FOXTROT

Well, I actually heard Supper's Ready on a bootleg before ever hearing this album and I have always prefered the live renditions to the one on here (if you have the Archives Vol. 1 box then you know what version I prefer, as it is on CD3 of that set). I also heard Watcher and Friday on Genesis Live prior to owning this, and my feeling is the same. Still, three classic songs that I consider great in Genesis' catalog on one album helps me to rate it pretty high. As to the other songs, I have always disliked Time Table. I find the song overly simplistic and boring, and the lyrics a bit lame and goofy. Can Utility is much better, if a bit disjointed, but still a decent song that does not reach the level of greatness that the first three I mentioned do. Horizons is a pleasant, if unremarkable, solo Hackett piece that points the way to his later and much better classical interests. It does provide a nice intro to Supper's Ready though. The only real drawback to Supper's Ready in its studio version is that it has that disjointed, pasted together in the studio feel that Close To the Edge on Yes' album of the same name has. This is of course due to the fact that these tracks were recorded in pieces and put together at the end, hence my preference for the more seamless live versions. But this is understandable considering the length of these songs and the different atmospheres and sounds that were used in recording them. So, all in all, another winner from the early Genesis. I rate it 3 1/2 stars, but will give it the extra half star for the archives (because it really is an excellent addition to any prog music collection, even if I don't rate it as excellent on the whole).