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Genesis Live [Definitive Edition Remaster]

Genesis - Genesis Live [Definitive Edition Remaster] Audio CD

A fair review of the Genesis "Genesis Live [Definitive Edition Remaster]" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Genesis reviews here, or go back to the Genesis tabs.

Band: Genesis
Title: Genesis Live [Definitive Edition Remaster]
Rating:

Release Date: 1994-10-18
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Watcher of the Skies 2: Get 'Em out by Friday 3: Return of the Giant Hogweed 4: Musical Box 5: Knife

A Spectacular Live Album
While the upcoming album, "Selling England By the Pound", was being recorded and produced, the band was encouraged to release a live album for people to buy while they waited for the new studio album. By 1973, Genesis had written and released three albums on Charisma Records. What came out of this wise business deal was a magnificent live album, and the only such recordings of the Peter Gabriel era until the release of the first of the two "Archives", 25 years later. This album is essentially a greatest hits album for the band's early days, albeit with live recordings. It features most of the important recordings between '70 and '72, with one track from "Trespass", two from "Nursery Cryme", and two from their most recent work, "Foxtrot". All songs are presented in a tighter, cleaner fashion than the original cuts, and sparkle with a live energy that could rival Led Zeppelin's. The album is not without its surprises, though. In the epic closing piece, "The Knife", Gabriel ad-libs the lyrics and is joined in singing by the audience. Furthermore, the CD liner notes contain a story written by Gabriel, a fun read while listening to the music.

The only disappointment that may come to hardcore fans of Genesis are the absence of two favorites from the period. One is "The Fountain of Salmacis" from "Nursery Cryme", which has not seen a live release when performed by Peter, though one can hear it sung by Phil Collins on "Three Sides Live". The second "absent friend" is "Supper's Ready" from "Foxtrot". Supposedly, the band recorded the song at the same concert as tracks 1-2 and 4-5, but was ultimately left off the LP so as not to make the album too long. A recording from the Gabriel era exists on the "Genesis Archives: 1967-1975", but I eagerly await the day when "Genesis Live" is re-released with the missing "Supper's Ready" recording intact. In summary, this is a must for all Genesis fans, and especially for fans of the Phil Collins era who do not know whether or not they will like the work Genesis did with Peter. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Excellent piece of live Old School Prog Rock
This is a splendid introduction to the Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. I've had this on vinyl, then the first release on CD(in abyssmal AAD), and now have the Japanese mini-LP remaster. It's an entirely different beast. Kinda dark, and not at all like the pop music they churned out in the 80s-90s.
This 1972 performance was released(at least in the US) out of sequence in order to capitalize on 1973's more successful "Selling England By the Pound". This show, taken from a radio broadcast, is amazingly pristine. My only gripe is that on the original program there is a stellar rendition of "Supper's Ready". Understandably, this 23-minute piece was way too long to fit on a vinyl LP, but CDs don't have that time constraint. A real shame.

Genesis' first live album still sounds phenomenal 35 years on

For many years this was the only live document in the Genesis catalog from the Peter Gabriel/Phil Collins/Tony Banks/Steve Hackett/Mike Rutherford era (until the release of 1998's Genesis Archive 1967-75 4-CD set). English prog rockers Genesis released its fifth album Genesis Live in July of 1973 in the UK and early 1974 in the US.
Genesis Live documents the group's late 1972/early 1973 tour in support of their excellent fourth album Foxtrot. Shows in England were recorded for a potential King Biscuit Flower Hour radio show broadcast but was released instead as a tie over for fans until the next Genesis album which turned out to be Selling England By the Pound.
Although it's only a single disc live album leaving the listener hungry for more, there is enough to keep the listener gripped to their stereo systems/CD players and so forth for 45 plus minutes.
The opening version of the Foxtrot track "Watcher Of The Skies" is possibly the best version of the track as it is more excellent than its studio counterpart (especially keyboard player Tony Banks' stellar keyboard intro). Next is a spirited version of "Get 'Em Out By Friday" which is better than the version taht appeared on Foxtrot. "The Return Of The Giant Hogweed" follows and is an excellent version which keeps one glues to its stereo for almost ten minutes.
Next is a great version of the early Genesis masterwork from 1971's Nursery Cryme entitled "The Musical Box" which is a great version heard to be believed. The grand finale to this live album is the Trespass closer "The Knife" done with great relish and more gusto than the studio counterpart (probably thanks to addition of drummer Phil Collins and guitarist Steve Hackett in late 1970 to the band).
Genesis Live reached #101 on the Billboard chart but aside that, Genesis Live is a great document to the early days of the band.
One more note, Genesis Live was originally planned to be a double live album that also would've included the band's masterpiece "Supper's Ready" but the band and its label decided against it. Thank goodness for the Genesis Archives Vol. 1 box set which was released in 1998 which featured a great live version of "Supper's Ready".
Genesis Live is still recommended anyhow!.

The Only Real Genesis

Let us not rush to the conclusion that I am saying that post-Gabriel era did not have its share of good songs. Some people may not agree with me when I say that after Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett left Genesis there was no more Genesis,just a band that tried to stay together as Genesis and succeded in giving the world mediocre renditions of a once great band. Yes, in fact the next two post-Gabriel studios albums were actually good. However,the Genesis of progressive art rock was lost forever.
But after years of hashing over the fact that Genesis was redeemable for any effort that claimed them as good as they were is lost. Even when this Collins -Genesis era tried to do Supper's Ready,they do a mere fraction of the grandiose that Gabriel set it up to be: a tale,an acted out skit. The music fit the theme. Collins ,in his half-effort to redeem the classics ends up butchering them.

