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!"

Olympiastadion, München, July 17, 1992

Olympiastadion
München, Germany
July 17, 1992
Post-FM
TM Production

Overall:


This is an extremely well-recorded and mixed broadcast from the We Can't Dance tour. It's hard to believe that TM captured this from an FM radio. Sound is balanced and richly detailed. Like most of this tour, some of the songs are too similar to the album versions and the band, at times, doesn't seem able to put the songs over the top. But the crowd makes up for any lack of energy on the band's part, clapping along and cheering throughout. This is possibly a better recording than The Way We Walk.

Sound: * * * * *
Damned near perfect.

Mix: * * * * *
Very well balanced. Every single instrument is audible and well-defined. Perhaps could haved used just a touch of reverb, but that's just a matter of preference.

Performance: * * * *
Some of the songs lack that energy that this lineup was capable of putting behind the songs. Phil has some trouble with his voice in the beginning, but it loosens up a couple songs in. On the whole, though, there is little to complain about here.

Raw Notes:

Disc 1
1.No Son of Mine - Excellent mix and sound quality. Tony's Wavestation keys are crystal clear. Echo effect on "to find a way out..way out.. way out". Phil might be having some trouble with his voice on the high notes. Definitely one of the best sounding boots. Mike's guitar solo cuts through nicely in the right channel. Phil chats in German (and a bit of English). I do recognize "We have some new songs and some old, old, old songs." Introduces "Driving The Last Spike".

2. Driving The Last Spike - Opens very much like the album. Chester's drums are bright and clear. Even Phil tambourine comes through. Phil's voice is warming up and stretching out a bit. Not quite the intensity of the album version as we get to "We worked, how we worked" section. Daryl's bass comes to the front. Mike's rhythm guitar is a bit low in the mix at end, keeping the song from quite reaching it's heights. Still a damned good performance.

3. Throwing It All Away - De Da Day... Zee Da Lay. Tony's "piano" sounds quite nice here. Performances of this song tend to sound the same to me. Pleasant enough. Crowd loves it! Phil intro's Old Medley in German. Says "Mr. Rutherford" like on the TWWW CD.

4. Old Medley - "Dance On A Volcano". Tony's choir sound is nice here. His replacement for the analog synth lead stands out, but is interesting. Into the Lamb. Why did Phil change the lyrics to "Ocean winds blowing off the land"? Was it a mistake that no one ever corrected? "Tonight, tonight, tonight, they say the lights are always bright". Into "Musical Box". Applause. Wow... major reverb when Phil sings "She is mine!". Chester's kick drum punches through clearly toward the end. Into "Firth of Fifth"... a lot of folks don't like Daryl's interpretation of Hackett's solo, but it's an amazing piece of guitar pyrotechnics. Tony has a nice Mellotron-like sound going on the strings. Was this the Wavestation? Into "I Know What I Like..." Phil could still do the Tambourine Dance '92. Crowd really into it! "That's All" snippet. "Illegal Alien" following the TWWW performance pretty closely. "Stagnation" teaser. Good performance overall, but perhaps lacking just a bit of energy.

5. Hold On My Heart - This song is so mechanical that it's hard to image performances differing much from night to night over the tour, assuming Phil's voice holds out. Yep, very adequate. Phil does a bit of ad-lib at the end that I don't remember on TWWW.

Disc 2
1. Jesus He Knows Me - Phil tells the crowd about American televangelists in German. "Do any kind of bullshit you've got to do, but get me that 18 million dollars by the weekend." Sounds somewhat different from the album. Daryl's bass chugging along nicely. Interesting. Daryl takes a nice guitar solo at the end which makes me wonder if Mike is playing bass.

2. Fading Lights - Great song. Almost identical to the album version in first half. Good intensity going into Tony's solo. The keys have some white noise mingled with a choir which is a bit too loud. Tony nails the solo. This is probably the best performance of the evening up to this point. Crowd cheers as we enter the final verse. Crowd loved it!

3. I Can't Dance - Crowd is thrilled to hear this one as well. Guess it hadn't been over-played yet. Extended intro compared to album. Nearly identical to TWWW version.

4. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight - The encore. I was always curious why the band never played this whole song, even on the IT tour. "Just try to shake shit loose, cut it free".

