I first heard Foxtrot around October 1976 when my brother picked up his third Genesis album (I had 3 myself at that point). I knew about the reputation of Supper’s Ready from discussions with other fans at school and had actually seen them perform it live (at Stafford Bingley Hall the previous Summer) but this was my first chance to listen to it and read the lyrics closely. Of course it dominates the album, and their back catalogue, as their single most important composition. I personally prefer the Foxtrot version to later recordings although it’s a shame the album isn’t better produced. My favourite line is during The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man when Gabriel sings “Look into my mouth he cries” - the emphasis Gabriel places on the word ‘mouth’ comes across as highly charged and always conjures up the image of him singing it live with his Crown of Thorns head gear. But the song has many fine moments - the New Jerusalem section always gives me goose bumps and often makes my eyes watery. Prior to hearing the album I was already very familiar with Watcher of the Skies and Get ‘em Out By Friday, from the superior Genesis Live versions which I had bought 2 years previously. Of the other tracks on Foxtrot Can Utility and the Coastliners is my favourite and in six minutes manages to capture everything that this line up of the band did well. Also very fond of Time Table and as others have said, it’s a shame they never performed it live although they were cramming so much into their live sets back then that it’s understsndable that some less ambitious songs might not have worked on stage. Having said that it didn’t stop them playing things such as Harold the Barrel, Horizons and More Fool Me on later tours. My first copy of Foxtrot that I owned was the 1979 Polydor reissue repacked with Nursery Cryme - I finally got hold of a copy in the original sleeve in March 1985 when a budget reissue appeared with a new catalogue number (CHC38) - although my copy was actually CAS 1058 with a circular sticker to hide the fact. In 2015 I finally bit the bullet on a copy of The Genesis Collection Volume II (which I got for a decent price in excellent condition) and so I play that copy these days as it’s the earliest pressing I own.
Hey there folks. As Supper's Ready is essentially half an album, I am going to skip starting Genesis Live today, just to make sure everybody has said their piece and also Give @Rose River Bear a chance to finish his breakdown. Cheers, Mark
Here's something to go on with. This would be the animated clip folks have mentioned I believe ... it is pretty good
I'll add that I've always detested the cackling way Gabriel used to see "Hey, my bay-BEEE!" during the opening of Supper's Ready on stage. The studio version is a masterpiece, but that little vocal affectation always put me off. The live version of SR that was "almost" part of the 'Genesis Live' LP (can't recall at the moment exactly which gig that was, but I know you guys know the recording of which I speak) does contain my absolute favorite rendition of Willow Farm, though; intense, menacing, absurd & powerful in a way that the studio version isn't. They should have considered releasing THAT version of Willow Farm as their single, backed with the edit of Watcher Of The Skies! I know some (many?) fans seem to prefer the Seconds Out version of SR from 1977, but it lacks the gravitas of the original, IMO.
It's definitely the all time number one Genesis track for me... unfairly, yes, however it also is my favorite "epic" in the sense of any rock song over 15 minutes - the other two are Song of Scheherazade and Nine Feet Underground Anyway, my favorite versions have to be the 76/77 Phil vocals which probably had me get into the song moreso than I would have at that time - not Seconds Out exactly though the really good bootlegs of that period have some really amazing editions imo. That said - I think I enjoy the song so much due to how well it works as an entire piece - the thematics only go really off the rails during Willow Farm but it works as an excellent bridge into the final part and not just a piece of music to be there. The instrumentation is top notch. The acoustic guitars are prime Genesis, some of Tony's all time non synth runs are present and Hackett and Phil probably show their weight in an incredible capacity for the first time, I never found Rutherford's playing very endearing on this one but, heigh ho. The lyrics are half the reason it's such a great song as well. The amount of mythological allegory plus the very pedestrian moments such as Lover's Leap that combine the two make the piece feel so much more significant and it's a feat they were written in the course of 2 (?) days at that.
