Winterland Arena, San Francisco, March 25, 1977

San Francisco Winterland Arena March 25, 1977 GASP - 020

Overall:

A clear and detailed soundboard recording from the Wind & Wuthering Tour. The sound is good except that there isn't much bass to be heard most of the time. When the pedals come through, they're deafening. Much of the new material doesn't seem to work in a live setting, giving us some insight as to why Afterglow was the only W&W song to make the live Seconds Out album. I wanted to blame it on being early in the tour, but we're several months in at this point. Steve's guitar sound is obnoxious and all over the place on this recording, at times drowning out other instruments. The show doesn't really come together until Supper's Ready.

Sound: * * *
Inconsistant. Through most of the show, Tony, Phil, Chester. and Steve come through quite clearly. Mike is inaudible most of the time. The bass pedals rattle the speakers when they can be heard. At times, Steve's guitar drowns out everything with an obnoxious, nasal sound. I'm wondering if he was having trouble with his effects rack.

Mix: * * *
See above. Inconsistant.

Performance: * * *
The new songs just don't seem to work, but the older ones are performed tightly. The show doesn't really take off until toward the end, however.


Raw Notes

Disc One
1. Squonk - Left channel drops out for the first minute or two. Seems like this could have been fixed. Good stereo mix. Good tight performance, especially toward the end. Phils tambourine can be heard clearly. Crowd is there, but seems distant like many soundboard records. Phil chats up the crowd as Tony tests the Mellotron.

2. One For The Vine - Steve's guitar in the intro sounds a bit nasal with lots of echo. Something is missing during "Then one whose faith had died...". Maybe Tony moving from the electric piano to Mellotron. Phil's voice dissappears during the falsetto "Follow me". Phil blows his whistle during the instrumental section coming out of the quiet part. This loud section is quite different from the Duke tour version on 3SL. Not enough power during "They leave me choice". I don't think band were quite comfortable with this song yet. Probably why it was left off Seconds Out. But this is the only tour where we hear Steve play these W&W songs.

3. Robbery, Assault & Battery - Story: Harry the robber robs the Rice-a-Roni factory (for the San Fran crowd). I just figured out what's missing: Mike Rutherford. There doesn't appear to be much bass on this recording. Strange becasue everything else is clear and distinct. Tight performance. Some bass suddenly kicks in at the very end.

4.Your Own Special Way - Mike's story: Myrtle the Mermaid. A sailor demonstrates the mating dance of Myrtle? I'd like to be able to see this. Heh, "The new single is roaring up the Venezulean charts." Tony uses an annoying shrill synth sound over the nice strummed guitar. Phil flubs the lyrics... "You've followed me long, long enough." Again, the band seems uncomfortable with the new material. Can definitely see why this one was left off Seconds Out. Static in the left channel throughout.

5. Firth of Fifth - Phil introduces Steve as the only used car dealer who plays guitar. Steve intro's the song. "This one is short. Only seven minutes. Short for us." Still not enough bass, but this leaves lots of room to hear Steve. Phil changes the melody on "An inland sea, his symphony". Sounds like Chester is drumming on a wood block during the quiet instrumental section. Very nice performance of the loud instr section and guitar solo which Steve plays almost note-for-note from the record. Wow, bass pedals! Mike is back in the mix. So loud, it almost distorts. You can even hear some bass guitar.

6. Carpet Crawlers - Recording cuts directly to this song. ...and the bass is MIA again. No wait... it's there. Mike must be over on the next street somewhere. Decent performance. Could use a bit more energy.

7. ..In That Quiet Earth - Phil gives a scary laugh, then introduces Chester. Introduces this as three songs, but it's really two. They don't play Unquiet Slumbers. Something doesn't sound right at the beginning. Does Steve start on the wrong note? No bass. Chester and Phil do some syncopation. Drums and lead guitar are about the only things clear here. Again, new material. They are trying hard, though. Seques, of course, into...