5. Invisible Touch - "Ask me, I know" instead of "Now I know". Other than that, not much variation from the other live versions of this one. "she will fuck up your life". Ad libs a bit differently at the end. Ending has a nice crescendo... strange for such a lightweight pop song. Crowd is ecstatic.

6. Turn It On Again - Crowd claps along... then shifts to double-time! Phil says goodbye to the crowd. "We've got to go to bed!" Introduces the band. Good build up toward outro. And the crowd goes wild! Good night!

The Summit, Houston, October 22, 1978

Houston
The Summit
October 22, 1978
Pre-FM King Biscuit/Streaming Wolfgang's Vault

Overall:


An energetic performance from the end of the And Then There Were Three tour. This partial show was recorded by King Biscuit and carefully remastered by GRaSP and TM Productions. The sound is excellent, with a well-balanced mix throughout. At this point, new guitarist Daryl Stuermer was completely integrated into the live band. The show itself is incomplete, but if you're looking for an hour of well-recorded live Genesis, you could do a lot worse than this.

Sound: * * * 1/2
The sound quality overall is very good, although some of the recording comes from internet streaming, this as been compensated for as much as possible.

Mix: * * * *
The mix of instruments will well-balanced throughout most of the show. There are one or two places where the music gets loud and just the mix gets just slightly muddled, but these are few, and possibly the result of streaming.

Performance: * * * * 1/2
The band is energetic, even at this late date in the tour. Phil is slightly hoarse at the beginning, but gives it 100%. The only lag in intensity is "Deep in the Motherlode" which feels a bit uninspired, as if the band might be tired of playing it.

Raw Notes:

1. Introduction-King Biscuit..

2. In The Cage - Good balanced mix. Bass audible. Good energy. Just realized that Phil has been singing the line "Dressed to kill" from the beginning. Sounds just a bit hoarse, but the performance is firing on all cylinders at a slightly fast tempo. Daryl already doing his fast scales during "Round...Round..." section. Strange to hear this one this without the medley that would follow later.

3. Deep in the Motherlode - Seems a bit slow at the start. Quite a contrast from the break-neck pace of Cage. There's some distortion here, like white noise, but I can't quite tell where it's coming from. Disappears during "All along the wagons." Think it was a guitar effect. A tad uninspired. Perhaps the band is tired of this one at this late point in the tour.

4. The Lady Lies - Better tempo. Phil's voice cracks on "Wine and food, too". Having some fun with vocals. Solid performance. Nice solo from Daryl at the end. ...and they nail the landing!

5. Cinema Show - Nice first sections. Daryl does some interesting tapping and slides during the quiet part after "More earth than sea". Mostly faithful to Steve's original leads. Phil sings "And you know for me there's no mystery." Somber, moody... going into keyboard solo. Tempo picks up. Nice Mellotron choir! Very good mix. Several bars of Chester and Phil's drumming...lead us into Riding The Scree instrumental played at dizzying speed. Little bit of Quiet Earth tacked on the end.. segues into..

6. Afterglow - Phil is still mostly following the original and less dramatic studio version here. Not bad, though. Still getting a very good mix. Of course, the band would soon shorten Cinema Show and combine this whole thing with In the Cage.

7. Follow You Follow Me - Opening notes get a good crowd reaction. Must have been getting some airplay at this point.

8 Dance On A Volcano - Drums thunder nicely in the intro. Good energy again. Tambourine very audible at first, but you can hear Phil move away from the microphone. Nice performance. Segues into...

9. Drum Duet - Damn! Never cease to be amazed by this and the subtle changes Phil and Chester make between performances. The GRaSP notes in the CD state that part of this had to be taken from a Knebworth performance to replace missing tape, but the splice is seamless. Segues into...

10. Los Endos - Solid performance. Strange noise going into the eerie dance section, but I think it was intentional. Into the Squonk reprise... More awesome Daryl lead. Great finale! I ask again, are there any bad performances of this?

11. I Know What I Like - the ten minute version. Zzzzzzzz... Nearly identical to most other performances of this. ...except Phil sings "Me, I'm just a lawnmower, mate!" Stagnation teaser, check. Jam section, check..... slowly building up to finally get back to that final chorus and... "It's your show!"

