GENESIS 1976 - 1982

Unlike the 1970-1975 box set, this time there's no discovery here. All the 1976-1982 extra tracks were previously officially released and are more or less well-known. For example, Paper Late, You Might Recall, Me And Virgil, Evidence Of Autumn and Open Door stuffed the fourth (studio) side of Three Sides Live 2LP released in June 1982. The first three tracks were recorded during the Abacab sessions and saw the light of day in May 1982 on the 7-inch single entitled 3 X 3. The last two were recorded for (but didn't fit in) Duke in 1979 and first released on 7-inch singles in 1980, Open Door with Duchess and Evidence Of Autumn with Misunderstanding.

There's not much to say about the three non-Abacab tracks. All would be lightminded enough for Abacab, Paper Late sounds like simplified No Reply At All, Me And Virgil sounds like spoiled Me And Sarah Jane. And it's OK that You Might Recall wasn't included in the album, perhaps it would be too good for Abacab...

Open Door and especially Evidence Of Autumn are IMHO both masterpieces. Of course they do not correspond to the music of Duke and should be rejected from the album, but anyway both are outstanding. Open Door is a slow guitar-dominated philosophic ballad in the best traditions of late 1970s' Rutherford, Evidence Of Autumn is a profound and sophisticated keyboard-dominated slow composition in the best traditions of late 1970s' Banks.

Match Of The Day, Pigeons and Inside And Out formed the track list of the 1977 EP Spot The Pigeon, it was the band's last studio release with Hackett. All the three songs sound rather rocky than progressive, Inside And Out is a ballad typical for Rutherford, musically and lyrically humorous Pigeons is an undoubted highlight.

The Day The Light Went Out and Vancouver were released on the 7-inch single Many Too Many. It was issued a few months after the band's 1978 studio album And Then There Were Three, and some copies of the first German vinyl press of the album (gatefold with insert) were distributed together with the German tour edition of the single (for example, I had a copy completed with insert and tour 7-inch). Vancouver is just another Rutherford's ballad, The Day The Light Went Out was written by Banks but being compared to the album tracks composed by him (Burning Rope for example) seems plain and hastily made.

It's Yourself was released on 7-inch single with Ripples in 1976, and partially served as a draft: the short theme in the middle of the track was reworked into the first bars of Los Endos.

And finally, two amazing instrumental pieces, Naminanu and Submarine. Both were first officially released on singles in respectively 1981 and 1982, but some people told me that both were recorded in 1976, during the Wind And Wuthering studio sessions. I failed to find any confirmed information on this, and the booklet in the box set provides only the official releases' credits. But indeed, both sound very much in the vein of mid 1970s Genesis and absolutely not in the band's early 1980s manner, so there's a chance that it's true.

Now, the solids content: strong 4 stars. It's great that all those tracks are collected on one disc, and probably some day we'll see them reissued as a separate compilation album. Maybe even on vinyl. They deserve it.

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