The first question one must ask about a DVD re-release of the decades-old VHS companion piece to one of the ever-divisive Genesis\u2019 least-loved live albums is, why?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s the pure nostalgia of it, of course\u2014both the on-stage and behind-the-scenes footage is genuinely a time capsule of Big Rock Show Circa 1982, complete with weird glasses, abundant hair and brightly colored puffy wristbands (Phil Collins, what were you thinking?). Awkward is the word that keeps coming to mind, as it no doubt will again when our grandkids watch footage of those weirdos from way back in 2014, 30 years from now.<\/p>\n
Beyond nostalgia, I have to say\u2014and I\u2019m not just being contrary here for the simple pleasure of being contrary\u2014middle-period Genesis is actually my favorite. The Gabrielistas\u2014and they are legion\u2014will howl, but this writer prefers Trick Of The Tail<\/i> through Genesis<\/i> over anything on The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway<\/i>. (And yes, I\u2019m taking cover under my desk after typing that last sentence.)<\/p>\n
So: there are pleasures to be found here, for the right kind of Genesis fan.<\/p>\n
As usual, \u201cAbacab\u201d is a standout, its heavily syncopated rhythms driving the superb mid-song jam that\u2019s among the highlights of this era of the band, with Tony Banks (keys) and Mike Rutherford (guitar) battling to a draw with double drums thundering away behind them. On its heels, \u201cNo Reply At All\u201d is the obvious symbol of the corner Genesis was in the process of turning, a pop song decorated on the studio version with the Earth Wind & Fire horn section, and here with Banks\u2019 keyboards taking on the horns\u2019 role. <\/p>\n
The \u201cclassic Genesis\u201d medley of \u201cIn The Cage,\u201d \u201cThe Cinema Show,\u201d \u201cSlippermen\u201d and \u201cAfterglow\u201d is another highlight, with Banks\u2019 supple, nimble keyboard runs, Daryl Stuermer and Rutherford\u2019s steady-on, flash-free guitars and bass, and Chester Thompson\u2019s endlessly adapatable drumming driving the group along under Collins\u2019 most theatrical vocals of the evening. When Collins joins Thompson behind the drums, Rutherford jumps between fretboards of his double-necker 12-string\/bass and sets the bass pedals to booming, and Banks goes double-handed Wakeman on us, reaching across the hemispheres of his gigantic keyboard rig, it\u2019s a full-on prog-gasm.<\/p>\n
The heavy, intense version of \u201cDodo\/Lurker\u201d found here is a strong one as well. Less interesting are bits like the willfully weird renditions of \u201cWhodunnit?\u201d and \u201cMe And Sarah Jane,\u201d and Collins\u2019 maudlin \u201cMan On The Corner,\u201d which he should have saved for a solo album. Set-closer \u201cTurn It On Again\u201d is tightened and pumped up into an arena-sized anthem in spite of its unsettling undercurrents of ennui and, in this rendition, rage.<\/p>\n
The staging is classic early \u201980s arena rock, which is to say abundant dry ice fog and newfangled rotating light rigs, but otherwise mostly flat and unimaginative by modern standards. The camera work is similarly retro and clich\u00e9, very much of its era. Still, the behind-the-scenes material is fun and even rather touching when it shows the band members\u2019 still-young families and children on tour with them. The interviews are mostly standard stuff, but occasionally revealing, as when Banks, Collins and Rutherford discuss the composition and recording process for both the song and the album Abacab<\/i>.<\/p>\n
This reissue adds seven audio-only live tracks from the same tour, with \u201cOne For The Vine,\u201d \u201cFollow You Follow Me,\u201d and the early-Genesis epic \u201cFountain Of Salmacis\u201d nicely filling out the rather abbreviated setlist covered in the video footage. There\u2019s nothing revelatory here, but these are welcome additions for the completist fan.<\/p>\n
Bonus tracks or no, a re-release of the DVD version of Three Sides Live<\/i> isn\u2019t going to excite many Genesis fans, but it gave this (admittedly somewhat contrary) one enough moments of pleasure to be worth a spin. Your mileage may vary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":32203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5883],"rating":[5614],"class_list":["post-43955","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-genesis","rating-rating-c-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/43955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/43955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43955"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=43955"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=43955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}