Festhalle, Frankfurt, October 30, 1981

Festhalle
Frankfurt, Germany
October 30, 1981

AM Main

TM Production

Overall:

There is an odd shortage of live recordings from the Abacab tour which makes this TM Production essential to a live Genesis collection. The band were in great form. Phil has fun speaking German to the Frankfurt crowd and translates some of it into English. The show isn't without its glitches as Mike hits the wrong bass note during the intro to the Lamb, then slides up the neck to the correct one.

Sound: * * * * *
A well EQ'd and balanced recording.


Mix * * * * *
Excellent, clean stereo mix. May be the best of available live shows from the tour.


Performance * * * *
Nearly perfect other than the bum note during the Lamb and odd timing in "Dance On A Volcano".

Raw Notes

Disc 1

1. Behind the Lines - Energetic intro. Excellent sound. Excellent bright mix. Chester thunders on the toms. Tony is prominent in the mix. Performance nailed. Segues, as we all know, into...

2. Duchess - Some folks don't care for the extended intro with the drum machine, but I love it for its moody atmospheric feel. The clean mix continues to impress. Mike's (might be Daryl's) crunchy guitar chording sounds great when the vocal starts. Phil flubs the lyrics. Sings "Soon all she had to do was step into the light" again instead of "Soon every time she stepped...". Nailed. Drum machine continues for a few seconds into...

3. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - Yikes! Bass mistake on the first chord! Guitar sounds a little too fuzzy here. Phil is having fun. "Don't you look at me, bitch, I'm not your kind!" Repeats "Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid" section and chorus at the end. Slightly sloppy performance.

4. Dodo/Lurker - Phil intros in German. Doesn't do the "Ocean! Ocean! O-CEAN!" line like on Three Sides. Tempo drags just a bit on Lurker. Good performance. Chester's count goes right into...

5. Abacab - Good sound on Mike's guitar in the beginning. Good performance.

6. Carpet Crawlers - Background vocals are surprisingly up front. Very good performance.

7. Me & Sarah Jane - Phil tells a story of Sarah Jane and translates his German into English. She had large breasts and she was depressed because her father wouldn't stop playing with them. This is one of my favorite Tony Banks songs. This performance is better than Three Sides. More power. "Words of joy" instead of "tears of joy". Still, nailed.

8. Misunderstanding - I like the studio version of this song, but it's difficult to tell the live versions apart, probably because it was only performed on two tours (Duke and Abacab). Maybe a little faster here than Three Sides. Good performance as always.

9. No Reply At All - Starts with drum machine like the mix on the "Abacab Complete" boot. The drum pattern sounds a lot like the one Phil would use a few years later on "Take Me Home". "Shit, there's no reply at all." This song sounds good without the horns. One of the best performances I've heard of this one, not that I've heard many. This was the only tour for this song.

10. Firth of Firth - Phil in German, I'm guessing: "This is an old, old, old, old, song..." This performance is interesting if for no other reason than to hear Tony play it on the Abacab era keyboard rig. The Yamaha CP-70 Electric Piano works well here. I'm thinking that's the Prophet 5 on the famous instrumental section. Daryl's lead seems very different on each tour, but he switches to Hackett original in the important parts. Bass pedals rattle the speakers. The non-Mellotron strings here stand out a bit. Very nice, tight performance.


Disc 2:

1. Man On The Corner - "Everybody thinks he's a bit stupid." "I remember my first beer, too." Sounds like Phil gets away from the mike during the story. Delay effect on the vocal. This song worked well live. Very good performance.

2. Whodunnit? - You can hear all the weird things Tony is doing with the keyboards here. Annoying song, but a great mix. Phil plays with the delay on the vocals during "We know, we know".

3. Cage Medley - Phil introduces the band. Introduces Chester as "the real drummer". Starts out nearly identical to Three Sides. You can hear Mike hammering his bass hard during the first key solo after "...their wasted wings". Daryl wails during "Keep on turning...". Into Cinema show. Nice! never heard a bad performance of this one. Nailed.

