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Rating:
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.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Turn It On Again (05:24)
All I need is a TV show
That, and the radio
Down on my luck again
Down on my luck again
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
It's driving me mad
Just another way of passing the day
I, I get so lonely when she's not there
I, I, I, I
You're just another face
That I know from the TV show
I have known you for so very long
I feel you're like a friend
Can't you do anything for me
Can I touch you for a while
Can I meet you on another day
When we will fly away
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
It's driving me mad
It's just another way of passing the day
I, I get so lonely when she's not there
I, I, I, I
Turn it on
Turn it on, turn it on again
Turn it on
Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
(I can see another face) Turn it on
(I can see another face) Turn it on, turn it on again
03 Abacab (08:43)
Look up on the wall, there on the floor,
Under the pillow, behind the door.
There's a crack in the mirror.
Somewhere there's a hole in a window pane.
Do you think I'm to blame?
Tell me, do you think I'm to blame?
(When we do it) you're never there.
(When you show it) just stop and stare.
(Abacab) he's in anywhere.
(Abacab)
If you're wrappin' up the world
'Cause you've taken someone else's girl,
When they turn on the pillow,
Even when they answer the telephone,
don't you think that by now...
Tell me, don't you think that by now.
(When we do it) you're never there.
(When you show it) just stop and stare.
(Abacab) he's in anywhere.
(Abacab) doesn't really care.
Do you want it? You got it. Now you know.
Do you want it? You got it. Now you know.
It's an illusion. It's a game,
or reflection of somewone else's name.
When you wake in the morning,
Wake and find you're covered in cellophane,
Well, there's a hole in there somewhere.
Yeah, there's a hole in there somewhere.
Baby, there's a hole in there somewhere.
Now there's a hole in there somewhere.
(When we do it) you're never there.
(When you show it) you stop and stare.
(Abacab) he's in anywhere.
(Abacab)
04 Behind the Lines (05:25)
I held the book so tightly in my hands
I saw your picture, heard you call my name
There was something strange, I could not look away
I wanted to be there, I wanted to go
You gave me no warning, you gave no reason
But I was with you, right by your side
Just give me the strength and I can help you
They can try their hardest, they don't frighten me
It's written in the book
It's hotter than I've known before
But I feel so cold and I don't know why
But if the fire within your heart can beat the storm
Then I really believe you could make it right
The time has come now, we must show our feelings
But I'm looking right through you and your heart is empty
Whatever happened to you, it's too late to change now
There's nowhere you can run to, no place to hide
Ah, you let me down
...but wait a minute, I don't understand
It's getting stronger, so grab my hand
Don't wanna leave you, don't wanna go
But I'm losing all control
Can't you see me, I'm slipping away
I can only stay if you've the will to keep me here
It's written in the book
Oh, so many times since hten I've read those words
Just waiting to see you, can you see me?
05 Duchess (06:38)
Times were good
She never thought about the future, she just did what she would
Oh, but she really cared
About her music, it all seemed so important then
And she dreamed that everytime that she performed
Everyone would cry for more
That all she had to do was step into the light
And everyone would start to roar
And on the road
Where all but a few fall by the wayside, on the grassier verge
She battled through
Against the others in her world, and the sleep, and the odds
But now everytime that she performed
Everybody cried for more
Soon all she had to do was step into the light
For everyone to start to roar
And all the people cried: "You're the one we've waited for!"
But time went by
It wasn't so easy now, all uphill and not feeling so strong
Yes, times were hard
Too much thinking about the future and what the people might want
And then there was the time that she performed
When NOBODY called for more
And soon everytime she stepped into the light
They really let her know the score
But she dreamed of the times when she sang her songs
And everybody cried for more
When all she had to do was step into the light
For everyone to start to roar
And all the people cried: "You're the one we've waited for!"
06 Me and Sarah Jane (05:52)
The fires are burning in another land.
Don’t start counting, don’t start counting.
Colder and colder, the ice is moving closer and it gets me down.
Going round and round and down the same old track, pack on my back.
Going swiftly nowhere, heart in my ear, beating like a drum.
Where will you go?
All by yourself. Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah.
And now I’m standing on the corner, waiting in the rain,
But then in sunlight without warnin’, I invent a name.
Me and Sarah Jane, we had a special thing goin’. Me and Sarah Jane.
It was a time of love and laughter. It wouldn’t come again.
We had our round of joyful laughter. Then began the pain.
Me and Sarah Jane, we had a special thing goin’.Me and Sarah Jane.
Sarah Jane.
Searching for a clue, traces on the sand.
First, I’m flying, going round, round, round.
Then, I’m sliding, going down, down, down.
Doesn’t matter - where I start, I always end up,
Crawling through those same old crowded rooms.
Me and Sarah Jane, we had it coming, all the pain.
Walkin’ down the streets and finding nothing is the same.
And now the city lights are dimmin’ one by one,
It costs too much money to keep them on.
Me and Sarah Jane, in silence walk along the shore,
Tears of joy and mocking laughter, words lost in the wind.
The tide was risin’ but there we stayed,
We had no fear of dying, we weren’t afraid.
07 Follow You Follow Me (04:45)
Stay with me
My love, I hope you'll always be
Right here by my side, if ever I need you
Oh my love
In your arms
I feel so safe and so secure
And every day is such a perfect day to spend
Alone with you
I will follow you, will you follow me
All the days and nights that we know will be
I will stay with you, will you stay with me
Just one single tear in each passing year
With the dark
Oh I see so very clearly now
All my fears are drifting by me so slowly now
Fading away
I can say
The night is long but you are here
Close at hand, oh I'm better for the smile you give
And while I live
I will follow you, will you follow me
All the days and nights that we know will be
I will stay with you, will you stay with me
Just one single tear in each passing year there will be
I will follow you, will you follow me
All the days and nights that we know will be
I will stay with you, will you stay with me
Just one single tear in each passing year
I will follow you, will you follow me
All the days and nights that we know will be
I will stay with you, will you stay with me
Just one single tear in each passing year
I will follow you, will you follow me
All the days and nights that we know will be
I will stay with you, will you stay with me
Just one single tear in each passing year
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Other reviews
By London
Genesis reached peak live performance between 1980 and 1982, establishing themselves as a fantastic live band with incredible energy and a phenomenally powerful sound.
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.
