Genesis
Three Sides Live

THE REVIEW

Forget about Peter Gabriel for a while, forget about "The Musical Box," the '70s costumes, Phil Collins' lush mane with the accompanying beard, but also forget about the ominous orange hand that menacingly stamps itself on the cover of "Invisible Touch," MTV, and the synthetic pop; once you've done this, you can immerse yourself in this live show.

According to many critics and fans, Genesis reached peak live performance between 1980 and 1982, establishing themselves as a fantastic live band with incredible energy and a phenomenally powerful sound. Well, it's true. Listening to the material contained in this album gives the sensation of being in the presence of a group fully aware of their potential. Moreover, the repertoire chosen for the performances greatly favors more rock tracks and sacrifices atmospheric songs, yet even the simple pop songs are forgotten, leaving only "Follow Me Follow You" and "Misunderstanding", which are examples of classy pop, however.

Listening to "Three Sides Live," you can appreciate the best tracks from "Duke" and "Abacab," although the final suite of "Duke" and tracks from the latest works are unjustly sacrificed, "Dance On A Volcano" for example, which would have made the album very interesting; it must be said that the setlist reported is thus a pure simple selection of the tracks performed during the 1982 tour and does not faithfully reproduce the show. The start, then, is entrusted to "Turn It On Again", a song that draws new life from the performance with Thompson and Stuermer, thus becoming a different piece, losing its simplicity and engaging the listener; it is the first adrenaline rush; then follows "Dodo" from "Abacab", a track with deep prog characteristics that, as on the LP, transforms into a granite rock form, Collins sings perfectly, and Tony Banks flawlessly supports the powerful melody with his tools of the trade, then amuses himself with a wide range of synthetic sounds for the interlude "Lurker". "Dodo" then flows into "Abacab", the bass played by Stuermer resonates rhythmically and menacingly, Mike seems to torture his guitar, which emits those few notes that open to Phil's voice, as he launches into this phenomenal track, where studio versions have accentuated disco tones, live the song takes on entirely different colors, pure rock with an extraordinary percussive final coda, played by Collins and Thompson in sync, that sends chills down your spine.

From "Duke" comes the opening suite, while from the 1981 LP comes the simple and effective beauty of "Me And Sarah Jane", the first CD closes with "Follow You Follow Me". The second offers the best, incredible and captivating performances of "In The Cage," with the medley between "The Colony Of Slipper Men" and "The Cinema Show", and especially the poetic "One For The Vine", a sweet ten-minute enchantment signed by Banks, this track, like "The Fountain Of Salmacis" and "It/Watcher Of The Skies" belong to the original English version of the double album which indeed presented four live sides, the CD edition is precisely this, hence the album's title falls.

Then disappear "Paperlate", "You Might Recall", "Me And Virgil", absences never regretted, a different matter for "Open Door" and "Evidence Of Autumn", two beautiful songs dating back to the "Duke" sessions. In conclusion, an excellent live, I repeat it is the best way to listen to and appreciate the tracks from "Abacab", given that the three wisely excluded "Keep It Dark" and "Who Dunnit?" from the final mix.