THREE SIDES LIVE

This is a stunning album! I have both versions of it on vinyl which come out every so often. By the time that Genesis had commenced The Duke Tour in 1980, Collins had finally found the true emotion and power of his voice. He was really at the top of his game at that time and this continued during the ABACAB and Three Sides Live tours. Rutherford had also immeasurably improved in his musicianship and along with the mastery of Banks and the highly skilled Thompson and Stuermer, Genesis had become the most accomplished live band of their time. All of this is reflected on the 1981 and 1982 recordings that made it onto the Three Sides Live album. There's no doubt that the previous live album, Seconds Out, is a perfect snapshot of where the band was in 1976 and 1977, just after Peter Gabriel had departed and it's still regarded as one of the finest of live albums that any band has ever released. Then five years later, Three Sides Live magnificently showcases a band that is within transition mode, while remaining at the summit of Progressive Rock and Art Rock while moving smoothly to include Pop Rock and Soft Pop into their repertoire. No other band had done that before, nor since. I'm not getting into writing about each and every track on either version of the album here in this review. However I will give a few special mentions to some of the tracks, in no particular order - In The Cage medley, Me And Sarah Jane, ABACAB, Fountain Of Salmacis (1976 recording), Evidence of Autumn..... I've made this a 4 star review only because 5 star ratings are extremely rare and precious things. However I have no hesitation in recommending this album to anybody who wants to hear a band just about to arrive at their second peak.