3 X 3

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.