8. Afterglow - This is the only song from W&W that made it onto Seconds Out. The lack of bass really hurts this one. Wow, then the pedals and Mellotron kick in and we have a wall of sound! Steve's guitar still sounds tinny.

9. I Know What I Like - The tambourine announces that it's time. Here we go, a fun three minute song stretched out into an endless nine. Phil's voice fades in the chorus and we can hear the background vocals pretty well. Not sure who that is. The Dance. Chester hits a gong at the end of it. Reference to the Gong Show which was on the air at the time? The Stagnation bit sounds nice as always, but too short.

Disc Two
1. Eleventh Earl of Mar - Mike introduces. Tells the crowd where Scotland is. Heavy stereo effect on the guitar. I know the lines kind of overlap, but it seems like someone could have sung the "Eleveth Earl of Mar couldn't get them very far" line. It is the title of the song, after all. "See the bishop on fire?" Steve's buzzy, tinny guitar fades between channels. Chester on wind chimes and sleigh bells during the quiet instrumental. Nice. A great song, but I've yet to hear a great live version. Though this one has a lot of energy, it just doesn't quite take off. Mellotron choir rattles the speakers. Tape Flip.

2. Supper's Ready - Phil Story: Romeo and Juliet in the back of his '57 Chevy. "Romeo, Romeo. Don't come one step closer with that thing!" Some hiss in left channel. "We will rock you, little snake" recording a bit loud. Lyric change: "The fight has begun, we've been released."Steve makes some wild sounds during Willow Farm that I've never heard before. At first, I thought the right channel was dropping out going into Apocalypse, but it's that heavy stereo effect on the guitar again. Loud echo effect on Phil's voice. Sounds cool when he holds out the note on "Better not compromise, it won't be easyyyyyyyyyyy!" Bass is gone again during the organ solo. Echo makes it sound like he sings "6666". Eggs is Eggs played a bit slow, but it works. Steve's final solo sounds like it's coming through a cheap transistor radio. Very nice performance. Some bass even audible in places. Easily the high point of the show so far.

3. Dance on A Volcano - Some guitar tuning before the song. Tony tests the Mellotron again. Never heard the band mess this one up. Steve's strange guitar sound finally doesn't sound out of place. Good job all around. "You'd better start doing it right... you know what I mean?" Seques into...

4. Drum Duet - Played a bit faster than usual... nailed as always. Short, but amazing. Segues into...

5. Los Endos - Cymbals jump between speakers. You can hear Steve scrap his hand across the strings clearly. During the Squonk reprise, his guitar effect finally goes out of control and starts to drown overthing else out. Good performance.

6. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - after a tape flip. Tony sometimes hits some sour notes trying to play this intro on an electric piano, but not here. Nice performance. Segues into...

7. The Musical Box (closing section) - Hey, bass pedals! Phil really growls the "NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW!" part. Good job! Tape cuts off immediately.

Hallenstadion, Zürich, July 2, 1977

Hallenstadion
Zürich, Switzerland
Zürich Revisited
July 2, 1977
Digital Brothers
Soundboard / Audience Matrix

Overall:
This is a Digital Brothers merger of a soundboard recording and an audience recording of the same show. Generally soundboard recordings have a good mix of the band, but tend to not capture the audience and ambiance of the concert hall. Audience recordings tend to do the opposite, so it makes sense to combine the two into a single recording. For the most part, it works. There are some glitches here and there which are immediately noticeable in the vocals. But overall makes for a pleasant listening experience.

Sound * * * *
Mostly quite good beyond the very occasional matrix sync issues.

Performance: * * * *
There are slightly dodgy renditions of "Eleventh Earl of Mar" and "...In That Quiet Earth", but once the band hits "Supper's Ready", they're unstoppable. Also contains a rare performance of Inside and Out which had just been released on Spot the Pigeon.


Raw Notes

Disc 1:

1. Squonk - The high notes seem to be giving Phil some trouble here. Very good performance. Bass pedals are well defined in the mix.

