I more meant they aren't improvising different solos or changing the arrangements in interesting ways. The keyboards being all the same few is one reason I noted the sounds of the songs are a lot less diverse. Yeah I dont think Genesis live albums on the whole were all that interesting, as the main thing the live presentation added was a visual dimension and the "you are there" experience. So I'm not saying Seconds Out is worse than their other live albums, more just that their live albums are pretty pointless.
The reason I ask is because I had never come across that info and it didn't quite seem to fit into how the band typically worked at the time. I'm guessing that since they ended up with about an hour's worth of songs there might have been speculation that they could have released it all on one CD, but CD's were only just hitting the market in any notable way, and LPs were still pretty much the standard release format. Of course, they could have put at least one more track on the LP if they wanted to, and B-sides were also fairly standard, so it would seem holding back two or three of the weakest songs for that purpose would not be unusual.
'You Might Recall' is a great song that deserved a proper place on the Abacab album, though OTOH it did end up being the definite high point of the EP (and along with 'Evidence Of Autumn') the twin highpoints of the studio side of 3SL. 'Paperlate' is pretty good (though it outstays its welcome due to it's almost annoying repetitiveness) but as far as 'Genesis with horns' goes its definitely the lesser of the two tracks for me. 'Me & Virgil' - according to Phil heavily inspired by The Band's self-titled 'Brown album'. So why does it lyrically seem to have been more inspired by 'Little House On The Prairie'? Musically its OK, I guess. Overall though its not much better than Whodunnit TBH - nearly as annoying but in a very different (almost polar opposite) way.
I seem to remember Tony saying that they decided to trim down the tracklist to make the album stronger (maybe in the remixes interviews?). And I totally agree it is.
I was in LA around that time and that's what I remember. I'd lived in Boston the year before where in 1985 they had one of the first classic rock stations, WZLX. Although classic rock radio perhaps stifled new rock music, it did initially expose quite a bit of older music that had been off playlists for years. I was young and had never heard stuff like Traffic, CSN, deep album Elton John (like Tumbleweed,).... At the time, it was perfect. You still got your Zep, Floyd, and Beatles, but you no longer had to sit through Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, or Ratt. Nor did you have to hear, say, Invisible Touch or Throwing It All Away.
3X3 I remember it was kind of a curious release, a little unexpected. It always reminds me of springtime, coinciding with its release of course. "Paperlate" Decent track, I like it. I think I can understand why it didn't make the cut for the LP. The melody seems to sit in that original riff, but really doesn't develop too much beyond that. The bridge is quite nice though. "Me & Virgil" Yeah, according to Phil this was their supposed attempt to be The Band, but failing quite miserably. He's right. But then Genesis is not The Band, and vice versa. There's a loose feel to the song that's kind of interesting at first, but it sounds a little forced at times, which is a bit of a contradiction. I'd say that they were trying for something that simply wasn't part of who they are, so the results don't quite work. However, I really do like the middle section, which almost sounds like it comes from a completely different song. Overall, it's O.K., wish it were a little better. "You Might Recall" This is a wonderful song. It just sounds so relaxed and easy going. The band is really hitting a nice groove here. I'm still trying to figure out why this missed out on the LP, but "Another Record" made it. Hm...
You Might Recall is such a wonderful song. I remember spring 1982 like it was yesterday. I bought Three Sides Live and i kept listening to side 4 with the studio tracks. It seemed like half a new album to me at the time. I didn't even know the last 2 tracks have already been released as b-sides, but looking at the 1979 copyright on the back side of the sleeve made me a little bit suspicious. Anyway... There's not a single note i don't like on You Might Recall. Everything just runs so smoothly that i wish it never ends. It makes the same effect to me even now. One of its many points of strenght is Phil Collins vocals in my opinion. During that short period of time (1981-1983) he could have sung in the most credible way even the phone list. His voice matured impressively around late 1980 - early 1981, it's hard to believe he's the same singer with the thin and still sometimes uncertain timbre not sooner than a couple of years before on And Then There Were Three. Now he sings in a more aggressive style and his voice is fuller, almost raucous at times, and all the songs he sings in this period really benefit from that. As a side note, in fact i believe his strongest vocal performance in the studio is on I Don't Care Anymore from his second solo album. Do anyone agree with me? Well, back on track with You Might Recall, there's a group cohesiveness rarely matched before or after, the choice of having a recording studio all of their own proved being a winner in my opinion. I just wonder how far into the recording session the song came together. I remember being disappointed it was the b-side to Paperlate on the italian 45, since it was clearly the better song. It's a timeless song, evocative with a a little sadness background, without being actually sad. A masterpiece, in my book.
