Genesis Second Out

Depending upon your point of view, Genesis in 1976/1977 was either a band ascending toward its peak commercially, or a group crippled by the departure of a key member, and living on artistic borrowed time. In reality, they were sort of both, and fortunately for the members, their commerciality was more important than their artistic street cred, as their burgeoning record sales and huge audiences on tour during that period attested…

Genesis' second double live LP set in less than four years was originally a kind of a hybrid work, and has appeared in several different editions. There was confusion from the start because, despite its title, Three Sides Live in its British version, as Charisma GE 2002, had four concert sides. The U.S. version, which determined the title, was made up of ten live cuts recorded on-stage in Germany in 1981, with Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson in the group's lineup, doing the leaner, more pop-oriented repertory that constituted the group's sound by the early '80s, off of the albums Abacab and Duke. The resulting album offered lean, crisp, and generally bracing accounts of the group's then-current sound - a mix of pop/rock highlighted by some prodigious musicianship - and a four-minute glimpse of its progressive rock past in the guise of the "In the Cage Medley," containing "Cinema Show" from Selling England by the Pound…

Founded in the late '60s in Surrey, England, Genesis rose out of the ashes of earlier bands formed by schoolmates Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford, and Anthony Phillips (who departed after 1969's Trespass, the album providing the final track on this stellar retrospective). Guitarist Steve Hackett soon signed on, as did drummer/vocalist Phil Collins, who'd later emerge (as would Gabriel) as a solo superstar. Following Gabriel's 1975 departure, Genesis grew from a progressive art-rock outfit into one of the biggest arena rock acts ever, with a long string of platinum-sellers and chart smashes.

Given all the overt literary references of Selling England by the Pound, along with their taste for epic suites such as "Supper's Ready," it was only a matter of time before Genesis attempted a full-fledged concept album, and 1974's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was a massive rock opera: the winding, wielding story of a Puerto Rican hustler name Rael making his way in New York City. Peter Gabriel made some tentative moves toward developing this story into a movie with William Friedkin but it never took off, perhaps it's just as well; even with the lengthy libretto included with the album, the story never makes sense. But just because the story is rather impenetrable doesn't mean that the album is as well, because it is a forceful, imaginative piece of work that showcases the original Genesis lineup at a peak…

Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks has made several stabs at a solo career since 1978, writing and recording in various styles and occasionally under different group names. However, none of his attempts have been very commercially successful, a sore point for the man many deem responsible for a large portion of the Genesis sound…

Platinum Collection is a career-spanning box set by British veteran progressive rock/pop rock band Genesis. It was released in 2004 in the UK and one year later in North America…