Genesis – Three Sides Live
“Turn it on, Turn it on, Turn it on, Turn it on, Turn it, Turn, it, Turn it, Turn it on again, on again, on again, on again, on again, again, again, again, again, again, again…”
Abacab was a huge album for the band. The decision to shift direction probably turned off anyone still on the fence and clinging to the notion that no change is good change. In all fairness Abacab is the sound of a very different band from Selling England By The Pound. So off they went again to tour the world…well Europe and North America at least. Approximately 66 shows were played between September 25th 1981 in Barcelona Spain through December 23rd in Birmingham England this time using the new Vari-Lite automated lighting system. The band decided to record some shows with the intention of releasing their third live album.
Three Sides Live was another double album and was released June 4 1982. There are a lot of people who feel this live album is also one of the best the band ever released. I have a hard time being objective with this one. My first entry/exposure to Genesis was via this album and Abacab…though I think it was actually this one first, so I’m somewhat biased about it. Seconds Out is admittedly great but there is something about Three Sides Live that I love. It could actually be more of a formative reaction, but I think there is something else to it as well. One thing is that it sounds so clear and vibrant and in your face. It sounds like you are in the stadium/arena. Secondly, I think some of the songs are actually improved upon in the live setting. Phil sounds more relaxed and ad libs a lot more which I’m not sure if people think this is good or bad but I know I listened to this album so much that I know every subtle nuance of how he sings every song. All the added “ows” and “oohs” and delayed words and various inflection changes from the album. I know and sing them all and I love it. Finally, the dual drumming of Collins/Thompson was now in its third tour and they really played well together, so all the parts where both are drumming sounds pretty amazing. The difference with Bill Bruford was that for the most part when Phil played drums Bill would move to more percussion and add to what Phil played. With Chester they would often both play full on, doing different parts but much more in sync and tight, at least in my opinion. The energy of that synergistic playing really adds a lot to some of the songs (such as Abacab and Dodo) and it really comes across well on this live album.
Unlike Seconds Out the songs were taken from a variety of different shows from the tour.
Similar to Seconds Out the actual order of songs was rejigged for the live album and isn’t really reflective of the flow of the actual live shows from the Abacab tour. Again, the omission of material, this time Gabriel era material, likely made them have to rethink the order. As well, the original tour setlist started with Behind the Lines/Duchess and I’m guessing having the live album start exactly the same way Duke started might not have been what they wanted. The flow of the album is actually quite good and works well in my opinion.
What is definitely different about this album is that apart from In The Cage Medley (which included parts of The Cinema Show and The Colony Of Slippermen) there are no Gabriel era songs. In reality they did perform The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, The Carpet Crawlers, Firth Of Fifth, and I Know What I Like on the tour. Clearly there was a decision to showcase more recent material which for most of the shows was 6 songs from Abacab, 5 from Duke, 2 from A Trick Of The Tail and 1 or 2 from Wind and Wuthering. A couple other songs were played at anywhere from 1-6 shows. The fact that the Gabriel era material had all appeared on Seconds Out as well, likely influenced what was selected for this new live album. The exception to all of this is the fact that the album itself was different in the UK from the rest of world. The reason the album was called Three Sides Live is because on the international version Side 4 was actually comprised of 5 studio songs; 2 Duke era b-sides and 3 unreleased songs from the Abacab sessions. Thus, Three Sides Live. In the UK however, since the 3X3 EP containing the three Abacab songs had been issued in May 1982 just prior to the release of the live album they decided to add four live songs from previous tours. Thus, the Three Sides Live title in the UK actually made no sense as it was actually four live sides. To confuse things even further when it was finally issued on CD it was either one and a half sides live or two sides live. They should have better predicted the changes to formatting and just called it Genesis Live…oh wait that’s already been done – and it had no Collins era songs on it…maybe this was payback…You can find a bunch of good clips from the Three Sides Live video on YouTube.
Anyway, lets break down the two versions of Side 4. As mentioned, the international version, the one that the album title makes sense on, contains 5 studio songs. The first three are the same ones that were released on the UK only EP titled 3X3, which has an excellent sleeve that is an homage to the Beatles Twist And Shout EP. Even the liner notes on the back were done by Tony Barrow who had done the original. The title is a nod to 5X5 by the Rolling Stones.
First song is Paperlate which was also released as a single globally and did quite well, getting a lot of radio play. The title was derived and inspired from Dancing With The Moonlit Knight with the line “Paper late, cried a voice in the crowd”. I believe they had been playing it at a soundcheck and something stuck. The song also features the horn section from Earth Wind and Fire who appeared on the song No Reply At All on the Abacab album. I think it is a pretty fun, bouncy pop song. I don’t really know what it is about and honestly it doesn’t really matter. It is a feel-good single and my feeling is if you really don’t like it you probably really don’t want to like it. It is hardly offensive or nearly as divisive as some hardcore old prog farts want to believe. But to be fair this is now a different kind of band. Good on them, I say…it’s a solid single and nothing to be ashamed by.
