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Rating:
Guys, here we are facing a true masterpiece, an album that ranks among the most successful live albums of the last thirty years. What makes this double live so incredibly special is definitely the performance of the musicians (Collins, Hackett, Rutherford, Thompson, and Banks), who in this concert recorded in Paris reach heights of absolute greatness. The breathtaking tracklist is accompanied by a top-level recording, which makes this album considered the best of the live recordings for the reasons I mentioned above.
Well, let's get specific: the album opens with "Squonk," a rhythmic track with a great emotional charge where the diverse sounds fit perfectly, especially noticeable in the final part of the song. What stands out is the rhythmic section played by the great Chester Thompson, which is more powerful and less technical compared to Bill Bruford, who accompanied Genesis on the previous tour. We come to "The Carpet Crawl," where Tony Banks' keyboards and Steve Hackett's guitar (listen to the melody he wraps around the song, he's a master!) make it one of the most successful tracks on the album. Followed by "Robbery, Assault and Battery," an excellent song where in the interlude, a piece performed by Phil Collins and Tony Banks seems to foreshadow what will come next. Then there's "Afterglow," a triumph of melodies in Banks' style where you witness a crescendo finale that gives you goosebumps with the organ and drums (played by both Collins and Chester) deserving applause. "Firth of Fifth" opens with a rhythmic base that seems more impactful than the one performed with Gabriel. The confirmation arrives in the instrumental part of the song, starting with Tony Banks replicating Peter's flute with keyboards, then building up to the moment when the two drum sets come into play. Phil Collins is amazing with the syncopations and drum rolls that show great technique and execution precision. The rest is done by the usual Tony Banks and Steve Hackett, who launches into a guitar solo (Daryl Stuermer will try it later after his departure but without achieving the same results) making it one of the distinctive features of the song, highlighting the band's exquisite technique. How can we not mention "I Know What I Like," reproduced with much more rock nuances than the original, and where the instrumental piece "Stagnation" from Trespass is inserted in the middle. And then there's the tarantella that Phil will perform with the tambourine, which will become a staple in Genesis' shows. The first disc concludes with "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" and the final part of "The Musical Box," which the band actually used to conclude their concerts.
The second disc is something simply stunning. It opens with "Supper's Ready," a twenty-four-minute suite that encapsulates all that this extraordinary band emanates, that is, class, grandeur, and power. What can be said of the "Apocalypse in 9-8" part where Phil Collins' almost astral and heavenly voice stands out, being in this fragment more emotional and suitable than Peter's. A timeless masterpiece that alone is worth the entire album. It follows with "The Cinema Show," recorded during the 1976 concert, a year earlier (with Bill Bruford on drums). Here Genesis reach heights of technique and speed that are unparalleled. In the instrumental piece, Phil Collins and Bill Bruford appear to be from another planet, delivering odd times repeatedly with such speed and precision that it almost captivates you, not to mention Banks' keyboards perfectly fitting with the beats of the two drummers. Another masterpiece of the group is born in this album, a song you can listen to endlessly to discover new sounds and to say that these were true legends. We arrive at "Dance On A Volcano," perfectly reproduced with Phil's voice adapting to the theme and seeming more aggressive. But actually, this song is a sort of "connection" to the song that follows. And we finally arrive at "Los Endos," where Chester Thompson and Phil Collins first give us a hair-raising duet and then accompany a track that will remain the most beloved by fans, which Genesis will propose at the end of each of their concerts. The best possible closure for a "devastating" album that you'll never stop listening to and appreciating, also because they were Genesis, who loved to amaze and make the audience fall in love with this timeless music. Thank you for everything, magnificent ones!
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Squonk (06:37)
Like father like son
Not flesh nor fish nor bone
A red rag hangs from an open mouth.
Alive at both ends but a little dead in the middle,
A-tumbling and a-bumbling he will go.
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Could never put a smile on that face.
He's a sly one, he's a shy one
Wouldn't you be too.
Scared to be left all on his own.
Hasn't a, hasn't a friend to play with, the Ugly Duckling
The pressure on, the bubble will burst before our eyes.
All the while in perfect time
His tears are falling on the ground
BUT IF YOU DON'T STAND UP YOU DON'T STAND A CHANCE.
Go a little faster now, you might get there in time.
Mirror mirror on the wall,
His heart was broken long before he ever came to you.
Stop your tears from falling,
The trail they leave is very clear for all to see at night
all to see at night.
In season, out of season
What's the difference when you don't know the reason.
In one hand bread, the other a stone.
The Hunter enters the forest.
All are not huntsmen who can blow the huntsman's horn
By the look of this one you've not got much to fear.
Here I am, I'm very fierce and frightening
Come to match my skill to yours.
Now listen here, listen to me, don't you run away now
I am a friend, I'd really like to play with you.
Making noises my little furry friend would make
I'll trick him, then I'll kick him into my sack.
You better watch out... You better watch out.
I've got you, I've got you, you'll never get away.
Walking home that night
The sack across my back, the sound of sobbing on my shoulder.