2. One for the Vine - Phil speaks both Deutsch and French to the crowd. Some strange audio artifacts in the beginning. Beautiful clear Mellotron. Excellent mix. I like this performance better than the one that made it onto Three Sides. Guitars are somewhat buried, but the keys are pristine.

3. Robbery, Assault and Battery - Story in German. I know the word "kaput". Phil does funny sound effects for the story. Makes me think a little of Robin Williams. Matrix gets a tad out of sync in the beginning of the song, evident in the vocals. Steve is more audible here. Tony's solo is amazing. Loud tambourine. Good energetic performance.

4. Inside and Out - a rare performance of this outtake from Wind and Wuthering in promotion of its release on the Spot the Pigeon EP. Who is singing background on the chorus? Band nails the instrumental second half. Nice!

5. Firth of Fifth. Steve does the intro. Someone shouts "The Knife" just before the song starts. Audience cheers. Matrix gets a bit out of sync again during "The waterfall, his madrigal." Instrumental section sounds a little loose compared to other performance. Steve nails his solo. Again.

6. Carpet Crawlers - Someone drops something in the audience recording--I'm thinking a bottle? A little audience chatter in the quiet opening. Phil's vocals phase slightly, probably another sync problem. Nice background vocals. We're these on Seconds Out? Great performance. Crowd chants "GEN-E-SIS"

7. In That Quiet Earth - Phil introduces Chester. One of my favorite Genesis instrumentals. Wish they had played the Unquiet Slumbers section as this starts a bit awkwardly. A tad fast. Doesn't seem to quite come together. The band does a better job of this in the (sacred) Cage Medley in '83. Segues, of course, into...

8. Afterglow - Chester does a fill going into the song that isn't on the album. Interesting to hear the band perform this when it was new. Nice mix. Doesn't quite reach the dramatic heights it would on later tours. Closer to the album version.

9. I Know What I Like - Phil's tambourine at the beginning is unmistakable. We know what song is coming. Good mix. Crowd cheers Phil's tambourine dance. Little bit from Stagnation. Chester does a double snare hit that gets the crowd clapping along. This was all probably fun if you were, but gets somewhat monotonous when listening to the recording. It's your show. Return of the "GEN-E-SIS" chant. Phil introduces Mike who says "Thank you". Disc ends?

Disc 2:

1. Eleventh Earl of Mar - Phil introduces Mike again. Mike intros the song. Nice stereo effect in the beginning. Was this done live or added by the Digital Bros? This song always worked better in the studio than live. Never really reaches the heights it did on the record. I can see why it was left off Seconds Out. The band gives it their all, though. The quiet part sounds quite nice, but then Phil's vocals go out of phase again. Really nice Mellotron choir. Stereo effect returns.

2. Supper's Ready - Romeo and Juliet intro in German? This isn't Cinema Show! Is that a vibraphone chiming in behind the guitars during Lover's Leap? Who is playing it? "We will rock you little snake" recording comes in a bit too loud after nice performance of the Sanctuary Man. Good intensity for Ikhnaton section. Steve positively nails the solo here. Audience is strangely quiet for How Dare I Be So Beautiful. Background recording comes in loud again for "All Change!". More stereo effects on the guitar going into Apocalypse. Good intensity again. Phil's vocals get buried briefly during "I've been so far from here". Nice guitars during Eggs Is Eggs. Great performance. Nailed.

3. Dance On A Volcano - Damn... I don't think I've heard a better performance of this one. I'll just say Nailed.

4. Drum Duet - Fast and amazing! Nailed.

5. Los Endos - The band is on fire at this point! Maybe running a bit fast, but it doesn't matter. Stereo effects on the cymbals. That heavenly Mellotron choir again. The Wind and Wuthering show effectively opens and closes with Squonk. Very nice! "GEN-E-SIS!"

Encore

6. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - This intro must have been hard to play on the electric piano. Band still full of energy. Segues into...

7. The Musical Box (closing section) - Crowd cheers. Phil's voice sounds like it might be giving out during NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! Nice performance.