SECONDS OUT

I can admit that the album wasn't perfect, I'm not sure that there is a perfect progressive rock album by anybody although Close to the Edge and Going for the One by Yes certainly come close. This is surely a great album; the weaknesses are Squonk which does not have the power that the studio version did although I like the live ending better. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway seems to be too fast and too light; it seems that the band was playing the song because they had to instead of because they really wanted to. I definitely prefer the original versions. The production on this album is miles above anything else that Genesis did before this; I tire of straining to hear Steve Hackett in the mixes of the prior albums with a few exceptions. Seconds Out sounds so live and energetic and most of the prior albums, A Trick of the Tail being an exception, sound like they were recorded in a box. Sorry all you Gabriel fans but the man sounds like he is croaking on the live version of Supper's Ready while Collins hits it right on the head and Phil does good to excellent versions on everything left unmentioned on the album. Firth of Fifth and I Know What I like are masterpieces on this album. The loss of the intro piano solo in Firth of Fifth is more than made up for by the superior production of the live version. I Know What I Like is lighter on the live version; I do like the psychedelic quality of the studio version but everyone jams on the live version, yet control is maintained and to anyone listening it is clear that Steve, Tony, Mike, Phil, and Chester know what they are about as players. Of course Bill Bruford's (and Phil's) drumming is phenomenal on Cinema show and Tony lets it all out as well. This is a great album and one of my favorites of all time and it is a shame that Genesis went down the tubes afterward. Every fan of progressive rock should own this classic.