When suddenly it stopped,
I opened up the sack, all that I had
A pool of bubbles and tears - JUST A POOL OF TEARS.
All in all you are a very dying race
Placing trust upon a cruel world.
You never had the things you thought you should have had
And you'll not get them now,
And all the while in perfect time
Your tears are falling on the ground.
The Squonk is of a very retiring disposition and due to its ugliness, weeps constantly. It is easy prey for hunters who simply follow a tear-stained trail. When cornered it will dissolve itself into tears.
True or False?
03 Robbery, Assault and Battery (06:02)
The streets were deserted though the police were alerted,
They considered the phone call a hoax.
Furtively glancing then jauntily prancing
The youth caught the guards unaware.
Slipping between them he ought to have seen then
The eyes and their owner so near.
With torch shining bright he strode on in the night
Till he came to the room with the safe.
"Hello son, I hope you're having fun."
"You've got it wrong Sir, I'm only the cleaner."
With that he fired, the other saying as he died,
"You've done me wrong," it's the same old song forever.
Robbery, assault and battery,
The felon and his felony.
Robbery, assault and battery,
The felon and his felony.
Picked up the diamonds and bundles of fivers
He pushed them well down in his sack.
But the alarm had been sounded, he was completely surrounded
But he had some more tricks up his sleeve.
"Come outside with your hands held high."
"You'll not get me alive Sir, I promise you that Sir."
With that he fired, the other saying as he died
"You've done me wrong," it's the same old song forever.
Robbery, assault and battery,
The felon and his felony.
Robbery, assault and battery,
The felon and his felony.
"He's leaving via the roof, the bastard's got away.
God always fights on the side of the bad man."
"I've got clean away but I'll be back some day,
Just the combination will have changed.
Some day they'll catch me, to a chain they'll attach me,
Until that day I'll ride the old crime wave.
If they try to hold me for trial
I'll stay out of gaol by paying my bail
And after I'll go to the court of appeal saying
"You've done me wrong," it's the same old song forever."
Done me wrong - same old song - done me wrong.
04 Afterglow (04:25)
Like the dust that settles all around me
I must find a new home
The ways and holes that used to give me shelter
Are all as one to me now
But I, I would search everywhere
Just to hear your call
And walk upon stranger roads than this one
In a world I used to know before
I miss you more
Than the sun reflecting off my pillow
Bringing the warmth of new life
And the sound that echoes all around me
I caught a glimpse of in the night
But now, now I've lost everything
I give to you my soul
The meaning of all that I believed before
Escapes me in this world of none
No thing, no-one
And I would search everywhere
Just to hear your call
And walk upon stranger roads than this one
In a world I used to know before
For now I've lost everything
I give to you my soul
The meaning of all that I believed before
Escapes me in this world of none
I miss you more
05 Firth of Fifth (08:55)
The path is clear, though no eyes can see
The course laid down long before
And so with gods and men, the sheep remain inside their pen
Though many times they've seen the way to leave
He rides majestic, past homes of men
Who care not or gaze with joy
To see reflected there, the trees, the sky, the lily fair
The scene of death is lying just below
The mountains cut off the town from view
Like a cancer growth is removed by skill
Let it be revealed
A waterfall, his madrigal
An inland sea, his symphony
Undinal songs urge the sailors on
'Till lured by the siren's cry...
Now as the river dissolve in sea
So Neptune has claimed another soul
And so with gods and men, the sheep remain inside their pen
Until the shepherd leads his flock away
The sands of time were eroded by
The river of constant change
07 The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (04:58)
The lamb lies down on Broadway
And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
Early morning Manhattan,
Ocean winds blow on the land.
The Movie-Palace is now undone,
The all-night watchmen have had their fun.
Sleeping cheaply on the midnight show,
It's the same old ending-time to go.
Get out!
It seems they cannot leave their dream.
There's something moving in the sidewalk steam,
And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
Nightime's flyers feel their pains.
Drugstore takes down the chains.
Metal motion comes in bursts,
But the gas station can quench that thirst.
Suspension cracked on unmade road
The trucker's eyes read 'Overload'
And out on the subway,
Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid
Exits into daylight, spraygun hid,
And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
The lamb seems right out of place,
Yet the Broadway street scene finds a focus in its face.
Somehow it's lying there,
Brings a stillness to the air.
Though man-made light, at night is very bright,
There's no whitewash victim,
As the neons dim, to the coat of white.
Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid,
Wipes his gun-he's forgotten what he did,
And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
Suzanne tired her work all done,
Thinks money-honey-be on-neon.
Cabman's velvet glove sounds the horn
And the sawdust king spits out his scorn.
Wonder women draw your blind!
Don't look at me! I'm not your kind.
I'm Rael!
Something inside me has just begun,
Lord knows what I have done,
And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
On Broadway-
They say the lights are always bright on Broadway.
They say there's always magic in the air.
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Other reviews
By pepozzo
"The sounds emanating from the instruments are so clear and precise that it almost doesn’t seem like a live performance but rather a studio record."
"In conclusion, the best live album both in terms of musicians’ performance and sound clarity and perfection. A true rock milestone."
