City Hall, Sheffield, April 17, 1980

City Hall
Sheffield, UK
April 17, 1980
TM Productions

Overall:

Sheffield '80 is one of the best live mixes I've heard on a Genesis boot. The band is in high spirits for this show, perhaps happy to be back in the UK. Phil is a bit hoarse on some of the high notes, but he doesn't shy away from them too often. Good performances abound, especially toward the end. Something to listen for here is the band having some fun with the rhythm on "I Know What I Like" which makes for a surprisingly pleasant listen, even after having heard this extended version hundreds of times. Highly recommended.

Sound: * * * * 1/2
There is a slight hiss throughout and just a bit of artifacting in the cymbals on a few songs, but on the whole, the sound is outstanding.

Mix: * * * * *
Possibly the best mix I've heard on any unofficial live Genesis recording. Rivals Philadelphia '83 closely.

Performance: * * * * *
The band is energetic and playful, especially toward the end of the show, beginning with "Dance On A Volcano".

Raw Notes:

Disc 1
1. Deep In The Motherlode - The thump-thump at the beginning might give you the impression that you're about to hear "In The Cage", but not yet. It seems strange to think that the band every opened a show with a song from ATTW3, but there it is. The sound here is wonderful--near live album quality with just a bare hint of hiss in the quiet passages. Nicely detailed mix. And this is a good performance. I like it better than the studio version.

2. Dancing With The Moonlit Night (opening section) - Phil dodges the high notes in the beginning. Nice ballad-y version. Band uses CP-70 piano instead of 12-string guitar. Great version, but too short!

3. Carpet Crawler - Crowd cheers opening notes. And again on the first sung line. A bit of artifacting in the highs, particulary the cymbals. Nice emotion going into the latter verses. Great intensity! Nailed. "Good evening, everybody!" Sounds like something was edited here, going right into...

4. Squonk - Phil a bit hoarse on the high note "He's a shy, he's a sly one". Good energy. "You better watch out, boy, you'd better watch out!" Tony's CP-70 sounds interesting on this one. "Just a pool of tears! Why oh, why?" Phil in good spirits. Very nice performance. "Well, it's been a while since we played here, innit?"

5. One For The Vine - Mix is so clear, I find myself listening closely to Chester's drumming in the early section. Mike does some interesting bass counterpoints against Tony's piano in the quiet part just before "He walked into the valley". Good intensity going into loud instrumental section. You can tell Phil has moved on to his drum kit during this part. Separate channels for the drummers. Does Phil sing "They leave me no choice" part from his drum kit? Good performance. "I remember my first beer, too!" Story of Albert. Crowd is having fun. "The Duchess was into S&M". Crowd cheers mention of the Duke album. Introduces "Music From Our Album Called Duke"

6. Behind The Line - Comes in quite loud! Very good intensity, if just a hair fast. Full of youthful energy! Segues, of course, into...

7. Duchess - Crowd quiet for the drum machine solo in the beginning. Tony taking it easy on the piano. Breezy and pleasant. Chester begins playing over the machine... and it's into the song proper. Good emotion. "And the street and the odds". Phil definitely getting hoarse here, but giving it his all! Segues, of couse, into...

8. Guide Vocal - Just Phil and the CP-70. Tony slows things down a bit. Synth adds some orchestration. Then bass pedals. Crowd cheers as we quickly move into...

9. Turn It On Again - Rhythm guitar more present in the intro than in other performances. Adds an interesting texture. Nicely done. Phil doesn't yet have his rapid-fire "Turn it on, turn it on...turn it turn it" going yet. Nails the landing.

10. Duke's Travels - Phil gets back on the drums and plays along with Chester on some of my favorite Genesis. The end of an era in a way. The mix is amazing! A bit restrained in the beginning, but technically perfect. Picks up steam as it goes. The rhythm guitar from Turn It On Again re-appears. Is that Daryl? Excellent coming to the climax and final vocal. Nailed! Segues, of course, into...

11. Duke's End - Something seems to be missing on the opening chords of this. But it recovers quickly. Thundering drums! Moving at a slightly fast tempo toward the ending. Nice!


Disc 2
1. Introduction (The Story of Sidney) - Liked to drink. "Come with me to a seedy bar."

2. Say It's Alright Joe - I like the studio version of this song, but the extended pauses in the verses get a bit annoying here. Still, it's good to hear anything live from ATTW3. The choruses are quite nice. Nice extended outro, as well. Crowd likes it. "And now a bit of melodrama". Audience participation. "A bit disappointed to see so many transvestites in the audience tonight."

3. The Lady Lies - Tony must use his whole rig on this song as moves between sounds. Can't hear the audience participating over the music. Tony nail his solo. Who sings the low part during "So glad you could make it?" Daryl wails in lead in the background during the outro. Nails the landing!

4. Ripples - Pleasant intro and verse. Phil's tambourine on the chorus is a bit too loud. Missing Steve Hackett's gentler touch on the 12 string. Again, interesting to hear the CP-70 on an older song. Second chorus is quite nice without the tambourine. Into the ominous instrumental. Daryl does an admirable job with Hackett's weeping solo. Good intensity going into the final chorus. Very good performance, overall. Introduces Frank, the bisexual drum machine. And then the rest of the band. Daryl and Chester get a warm response.

5. In The Cage - Phil starts singing with any thump-thump intro. Building the intensity and speed. Again, the mix is wonderful! Not sure what Tony used in place of the Mellotron here, but it sounds a lot like it, although it seems to lack some of the bottom end. Tony accidentally hits two keys at once during the flurry of notes going into "Rain drops keep falling..." But it goes by very quickly. Daryl shreds as always during "Round... round...". Segues into...

6. The Raven - Never heard Tony miss a note on this one. Excellent performance. Segues nicely into...

7. Afterglow - Still a slightly subdued performance, like on the album. Phil would take this to new heights on the next (Abacab) tour.

8. Follow You, Follow Me - And we enter the encore for this evening. Somewhat similar to the version on 3SL since it came from this tour.

9. Dance on Volcano - Tony's Moog sounds slightly buzzier against the guitars than usual. Perhaps just a bit louder. Nicely atmospheric going into "On your left and on your right" section, building in loudness as instruments fade in. This is a unique performance of this. Phil and band are focused and intense. Cuts off with an extended bridge section going into...

10. Drum Duet - Damn! Fast! Holy $%^^! But short. Segues into...

11. Los Endos - Band has pulled out all the stops at this point. High-speed, high intensity. Amazing as always. WTF? Loud strange sound going into Squonk reprise. Sounded a bit like synth percussion. Ah, the bass pedals! The choir! Amazing that the band is able pull of a great performance of this without the Mellotron, but they always have.

12. I Know What I Like - ...and it isn't the 10 minute version of this song. Oh, well. Another strange sound in the percussion in the intro. Sounds like a steam valve. I wonder what new equipment is being used here and then dropped later. Minor tape glitch, but very short. Steam valve returns during tambourine dance. "I'm just a lawnmower, mate!" Chester (or Phil) changes up the rhythm a bit. Add some interest to a relatively simple song they've played many, many times. They do it again during the "Stagnation" teaser. I've never heard a performance like this one. Even Tony's changing things up a bit during the long instrumental. Even get some light slap-bass from Mike going into final chorus. A surprisingly pleasant listen. "Thank you, good night!"