This was recorded in ’73 and released in ’74. A fantastic document of what the classic line up of Genesis were all about at the time. It’s only 5 songs as I’m sure it was edited down for this single LP release, but all killer and no filler. The songs that are represented here are from the albums Trespass, Nursery Cryme, and Foxtrot. The album was recorded at Leicester De Montfort, and Manchester Free Trade, both stops on the gig circuit at the time.
The absolute epic Watcher Of The Skies opens things up with a nice Melotron intro, which is about as Prog as it gets. Get Em Out By Friday is next, with Gabriel doing his finest cockney impression deep in character. I know they went onto mega stardom, and Collins became the housewives favourite, but Gabriel was all that was great about Genesis and when he left they were a completely different band. The last track on this side is one of the best songs they ever recorded, The Return Of The Giant Hogweed. I think it sounds better here than the original.
Just the two tracks on Side 2 with The Musical Box and The Knife both bonafide classics. The Musical Box is my personal favourite Genesis song. The lyrics and the way they are delivered by Gabriel is fantastic. Musically, this song as everything that made Prog great at the time, intricate quiet passages that lead into the up-tempo ending. It does sound a bit dated if I’m honest, but I still really like it. The Knife closes the album out and was always a crowd favourite.
This was the end of phase one of the Gabriel era. The next two albums; Selling England and The Lamb, would be his last contributions to the band. If you like your Prog “very Prog” then you can’t go wrong with this.
8/10 from The Grooveman.