Am I the only one who hears essentially a note-for-note copy of the guitar line from The Byrds' "Eight Miles High" at around the 5 minute mark in "Me and Virgil"? Seems like a pretty straight lift by Mike.
Jumping the gun - I am starting to listen to 3SL (as I wont have much listening time over the weekend) and so far actually finding this a far more worthy live addition to the Genesis catalog than either GL or SO, both of which I found real redundant with the studio releases. First listen in ages (thanks Spotify) as I never got this on CD, only vinyl. More to come when we get to it tomorrow.
Absolutely agree. "You Might Recall" IS Genesis, to my mind, and if I had to pick one song by them to play for somebody who was unaware of their music, this is probably the one I would choose. I love the long fade, and the way Phil sings each of the three repeats of the "your hopes were as leaves upon the water" part differently, accentuating different words and sometimes syllables within words each time that part comes up in the song. One of his best vocals. The problem I have with Phil starting to "over-sing" or over-emote in his singing during the 1981 and after period is when he is singing ridiculous lyrics and putting all of that vocal power into them. It just seems silly to me to hear him screaming out the lyrics to songs like "Abacab", "Who Dunnit?", or, later, "Invisible Touch". On the other hand, when he is given a brilliant lyric with real emotional resonance (say, "Like It or Not", "Home By The Sea", or "You Might Recall"), I love to hear him really pushing his voice to wring every ounce of emotion from it. Definitely one of my top 5 songs by the band.
You Might Recall - anyone succeed in counting out (the) time signature of the opening instrumental bit. Seems like they are doing some thing a bit tricky but cant nail it down
It really seems to me like between Seconds Out and 3SL the band has transformed from a group trying very self consciously to replicate their studio works into a truly rocking band bent on having fun with the material (I have only listened to the original 3 live sides so far). The drums are very hard hitting as Chester is bringing a real sense of fun and funk to this material. Really pretty much every song on these 3 sides is more powerful and exciting than the studio version, and we even get some rewarding improv in a couple places. I imagine the older recordings on side 4 may be closer to SO but we will see when we get there.
To me it's a dog's breakfast. There are some songs with video, broken up with non concert stuff, and then there are some audio only tracks. I need to watch it again without hopes and expectations, but I hate concert videos that are broken up with doco stuff and video of the guys warming up, cutting off songs halfway, breaking up any chance of musical flow.
yeah 3SL was the first live video wich I saw (before I had my first concert experience with them) of the band. I remember ordering it at my local video rental (on VHS remember that). And when In The Cage started you just saw Tony Banks eating breakfast, I wanted to throw things at my TV. Whats even more frustrating that everything is filmed, when Eagle Rock was releasing a bluray of this, they had access to the original 16mm film, but decided to just release the same edit as before
It makes me want to beat someones head in ... I cannot for the life of me figure out why they didn't do a proper version, when the opportunity was available .... It may actually be my pinnacle point for the band as a live unit and there is this video of this fantastic concert sitting under Tony's eggs or Phil's foot powder or whatever other nonsensical thing they put in there ... makes me grind my teeth just thinking about it. When I saw the bluray had come out, I thinks to meself, eh gov'nor they done it prop'ly, but thankfully a little research saved me from ending up in jail. With the botch up of the video - in my opinion - they could have at least given us a 5.1 of the album in the live box, but foiled again .....
I just listened it - the song is 4/4 from start to finish. The intro starts on the 4-and of the measure, and there are a lot of similar anticipated beats throughout. It may be one of those things where if you hear the initial beat as the One, you never do find a comfortable downbeat. It's like, it took me years to hear the intros to "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Drive My Car", "Street Fighting Man", and others properly, and I can still hear the downbeat in the wrong place if I'm not paying attention.
