The Spectrum, Philadelphia, November 27, 1983

A Phantastically Phabulous Philly
The Spectrum Philadelphia
November 27, 1983
Pre-FM
The Coaster Factory

Overall Rating :
I'm not sure how much work the Coaster Factory project put into remastering this Pre-FM recording, but it's one of the best ever Genesis boots. Sadly, since it was meant for radio, it's not the complete show, missing the Drum Duet, the Old Medley and Whodunnit, but it's by far the best recording from the tour. Phil's audience chats are edited which is good for repeated listening. Some of the performances of older songs surpass those on Three Sides Live. Genesis should consider releasing this as a lost live album. CD Package also has some excellent artwork available at http://genesis-movement.org/.

Sound: * * * * *
One of the best sounding Genesis boots ever.

Mix * * * * *
Perfectly balanced. Great work.

Performance: * * * * *
The band were at the top of their game here. The performance is tight and energetic.

Raw Notes

Disc 1:

1. Dodo/Lurker - Great performance. Crowd is strangely quiet early in the show. May be the mix? Phil is at his vocal peak during this tour. Very tight. Phil has fun tweaking the lyrics. Tempo slows slightly during Lurker. Like Three Sides, segues into...

2. Abacab - Energetic. Phil tweaks a lyric again. Amazing that the instrumental section stays the same from show to show given its improv feel. This version is more solid and consistent than Three Sides Live. Nailed. May well be the best recording of this song. Tony makes a change (or lucky mistake) right at the end.

3. That's All - Crowd comes alive. Good response. Very good performance.

4. Mama - Not much reverb on the drum machine. Makes for less atmosphere, but reveals the other instruments. Crowd cheers the evil laughs. Guitar sounds great! Again, the band nails it! Later tours never quite reach this level of intensity for this song.

5. Illegal Alien - Shortened introduction from Phil compared to audience recordings from the tour. Who is singing backup in the last chorus?

6. Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea - Again, shortened intro. Simmons drums either misfire slightly at the beginning of Second Home or Phil misses a note or two.

Disc 2:

1. In The Cage / The Cinema Show - The first half of the famous Cage Medley. During the "Outside the Cage I see my brother John" section, there is a loud digital delay on the vocal. Phil tweaks the lyric again... "Pinned for kill" becomes "Dressed to Kill". Daryl's lead guitar always shines during the "round... round..." section. Cinema Show seems to be missing a little bass in the mix at the beginning. May not improve on Three Sides, but definitely threatens to.

2. ...In That Quiet Earth/The Raven - The Cage Medley continues. By the time we get here, the audience, who are almost certainly there to hear That's All, Abacab and Mama, are sitting in stunned silence. Tony weaves his magic around the rest of the band. This version of the Medley contains some of my favorite Genesis music and this is a great performance of it.

3. Afterglow - The Medley concludes in high drama. After many years of playing this song, the band soars through it yet again, effortlessly. Medley nailed.

4. Keep It Dark - An under-appreciated song from Abacab. The live version improves on the studio recording. Feels warmer. Nice reverb on the vocal during the "I wish that I could really tell you" sections. A brief key change right at the end, segues nicely into...

5. It's Gonna Get Better - Another under-appreciated song, though it might have been more at home on one of Phil's early albums. The band performs the 12" version on this tour. As far as I know, the shorter LP version was never played live. Tony's CP-70 piano is more up-front than on the studio recording. Chester's loud CRACK percussive sound isn't as intense as I remember it live.

6. Los Endos - A little surprising without the Drum Duet which was almost certainly played, but edited out. I have yet to hear a bad version of this jaw-dropping instrumental. It doesn't seem to change much from tour to tour, even with the variations in Tony's keyboard rig over the years. Except for the missing Mellotron choir (replaced here by 1983 technology) , this could have been recorded on the Trick of Tail tour. Makes a great finale as always. Nailed.

Encore:

7. Misunderstanding - Strange now to think of this song as being part of the encore. But it was a hit here in the US. Again nearly identical to Three Sides Live. Except it segues into...

8. Turn It On Again (with That Damned Oldies Medley) - Yes, we all need somebody to love. Genesis plays covers of songs that inspired them. This recording was released as a 12" b-side.

The Omni Centre, Atlanta, December 13, 1983

Omni Center
Atlanta, Georgia
December 13, 1983

Overall:

After Phil introduces Daryl and Chester, a woman inexplicably says the word "Spandex", but I can't imagine who was wearing it. I wanted to begin with this tape because it's the closest thing I have to a recording of the show I saw on the next evening, Dec-14-83, in Jacksonville, FL. This is a good audience recording from a tour that's under-represented in bootlegs.

Sound: * * *
There is some high end distortion and a bit of flutter in places. But the instruments and vocals are all well-defined. There's a great deal of talking which I find entertaining at times, a bit like being in the crowd. It's mostly the taper himself and his female companion.

Mix: * * * *
Overall the crew's mix is quite well balanced. Curiously, Tony drops into the background on occasion and we get an unusually good listen at the guitars. A mixing flaw, but interesting to hear. The only technical glitch I noticed was a few missing beats from one of the Simmons drums at the beginning of Second Home By the Sea.


