3 X 3

And then there were three ... awful crappy and poppy songs! On one topic I read that Genesis should have changed their name after Hackett left the band. Well, the Phil Collins Trio would have been a perfect name because his contribution to the post-Hackett-era is so dominant! Don't feel any longer ashamed Paul Palmer, this special edition release will be rated by us collaborators: I start with a one star rating because I presume that there are sufficient Genesis freaks who wanted to complete their collection. I followed you, who will follow me ....?

This is an E.P. which was released in mid 1982 in England, almost at the same time these three songs were released in the fourth side of the U.S. version of the "Three Sides Live" album (and in some European countries too, like in the German`s version of "Three Sides Live"). Yes, these songs were more for the Pop Rock market... but they still have some good quality. All these songs were recorded during the recording sessions for their "abacab" album in 1981.

"Paperlate" is another song (like "No Reply at All" from their "abacab" album) very influenced by the solo work of Phil Collins, because the band had the EWF horns appearing again. I think that if Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks didn`t like Collins`solo style, maybe they couldn`t like the use of horns in some Genesis`songs. This song has very good drums and some "Prog-like" tempos.

"You Might Recall" could be the best of these three songs. This song also has a good electric piano, very characteristic in Banks`sound, and he also plays very good synth in the background. Rutherford also plays a good guitar riff. this song, IMO, is somewhat influenced by Motown music.

"Me and Virgil" is a story told in the lyrics, but the song is not very good, because the story is very detailed, and the song as a whole tends to boredom. But it still has some "Prog" influences. The band didn`t like it enough when they selected the songs for their "Archive 2" Box Set, and so this song now is a "rarity" and very hard to find for new listeners. "Paperlate" and "You Might Recall" were included in the "Archives 2" Box Set. The song is not very good, but for the new Genesis`collectors it could have been very good to included it (with another "rare" song called "Match of the Day" from the "Spot the Pigeon" E.P.) in that Box Set.

I read somewhere that the cover photo and the comment included in the back cover of this E.P. were a tribute to the old E.P.s released by The Beatles in the `60s. So, IMO, the cover design is very interesting and collectable too.

The cover of this EP, I´m surprised so few reviewers acknowledge it, is a homage to the Beatles Twist and Shout EP of 1963, complete with even the label typo and stereo/mono calls. Very funny. As for the songs themselves, they were recorded around the time of the controversial Abacab album, but did not make into the final cut. Certainly old times fans hated it, but for 1981 the timing could not be more right. Simple pop songs in structure, but hiding in the very sophisticated arrangements and chord progressions they also show their symphonic prog traits. Who else in the pop world could deliver those?

Paper Late is definitely the weaker of the three, being a kind of rehash of their previous (and Collins influenced) No Reply At All. Still it has its charm. You Might Recall and Me And Virgil are more progressive and I guess any of those three would sit much better than the (bad) joke that Who Dunnit? from that LP was.

In the end I found that the nice cover is the only reason to have this EP, since all three songs (plus a couple more outtakes) were made available on the fourth side (of the vinyl edition) of The Three Sides Live album. Your choice.

Rating: Two stars, since nothing here is really hard to find, unlike the Spot The Pigeon EP. Nice music, but it´s much better to invest on the Three Sides Live CD and have lots of excellent stuff with it.