Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, April 13, 1976

Syria Mosque
Pittsburgh, PA
April 13, 1976
SB04

Overall:


Probably the best unofficial recording from the Trick of the Tail tour. A post FM radio show, I believe. The sound is decent, but not great. There are several tape glitches and some distortion here and there. But this tour contains a number of rarities making this boot a must-own. Most notably, the drummer is ex-Yes, ex-King Crimson player Bill Bruford. Also, there is a rare and curious performance of White Mountain with Phil on vocals.

Although Bruford is an amazing drummer, for some reason he isn't a good fit with Genesis and this entire recording is evidence of that. Something just doesn't work, especially on the very early material. I think it was a wise move for both the band and Bruford that they went their separate ways after this tour.

Sound: * * *
At times, it's difficult to hear the bass and the tape itself has some issues, including some distortion.

Mix: * * *
As mentioned above, the bass is hard to hear at times, especially early in the recording. Also, the Mellotron is quite loud which may be a treat for some listeners.

Performance: * * *
The band hasn't quite yet filled the void left by Gabriel. Tony chooses some odd, sometimes grating sounds to replace the flute. Also, much of Bruford's drumming sounds out of place and even off-time. But the band is also quite tight in places.

Raw Notes

Disc 1

1. Dance on Volcano - Abrupt crowd noise. Bill Bruford on drums. Mellotron choir a bit loud. This is the only tour where they play the whole song. Probably the only tour where Phil sings "Out of the night and out of the dark." Bill's approach to drumming is interesting here. Band is a bit weak going into second half. Phil on bongos? And coach's whistle? Song ends... a bit of retuning guitars between tracks. Phil mistakes Pittsburgh for Baltimore. Only 40 miles away?

2. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - Tony's electric piano is right up front in the mix. Not much bass in the mix, but the rest of the instruments are well-balanced. Steve is a bit low in the mix, but audible. Piano loud again during "Lamb seems right out of place". Phil comes in early for "Suzanne tired..". The band either compensates or they rehearsed it that way. Segues into...

3. Fly On a Windshield - Instrumental section only. Bass pedals are audible. Good performance. Into Broadway Medley... still instrumental. Segues into...

4. Carpet Crawlers - Intro sounds a bit clunky. Doesn't really take off like later performances. May be Bill's drumming? The band doesn't seem...comfortable for lack of a better word.. Phil already singing "Stickleback...back...back." on his first tour as singer. Decent performance. Crowd likes it! Phil: "This is far too embarrassing. You're not allowed to clap like that this early on!" Romeo and Juliet story. Phil seems just a bit nervous, but doing well.

5. "Cinema Show" - Nice wind chimes (or bell tree?) in the intro. Bill adds some nice percussive touches throughout early verses. Does a bit of a strage start/stop thing going into first chorus, though. Sounds like a mistake at first, but if it is, he does it a second time. Strange wind sound effect. Wow, background vocals during "Na na na na..." section. Nice! Into synth solo. Phil on drums with Bill. Nice! Bass pedals and Mellotron choir distort a bit. A few dropouts in the recording (probably more clipping). Tony nails it! Good drumming! Tony noodles on organ and Mellotron while Phil talks about Harry the Criminal. "Before Harry could say Patty Hurst"...

6. Robbery, Assault & Battery - A lot of reverb on the vocal. Vocal drops low in the mix during the chorus. Good performance. Bass is audible. Tony nails his solo again. Phil on tambourine. Vocals still sound odd in last first. Mike tells story of the Wolf finding a copy of Trespass. "One-Eye, the straggly old wolf from Pittsburgh.

7. White Mountain - The reason to own this recording. The band plays the song from the very beginning, resisting the temptation to chop the eerie intro. Phil sings "Where no wolf may go" instead of tread, which changes the rhyming pattern. Tony plays a bit of synth in background which wasn't on the original recording. No drums? Bill just does some cymbal swells. Mellotron choir loud with some synth notes following the bass. Tambourine, but still no drums. Sounds a bit odd. Drums come in at the end of the last verse? Is that Phil whistling? Band does the full outro. Phil introduces Mr. Bill Bruford.

8. Firth of Fifth - Piano intro is gone, never to return. Steve has an unusual sound going during his solo, but nails the performance. Bass pedals/Mellotron distort again. (or tape drops out). Steve switches to a cleaner sound going into final verse. Phil holds out "...constant chaaaannge" until almost the end.

