You need these sorts of little links in a concept album to advance the narrative without taking up too much real estate and, boy, do they make the most of it. I love the build-up and ultimate release. Phil’s drums are terrific and the atmosphere from the sustained notes Steve holds for most of the song is the secret sauce.
I'm not really sure why the medley gets so much flack to be honest ... In 77 they were still playing a couple of older songs, but as they had always done, the new album was getting featured to show off new songs. To me that is a good thing, and in the seventies a necessary tool for selling records. In '78 they were playing a couple of older songs. To the best of my knowledge the medley appeared in 1980 and was simply In the cage-slippermen-afterglow and maybe one complete older song. 81 was the same. 82 the medley was extended to include cinema show, and no oldies. in 83 there were two medleys Earl/squonk/firth of fifth and in the cage/cinema show/quiet earth/afterglow ..... There are variations among the setlists, but essentially this is a band that wanted to play its new material, always, nothing new about that. The medleys, for better or worse were a way to still play some older stuff and try not to alienate fans of the earlier material. I guess one could say they should have picked one or two song, but by this stage Genesis had a pretty big catalog to choose from, and like I say they had always focused on the new stuff. from day one. Sure earlier on in their career they played older songs, but they also had a very small well to draw from. For better or worse they chose to go the route of the medley, and for the most part that was an effective way of representing older material, rather than just ignoring it altogether.
Three Sides Live has it's moments but the 3 line up of the Gabriel era stuff sometimes can be a bit karaoke.
Because throwing together such amazingly structured pieces in medleys stands against what to me is the very idea about Genesis and progressive rock is (or at least was), it's like taking the most carefully put together meals and throw them in a bowl mixed up as mush with suger on top.
I understand that completely. My point was merely that they wanted to represent earlier music without losing too much stage time to it. As I say, for many it would have been preferable to just choose a song and play that. I understood the concept of the medley and it didn't perturb me.
I just want to state that I don't want to appear to hate the medley. I understand and agree with your point. It was just that particular performance vid (from the MAMA tour) was kinda crappy to me. That's all.
I don't think the medley was an uncommon use among the so called progressive rock bands or artists. And I don't see nothing wrong with them, especially when used to steer the audience interest in checking out their old stuff.
But for the most part, they *aren't* amazingly structured. Many of the best loved longer Genesis songs grew out of cutting and pasting things together from various contributors, to make everyone happy. IMO the early '80s medley was better than any one of those particular songs.
Whereas I agree with you on your first statement, I wouldn't dare yet to compare the artistic value of those studio recordings with any live performances of "tied together" excerpts of them. But of course, I've nothing against the medleys neither, and I like them.
Last week I might have agreed with you in theory, because the instrumental bits are my favorite elements of a lot of the early songs even if I haven't listened to any live Genesis in decades. Then I listened again to the Three Sides Live version of In The Cage and it really didn't work for me. For a start the performance seemed off, it just didn't have the groove of the original, it felt like the band were rushing to get through it. But worst was the little bit of music they'd added to join it to the excerpt from The Cinema Show. Sorry if I don't have quite the right vocabulary to describe it - at the end where Collins is singing "oh oh, get me out of this cage" and after each line the beat stops and there's a long chord and I suppose it's supposed to be a dramatic way to switch gears but it just comes off cheesy, like a couple of fancy porcelain ornaments joined together with a cheap plastic link from a Kinder Egg.
In the Cage was one of the first songs that I latched onto when I first heard this album. It has a great rolling pulse to it and Rutherford delivers on the bass. The entire song feels like you’re on a carnival ride (in a good way). Bonus points to Tony for his excellent synth solo. Grand Parade is more of a link track or an opportunity to pull back and create some contrast with some of the heavier epics. It sounds like a psyched out march or an assembly line of weirdness. I never skip it.
