Genesis
Three Sides Live

THE REVIEW

So, it was the distant and remote '81 when the Genesis, riding the wave of success from the aberrant Abacab tour, released Three Sides Live. By inserting the disc into our sympathetic CD player, we listen to it (of course).

Thus, "Turn It On Again" opens the disc and the live version is better than the studio version (which I still like), especially towards the end, when Collins messes up the chorus. "Dodo\Lurker" doesn't say much more than the original, but at least it's cute. "Abacab" in the live version is stunningly beautiful. The instrumental is extended, and we find a brief guitar intro. The sung part also improves greatly, despite the inevitable off-key moments here and there. The drums take on a much better role and the guitar is finally heard. Beautiful "Behind The Lines" and "Duchess," played in union, are quite cute, but don't add or take much from the album version. However, they are executed almost perfectly. "Me And Sarah Jane" reaches and surpasses the album level with its almost reggae cadence. "Follow You, Follow Me" and "Misunderstanding" are exactly like in the album: they suck. The Best comes now, with a series of wonderful songs: The first Genesis medley, "In The Cage" which, once finished, is mixed with the instrumental from "The Cinema Show" and part of "The Colony Of The Slippermen," one of the best medleys of the group, followed by "Afterglow." Nothing new compared to the version of Second's Out, but it's always nice to listen to it. "One For The Vine" and "The Fountain Of Salmacis," executed quite well, crown the disc along with another Medley, "It\Watcher Of The Skies."

Three Sides Live is a good live album after a horrendous album like Abacab, which demonstrates how the group is still capable of handling any live performance and that creativity, at least in concert settings, hasn't gone to hell.