Seconds Out

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
The 1975 departure of vocalist Peter Gabriel--following the epic Lamb Lies Down On Broadway tour--left this band with a creative vacuum that they struggled gamely to fill. In promoting drummer Phil Collins to the role of frontman, they signalled a decisive shift away from the prog-rock theatrics of their previous work, and toward a more conventional (and commercial) adult-rock sound. This double live album--recorded in 1977--finds them attempting to reconcile both their early and middle periods, and certainly, on such Gabriel-era tunes as "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" and the magisterial "Supper's Ready", Collins shows himself to be a perfectly proficient replacement. Yet for all his vocal chops, there's something vital missing: a necessary sense of the perverse. Instead, both band and singer run through these nightmares of unreason like the durable rock classics they are--and as a result, Genesis forfeit much of what had originally made them unique. --Andrew McGuire

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-09-20 rating:
Try this out if you're a Genesis "pop era" fan
Firstly, I'd like to say that this is one of the best sounding live albums ever. I've read that there was a little bit of post production shenanigans, overdubbing and the like, but it really doesn't matter - the sound quality is superb, it sounds live but doesn't have that awful "distant" feeling a lot of live albums seem to have. Steve Hackett's guitar in particular has a beautiful creamy tone - one of my favourite guitar sounds ever.

The album was a recording of a tour made to promote "Wind and Wuthering", and contains many tracks spanning the career of Genesis up to that point, including the Gabriel era. This of course means that Phil Collins will be attempting to sing some of these early pieces. I should admit straight away that I am no fan of the later "pop" incarnation of Genesis, and have no idea why Collin's would wish to give precedence to becoming some sort of Chris De Burgh style crooner as opposed to one of the world's premier rock drummers. However, I believe his performance here is nothing short of miraculous, and his interpretations of the earlier material is stunning. In particular, he sings "The Carpet Crawl" more like a ballad - which it is musically (I really like the way he repeats for emphasis on the line "the trick of the tail is the Stickleback"). And, dare I say it, I actually prefer his version of "Supper's Ready" too (the entire band puts in a more powerful performance here actually). Other highlights are "Squonk" (great Bass pedals), "Cinema Show" (fabulous ensemble playing), "Firth of Fith" (that fantastic guitar solo sounding even better than originally), and "Los Endos" (Collins and part-timer Thompson's drumming is out of this world).

I'm sure this would be difficult listening at first for those familiar to the original recordings, as they do sound quite different, mostly due to Collins contrasting approach - not as theatrical as Gabriel, he is more extrovert and down-to-Earth. What I would recommend though, is that those fans of the poppier, later material check this album out if they couldn't stomach the Gabriel recordings. Whatever, this is an album Genesis fans of either era can enjoy.

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review by: date: 2008-07-05 rating:
Stonking!
Loved this album since first having the double LP in my late 70's school days, and hadn't heard it for over 15yrs again until I bought the CD this week. I'd forgotten how brilliant it was - Supper's Ready is breathtaking in it's richness, and there's not one bad song on the album. Welcome back to my music system!

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review by: Tom Thatcher date: 2008-04-25 rating:
How good is this?
We must have listened to this a million times on vinyl when it first came out and it rates along with Rory Gallagher Live at Montreux as top musicians playing top music.

What happened that we took popular music this far and then ended up with a bunch of almost talentless druggies posing as musicians? We should be very ashamed that we let the kids buy crap without making conditions first.

This is just magnificent with the best Carpet Crawlers ever.

I also love the new one too. Great music is always great, if you can find anybody good enough to play it.

Indispensible.

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review by: date: 2006-04-24 rating:
A Real Live Masterpiece
The 70's were great for producing musicians that could really play. Unlike today where so much music is produced at a touch of button or fashoined by a pop svengali, producing the goods live was seen as the real benchmark of a quality artist or band.
Here is probably THE finest example of a live group at the peak of their powers. Genesis were a good studio band but epic tracks like "Suppers Ready" and "The Cinema Show" are taken to a whole new dimension. The quality of the playing is absolutely superb throughout with a powerful, articulate sound that makes the hairs on the back your neck stand on end. If you are serious music fan, Seconds Out is a must.


review by: andrewrobinson5 date: 2004-08-04 rating:
The best live album of the 70's
Whatever happened to the live album? In the 1970's rock bands were keen to release live albums. They were great marketing tools, so long as the band could play well live, and the recording quality was good. These albums proved that these were rock bands, working hard on the road and not pop bands miming and messing about. 'Seconds out' is the best live album of the '70's, without a doubt. Genesis were at a turning point in their career. Having lost Peter Gabriel, and with Steve Hackett about to depart, they needed to lay to rest tracks like 'Suppers Ready' and 'Cinema show' with great ceremony. These old Gabriel songs are rendered superbly on Seconds Out, benefitting from excellent sound production, and the band having matured as musicians since the songs were first recorded. The clarity of the sound is breathtaking, even when Genesis launch into their trademark 'buzy' instrumental sections. Nothing is lost in the mix. The bass pedal synthesizers come across great too, so TURN IT UP!! let the room shake and imagine you are there, at Le Centre Du Sports, Paris 1977.

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