Genesis' Seconds Out hits the big 40 this year
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Recommendations/Featured albums
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=110753
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Topic: Genesis' Seconds Out hits the big 40 this year
Posted By: Valen
Subject: Genesis' Seconds Out hits the big 40 this year
Date Posted: April 13 2017 at 01:29
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One of prog’s most loved live albums celebrates its 40th birthday this year. I’m sure I’m not the only one around here who still enjoys second helpings of Seconds Out, so I thought I’d write a little personal overview of the album, looking at why it works, what’s missing and how it fares on its current CD and DVD formats. Hope you enjoy it. https://momentstransition.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/genesis-seconds-out-1977/
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Replies:
Posted By: SteveG
Date Posted: April 13 2017 at 03:51
 The album that really got me interested in Genesis. The Lamb and A Trick never really sold me until I listened to Seconds Out.------------- This message was brought to you by a proud supporter of the Deep State. |
Posted By: uduwudu
Date Posted: April 13 2017 at 03:57
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Fine review of a great release. And just to add, the DVD with Trick has superb Bruford-era tour footage. Plus there a stacks of very nice soundboards with full concerts to aid and abet this magnificent album. I wonder if the remastering time should have meant expanding the album. Mine is pre-remaster Japanese copy. Japanese copies get pressed from higher res tapes (no longer applicable with digital) and this sounds fantastic. One of the changes I read about is "There's No Business Like Show Business" - Ethel Merman's taped end to every Seconds Out and Three Sides Live getting removed. Some nonsense about copyright infringement. |
Posted By: Guillermo
Date Posted: April 13 2017 at 07:37
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Genesis also played "Your Own Special Way" or "All in a Mouse's Night" during the first part of their 1977 tour (January-March). They also played "The Knife" in an abridged format once in London in late June. And they also played once a Medley of "Lilywhite Lilith / The Waiting Room / Wot Gorilla?" (on January 1st, in London, on the first date of the tour). "Seconds Out" was the second album that I bought from the band. The first was "and then there were three". But the first album that I listened to from them was "Nursery Cryme". All this happened in 1979. In my opinion, the 1977 tour was the best that the band did. It was the top for them musically and in concert. And of course, I still think that the line-up for that tour (Hackett-Thompson-Rutherford-Collins-Banks) was the best they had. I never have been a fan of Peter Gabriel's theatrical vocals and costumes. I think that Phil Collins sang the old songs very well. I prefer music over theatrical shows and vocals. "Seconds Out" is a very good live album. I still have not listened yet to the remastered version of the album. I bought the first CD version of the album in 1994. It sounds well but I still want to listen to the remastered version. Maybe it is available on youtube for listening. The first LP version of "Seconds Out" that I bought in 1979 was the Atlantic Records version made in the U.S. It doesn´t have the brief "Showbussiness" song at the end of Side Four. But the first CD version from 1985 (made in Holland) still has it. ------------- Avatar: Photo of Solar Eclipse, Mexico City, July 1991. A great experience to see. Maybe once in a lifetime. |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: April 13 2017 at 11:05
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I bought a pristine 2LP copy of this back in the late-80's (has a small cut-out notch on the cover) for 5 bucks !! ..........best 5 bucks I ever spent.........still pristine, still enjoy it every so often, still remains one of the best live albums of the 70's. |
Posted By: Kepler62
Date Posted: April 13 2017 at 12:18
| The death knell of Genesis. It was only a matter of time before Phil completely wrecked the band after this. If I remember correctly it came out after Wind & Wuthering. It twas sort of depressing at the time because we knew what was on the horizon. |
Posted By: Catcher10
Date Posted: April 13 2017 at 12:21
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Yup, the one album that solidified my love of Genesis, before this album I had only heard smidges of Genesis on radio.....Then this one came out I was hearing lots on the FM dial in So Cal.....Thank god for KMET and KLOS! -------------   
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Posted By: Barbu
Date Posted: April 13 2017 at 12:46
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Mindblowing Cinema Show. ------------- |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: April 13 2017 at 13:39
I think it's an excellent live album. Brilliant musicianship and great production. My only criticism is the inclusion of Suppers Ready. I think it was a waste of a side. It;s no a bad verson, but the album cold have included One for the Vine and maybe Eleventh earl of Mar instead, and perhaps another shorter PG era track. The sound on Seconds Out was really down to Banks deliberately mixing down Hacketts guitar so his keyboards and the twin drums could come to the fore. I can understand why some fans don;t like what followed, but I think by the time they released Seconds Out, the band were at their best as musicians. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Kepler62 wrote:Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: April 13 2017 at 17:32
I'll take the 40th anniv mini-Lp expanded edition
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Posted By: hieronymous
Date Posted: April 16 2017 at 00:29
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Weird - the other day someone in my office had music on that put Carpet Crawlers into my head - I just happened to pull out Seconds Out so that I could listen to that song and ended up listening to the whole album - I have it basically memorized because I listened to it so much in the '80s when I was in high school. This time around I found myself questioning the song order - was Carpet Crawlers really the second song they played? In later years wouldn't they often play Afterglow near the end of the show? Here it's in the middle. Stuff like that. So thank you for giving that tour setlist - it answers a lot of questions I had. I would love to find some soundboards of complete shows - would like to hear Eleventh Earl of Mar and the original running order. I don't think any of these trump the original studio versions for me - sometimes there are bits in the originals that I prefer, sometimes I like the live versions. I think overall "Live" is my favorite (the one with the blue cover with the Watcher of the Skies).