Disc 2

1. Phil introduces Steve who introduces Entangled. Mentions lyrics based on Kim Poor painting.

2. Entangled - Bill on xylophone? Two maracas... More background vocals. Not sure who it is. Might be Bill. Strange, eerie performance. Very different from the album version.

3. Squonk - Feels a bit uninspired and sluggish in the beginning. Low intensity... never really gets off the ground. More tuning and noodling. Mike tells us three things we need to know to play in a group. Number three is tap dancing. Phil tap dances. "Did you know you're on the radio tonight?"

4. Supper's Ready - an early Phil performance. More xylophone from Bill during first verses. Phil a bit flat on the "Moon seems very bright". Nice atmosphere early on, although some of Bill's percussion gets a bit distracting. Sanctuary Man a little sluggish. Tony chooses an annoying sawtooth waveform to replace Pete's flute at the end of the section. Phil having some trouble with high notes, using falsetto. "...cannot contain my emotion. Oh, no, no, no....". Phil doesn't seem comfortable with this one yet. A bit sloppy going into Willow Farm. "Everyone... we're growing everyone." Nice atmosphere going to 9/8... Tony chooses another annoying sound for Pete's flute part. Phil really intense into "Guards of Magog!" Loud delay on the vocals. Almost shouts himself hoarse. Nice, though. Band maintains some intensity through the whole section. Firing on all cylinders for the "666" section! Crowd responds at the end, going into "And it's hey babe..." . Phil stretches his vocal cords rather than do falsetto like earlier. Nice ending! The second half of this is the only time I haven't noticed the new drummer.

5. I Know What I Like - This is where the song begins to get drawn out into an extended jam, but the eight minute version would wait until the next tour. Bill does a strange pause after "I can always hear them talk". No tambourine dance. No Stagnation fragment yet, just an extra chorus. This was a good length for the song. Tony plays with the Mellotron while Phil thanks the audience for waiting in the cold.

6. Los Endos - The only tour where the this song is played from from the beginning. As much as I still love the drum duet, I always missed this intro. Phil and Bill don't quite have the drum pattern down live yet. In fact, the drums sound quite odd here at the beginning. Not quite yet the show stopper it would become on the next tour. Performance improves toward the end. Good intensity. End is chopped of slightly on this recording. Good crowd response.

7. It/ Watcher of the Skies - Encore. Some tuning. Phil starts on the tambourine before everyone else is ready. Good mix. Steve and Mike are tight on the twin leads. Slowly, the Mellotron fades in to take us to Watcher. Much looser performance than ended up on the UK version of Three Sides Live. Great way to end the show! Audience is faded out quite quickly.

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!"

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.

Convention Center, West Palm Beach, January 10, 1975

West Palm Beach Convention Hall,
January 10, 1975
Soundboard
SAB 06

Overall:

A good clean recording from the Lamb tour. The band seems loose and uninspired in the early songs, but pulls it together about a third of the way in, beginning with "Hairless Heart". The sound is stark and clear, but raw. The mix could have used a tad of reverb, but it's well-balanced between the instruments. The Mellotron is quite loud through most of the recording, so if the listener is a fan of Banks playing, they might want to give this one a listen. Also, one can hear the infamous Slipperman costume making it hard for Peter to sing into the mike. There is occasional feedback and Peter struggles with the lyrics in places, but overall a worthy listen.

Sound: * * * *
Crisp, stark soundboard recording. Could use some reverb for ambiance.

Mix: * * * *
Well-balanced. Mellotron slightly loud in places.

Performance: * * *
Starts out somewhat uninspired, but redeems itself about a third of the way through.

Raw Notes

1. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway - Fades in during the opening notes of the song. Very dry keys and vocals. Feels a bit slow. Good mix balance, but no ambiance whatsoever. Peter a bit flat. Surprisingly uninspired performance. Tony flubs some notes during "The lamb seems right out of place".

2. Fly On A Windshield - Crowd responds. The Mellotron choir is distinct and a little loud. Leaves a noticable hole when Tony stops playing. Better performance, if still a tad slow. Nice intensity.

3. Broadway Melody 1974 - This is the boot for Mellotron fans. Distinct and loud. Peter seems to be waking up here.

4. Cuckoo Cucoon - Pete's mic malfunctions. Strange vocal effect. Flanger? Tempo finally feels better.

5. In the Cage - Thump-thump, thump-thump. Crowd responds. Peter on tambourine? Straining on some of the high notes. Interesting to hear background vocals on this which aren't there once Phil takes over lead. Tony nails the keyboard solo. Tempo picks up. Peter completely loses the lyrics in the last verse. Growls the "round...round.." part. I love the untitled instr passage at the end.

6. Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging - Another effect on the vocals. Works better here. Another lyric flub. ..and another. Not Peter's night. Wow, Mellotron choir buries everything! Good audience response. Rael's story part 2. "Erogenous Zones and Where to Find Them".

7. Back in NYC - A bit slow again. Feels lazy, like LLDOB above. Peter avoids the high note at "filled up high with gasoline", but mostly, he's hitting them. "Off we go" section sounds clunky at this tempo. Bass pedals rattle the walls. Microphone feedback.

8. Hairless Heart - Steve's showcase. Is that Phil on xylophone? Nice somber performance. Nailed!

9. Counting Out Time - Good fun performance. Bands seems to be enjoying themselves. Peter and Phil having some trouble syncing up on the vocals.

10. Carpet Crawlers - Interesting to hear the full intro, which I miss on later performances of this song. Nice to have the background harmonies. Again, these would disappear after this tour. Nice performance. Instruments drop out while Peter and Phil continue singing the last chorus.

11. The Chamber of 32 Doors - Nice intensity in the intro. Band seems to have hit their stride since Hairless Heart. Good balance of instruments. Mike's 12-string sounds clear. Nice smooth performance. Nailed.

Disc 2

1. Story of Rael Part 3 - Meeting with Death. "One snuff and you puff it" oops! Slippermen have lumps and bumps, like Phil!

2. Lilywhite Lillith - Tight. Phil tears loose on the drum fills. You can hear him over the Mellotron! Nice.

3. The Waiting Room (Evil Jam) - Hmm, how to judge this? The band does a good job making scary noises. Crazy stereo effects on Steve's guitar. Tony tortures the Mellotron choir. The synthesizer meows. Strangely similar to the album version. Mike starts the guitar riff to slowly carry us into the instrumental section. Tony uses the "meowing" sound on the solo. Good performance.

4. Anyway - Applause probably meant for Waiting Room. "Time to meet the fish?" Peter has some more lyric trouble during "enrich the soil". Nice somber peroformance, though. Good intensity when other instruments kick in. Last verse just a bit slow.

5. The Supernatural Anesthetist - Phil does the high part "He's such a fine dancer" like on the album. Great job on the guitar solo. Extended eerie instrumental at the end, probably for Peter's Lamia costume.

6. The Lamia - Peter seems out of breath while he sings first verse. Operating that costume was probably taxing. Nice vibraphone. Microphone feedback. Nice emotional performance.

7. Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats - One of my fave Genesis instrumentals. Mellotron choir is loud again... but passes through like a breeze. Gorgeous. Nailed it!

8. The Colony of Slippermen - The band doesn't pause to update us on Rael; it's right into the strange instrumental passage that opens side four of the original album. I have to imagine Peter's theatrics during this. Phil counts 1,2,3,4.... into the main part of the song. More mike problems. You can hear where Peter was having trouble getting the mike close to his mouth. Tony nails his famous Raven keyboard solo. Peter is singing in a lower range than on the album. Really hard to hear him during some parts, but a good performance.

9. Ravine - Another great instrumental. Comes across a bit clunky. Mike's fade-in/fade out 12-string strumming on the guitar is not as smooth as the album.

10. The Light Dies Down On Broadway - Starts abruptly. May have had a tape edit going into this. Peter sings "Hey John!" in the first verse instead of "My Home!". Decent performance.

11. Riding the Scree - Nice transition into this. Tony nails his solo again, I think, but unfortunately he's buried in the mix. Very good performance. Sounds like a phaser on the drums after "Here I go!".

12. In the Rapids - Mike's 12-string is nice here. Good performance.

13. It - Nice, smooth transition into the last Lamb song. Steve's guitar stands out nicely here. Even more mike feedback. Lot of that on this recording. Peter sounds a bit winded again as the lyrics come fast and furious. Has some trouble with the high notes "It is shaken, not stirred". Return of the Mellotron strings toward the end. Nice, energetic performance.

14. Musical Box - Phil talks to the crowd. "We're going to play an older song." Crowd is thrilled to hear something they know. Intro is played very slowly. Some reverb trouble on the vocals in the first verse. This is the last tour where we'll hear this entire song. Some shows featured "Watcher of Skies" also for the last time in their entirety. A bit slow and meandering during the quiet section, but picks up nicely once the drums kick in. Good intensity during the guitar solo. Hard to hear Tony's organ. Peter has fun during the "She's a lady" section. Peter holds nothing back at the end! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! Very good performance.