Apocalypse in 9/8 As Sure as Eggs is Eggs As with the previous sections, an interlude starts the transition to Apocalypse. In this case a beautiful interlude in A minor with fine flute from PG. A cool move happens at 15:27 with a variation of the "I know A Famer" melody form the intro to the second section. The melody is given fanfare like treatment. The Apocalypse starts at 15:35. The chords shift from F Sharp to C......the Devil's interval. At 16:09 a rise out turnaround enters up to E and then the fun begins. A staccato skittering riff in E that sounds like it will fall over itself at times. Uneven changes between E-F#-B give a sense of chaos. Tony plays some great ascending lines that give some floor to the wild rhythm that acts as a pedal like riff. At 17:55 Tony and Peter add some dissonance to the fray. At 18:14 Tony starts an ascending pattern mostly in seconds (a trademark) and sometimes going chromatic until at 18:50 the song starts to transition with C and D chords over the unweilding E pedal tones. At 19:28 the song descends with some cool chromatics in the chords until finally the tension starts to dissipate courtesy of Peter's flute and the song arrives at B flat at 20:02. The bells toll and at 20:11 the chorus to Lover's Leap- in the same key as the original section...E flat...returns and is reset as a coda. Amazing songwriting move and not unlike what Yes did in CTTE. Both bands appear to have had the same idea about the same time. However, it is a common musical practice in classical music. At 20:27 Lover's Leap post chorus section enters and then after a cadence the song goes to A major at 20:44. Another amazing move......the verse of Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man is reset into the coda. The coda has morphed into a recapitulation type section that is used in classical music and it is employed brilliantly. Peter does his best Otis Redding and the section takes on an almost R and B type mood a la I've Been Loving You Too Long. At 21:33 Steve adds in some soaring guitar and at 22:02 Peter really cuts loose with an anguished wail. Steve follows with some fantastic harmonized guitar. The song slowly fades. An epic ending to say the least. A genius mix of hard driving rock, classical and unbelievably, American R and B....Peter's idea I would think. The recap of themes from the first and second sections is brilliantly handled and gives the whole piece a fine sense of recall off distant musical memories. Everyone plays incredibly tight and Peter pulls off one of his best vocal performances. Quick recalls of previous melodies here and there help give the whole piece unity. Prog rock at its best.
Supper's Ready, while not their greatest track (that honor I believe belongs to a song on their next studio effort) I think its at least in the band's top three. Nevertheless its an epic, grandiose suite. I love the peaks and valleys on display throughout. It builds and swells several times but always retreats into a quiet, sometimes mirthful state eventually building again. And even after the crescendo of the closing moments, slowly but surely descends again, finally fading and receding for the final time. It begins and ends with the lament and yet truthful promise of the lover's leap, and the notion that he's back in their loving arms again. Its all very heady stuff, invoking imagery of struggle, of faith, and undying love. And its up to the listener to decide what it truly means. For me, this was sort of my Genesis Christmas song. As a youth I shunned the traditional fare, preferring less hokey and folky stuff to works like this; as loosely tied to those themes as it was. But it wasn't so much the words as it was the feel. The often ethereal sound of the music, along with the imagery of the three saintly shrouded men, king of kings, and the new Jerusalem were enough for me. And it sounded damn good. I go back and forth on which is my favorite version, but the album track deserves a nod for being first and for accomplishing what it ended up being, a mishmash of elements brought together in an oddly cohesive but ultimately enjoyable work of art. I love Supper's Ready. It represents everything right about albums as an art form. Or rather, the canvas unto with the art is performed. Its only knock and know-all, some might say pretentious, but I like it.
Supper's Ready is probably the Genesis track I love the most. It's got everything in it that Genesis were masters of. I've always been kind of bummed that I didn't take up an offer from a college roommate of mine to go see Genesis in 1982 on the Three Sides Live tour in Chicago. Little did I know they would actually play Supper's Ready! Here's a great sounding version from Zurich in 1977 (audio only) -
Genesis Live Live album by Genesis Released 20 July 1973 Recorded 24 February 1973 at Free Trade Hall, Manchester ("Return of the Giant Hogweed") and 25 February 1973 at De Montfort Hall, Leicester Genre Progressive rock Length 46:44 Label Charisma Producer John Burns and Genesis Genesis Live is the first live album from the English rock band Genesis, released in July 1973 on Charisma Records. Initially recorded for radio broadcast on the American rock program King Biscuit Flower Hour, the album is formed from the recordings of shows at Free Trade Hall, Manchester and De Montfort Hall, Leicester in February 1973 during the band's tour supporting their fourth studio album Foxtrot (1972). Genesis Live is the band's first album to enter the top 10 in the UK, reaching No. 9. Following its US release in 1974, it peaked at No. 105. Genesis were persuaded by their label, Charisma Records, to release Genesis Live as a budget-priced title to mark time while the band recorded Selling England by the Pound in mid-1973. (Contractual obligations to Charisma's United States distributor, Buddah Records, may also have been a factor, as Charisma would move its distribution to Atlantic Records shortly before Selling England's release).