Next up is You Might Recall, which unlike many songs deservedly left off of many albums by many bands, is absolutely not the case. Not only is it a shame it wasn’t included on the album but in my personal opinion it is actually one of the best songs the band ever wrote as a trio. My suspicion is that it was probably originally planned to be included but was cut when Ahmet Ertegun president of Atlantic Records urged them to include Who Dunnit?. Maybe it was too similar to what they had done prior and didn’t fit the mandate for the album. Either way I think it was a miss not including it. The good news is that it was actually released so in the end it is out there and everyone can debate if and where it should go on the album and what should be cut…and then everyone else can argue about who is more right about their hypothetical choices. Regardless it is a fantastic song. The key change and guitar in the bridge/chorus sections are exceptionally good.
The final of the 3 Abacab cast offs is Me and Virgil and I would say it is a perfectly placed song if you want to really contrast the band at their best and worst as a trio. I know there are some people that will vehemently defend this song and I feel for them. Everyone is entitled to an opinion even if it is clearly wrong . I personally know I have great taste in music and Me And Virgil to me is just a dog of a song. The story is that they were trying to do something reminiscent of The Band and managed to miss the mark by about as wide a margin as one could imagine (though to be fair Robbie Robertson managed to miss the mark on more than one occasion as well). The song drives a nice wedge between four other rather good songs. The band hate the song so much that they refused to include it on the Genesis Archive 2: 1976-1992 box set though they did include it on the 76-82 box set. The only good thing about is that it is credited to all three band members so you can’t really focus your ire onto any one of them. You gotta take responsibility for the good and the bad. Enough on that one…I think I need a drink now…
So back to the era of individual song writing credits and the Banks penned song Evidence Of Autumn which was the b-side of the Misunderstanding single. It is a pretty awesome song which many argue should have been included on Duke. I think maybe it was too close in style to Heathaze and the band had agreed to use only two songs from each individual member so this one obviously didn’t make the cut. I’m glad it got a spot on this record in the end as it is a worthy addition to the band’s discography.
Open Door is the Rutherford song that didn’t make the Duke album and ended up as the b-side to the Duchess single. It is a pretty song but maybe a bit too close to Alone Tonight. Where it suffers and maybe also where it stands out is that it is one of the only Genesis songs that does not have any drums at all. What makes it unique though, is also the reason it doesn’t quite hit the heights it could have and in the end it doesn’t stray far from where it starts. A solid inclusion on the “studio” side of Three Sides Live and something a bit different, though.
For the UK version of Three Sides Live, the version where the title made no sense, side 4 is actually comprised of 4 songs from three different tours and locations. One For The Vine is taken from London May 5 1980 Duke tour show. It is a wonderful live version of the song. Next is The Fountain Of Salmacis which is possibly taken from the Knebworth Festival show June 24 1978 (though not sure if it is known for sure) and is nice to hear Phil’s take on this iconic song from his first album with the band. He does a great job on it and it is a treat to have a live version of it even if it isn’t Gabriel on vocals. The last two songs on the UK Live side 4 are It and Watcher of the Skies recorded July 8 1976 in Glasgow on the Trick Of The Tail tour…meaning that it is actually Steve Hackett on guitar. The version of Watcher is only the beginning and ending sections merged together without any of the vocals, but it is also a nice addition to the album and a great ending. If you aren’t paying attention, you may not even realize they are from different shows and tours.
Following the release of Three Sides Live the band actually embarked on “extended” tour leg…I guess to promote the live album of a tour to support a studio album…This might be a first. Anyway they played 46 shows in Europe, UK and North America starting in Peoria Illinois August 1 1982 and ended September 30 1982 in London England. The setlist was pretty close to the Abacab tour set. Paperlate and No Reply At All were also played at a few shows. Oh right they also Dropped Duchess and Firth Of Fifth and replaced them with Follow You Follow Me and Supper’s Ready (here is a fan made reconstruction from the tour – sound is good – video not so much – https://youtu.be/R3Vc33msZ-w).
Two days after the end of this tour the band would reform for their only live reunion to date with both Gabriel and Hackett. In 1982 Peter Gabriel had personally funded the first WOMAD (World Of Music And Dance) concert. He was facing significant personal financial ruin due to a variety of reasons including poor ticket sales. The band agreed to help out their old singer and do a “reunion” show to help with sales under the title “Six Of The Best” – i.e. Collins/Banks/Rutherford/Gabriel/Stuermer/Thompson. The day of the show as an infamous mudfest and by all accounts the show was great albeit a bit rough. Gabriel was brought on stage in a coffin and also pulled out some of his old costumes for the show. Steve Hackett was invited to perform with them as well but was on tour in South America. Due to a delay in his flight he only managed to make it to perform with them for the encore. But the five core members of the band played on stage, together…just this one last time…and no on filmed it…
The setlist for this show was:
“Back in N.Y.C.”
“Dancing with the Moonlit Knight” (Excerpt)
“The Carpet Crawlers”
“Firth of Fifth”
“The Musical Box”
“Solsbury Hill”
“Turn It On Again” (vocals: Phil Collins; drums: Peter Gabriel)
“The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”
“Fly on a Windshield”
“Broadway Melody of 1974”
“In the Cage”
“Supper’s Ready”
“I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” (guitar: Steve Hackett)
“The Knife” (guitar: Steve Hackett)
Please fans let’s hear all about your memories…
Recommended Listening – It’s all good – check out Paper Late, You Might Recall, Evidence Of Autumn and Open Door if you’ve never heard them.
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