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.

University Sports Arena, Montreal, April 21, 1974

University Sports Arena
Montreal, Canada
April 21, 1974
Post-FM
A Classic Broadcast Revisited
PRRP - Special Anniversary Edition

Overall:


If you're a fan a Steve Hackett, this post-FM boot is for you. An exceedingly well-balanced mix, overall. The highlights on this one are the complete Dancing With The Moonlit Knight and The Cinema Show played by the original five members only on this tour. These songs wouldn't be played on the next tour, and after that, Peter was gone along with his voice and flute. A must-have.

Sound: * * * * *

Mix: * * * * *
Strangely, the keyboards disappear for a minute or so in the middle of The Musical Box. But glitches aside, it's an outstanding live mix.

Performance * * * *
Excellent for the most part. Firth of Fifth never really takes off. The Battle of Epping Forrest isn't the best live song. But the intensity remains high throughout most of the show.

Raw Notes

Disc 1

1. Watcher Of The Skies - The mighty Mellotron fills the hall with virtual violins. The bass rattles your speakers. We're off to a fine start. Do'h! Small glitch in the 'tron! Unusual echo effect on the vocals. Tony is doing something different with the organ rhythm, adding odd pauses. At first, I thought it was a mistake, but he does it more than once. Unusual performance. Crowd loves it!

2. The Story of Britannia - Told by Peter in French.

3. Dancing With The Moonlit Knight - I believe this is the only tour where they played the entire thing, complete with the "musical pond" at the end. This is a nice balanced mix. Steve's guitar is definitely audible here. Peter gets the "Round table talking down we go" lyric right, unlike the Rainbow Show on the Archive Box Set. A slightly rough and ballsy performance. I think I like the "pond" better than the studio version.

4. The Story of Romeo and Juliet - Again, in French. I don't speak the language, but the crowd seems amused.

5. The Cinema Show - Nice to hear Phil do the background vocals. This is the only tour that had them. Played a bit slowly, but that adds to the somber mood. Peter's flute solo is another feature that happened only on this tour. Nice intensity during the sublime instrumental section. I doubt a better recording of this song exists. Nailed.

6. I Know What I Like - The band performs their first hit single. Again, we get Peter and Phil singing together. That sounds like a sitar playing the main riff. Peter plays his flute along with Tony's synth solo at the end. Pleasant and concise performance before the song was drawn out into a nine minute snooze-fest.

7. The Story of Five Rivers - French

8. Firth Of Fifth - Complete with piano intro, played on electric piano. This always gave Tony trouble and this performance is no exception with at least three sour notes. You can see why they dropped the intro. The song itself is played a little too slowly in the beginning. The famous instrumental section is better, but on the whole, the performance never quite gets off the ground like it would later.

9. Story of Henry and Cynthia - You guessed it, French.

10. The Musical Box - Phil really goes all out this time with imitating effects pedals with his mouth. "Here it comes agaiiioooowwoowowowow". Steve Hackett owns the song at this point. The lead guitar growls and screams! Another rough and ballsy performance. Nice. The keys disappear for a while in the second driving instrumental section. All guitars and drums. Technical glitch? Peter really gets into character during the "She's a lady" section.

11. Horizons - Sounds almost like an electric guitar or an acoustic with electric pickup.

Disc 2:

1. The Battle of Epping Forrest - Phil's snare starts and the audience responds immediately. Kick drum comes in hard! Who is singing the high part in background during the chorus? Band seems to be having fun with the song. An echo effect is used to generate the triplets in the middle section. Going into the Reverend section. Peter: "..to see what the trouble was." Phil: "What's the trouble, then?" This is the only tour where the song was played. Good performance.

2. Story of Old Henry - Parlez-vous français? Seems to be the same story told in English on the box set. Includes Phil and Peter whistling "Jerusalem".

3. Supper's Ready - Similar to the box set version. Nice intensity. Excellent mix. Steve is once again quite prominent. The band seems to run out of steam slightly in the Apocalypse section causing the tempo to drop, but that's a only a minor quibble. Good performance, but not one of their best. The last tour where we hear the chimes at the beginning of Eggs Is Eggs. Replaced by a guitar when Phil takes over vocals.

4. CHOM-FM Radio Intro / Station ID / Sign Off

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.