ARCHIVE 1967-1975

Well after what I would consider an excruciating amount of wait-time, this gem has been finally released. First the description: 4 CD set which contains 2 CD's from "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" (Live in LA), 1 CD of live stuff mostly from 1973 including single releases of "Happy The Man" and "Twilight Alehouse", and 1 CD from the late 60's (1968 mostly). "The Lamb Lies Down..." is exceptionally well recorded and for the most part this concert is a close replica to the studio version. I am very pleased that the Gabriel's dialogue with the audience was not deleted from this recording as it adds so much more to the listening enjoyment. The third CD is the highlight for me and in many ways completes the GENESIS Live recording released back in the 70's. The treat is of course hearing "Suppers Ready" with the wonderful introduction. The fourth CD is from the GENESIS era with Anthony PHILLIPS and contains many excellent unreleased BBC tracks which never made their 1st or second releases. This box set is excellent and I would recommend it to anyone who has a deep love for early GENESIS... Walking Across The Sitting Room I turn the television on....

I would give 5 stars to the third CD as it does contain classic unheard live footage and Twilight Alehouse and Happy the Man . The first half of CD4 gets also 4 stars as it is also mega interesting to listen to stuff still unreleased and some of it very apt. The second half of that CD is really badly recorded and of limited interest unless you really value the first Revelation so it gets 2 stars. As for CD1 and CD2 , I did not particularly care for the studio version (see my review as I say that it would have been better as a single album) , the live version with all the vocals redone is not likely to enthrall me.As a matter of fact , I am just short of feeling that it was dishonest to redo those vocals, but at least they announced it. This is why this long awaited box-set does not rank very highly in my book

AMAZING!!! 20 years of waiting are rewarded with a valid document of Gabriel era concerts with a good sound.

Some people claim that it's a fake because Peter Gabriel and I believe Steve Hackett made some small changes/additions in the vocals and guitar, but honestly I couldn't care less because the box set is incredible.

Discs 1 & 2 are the complete version of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, even though I believed the full version of The Lamb was too much when I bought the album, but I was wrong, it was necessary to have a life version that could prove Genesis was the best Live band in history (IMHO). also is important to remember you never can get enough of this great piece of art.

Disc 3 is a compilation of some of the best classic era songs where Happy the Man and Twilight Allehouse are a high point, specially because this songs were only released as singles, can't undestand why Genesis never included this beautiful tracks in any studio album. Supper's Ready shows how better a Peter Gabriel Live version is to any Collins one, simply outstanding.

What I'll never comprehend is why did they included More Fool Me, the weakest song of Gabriel's era, the problem is not Phil Collins singing, the real problem is that the song is boring.

Despite this mistake, the best disc of the box.

Disc 4 is a pre Trespass stuff with some demos, Dusk is easily the best, good disk for collectors.

Now I'm waiting for a DVD of the same period to be satisfied.

A flawed masterpiece. Having heard bootleg versions of this live Lamb & Supper's Ready, I don't buy the explanation that the vocals were in need of "repair". Peter just didn't like the fact that he was a bit ragged or off-key at times. What's especially distressing is the fact that he made no attempt to recreate his youthful style. It's quite obvious when one hears the world-weary, fat & happy (and much deeper) Gabriel voice. Other than that, I am enthralled, and now await a DVD of (hopefully undoctored) live stuff. Incidentally, one of my favorite bands; Lamb is one of my favorite albums.

Arguably, this is the retrospective all pre 1975 Genesis fans had been waiting for, and to an extent, nobody should be too disappointed.

It could be considered a cop-out to include a complete live version of 'The Lamb', but given this was the final tour to feature Peter Gabriel, a live document of their most ambitious project was overdue. Gabriel had already told the other members of Genesis he was to leave at the end of the 'Lamb' tour, so they could be forgiven for sounding less than 100% (around that time, the general consensus in the music industry was that Gabriel was Genesis, so the rest of the band were less than certain of their future), but on the contrary, and on the strength of this recording, they were on top form - if anything, it is Gabriel's voice which (very) occasionally lets the overall sound down. Had this portion of 'Archives' been released on its own (in the same way as Pink Floyd released the Earls Court recording of 'The Wall'), we would all have gone away very happy indeed - but there is more.....

The first 5 tracks of disc 3 provide a suitable bridge between 'Genesis Live' and the live recording of 'The Lamb' - recorded at The Rainbow Theatre in London about 6 months after 'Live' had been recorded in Leeds, and featuring tracks from the then new 'Selling England' album, they showcase Genesis at their most confident and powerful; these tracks also show Genesis's lighter side, with the humorous banter between Gabriel & Collins - and FINALLY, we have a live version of 'Supper's Ready' with Gabriel at the helm!

