Quote Originally Posted by AlreadyGone95 View Post
I just bought Three Sides Live on vinyl. I'm not at all familiar with their live recordings, but I couldn't pass up on buying it. I hope that I'm in for a pleasant surprise!
Which version have you got AG95?, there are two. One, literally has 3 sides live, plus, off the top of my head, a fourth side of, recent at the time, non-album tracks. ie Evidence Of Autumn, Open Door, Paperlate, You Might Recall & Me And Virgil. I haven't heard Open Door for years, I'll have to dig it out and give it a spin.

The second version, the U.K. version, I believe, was completely live. The fourth side was made up of live recordings from a previous tour. The tracks chosen, again off the top of my head, One For The Vine, Fountain Of Salmacis & It / Watcher Of The Skies (closing section) were all tracks I've never seen live and weren't on their previous two live albums. I love all three, particularly the last medley.

These tracks, and Follow You Follow Me, featured, Bill Bruford on drums, who played with Genesis for a short while. Phil decided he wasn't the right guy and brought in Chester Thompson, who has been Phil's stand-in drummer ever since. Joe Vitale almost replaced Chester, when Phil embarked on his solo career, about the time of Three Sides Live. Phil asked Vitale to be the drummer in his solo band. Joe, astoundingly, declined as he had other commitments.

Three Sides Live starts with Turn It On Again, which I thought was a strange choice as I'd seen them live, twice. They opened with Behind The Lines / Duchess, the first time and Dodo/Lurker / Abacab the second time. Both great opening salvoes, all 4 tracks are on Three Sides Live. In concert, they played Turn It On Again late in the show. It later became a wonderful, one song encore.

I was disappointed that Phil's Man On The Corner wasn't on the album but it did have a great version of Me And Sarah Jane. Misunderstanding and Follow You Follow Me were hit singles, certainly enjoyable, if a little lightweight.

The centrepiece is the In The Cage medley. Great lights, great drums, immense power. Sounds good on record too. The medley closes with a stunning Afterglow. The wonderful stage shot, on the inside cover of the double LP, is taken from Afterglow. It was, a hairs on the back of your neck standing up, moment, when the whole stage, bathed in dry ice, turns pink as Phil sings the final chorus.

It's surprising how well the slow songs / ballads go down at a Genesis concert. Remembering that their fans were exclusively adolescent boys for the first 8 to 10 years of their career.

One of Phil's solo staples is the ballad, Separate Lives. I can't stand the single but, there's no doubting that it's one of the highlights of his live show, amongst a whole raft of great tunes.

If, like the Eagles, you're successful all over the world, over a period of several decades, you've earned your luck. You've got to be something special. Genesis are/were!

I don't think there are any surprises on Three Sides Live AG95 but there's a whole lot a great Genesis music.