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Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 16 2017 at 20:47
| I should love this album, since I really prefer Phill's singing to Gabriel's... and in general I do prefer his singing on this album too, but there are a few things that just pull it down. Somehow the choices of songs from the post Gabriel albums are not the ones that I would have prefered. On the other hand, I wish they were all songs with Bill Bruford on drums, instead of only one or two. I remember hearing the video "Genesis Live" or something, with great versions on it (but with it's own problems, like having the best songs, Supper's Ready and Cinema Show truncated to only their second halfs, rendering the video almost useless for enjoyment), and I did like what I could hear of this versions better than the ones on Seconds Out, as far as I remember. Then, I guess it would have been great if the band could have tried and convinced to have Steve's brother to come and play flute for them on the tour, for Gabriel's flute is indeed missing from a few songs. The already mentioned toned down gutiar also damages the versions of this songs. Though Supper's Ready is in general better (for me) than the original, the Willow's Farm section just destroys the song. And Firth of Fifth without the Piano Intro just sinks it down a few points (besides the already mentioned lack of flute). |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: April 16 2017 at 21:33
| ^ At least these days, Roger King plays the piano intro to Firth just beautifully. |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 17 2017 at 20:34
| Yeah, I know. And the Willow's Farm section (at least on the Genesis Revisited album) is nailed very nicely... not as perfect as the studio version, but it's good, and not totally ridiculous as on Seconds Out. |
Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: April 17 2017 at 23:27
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^ Ho hum, yes indeed. PhilCo just being his usual OTT entertainer self. I really think Hackett performs the old Genesis tunes with a lot of respect, and has some great musicians along for the ride. Really makes an effort to bring the 'classic' material up to date and keep it timeless as it is. |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: April 18 2017 at 01:19
Side 1 of Seconds Out is heavily edited. Afterglow and Carpet Crawl were never that early on in the set IIRC. You can hear how the crowd noise suddenly increases and decreases in volume. It's actually quite badly done and side 1 is the weakest side. Squonk opens nicely but is played too fast. Robbery, assault & battery shouldn't be on the album IMO. It ruins the atmosphere and lacks gravitas. The version of Afterglow also sounds weak to. Sides 2 and 4 are superb though. The version of Suppers Read s also vry good, I just think they could hae made better use of that side. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: Flight123
Date Posted: April 18 2017 at 03:16
| I first saw Genesis in 77 so the album has a special resonance. |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 18 2017 at 22:05
That just makes me all the more bitter that Hackett didn't come to Mexico with his Genesis Revisited tour. I really wanted to see that one, much more than I would have wanted to see 3 piece Genesis or Peter Gabriel. I feel that would have been the best possible Genesis show one could hope to see since he left the band. |
Posted By: Rednight
Date Posted: April 19 2017 at 14:44
     ------------- "It just has none of the qualities of your work that I find interesting. Abandon [?] it." - Eno |
Posted By: Mormegil
Date Posted: April 19 2017 at 18:41
Totally agree! ------------- Welcome to the middle of the film. |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 19 2017 at 21:21
What? Too much overanalized? |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: April 19 2017 at 21:23
I do love this version of Cinema Show. For me, Phil's vocals suite it much better, since they are softer, just as the song, and the instrumental section with the double drums and all is wonderful. But I do miss the short flute part (replaced by recordings of birds here), and the guitar sounds weaker (or was mixed lower), which does hurt the song. |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: April 20 2017 at 02:45
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I think the Seconds Out versions of Cinema Show and Firth of Fifth are better than the originals, although Firth obviously misses the wonderful piano intro from the original. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |