Three Sides Live

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Three Sides Live

Live album by Genesis
Released	1 June 1982
Recorded	Autumn 1981 Except: "One For The Vine": 1980, "Fountain Of Salmacis": 1978 and "It/Watcher Of The Skies": 1976
Genre	Pop rock/Progressive rock
Length	1:32:42
Label	Charisma/Virgin (UK) Atlantic (US)
Producer(s)	Genesis
All Music Guide link
Genesis chronology
Abacab (1981)	Three Sides Live (1982)	Genesis (1983)

Three Sides Live is the third live album by British band Genesis and was released in 1982.

The title for this album comes from the original North American LP release which contained three sides of live material from the band's 1981 tour in support of their album Abacab, and a fourth side of studio tracks, three of which formed the British 3 X 3 EP and two B-sides from the sessions for their album Duke. The international release featured a fourth live side of obscure performances recorded during previous tours. "Paperlate", itself from the 3 X 3 EP, became a Top 10 UK hit and a smaller US success.

In 1994, Three Sides Live was remastered and reissued with the international edition worldwide, with the US version being deleted. Four of the five additional studio selections from that out of print release would be issued in 2000 on the Genesis Archive 2: 1976-1992 box set.

Upon its mid-1982 release, Three Sides Live reached #2 in the UK and #10 in the US.

Like Seconds Out, the live album which preceded it, Three Sides Live documents the end of another major period in the evolution of the band. As a concert band, the group is instrumentally at the top of its game, and the tracks are incredibly energetic renditions of the studio recordings. Focusing mostly on material from Duke and Abacab, including large sections from Duke's thematic song cycles, the third side contains what had become the centerpiece of their last few tours, the "Cage" medley. Replacing their previous centerpiece, "Supper's Ready", the "Cage" medley melded together the longer song "In the Cage" (off the The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway album), with an instrumental which combined motifs from "Cinema Show" and a changing set of melodies from Wind & Wuthering and The Lamb. From here the song then slowly melds into "Afterglow", producing a medley which lasted over 15 minutes and served to satisfy many of the fans wishes for older material in the live shows. As a compilation of many of Banks most popular keyboard solos from the live shows, this medley, a staple of their shows for many years, encapsulates Genesis' strengths as a 'musicians' band. This album also includes many notable B-sides on the fourth side, and despite being a live album, Three Sides Live is often considered essential Genesis by most fans.

While the 'fourth' studio side was only available on the American release (and is no longer issued in the US as part of the album, with all but one of its tracks being included as part of the second Genesis box set), it does contain many notable songs. While certainly a collection of songs which didn't necessarily fit on other albums (from Duke and Abacab recording sessions), there is nevertheless a certain consistency of mood between the songs, and some have even argued that the songs from the Abacab sessions which were included here were better than some of the songs which were included on Abacab itself. As for the individual songs, "Paperlate," which opens the fourth side, was an instant radio hit, and is easily one of Genesis most catchy horn-inflected songs. From here the rest of the side is relatively introspective. "You Might Recall" is an understated pop gem of unrequited love, "Evidence of Autumn" nicely recreates the moods of the Wind & Wuthering days, and "Open Door" is a quiet ballad which hearkens back to the days of Collins' sparse vocal recordings like "More Fool Me." "Me and Virgil," a song perhaps too quirky to include on the LP's themselves, still has a relaxed, almost country feel which, while not a Genesis trademark, allows them to explore rural family themes in a manner similar to Collin's solo track "The Roof is Leaking." While these songs do not constitute an album proper, they certainly deserve their release in this semi-EP format.

1 Track listing
- 1.1 Disc one
- 1.2 Disc two
2 Personnel

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Mike Rutherford, except where noted.

[edit] Disc one

"Turn it on Again" – 5:16
"Dodo" – 7:19
"Abacab" – 8:47
"Behind the Lines" – 5:26
"Duchess" – 6:43
"Me And Sarah Jane" (Tony Banks) – 5:59
"Follow You, Follow Me" – 4:58

[edit] Disc two

"Misunderstanding" (Phil Collins) – 4:06
"In the Cage (Medley-The Cinema Show/Slippermen)" (Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel/Steve Hackett/Mike Rutherford) – 11:53
"Afterglow" (Tony Banks) – 5:14
"One for the Vine" (Tony Banks) – 11:04
"The Fountain of Salmacis" (Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel/Steve Hackett/Mike Rutherford) – 8:37
"It/Watcher of the Skies" (Tony Banks/Phil Collins/Peter Gabriel/Steve Hackett/Mike Rutherford) – 7:22

The North American edition of Three Sides Live (originally released on record, cassette, 8-track and CD in the mid-1980s) had originally featured "Paperlate", "You Might Recall", "Me and Virgil", "Evidence of Autumn" and "Open Door" in the place of live performances of "One for the Vine", "The Fountain of Salmacis" and "It/Watcher of the Skies". The album was re-issued identically worldwide with the live performances in 1994.
On some editions, "One for the Vine" is divided in two parts. As a result, there are mistakes in the tracklisting. Part two is listed as "The Fountain of Salmacis", but "The Fountain of Salmacis" is inserted on track 6, "It/Watcher of the Skies". In conclusion, the titles of tracks 4, 5 and 6 of disc 2 should be: "One for the Vine, Pt. 1" (5:03); "One for the Vine, Pt. 2" (6:00); "The Fountain of Salmacis/It/Watcher of the Skies" (15:59).

[edit] Personnel

Phil Collins - percussion, drums, vocals
Tony Banks - keyboards, vocals, background vocals
Mike Rutherford - bass, guitar, background vocals

Additional personnel

Bill Bruford - drums on "It/Watcher of the Skies"
Steve Hackett - guitar on "It/Watcher of the Skies"
Daryl Stuermer - bass, guitar
Chester Thompson - percussion, drums

Discography
Genesis
Tony Banks \| Phil Collins \| Mike Rutherford
Peter Gabriel \| Steve Hackett \| Anthony Phillips \| John Mayhew \| John Silver \| Chris Stewart \| Bill Bruford \| Daryl Stuermer \| Chester Thompson \| Ray Wilson
Studio albums: From Genesis to Revelation \| Trespass \| Nursery Cryme \| Foxtrot \| Selling England by the Pound \| The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway \| A Trick of the Tail \| Wind & Wuthering \| ...And Then There Were Three... \| Duke \| Abacab \| Genesis \| Invisible Touch \| We Can't Dance \| Calling All Stations
Live Albums: Genesis Live \| Seconds Out \| Three Sides Live \| Live/The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts \| Live/The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs
Compilations: Turn It On Again: The Hits \| Platinum Collection
Box sets: Genesis Archive 1967-75 \| Genesis Archive 2: 1976-1992 \| Genesis 1976 -1982
EPs: Spot the Pigeon \| 3 X 3