Back In N.Y.C. - No-one seems to take up the chase, and with the familiar faces fresh in his mind he moves into a reconstruction of his old life, above ground - Too much time was one thing he didn't need, so he used to cut through it with a little speed. He was better off dead, than slow in the head. His momma and poppa had taken a ride on his back, so he left very quickly to join The Pack. - We get a slow swell and Gabriel comes in "I see faces and traces of home back in New York City ... " Musically this is a great rock song. We have a synth playing the main arpeggiated riff and it is effective and underneath there is the stabbing power chords that seem to be the bass and guitar doubled. As we roll out of the first verse I have always loved the note run there. It is keyboard and guitar (possibly the choral sitar again?) doubled. Collins is playing some fantastic drums on here, which goes without saying I guess. I love the bridge also ("as I cuddle the porcupine") that stuttering delivery is very effective and then it comes to such a fantastic section ("no time for romantic escape") To me this track is just on the verge of being the best choice for a single. Gabriel's vocal on this track is bloody marvellous. I get the impression that this may have been a favourite of his from here, just from his vocal delivery. This is just a magnificent song and crashes back to a hard rocking reality after the surreal encounter at the Grand Parade ....
As far as I can remember, Back In NYC is the only song in the Genesis catalog where there is a cuss word.
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway... I don't know... When first getting into Genesis, it took me a great deal of time to really get around this album, get into the songs, feel the music as much as I had felt a lot of the other surrounding albums, Foxtrot through Wind & Wuthering. The vastness of the material, the overall concept, the extreme variety in song structures - but now, and this has been going on for a few years now, I have no doubt that this is my favorite album of all time by any artist. The opening title track plays out like a movie opening, and you can easily envision skyscrapers and crowds of busy people, with the downtempo part taking an aside to a dimly lit side street in New York where you meet this Rael character. And you get the first reference to a pop song, On Broadway, which at first listen seemed interesting, as Genesis along with other progressive bands seemed to eschew the whole 50's, 60's scene; very insular music. Fly on a Windshield starts in a tranquil meditation awash with Mellotron and then gets smashed like a fly on a windshield. This is some of the most accurate musical imagery I have ever heard. Broadway Melody of 1974, when exactly does that begin? Together with Cuckoo Cocoon this piece of music gels together as a beautiful, hollow ambience before turning into the menace that is In the Cage. An absolute claustrophobic colossus of a composition, it takes you through stress and endurance, very dramatic organ sounds and synthesizer soloing and as always, dramatic and on point vocals from Gabriel. He really treads into character on this song - definitely a milestone for Genesis and I am thrilled that it stayed in the live set for as long as it did. The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging took some time for me to understand, but I am a fan of the inoculated vocals, the childlike electric piano and the marching buildup, it becomes quite sinister near the end! Side two opens with a bang, the massive, booming Back in N.Y.C. with a rock solid odd tempo that trawls along, peppered with frantic synthesizers and Gabriel's most butch, almost proto-punk in places vocal that sees the Genesis territory melt together with what Gabriel would pursue in his solo career. Just an amazing track, one of Genesis' very best, and even the most vehemently anti-prog, anti-Genesis person surely must have some place in his or her heart for this one. It ebbs out in a beautiful guitar piece, Hairless Heart which is likewise lifted by the bass and the synthesizer sound, just a massive sound. Seguing into I Know What I Like's naughty cousin, the dynamic of this album really comes into play here. Counting Out Time has a slightly Beatlesque playful vibe to it, very sexual and humorous lyrics, yet still carrying that heavy-yet-complex hat you get pulled down your head on Back in N.Y.C. Then you are presented with a gorgeous, beautiful composition in The Carpet Crawlers, which its obscure lyrics and its beautiful, ethereal melody. Absolutely beautiful contributions from all five members; delicate keyboards, passionate vocals, adequately paced drumming, a soothing bass sound and beautiful guitar, guitar that almost exists on its own plane. At last, we come face to face with the end of the first part of this massive tale, The Chamber of 32 Doors which again features some of the best musicianship the group ever produced; wonderful guitar, a rhythm section in solid gold, top notch vocals and amazing