The last 4 tracks on disc 3 are alternate takes of old favorites, and very welcome to hear - especially the version of 'Twilight Alehouse', formerly (I believe) only available as the B side of 'I know what I like', yet it had been a staple of the live set since the very early days.

CD4 contains all the unreleased early material you could ever want to hear, especially if you are fans of Anthony Phillips; this is, perhaps, overly completist, with some of the material, in my opinion, only there to pad out the CD's playing time; having said this however, there are gems on the disc, but I doubt you'll find yourself listening uninterupted to all of CD4, as you would with the other 3 discs.

From 1967 to 1975, from Charterhouse to the LA Forum, this collection has it all - an archive to be savoured, 'cos we all know what happened a few years later...........

If you are a Genesis freak, here's your ultimate chance to expand you collection even further with this fantastic and unique box-set, containing 4-CD's with previously unreleased material, Including an excellent complete live performance of the "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", which covers both Disc 1 and 2 of this set, and sounds even better here than the original studio album. Disc 3 is other live performances from the "Selling England" tour in late '73, including a complete version of "Supper's Ready", as well as some outtakes from their 71-72 era. Perhaps the best disc in this set. Disc 4 contains demo's from their very early years from 67-70. Less interesting for newer Genesis fans though very interesting for fanatics. This set also features a wonderful booklet, explaining how the band was progressing through "The Gabriel Years" from 1967-1975, and includes several rare pictures and details from the bands career. Sound quality is great, presenting the live material very well, the demo's has less good quality but not unacceptable. Fantastic box-set overall and a must-have if you are into Genesis' early years! 5 stars!

"GENESIS was my first progrock love and it will be my last. Not the future GENESIS but the GENESIS of the past." I freely quoted John Miles his song "Music" to express my emotions about GENESIS, what a wonderful and captivating music they made in the past ('70-'77- era). One thing irritated me very much about GENESIS and that's the fact that they released so few live-albums, again bootlegs turned out to be a kind of cold comfort for the the freaks. But in '98 record company Virgin (historically nice to prog) released a 4-CD box set with recordings from the "Selling..." - and "The Lamb..." tour, every day I wish I could have been there! It's a perfect addition to the "Genesis Live" album featuring the tracks (on CD3) "Dancing with the moonlit knight", "Firth of Fifth", "More Fool Me" and the epic "Supper's Ready", (including Peter Gabriel's his bizarre stories), all are impressive and very exciting renditions, what a stunning and pivotal progrock sound GENESIS made in those days. The recordings from "The Lamb ..." live contain some re-recordings, made in the studio in the late Nineties by Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel.

Although these re-recordings are beautiful, I'm more pleased with the original recordings because they sounded more raw and emotional and that was more in the vein of the dark and Freudian "The Lamb .." story and atmoshpere. But in general I'm delighted about "The Lamb .." live (in the USA, on two CD's) because the sound is more powerful and has some great instrumental improvisations. Especially Hackett's guitarplay sounds very moving, perhaps the dooming end of his marriage inspired him. And Banks his Mellotron excertions are awesome, 'Tron maniacs' alert! CD4 contains 20 demo-recordings between '67 and '70, some are very promissing (like "Pacidy" and "Going out to get you") but most sound no more than nice, interesting or beautiful (subjective!) blend of pop, prog and psych. Conclusion:this 4-CD Box is a perfect tribute (including a 80 page booklet with lots of wonderful pictures and amazing stories) to my all time progrock #1 band: GENESIS!

One must of course take this as an 'archives' thing, not as any balanced summary of Gabriel-era Genesis. But still I'm not very pleased. The third disc (with live versions of classics and some single rarities) is the only of the 4 that I would play more than just a couple of times. Wasting two discs for the Lamb concert doesn't really turn me on. Lamb sounds much better as a studio album, and there aren't any notable differences anyway. And the fourth disc... Well, there are some nice collector's items such as The Shepherd, Pacidy, or a demo of Dusk which is rather different (but also much worse) than on Trespass, but as the rest of the disc is demo material from the (pre)Revelations era, it is not very pleasing to listen. To me Revelations album itself is a cross between liking a bit or better to avoid, and if it gets below that level, it's nearly awful stuff, IMHO. _______ So, literally this would be **: collectors/fans only. But for the goodness of one disc I'm generous.

I remember vividly that I pre-ordered this box-set through my friend who lived in United States and had planned to take an annual leave for Jakarta. I was afraid by the time the box set was sent to his apartment, he's flown home. Finally . the box set arrived just two days before flight schedule. Uuggghhh . I was so relieved .Thanks God! And when I received this box set, I was so excited with the package - perfectly wrapped with a promotional sticker on it. When I opened the package .. wow!!! There was an excellent color booklet on the history of the band. The story about Gabriel leaving the band was wonderful one.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the double CD album, is played live in its entirely and featured in CD One and Two. I give full five stars rating with these two CDs. It's not the album that is a masterpiece one, but also the live performance of this album that I had never heard it before. Gabriel and the band played the album with full energy and had made the music much more dynamic than the original version. My favorite tracks include: Fly on A Windshield, In The Cage, Hairless Heart, and many more. Well . actually all tracks in The Lamb album were stand out ones with the exception of The Waiting Room that's too explorative for my ears.

Disc Three is another masterpiece as it contains a wonderful performance of Selling England By The Pound tracks: Dancing With The Moonlit Knight (7:05), Firth Of Fifth (8:29), More Fool Me (4:02) with Phil Collins on vocal, and I Know What I Like (5:36); also the legendary track from Foxtrot album: Suppers Ready (26:31). WOW!!! All of these classic tracks were performed marvelously. Unfortunately, Firth of Fifth was not performed with the classical piano work that served as intro under album version. It's a regret but overall they performed excellently. In addition, this disc contains wonderful track Twilight Alehouse (7:48) that I never knew before. It's a masterpiece disc!

Disc Four contains some tracks that I was not familiar before and they're all classic! It's basically the records during very early Genesis era - during and before the From Genesis To Revelation album. Overall, this disc is far from being masterpiece but for Genesis fans it's a collectible item. I give three-and-a half stars rating for this disc.

Overall rating: 4 ¾ out of 5 stars.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! And . keep on progGing' ..!!!

Progressively yours,

GW

What a great investment this collection is! This is how "Lamb" is supposed to sound as compared to the over-compressed and flat studio version. I don't think I'd ever really heard the composition fully until I finally got this set. I've always loved the music and words but didn't listen to it much because of what I consider the inexcusable poor quality of the original recording. The live performance brings it to life and Mike's incredible bass sound in particular is worth the price alone. So often overlooked, he stands right up there with the best bass players in the business for my money. Disc 3 is a treasure, as well. Here we really get a glimpse of the power Gabriel held over his audiences while the band supplied the horsepowered backdrop. "Moonlit Knight" is terrific and "Supper's Ready" knocks the walls down with its majesty. When Peter concludes the epic with "The Lord of Lords, King of Kings has returned to lead his children home, to take them to the new Jerusalem" it is so emotionally charged that it brings a tear to my eye every time. Of all the versions available of Supper's Ready this one tops them all. "Twilight Alehouse" is a real treat as well. I'll admit that disc 4 is for the true fanatics that have to have every single note these guys produced but I guess that just goes with the territory when it comes to an archive. It's kinda like working through a stack of demo tapes. I would have been happier with a remastered disc of "Genesis Live" to complete the chronological theme of the box set but I can't downplay the great sound that the other 3 discs provide. The band is upfront about their various overdubs and that is admirable. It shows that they would rather put out a product that sounds fantastic rather than trying to please a minority of listeners with an authentic but highly flawed recording. The first half of the 70s was when prog rock was in its prime and any fan of that era deserves to have this in their collection. If you are a real Genesis fan and are balking at the steep price consider that you'll easily spend this much in one night at a nice restaurant. Your meal will be forgotten but you'll still be listening to this decades from now.

I know what I'd have liked!

Having had such high hopes for this box set when it was announced, I was somewhat disappointed to find that half of it was dedicated to a live version of "The lamb lies down on Broadway". While I enjoy that album I have always rated it some way below the other Gabriel era Genesis offerings. The performance itself is pretty much faithful to the studio version, Gabriel's slightly more aggressive vocals and between song narratives being the most notable differences. Since the studio album was originally released as a double LP and this CD release maintains the same track distribution between 2 CDs, the performance fills just over half of each of the first two CDs. What a waste of the space available on a four CD retrospective box set! The unused hour or so could easily have been filled with more live performances and rare studio tracks, or even just selected tracks from albums of the period covered.

Sides three and four are much better, or at least more interesting, as they contain many rare and unreleased tracks. Among the most sought after of these are the legendary "Twilight alehouse" and "Happy the man". I would have preferred that the studio tracks had appeared chronologically from the start of side three, with the live tracks appearing in a less ordered way towards the end of the album. This would have allowed the collection to close on a familiar high with say "Supper's ready". Instead, the collection goes out with something of a whimper, with a selection of out-takes from around the time of Jonathan King's involvement. Thankfully, King's production is notably absent from these tracks though, and thus so are the strings. The tracks include demos and early versions of songs which ended up on the "From Genesis to Revelation" album, plus a handful from around the time of "Trespass". While there is an endearing naivety to the songs, they are little more than early attempts at writing pop material, far removed from the prog classics the band would go on to create.