[original research?] The tracks on the album were recorded at De Montfort Hall, Leicester, England by the Pye Mobile Recording Unit, engineer Alan Perkins, on 25 February 1973 except for "Return of the Giant Hogweed", which was recorded at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England on the previous day, when the band was touring in support of Foxtrot.[1] These recordings were originally made for the U.S. radio show King Biscuit Flower Hour, although they were never broadcast. A handful of early radio promotional double-LP test pressings were created which included a 23-minute version of "Supper's Ready" from the Leicester show. This album's running order was "Watcher of the Skies", "The Musical Box", "Get 'Em Out by Friday", "Supper's Ready", "The Return of the Giant Hogweed", "The Knife", and included between-song patter by Gabriel. Whether this test pressing was intended to be released as the actual album is unknown. "Supper's Ready" was not included in the officially released version, even though the front cover photograph was taken during a live performance of the song (with Gabriel donning the "Magog" mask). A live recording of "Supper's Ready" from the same year's tour was released on 1998's 4-CD boxed set, Genesis Archive 1967–75. However, Gabriel re-recorded some vocals before allowing release. A remastered version was released on CD in 1994 by Virgin in Europe and Atlantic in the US and Canada. A remixed version was included in 2009's Genesis Live 1973–2007 set, also released by Virgin in Europe and Atlantic in the U.S. and Canada. A short story was printed on the back cover of the album, which was the initial part of the reason for Gabriel's departure from the band two years later. William Friedkin, director of "The Exorcist" had read the story, and thought Gabriel had an "interesting mind". He and Gabriel were in talks about making a film, which took him away from the recording of the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. In the end, Gabriel decided Friedkin wasn't interested in a full partnership, and returned to the recordings, though relations with the band were now strained. The following year they would release the concept double album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974), which would prove to be Gabriel's final Genesis album. Rolling Stone gave the album a brief but positive review, commenting that "this album goes a long way toward capturing the gripping power and mysticism that has many fans acclaiming Genesis as 'the greatest live band ever.'"[3] A retrospective review by AllMusic was also resoundingly positive. They remarked "it's doubtful that anyone ever got a richer sound out of a Mellotron on-stage than Tony Banks does on this album, and Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford, and Phil Collins' playing is all quite amazing as a whole unit, holding together some very complex music in a live setting." They judged all the recordings to be far superior to their studio originals.[2] Side one No. Title Length 1. "Watcher of the Skies" 8:34 2. "Get 'Em Out by Friday" 9:14 3. "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" 8:14 Side two No. Title Length 1. "The Musical Box" 10:56 2. "The Knife" 2007 re-issue Additional tracks recorded live, 1975: "Back in N.Y.C." "Fly on a Windshield" "Broadway Melody of 1974" "Anyway" "The Chamber of 32 Doors" ------------------------------------- I guess I understand the rationale, but I was always annoyed that this wasn't a double album. When I first knew about this album, the only live albums I was aware of were all double live albums, and being a young, inexperienced music head, I assumed that a double album was always the full live show. So this single album always perplexed me. I guess now I understand that the band weren't huge and the record company were probably nervous about the idea of a double, but wanted the product. Hindsight is 20/20, so it is redundant, but I feel like a double album would have flown their flag earlier and been more fulfilling. The other thing I don't understand, now, is why the reissue had the 1975 songs on there? Surely they had material from the Foxtrot tour? Surely they could have released a whole live album of the Lamb tour (they released the whole Lamb album in concert on Archives 1). This is a very good live album, but those issues I mention have always tainted it somewhat for me. I like the versions of the songs live, they do a very good job of them. I was very used to the studio versions before I ever heard the live album, so I don't have the same perspective of a lot of the folks posting here about which versions are better. The live versions are great, don't get me wrong, but due to my issues with the album (stated above) I never bought the live album until the live box came out. I know my loss, but the format of the album still annoys me lol. Anyhow ... What are your feelings about this album? When did you first get the album? Did anyone here happen to see any of the shows from this tour? What were they like for you? Let us know anything that come to mind that you would like to share with us. Cheers, Mark
Watcher of the Skies One thing I notice about these live takes, is that the audiences were obviously familiar with all the songs, although the albums hadn't been huge sellers up to this point. That shows that at least they had a good live reputation already, as it doesn't sound like canned applause. This is a really nice dynamic, tight live performance of a great song.
... don't care much for live albums, this one is no exception - sounds best on the non remastered CD.
It’s a shame that there has not been a formal Genesis Live release with “Supper’s Ready,” as per the test pressing noted above.
