SECONDS OUT

This review is unplanned. I was having lunch when my cellular phone sounded "clink" which remarked a short message being received. As usual, it was a prog message that said: " .. runnig at 33 1/3 RPM from 200 gram LP powered by 4 hours pre-heated amp . The unbelievable analog sound of The path is clear though no eyes can see. The course laid down long before. And so with Gods and Men .. Gancet! A very well balanced composition played by Genesis". What a provoking message in the middle of my lunch with my family at a restaurant when I had no music (prog I mean!) access at all. The sender was Ican - the guy who met and talked in person with individual Marillion members in US during their reunion with Fish in 1997 - and he actually forwarded the message from Ijal. Interestingly I only knew these two guys only through cellular messages exchanges. The connector was Tatan, my prog mate.

Inspired with that message, when I got a chance to drive alone, I put "Seconds Out" CD at my car audio and turned the volume really loud (beware the traffic!). Why Seconds Out? Because the second message from Ijal saying that he was listening to this album. Music is contagious. Wow man!!! What an astonishing experience - driving alone in highway with a moderate speed (hey, this is not "Highway Star" man!) and getting a loud volume of Seconds Out CD from my car audio system. Great!!!! From energetic "Squonk" with excellent vocal of Phil Collins to melancholic "Carpet Crawlers" until keyboard-driven "Robbery, Assault & Battery" and mellow "Afterglow" with mellotronisque music at the ending part plus excellent double drumming, I had a great joy with my driving. What a great weekend.

My ultimate satisfaction was fulfilled when the CD reached track 5 "Firth Of Fifth". Performed live with no piano introduction (what a regret!) as studio version, the band still could do the song in an energetic way with excellent live vibes. Phil Collins replaced Gabriel's role in vocal without having to emulate Gabriel's voice and it still sounds wonderful! What's so powerful about this song is the interlude. In this version, the oboe part is replaced by soft keyboard work by Tony Banks. The keyboard solo with touchy melody is really great and memorable especially when the inventive drum works enter the music. Yeah, all of you have known that this uplifting keyboard solo is continued nicely with Steve's howling guitar work. And this is actually the reason why I usually repeat this song (like today, I repeated four times!) because Steve has changed his guitar notes at the end of his solo. To fully understand what I mean, if you have the CD version, at approx minutes 6:37 you hear the end of Steve guitar solo in high register notes combined with dynamic double drumming of Phil and Chester. WOW!!! It's truly a musical orgasm for me at this part!

"Supper's Ready" is also another track that needs special attention as it is performed flawlessly. Yes, there is a huge difference at the opening part - not that this version has no "Horizon" as introduction - but the powerful voice of Gabriel singing "Walking across the sitting room ." of the studio version is replaced with a much softer voice of Phil. At first listen I got problem with this as it disappointed me. But when I see the band perform it in its entirety I can enjoy this version as well.

I also like "Cinema Show" in this version because I can hear how great Bill Bruford is, especially during short drum solo incorporated in this live version. Great work, Bill! "Dance on A Volcano" is another great track with an uplifting mood, frequent tempo changes and touchy melodies. This live album is concluded with an encore "Los Endos" taken from the same album of the previous track, "A Trick of The Tail".

Overall, it's an excellent addition to any prog collection. This album can be treated as a farewell concert with Steve Hackett as guitarist. The band then continued with a three- piece band and when they did a concert, they hired seasoned musicians: Chester Thompson (drums) because of Phil's duty as lead singer and Daryll Struemer as guitarist. Keep on proggin' ..!

Progressively yours, GW