No, there will never be another Genesis like this one,not even when the three ,Collins,Rutherford and Banks try,they cannot and HAVE NOT re-produced the magic that was once alive in a record of this caliber.

Gabriel is also guilty of having lost the magic with his solo garbage,but so have the other guys,except Hackett,who continually pushes the boundaries of his talents. Gabriel,although not as soft as Collins had a great voice for that type of dramaesque music;it fit the atmosphere.

The fact is that the chemistry has been lost after 1975,nothing sounded as good as this.

A Live Performance going back to the early Progressive Rock Days of Genesis
Genesis' "Genesis Live" is one of five live sets (the other four being "Seconds Out, "Three Sides Live", the two volume "The Way We Walk", and "Live Over Europe"). There has never been a shortage of live albums by Genesis. "Genesis Live" goes back to the very beginning days of Genesis and features the five person lineup of Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, and Phil Collins. "Genesis Live" also is the only Genesis live album to feature Gabriel on lead vocals. This particular live album only contains five tracks, but it showcases the progressive Rock sound the band demonstrated during this

When I look at Genesis as band, I see four distinct phases the band has gone through. Phase 1 is the Peter Gabriel Era. This spans from 1969 ("From Genesis to Revelation") to 1974 ("The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway"). It was during Phase 1 that Peter Gabriel was the lead vocalist and Genesis could easily be categorized as a progressive Rock band. Phase 2 is the Early Phil Collins Era spanning from 1976 ("A Trick of the Tail") to 1982 ("Three Sides Live"). In this era, Phil Collins took over as lead singer. The band was still very much a progressive rock band, but as the progressive rock landscape would change - so would Genesis. This might indirectly have led to Phase 3 which is the Late Phil Collins Era from 1983 ("Genesis") to 1993 ("The Way We Walk Volume 2: The Longs"). This is the commercial/pop era that I referred to earlier. At this point, there would be a lot less progressive rock flavor to Genesis' music. The fourth phase, Phase 4 is the Ray Wilson Era. This was when Ray Wilson took over as lead vocalist for Phil Collins. There would only be one album in this era - 1997's "Calling All Stations" and it seemed like Genesis tried to recapture some of their progressive rock roots - but 90s style. "Genesis Live" was released in Phase 1 and draws tracks from three albums during this period "Trespass", "Nursery Cryme", and "Foxtrot". It is worth noting that while this album was released during Phase 1, there is no representation from Genesis' first album, "From Genesis to Revelation".

When comparing "Genesis Live" to the other Genesis albums, you are not only getting the only Genesis live album with Peter Gabriel, but one that contains the earliest material.

Normally when there is a live release, I prefer the album to be a live recording from a single concert performance. I prefer it to be delivered in the order in which the songs were actually delivered. By having things from a single night and in order - I feel there is continuity and the magic of the concert is captured perfectly. With this particular collection, the tracks were recorded at two venues. From some research, I've determined that four of the five tracks were performed on a single night in February 1973 (De Montfort Hall in Leicester) while one track ("Return of the Giant Hogweed") was performed the night before in Manchester. While all of these tracks are considered normal length by progressive Rock standards, they are still considered longer tracks from popular music standpoint. All of the tracks are over 8 minutes and the total length of the collection is 45+ minutes. It is clear from listening to this music that this performance doesn't represent a single concert. It also is clear that this is a subset of a full concert. It would have been nice to hear the whole concert, but one must remember that back in 1973, LPs held less music than CDs - and there was often pressure to release a single LP as opposed to multiple LPs.

A few observations that I got from "Genesis Live":

1) If you aren't as familiar with Phase 1 Genesis, this is a good place to start. You aren't going to hear this type of stuff with the radio-friendly Genesis music. The most amazing thing is Peter Gabriel's haunting voice that seems perfect suited to the progressive Rock sounds of Genesis.

2) "The Musical Box" might be known to some of the more mainstream fans who purchased the "The Way We Walk Volume 2 - The Longs". On "The Longs", it contains a medley of old Genesis songs simply called "The Old Medley". One of the songs in "The Old Medley" is "The Musical Box" which contains a snippet of "The Musical Box". "Genesis Live" is going to contain a full version that will provide a full appreciation for the progressive Rock roots of the band.

3) The intimate setting for this material will be in stark contrast to the stadium performances done on 2007's "Live Over Europe" set. The intimate setting works very well for this concert. The sound quality is good, but one must keep in mind this material is 35 years old.

4) Tony Banks might be the real star of this performance. His use of the Mellotron on "Watcher of the Skies" is simply masterful - and truly shows progressive Rock at its best. The live version of this song will not disappoint.

As with most live albums, there are no lyrics included. In the liner notes, there is a short story by Peter Gabriel. Overall, as mentioned this is going to be a sampling of the earliest days of Genesis. The only real disappointment is that you are probably are going to be wanting for more music by the band. Die-hard Genesis fans will love this album. Latter day Genesis fans still may want to check out this album and learn more fo the roots of the band.

You can see a complete list of all Genesis discography, or go back to the Genesis tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.