Between the sacred hymns & the profane wordplay, it's the surreal musical equivalent of High Mass as attended by schoolboys who can't deny the Monty Python elements in the subculture of the time. With hilarious absurdities like "Activate my prayer capsule"/"You're all full of ball", & meta self references "fox on the rocks"/"musical box", this is Peter on fire. A few other musical observations: Mike overdubs cello for the Lover's Leap verses, correct? At 13:35, the mournful mellotron & guitar sounds like the "melting away" of the Willow Farm visions & calls back the spirit of the wailing outro of Watcher. The dirge that follows at 14:14 definitely seems to be an extension of the "farmer/fireman" material, which itself seems to pull a bit from Twilight Alehouse. Apocalypse is actually not as complicated as it sounds. It's just a guitar/bass ostinato while Tony does very scripted Bach-like sequences over modulating chords throughout. It's Phil's crazy improv, at times following one or the other, or sometimes neither, that creates the real chaos (while also gluing it all together). I've had the fortune to see The Musical Box recreate it perfectly. The effect of the geometric Magog mask appearing to float & spin wildly against strobe light during Apocalypse was terrifying & must have seemed ten times as incredible all those years ago. I've also seen Steve perform it with his band, & hearing him play those guitar parts live was utterly transcendent.
Same here. Mostly I am only interested in live shows if I am actually attending them. Don't mind me, I can be patient until we start discussing SEBTP.
The Rainbow gig is good, but yea, it would have been nice for the reissue to actually be a whole show and relevant to the tour the original album was from.
OK, Genesis Live was my introduction to the world of Genesis when my brother borrowed a copy from a school mate and brought it home to digest. This was in February 1974 when I was just about 12. Back then all we had to record albums was a small mono tape recorder (Dansette I think) with a single microphone input and so we recorded it using that placed in front of the left speaker of our stereo record player (a Garrard deck that my dad had assembled from a kit) so we recorded it onto a single side of C90 Scotch tape. The album is about 48 mins long so we lost the final few minutes of course. I played that tape in an unusual way - The Knife was the track that appealed to me most on first listens and so I kept playing that track over and over again until I wanted to move onto The Musical Box and did the same with that track (and played The Knife every time I played TMB). I continued in this vein until I covered the whole album. Within a month or so my brother had bought Selling England and I Know What I Like was climbing the charts (leading my sister to buy her one and only Genesis record, so I got to hear Twilight Alehouse before most of their back catalogue). Later in 1974 - probably around the Summer I think - I picked up the Genesis Live LP from a local record shop (more a newsagents/stationary shop, but they had a small record section) for £1.99 and my Genesis collecting was underway. Obviously on the one hand I wish they had included Supper's Ready but, on the other, it may not have found its way into my life as quickly as it did, given that this was a budget release intended to attract new fans, and had it been a double (a short double at that) it wouldn't have had the impact it did have in finding that new audience. That first copy got fairly badly treated (played to death, loaned out to people, taken to play at other houses etc.) and in 1978 when it was reissued I picked up a replacement copy for about £3.25 using a record token I had had for Christmas. When the CD era dawned I found a copy of Genesis Live on CD with a couple of quid knocked off and decided to buy that, making it my first Genesis CD too. The most unusual copy of the album I have is mid Seventies cassette copy (from Germany I think) on the Philips label where to balance the playing time they split Hogweed into 2 parts (part 1 is 5 and a half mins, and part 2 is 2 and a half mins) by fading it out and then fading it back in again as the tape moves from side 1 to side 2. This edition was released in Italy and The Netherlands too for those who have an interest in such things. Despite it being a single live album, it has lost none of its magic for me and its an album that gets played frequently, most recently just last week in fact. I do think though the band should finally give the fans what they always believe they should have had and reissue it complete with the glorious live version of Supper's Ready.
I had Live tape before Nursery Cryme so knew these versions before their studio counterparts. I too tend to pass over live albums, which makes no sense as I've made a habit of collecting Gabriel era Genesis recordings. So I dont play this album as often as others. And, since acquiring a digital copy of the test pressing with superior content and sound, I'll probably play it even less still. I bought the live cube with the remix but haven't played it enough to pass judgement on the sound quality. But it was so stupid not to include "Suppers Ready" as a bonus track. Dammit, Tony.
Yea, it is bewildering to me that they didn't re-issue the album with at least Supper's Ready ... The Lamb tracks are nice, but it just seems weird, when you know it is from a tour two years later. The other thing is, although it is possible they only recorded the six songs, it seems really unlikely. If you have all that gear set up to record, you would generally record the whole show .... so I find it hard to believe that there isn't more than just Supper's Ready out there