Looking more closely at some of the rare tracks, by the time "Twilight alehouse" was actually recorded, it had been part of the live set for some time. It never made it onto an album, but eventually appeared as the B-side of the single "I know what I like". It is certainly a decent song from the period, but perhaps falls short of those which did make their early albums. "Happy the man" was a non-album single A-side, released after "Nursery cryme". It is more whimsical, and only really of historical interest.

The live performances gather in a cross section of songs from Gabriel era albums not previously available in live format, at least with Gabriel still in the line up. Many of these are taken from a performance at the Rainbow Theatre in London in 1973. They include a complete rendition of "Supper's Ready" (not therefore the one omitted from "Genesis live"), and Phil Collins early flirtation with centre stage on "More full me". The unreleased single version of "Watcher of the skies" is interesting, as it has a completely different latter section.

The two Genesis Archives sets are split neatly between the Gabriel and Collins led eras; thus this first volume takes us nicely up to Gabriel's swansong on "The lamb..". Neither this, nor volume two should be mistaken for anthologies as neither contains any studio material which has previously appeared on the band's official album releases. They are therefore mainly intended for fans and collectors, and not for those who are new to the music of this seminal band.

For many years the fans of Genesis with Peter Gabriel (like me) had to listen to vinyl bootlegs, some of good quality ("In Concert 1973", from the "Selling England..." tour), some of awful quality ("Swelled and Spent", from the "Lamb" tour) to have an idea of how good were the years of Genesis with Gabriel in concert. At last, in 1998 the band released live recordings from those tours. Also, the band released other songs which were also released on bootlegs (like the BBC recordings), the "lost" b-side "Twilight Alehouse", the single "Happy the Man", and the different short lenght version of "Watcher of the Skies", plus Demos from their very early days as a band (1967-69). So, this is a very interesting Box Set,despite the overdubs to some of the live recordings.

CDs 1 and 2: The complete "Lamb" album played in concert during the 1974-75 tour.

"Swelled and Spent" was one of the few bootlegs which I listened which had a complete "Lamb" show (somewhat edited), but the recording is awful. I have listened to two Radio Shows from that tour: one very edited from the same show included in this Box Set (Los Angeles), and another recorded in Wembley, with more songs. In the Radio Show recorded in Los Angeles, the voice of Gabriel sounds good, and it has "it" recorded in concert. Tony Banks justified the inclusion of a "new studio version" of "it" in this Box Set (the same old studio version, remixed but with new vocals by Gabriel) saying that "the recording engineer forgot to change tapes, he was asleep at the job, so we lost "it""). It seems that the same source for the Radio Show were the tapes that Genesis recorded from this show. So, apart form a "mistake" from Collins, who lost the beat slighty because it seems that he threw a dum stick, the live version of "it" is still very good. In comparison, in the Wembley concert, which was recorded almost at the end of the tour, Gabriel`s vocals sound tired. "Swelled and Spent", which was recorded in May, also shows that Gabriel`s voice was tired of many dates on tour singing the complete "Lamb" album (plus one encore, and sometimes two encores). So, I think that in the case of the Los Angeles show there wasn`t, IMO, a very strong reason to overdub new Gabriel`s vocals. The band had their reasons to do it, and I respect their reasons. But...it could have been better to have the "whole real show". I think that Gabriel re-recorded most of his vocals. I think that old fans should have "forgiven" his original vocals even if they weren`t very good in some parts. The L.A concert was in January, and I think that his voice was still good enogh to leave it intact in the Box Set. It is also known that Hackett re-recorded some of his guitar parts, this is clear in "Hairless Heart" (he recorded an acoustic guitar part similar to the studio version; in the Wembley show he played this part in his electric guitar) and in "The Lamia" (he re-recorded the lead guitar). Despite this "studio tricks", the recording and mixing of the concert is very good. Unfortunately the band didn`t film a "Lamb" show during that tour which could have been a very good companion to this Box Set.