delivery from the keyboards; especially the subtle piano touches in the chorus. For a long time, it has been side 2, or disc 2, that has been my go-to with this album. I feel that everything great and exciting about Genesis really comes to life here. But it is a very tough call! Side three opens with menace, Lilywhite Lilith has a great pace and some interesting, vivid lyrics, a wonderful screwy time signature and manic guitar. The Waiting Room, of course, is Genesis' most experimental piece, bordering on space rock and the avant-garde. It really is a spooky piece of music, all redeemed by the ending. The journey then shifts guitar into the ethereal and the philosophical; and the following passage is to me some of the most beautiful music ever created. Anyway is probably my favorite Genesis song, absolutely chilling lyrics, a timeless piano melody and very heartfelt vocals from Gabriel. The synthesizers seem to synch up with your nerves upon listening to this song. I always felt it was deliberate that they followed this with Here Comes the Supernatural Anesthetist, which is fun, lightweight and a great breathing space between Anyway and The Lamia, which is another massive piece with thrilling vocals, a solid melody and a great performance all around from all five members. I think both Phil and Steve since have claimed that the band sounded at their very best on this record especially. Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats, another personal favorite, just a tranquil piece of mood music that evokes an empty, drifting boat in the morning fog, someplace desolate, mystical yet peaceful and subtly beautiful. On side four the darkness sets in, The Colony of Slippermen takes all sorts of twists and turns, Gabriel fires on all cylinders in terms of theatricality, Phil's drumming is superb, out of this world, best he has ever done, really. The synthesizer solo takes the crown as the most awesome moment in Genesis musical history for me. Everything about it is just on point; the bass playing is impossible to keep track of, yet so in synch with everything else that goes on. Definitely one of their very best moments. Ravine spooked me out on my first many listens, a truly evocative piece of music, bleak as midwinter and chilling as a snowstorm in a desolate forest. Fading into The Light Dies Down on Broadway, it gets a bit more chilling, it plays as a much more ominous take on the title track, completely with ghostly flute touches. Riding the Scree gets slightly funky and lines up for the grand finale. In the Rapids is the reflective launching pad with great guitar and passionate vocals, all gets redeemed in the turn-on-the-house-lights-and-go-nuts moment that is it complete with references to the Rolling Stones, pretentiousness and altogether, the heavy concept bit aside, is a fitting farewell to this era of Genesis which to most will go down as the best ever and one of the crowning touches of progressive rock. So in short, getting four sides of pretentious bollocks results in some of us radiating back some of that massive pretentiousness. I feel very strongly about this music, always have, always will... Genesis is my favorite band, more or less, and The Lamb is my favorite album of all time. Depending on where you come from musically, you can start with this album if you have never heard Genesis before... On the other hand, I can understand it might be tough to go about on first listen. But give it a chance and it will come to you tenfold when you open your heart to it.
Been out of town, so missed some days on here, but here goes. In The Cage - Coming out of Cuckoo Cocoon, where Rael wakes up too soon in his rebirth, he suffers greatly, still finding himself in the cocoon, in a jail, in a cage - he wants to be free from his shackles (drug addiction, I suppose) but he can't escape. He begins hallucinating and it's not a good trip. Then, his rebirth is complete with the death of his first personality - when we go into The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging. He sees himself marching along with all the lost souls that have died with him. Then we're Back In NYC - he's been reincarnated but he's still himself. I tried to make sense of the story, but I'm not sure if I'm even on the right track! I think In The Cage is a very powerful track and one that was a good choice to do live in the early 80's. I enjoyed the bits of other songs they tacked on to bridge it with Afterglow, gave the older fans something to chew on. The album version of Cage is a bit restrained, mostly because when Genesis played live, they went all to the wall! I like Grand Parade, but it's definitely the weakest track on side 1. It's a bit annoying in its repetitiveness, but it does move the story on a bit and gives the listener time to get ready for side 2. Back In NYC. I'm not a fan of this song, but I understand its importance to the concept of the album. I don't really like Peter's vocals on this and the middle part with the porcupine and references to rape have very grating vocals.