4. Afterglow - Nice chiming guitar. This and the Cage Medley are very similar to the Three Sides Live versions.

5. Turn It On Again - Again, very similar to Three Sides

6. Dance On A Volcano - Slight timing issue between the drums and guitars in the intro. Phil changes the lyrics again during "into the fire and into the fight". Vocals get a bit buried in the last verse.

7. Drum Duet - Incredible. Nailed.

8. Los Endos - This is Tony's first tour without the Hammond organ and second without the Mellotron, both replaced by synths. I'm betting his roadies were much happier. The Mellotron choir is missed in the end section before the Squonk reprise, although the synth (Prophet 10?) does an admirable job considering that it's 1981 technology. Never heard a bad performance of this one.

9. I Know What I Like (Encore) - This version just goes on and on like the Energizer bunny. Phil tries to get the audience to sing the chorus. "I like Frankfurt in the Springtime" "Oh, Frankfurt, you're my kind of town". Sings the line "You can tell me by the way I walk" rather than speaking it. Toward the end, during the jam, Tony plays the some chords on the ARP Quadra that sound like Abacab.

Piper Club, Rome, April 18, 1972

Piper Club,
Rome, Italy
April 18, 1972
A TM Production

Overall Rating:


A nice quiet audience recording. The background chatter is minimal. Peter still sounds a little nervous with the crowd at times, like on the La Ferme recording a few months earlier.

Sound: * * *
An audience recording. I suspect that the tape might have sounded pretty rough before it was rescued by TM. There is occasional distortion during some of the louder sections, but the CD is quite listenable and like all TM productions, has a beautiful graphics package.

Mix: * * *
A dry, stark mix. The guitars fade into background at times, but on the whole, everyone gets heard.

Performance: * * *
Several of the songs have passages that are played too fast, draining all emotion from the performance. At times, it seems as if the band is just trying to get through the songs as quickly as possible. Perhaps Phil was excited to be in Italy. This first occurs during Stagnation, when the drums kick in.

Raw Notes:

1. Happy The Man intro. Pete introduces the song in English and translates the title into Italian.

2. Happy the Man. Peter goes up high on the last chorus. (Yeah, yeah, yeah nowhere!) Nice performance.

3. Stagnation (story about last man on Earth planting a crop of onions?) - Translates title again. Phil is a little fast coming in with the drums. Everyone keeps up nicely. Tony nails the organ solo
even at this speed. Tony does the "Ahh ahh ahhs". Tempo a little fast again going into the "I want to sit down" section. Phils drumming at the end is much more elaborate than John Mayhew's.

4. The Fountain of Salmacis - Story of Hermaphroditus. A little audience chatter story. Mellotron makes appearance. Has some trouble in second verse, coming up to speed a little too slowly. Peter having some trouble with high notes. Sings "One Flesh" after "stangely joined as one." Some distortion in the recording toward the end. Sings "Somewhere" after "forever still beneath the lake." Good Audience response.

5. Twilight Alehouse - Short intro. Translates title. Second chorus a little fast again. Band seems to be rushing through this one a bit carelessly. Still gets a good response.

6. Drum Solo. A bit jazzy. The roots of Brand X? A little audience chatter at first. Steve comes in with a faded-in chord. Peter and Phil: "Goo goo ga ga goo goo."

7. The Musical Box. Story not as elaborate as later. Translates title. Phil does the background vocals like the original. Phil mimics the phase shifter: "Here it comes agaiiioooonnn..." Peter sings "and I touch... your warmth.. YEAH!" like on Genesis Live. Again rushed during the following instrumental section. Peter flat on "She's a lady, she's got time". Rushed, but still energetic. Crowd loves it.

8. Return of the Giant Hogweed - intro: Translates. Good, powerful performance. Peter has vocal problems on "Human bodies soon will know our anger" section.

(Encore)

9 The Knife - Peter says "grazie" and the band launches into the song. Peter already changing the lyrics to the second verse. Rushed. Good job on eerie instr section. You can really hear the Leslie on Tony's organ. Too fast again in the instrumental after "Wanting freedom". Intense noise during final instr section.

10. Going Out To Get You - Recording gets distorted. Someone in crowd requests "Looking For Someone". Crowd claps along to the beattoward the end. Good crowd response. Is that Peter chatting with the crowd on the fade out?