GENESIS IN CONCERT

Oh, Yeah, I do remember this one. And I´d rather not see it again. It was just the way a local recording company found to cash in when Genesis played in Brazil in 1977. Although the name In Concert suggests a live recoding (fuelled by the sub title ´Best Moments Of The Brazilian 77 Tour`) it is actually a compilation of sorts, and it contains studio tracks only, in one of the most dishonest ways to fool record buyers into getting this turd.

The songs themselves are, of course, of very good quality, as was anything Genesis had released up to that point of their career, but the tracklist is a mixed bag putting together stuff from different times and line ups: two tunes from Selling England By The Pound (I Know What I Like, Dancing With the Moonlit Knight), one from Foxtrot (Can-Utility And The Coastliners), one from Trespass (Stagnation), one from Nursery Crime (Fountain Of Salmatics) and one from A Trick Of The Tale (Ripples). Hardly their best and I really don´t understand why they didn´t include The Carpet Crawlers (maybe Genesis most well known song by the Brazilian audience at the time).

I´m quite ashamed that such thing exists. It should be viewed as a curio only. Even the liner notes on the back cover have several mistakes and misinformation. I can´t recommend this album to anyone. Even the most hardcore completionist will find it useless. It´s an embarrassment and should be avoided at all costs. Fortunately it was not released in the CD format as far as I know and I surely hope it will never be.

Review Nº 159

"Genesis In Concert" is a compilation of Genesis and was released in 1977. Curiously, despite the track list of it, has songs released by Genesis main in Gabriel's musical era, it hasn't the presence of Peter Gabriel on it, being Phil Collins their lead vocalist. Adding to the confusion, despite the compilation be named "Genesis In Concert", it has nothing to do with live concerts. In short, all tracks taken from Gabriel's era are without Gabriel, and all were recorded in studio.

So, what "Genesis In Concert" is? It looks like that "Genesis In Concert" is a compilation released by Som Livre, a Brazilian record label, when Genesis visited Brazil in 1977. So, and as I said before, although it clearly says in the front cover of it, "In Concert ? The Best Moments Of The Brazilian '77 Tour", this is only a compilation of studio recordings.

So, what make a record label edit an LP supposedly with live recordings taken from the live Brazilian tours, with simple studio tracks? In a first moment we can immediately think in a fraud. However, there is another explanation for that and more logical. From what I read it seems that Genesis released two live shows in Brazil, in Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro and in Ibirapuera in São Paulo. Probably, the audio quality of the recording sessions was very bad to capture the sound stage, and so, the final result must have been horrible. So, perhaps the record label has decided to release an album with studio tracks to celebrate the passage of Genesis in Brazil. Anyway, the choice of the name wasn't a good option.

Beyond these things and the high quality of the track list, this compilation has, for me, some interest. It seems to be one of the few recordings of Genesis with Bill Bruford on drums. So, the line up of the compilation is Phil Collins (lead vocals, drums and percussion), Steve Hackett (lead guitar, 12 string guitar and Hodaka), Tony Banks (backing vocals, RMI electric piano, Hammond T. organ, APR Pro-Soloist, mellotron 400 and epiphone), Mike Rutherford (backing vocals, electric 12 string guitar, bass guitar, 8 string bass guitar and bass pedals) and Bill Bruford (drums and percussion).

"Genesis In Concert" has six tracks. The first track "The Fountain Of Salmacis" was originally released on their third studio album "Nursery Cryme". This is the great gem on that album. It's one of the songs most played live by the band. The theme is around a story, based in the Greek mythology. Musically, it's a song with great energy, which collapses into an avalanche of emotions. It features everything that was great in that Genesis' era. The second track "Can-Utility And The Coastliners" was originally released on their fourth studio album "Foxtrot". This is another song with beautiful vocals and a great finale by Banks and Hackett, which makes the song very dramatic and melodic. It has some lovely bass pedals and mellotron musical sections, and it also features one of the few guitar solos on the album. The third track "Dancing With The Moonlight Knight" was originally released on their fifth studio album "Selling England By The Pound". It's a song that begins with Collin's voice very calm and that progressively gets louder and more upbeat. The final result is a very powerful song. This track gently lifts the listener into this new musical world of the band. The fourth track "Ripples" was originally released on their sixth studio album "A Trick Of The Tail". This is a very calm and beautiful song. It's a track with nice guitar and keyboard musical textures. Hackett's guitar work is real stunning, and it has also a soft and wonderful keyboard work by Banks. This track represents one of the quietest parts of the album. The fifth track "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" was also originally released on their fifth studio album "Selling England By The Pound". It's a very funny song with some characteristics of a pop song. This is a shorter less serious song, which is based on the album's cover and with lyrics fairly cryptic. It's a song that fits very well on that album. The sixth track "Stagnation" was originally released on their second studio album "Trespass". It's one of best tracks on that album. The music moves into a crescendo with an accentuation from acoustic guitar and keyboard work. It's one of the best tracks in the earlier Genesis' sound and in the Phillips' musical era. This is also their first most progressive track.

Conclusion: The track list chosen by Som Livre to this compilation is very good and enough representative of Genesis in those times. It practically covers almost of Gabriel's era, plus their last studio album "A Trick Of The Tail", already without Gabriel on board. One of the exceptions is their debut studio album "From Genesis To Revelation". But as this is a minor work, it's absolutely comprehensible that decision. However and strangely, it hasn't any song from their sixth studio album "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway". How does it have two tracks from "Selling England By The Pound" and none of their sixth studio album, one of their best? This time, that option is absolutely incomprehensible. But what bothers me most on this compilation is its name. I can't accept that despite the possible problems with the live recordings of this Brazilian live concert and the desire of Som Livre to commemorate the passage of Genesis by their country, they have released a compilation with such name. I'm not so radical as my colleague Tarcisio Moura is, probably because I'm not Brazilian. So, due to the quality of the tracks I must rate it as good, but a non-essential work.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)