Performance: * * * *
I would be surprised to find the band having an off-night on this tour. They really were at the top of their game. Misses earning five Alberts only because of a mediocre performance of "Follow You, Follow Me" and "That's All".

Raw Notes:

1. Dodo- First minute or so missing. Typically great performance. Phil is in very strong voice. Crowd cheers when he belts out "I'm back in the sea!" Couple dropouts. (Woman: Are you gettin' a bootleg?)

2. Abacab - (Man: ..."rocking back and forth" "Nows he's holding it up like here. They're not doing anything about it.") Crowd cheers intro to extended instrumental, probably the lights. Drums and bass get heavy toward the end, almost like a short solo as keys and gtr drop out briefly. Not sure if was intentional. Crowd cheers. Great performance.

3. Phil talks - Lots and lots of new songs! (Man: Bullshit! BOOO!).

4. That's All - Good performance.. very album-like

5. Mama - Crowd claps along w/ drum machine. Chatters. Crowd really into laughs! Song was fresh and new. Strong. (Man: "The lights move, look at that!")

6. Phil talks: Hey you! ... we got out all our old albums... then we put them back. A little of this, a little of that, a little of the other. Made this kind of thing. (Man sings: Lammmb lies down doowwwn on Broadway..)

7-9. Eleventh Earl of Mar --> Squonk-->Firth of Fifth. Daryl's Firth gtr solo doesn't begin to follow the original until the end, unlike 92 when it follows Steve's original nearly note for note for the first minute. Phil sings the final section of Firth on this tour for the last time.

(tape flip)

10. Phil Speaks. (Woman: "perfect.. perfect"). Fugitives from justice.

11. Illegal Alien - Crowd claps along. Very similar to album version. (Woman: "That would spoil it, now wouldn't it?")

12. Man On The Corner - The high-end distortion gets bad here. But it's an excellent emotional performance, superior to the album. Mix is different... Mike does gtr solo toward the end. Drum machine continues for a while at the end... right into...

13. Whodunnit. Ack. Interesting use of vocal delay not on the album. Phil ad libs a little at the end. (Man: "It's dumb! We know we know we know.... it's bullshit.")

14. Phil Speaks. The Other World. (Woman:"OOh, scary!") Phil: If you're sitting next to somebody in the Other World. You'd better watch your ass... your buttocks.

15. Home By The Sea - Crowd cheers first instr break.. probably lights again. One of the Simmons drums doesn't trigger for the first several seconds of Second Home, or is perhaps not up in the mix at first. Close to album version. Mike has a very cool crunchy guitar sound here. Deviates from the album during the end of Second. Guitar solo different from album before going into final "Images of sorrow" section. All this talk about Mike makes me realize that I can't hear Tony all that well. Great crowd response.

Disc 2

1. Phil speaks - Hey you! Shithead! (Man: "I'm trying to find which is first side") Atlanta is, in fact, the center of the Universe! Tomorrow night, I'll be saying the same bullshit to Jacksonville. (And he did!) Crowd enjoys banter.

2. Keep It Dark - Played a little too slow. You can really hear Chester's kick drum. Segues into...

3. It's Gonna Get Better - (Tape change) (Man: I couldn't wait. If I had waited any longer...") . The band performed the extended (12") version on the tour. Mike goes into a guitar solo at the end again. Tony is deep in the mix again. (Man: "I only missed a minute of it.")

4. Follow You Follow Me - Damn close to the album version. A tad uninspired. Slightly different ending than Three Sides version.

5. Phil Speaks - Daryl and Chester Intro. (Woman "Spandex.") "From Los Angeles CA where all the finest athletes come from." Reference to upcoming 84 Summer Olympics?

6-8. In The Cage (man: Holy Shit!) --> Cinema Show-->Quiet Earth-->Raven--->Afterglow . Crowd cheer the lights when the "Outside the cage I see my brother John" part comes. Cage is a typically wonderful performance. Rarely changes from tour to tour, but thats a good thing in this case. Tony is using a different synth patch for the lead on Cinema than on 3 Sides. Outstanding. Taper is surprised when the band goes into Quiet Earth instead of straight into Raven as on 3 Sides.Tony nearly absent during Afterglow. Drums loud. Tape develops a nasty flutter and warbles in pitch. Batteries? Short drop out. Taper: "It was one minute too long".

9. Drum Duet --> Los Endos - Yet another jaw-dropping performance of the Drum Duet. I always found it amazing that Chester and Phil could sync up so well together. Sounds a little strange in mono because you can't single out either drummer. Into Los Endos. Flutter returns. Another performance the band has nailed to perfection. Like Cage, it never changes, even on Tony's newer equipment. Chester's kick drum rattles the arena.

10. Misunderstanding. As an encore? Crowd is grateful. Left channel drops out for half a minute. Nearly identical to 3 Sides version

11. Turn It On Again (w/ oldies medley) - Phil: "I'd like to thank each of you individually.. you you you you you you you you you you you you you and you."