A cash-in, but it's really really strange that this is a single album. A single live album? When Yes were releasing a triple live set? Come on, Peter, what were you thinking about? Especially since the band's fans admit there were plans for a double live album, with 'Supper's Ready' and some other good shit (or bad shit). Anyway, there's no point of wailing for that now. I'd expect they beef up the new re-mastered version, but nope. No such thing - just the standard five tracks and not even a single stage story from Pete which he was so famous for. (Genesis fans don't need to bother, though: once you've picked up the boxset Archives, you'll discover everything you need and more). Pity. But let's talk about them, still.
This is a treat for the serious Genesis lover: no shorter filler stuff here, just the lengthy wankathons. Two of them from the recent Foxtrot ('Watcher Of The Skies', 'Get 'Em Out By Friday'), two from Cryme ('Musical Box', 'The Return Of The Giant Hogweed'), and one from the far-away Collins/Hacketless epoch ('The Knife'). All of these are amazingly great songs, no doubt, and treated with honour with fine performances, too. That's why I give this album a 9, even if it isn't quite fair: after all, it suspiciously resembles a 'greatest hits live' compilation, and I shouldn't rate compilations. On the other hand, it ain't a compilation. So scram it.

Despite the performances' solidity, they practically add nothing to the originals. The only more or less significant rearranging is provided for 'The Knife', probably due to the new band members' participation: in particular, Hackett's wild solos on the song completely wipe out the weak former playing of Anthony Philips, and so far seem to be one of his most noticeable and virtuoso performances on a Genesis number. Banks also adds a couple dull keyboard solos in some places, but, apart from that, Gabriel and the boys mostly stick to the old versions note by note. I must say that I am impressed anyway: out of all the prog bands, Genesis' studio sound was probably the most polished, with not a note out of place - even the lengthy instrumental sections never relied much on messy improvisations, being carefully planned, programmed and pre-rehearsed beforehand. It should have taken them a lot of practice to carry that sound from the studio onto their live show without losing any of the components, and the utmost in musicianship. They do pull it off: my worst complaint about the sound lies in the quality of the recording equipment, especially in the mix sphere - Gabriel's voice is often overshadowed (although that might have been Peter's own problem: with all those costumes, it was probably hard to keep the mike at short distance all the time). But the instruments are mixed in with enough care, and every song preserves its essence: the atmospheric Mellotron swirls on 'Watcher', the medieval solemnity of 'Musical Box', the.amusing theatricality of 'Get 'Em Out', the ominous feeling of catastrophe on 'Hogweed', and the apocalyptic madness of 'Knife', everything is here.

Gabriel, however, still manages to outshine all the others - his is the 'live note' on the album, as he is able to shift his vocals from one style to another, changing the expression at whichever point he wishes, while the others are completely tied down by the complexity of the music. Thus, 'Get 'Em Out By Friday' sounds even more theatrical here than it does on the origial, with Pete overdoing the stage pronunciation bit and obviously getting a lot of fun from himself. And although he misses making the expected "wild scream" on the 'turn and run!' section of 'Hogweed', he fully redeems himself on the later sections, at times aided by Collins from behind his drumset (not to mention the amusing 'scrapings' that Hackett inserts from time to time to illustrate the 'botanical creature stirs' passage).

However, in the general sense all of these minor distinctions do not make up for the album's expendable character. It is really difficult to realize why a non-diehard should take his time and money to go out and buy the record. Still, if you do treat it as a compilation, and if your stomach is strong enough to endure five non-stop (but brilliant) wankfests in a row, you might get a blast of it. I know I do, and, after all, it's interesting to see how these guys managed to cope with their, let's admit it, rather complex material onstage. They did manage.

Unfortunately, what the record refuses to present us with totally are the excitement and theatricality of Genesis' stage show (I mean, the songs are theatrical enough, but I mean the whole package). Apart from the front cover featuring Gabriel in one of his endless mascherades and one of his stories written in text form in the liner notes, there's nothing on here to suggest that this was a band with one of the most famous stage performances of the era. And the booklet itself is a real joke, with just a couple of muddy photos and only the most essential liner notes. Really. The re-mastering guys could have made a better job. Aww, never mind, the music on here still rules. Hell, I'd even say I like 'Musical Box' better when it's here than when it's on the studio record. Why? No reason. Just had to think of something encou raging about this album. And I still give it an eight if only out of sheer respect for such an excellent song selection.

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