reveal their true emotions. I believe that Steve Hackett and the import of his contribution were significantly under played in this documentary. I would have opened the documentary with scenes from Steve's current tour: Genesis Revisited II. Mr. Hackett is a prolific songwriter, musician and performer who is presently introducing a new generation of fans to the musical artwork created in the early days of the band. To hear the audience, consisting of new and old fans, erupt at these recent performances serves to underscore Steve's continued contribution to the longevity of Genesis. Beyond Steve's affiliation with Genesis, his playing has influenced guitarists such as Eddie Van Halen, Alex Lifeson, Brian May and Steve Rothery, to name a few.The interviews of those close to the band and industry pundits helped to put the significance of the band into perspective for those who may not be studied fans and devotees.

Genesis is a band started out in public school and went through various incarnations. They were a leading band in the Prog Rock movement and excelled when their lead singer Peter Gabriel started to dress up as vegetables, go for more theatrics and started to gain more attention than the rest of the band.After Gabriel the band decided that the drummer Phil Collins should become a vocalist and in the 1980s following Collins divorce, Collins zoomed as a solo artist and the band became more of a pop/rock band. With the release of the Invisible Touch album they became a super-band.The trouble with this type of documentaries is where bands have had a falling out, you can never get the ex-members in one room. Here Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett rejoin the former band members and reminiscence, talk about the ups and down. You also get various fans talking about the band who despite their prog rock roots became a mainstream worldwide rock band.It is revealing, informative, although many fans of Genesis would know some of the issues raised such as the departure of Gabriel (he deals with in his song, Solsbury Hill) and how the rest of the band reacted with Collin's increasing fame in the 1980s as a solo artist and actor.The documentary covers the solo careers of Gabriel (the irony that his song Sledgehammer replaced Invisible Touch as number 1 in the US pop charts) and Collins as well as the side projects of the other members. One big omission was that after Collins left Genesis, Banks and Rutherford released Calling all Stations in 1997 with a new lead vocalist and that part was not covered.