CD 3:

Recordings from the "Selling England by the Pound" tour, Rainbow Theatre, Oct. 1973: I listened to this recordings without ovedubs in the "In Concert 1973" bootleg which also includes "Cinema Show", "Watcher of the Skies" and "The Battle of Epping Forest", but not "More Fool Me". For this Box Set Gabriel also re-recorded some of his vocals, and again I think that it wasn`t really necessary, apart from the occasional out of tune vocals, Gabriel sings very well in the original live recordings (which I think that they were also broadcasted in the Radio in England in the same year). Hackett re-recorded his lead guitar part in "Firth of Fifth" (there even was a short video of Hackett filmed while re-recording this part in the official website dedicated to this Box Set). In the original live version, it seems that he lost some concentration and he played the part like he forgotten it a bit. In this case, again, I don`t think that it was really necessary to re-record it (a bit of variety in playing the songs is also interesting, IMO). I think that Gabriel and Hackett also re-recorded some of their parts in "Supper`s Ready". Again, these live recordings and mixings (of all the live songs in this CD) are very good. "Stagnation" is a BBC recording from 1971, with Collins and Hackett in the band, in a very good version of this song. "Twilight Alehouse": a B- side from 1973, a very good song from the band, one of their best. I also have listened to live versions of this song which also sound very good. "Happy the Man": a single from 1972, not very interesting for me. "Watcher of the Skies": a different version of the song, shorter in duration, which it seems it was previously available in France in a compilation called "Genesis Rock Theatre". I prefer the original version.

CD 4:

Demos from 1967 to 1969: very interesting for the old fans, and particularly for the fans of their first album. They also included some songs from that album in rough mixes without the orchestral arrangements. In this case I think that the orchestral arrangements helped the songs to sound better. The band sounds still very "inmature", but with some good quality. Some songs are naive, really, but still good. The BBC recordings from 1970: some of them are very good, like "Sheperd" (with Banks sharing lead vocals with Gabriel; Banks sang very well) and "Pacidy".

In conclusion, this is a very good Box Set.

I believe that this effort should either have been limited to a triple CD avoiding the useless fourth one that covers their pre-Trespass career and really useless and boring (what's the use of getting demo versions of this era ? Should it be a quad one, it should have more live moments (or even demo) from Trespassand Nursery (the BBC Archive 1970-1972 is full of fantastic moments from this period). The live CD from their Rainbow concert in 1973 is gorgeous (there is a non-offical CD which covers almost the entirety of this concert with the opener "Watcher Of The Skies" and "The Battle od Epping Forrest". What we were missing in "Genesis Live" is here : "Supper's Ready" as well as the intro sections from Peter. The CD starts with "Dancing Out" which is the second track of the full concert, coming after "Watcher". I like it better than the studio version (the weird guitar at the end being cut for their live renditions). Then comes "Firth" : most of time (like here), the fantastic piano intro is cut off. I really do not understand why. During the second half of their US tour, they did perfrom the track in its entirety (I am not sure if they did so in all of them but I suspect it. On the non-official "Live At The Miami Guzman Theatre" (recorded on March 9, 1974) the whole track is rendered. Anyway, this version is excellent with a great Steve in command. I won't mention anything on "More Fool Me". The live version of "Supper's Ready" is of course a moment that each Genesis fan was waiting for about twenty-five years. It starts with a three minutes'introductory story from Peter. Full of humour and joy. This version is superior to the studio one (IMO) but I still prefer the one recorded in Paris and available on "Seconds Out" (musically I mean even if the flute passages are lissing). Of course, visually it is another story. One can get the full blown picture of this epic song in the non - offical video called "Live At The Shepperton Studios : Peter jerking gently during some passages of "Lover'sLeap", some nice fluting of course, Peter dressd up with a flower mask (a flower ?) during "How Dare I Be So Beautiful" and "Willow Farm", and wering the strange mask we can see on the cover of the "Genesis Live" record during "Apocalypse in 9/8". Quite an emotional moment to SEE these images. "I Know What I Like" will be the last track available from this concert. Fortunately, in those days the audience participation was not in the mood and what we get here is the pure beauty of the track in the standard format. The remaining part of this CD consists of a "live" rendition of "Stagnation" from the famous BBC archives I already have mentioned several times in my Genesis reviews (but hell ! Why only one of those while this double CD contains sixteen (yes 16) songs, some being duplicates like "Stagnation", "Hogweed" and "The Musical Box) ? It remains a mystery. The last three songs are single versions of unreleased album tracks. "Happy The Man" a song in the style of "Harold The Barrel" (from the Cryme period), "Twilight Alehouse" B-side of "I Know What I Like" and really a great track (it should have deserved to be on an album, really). There is also the single (and edited) version of "Watcher". This CD alone is making this expensive effort worthwile (I remember having paid almost 2500 BEF for it - which is the equivalent of 62 ?). For your information, I will mention the full tracklist of the Rainbow concert from 1973 (this is the most probable one since different sources are a bit misleading) : 1) Watcher Of The Skies 2) Dancing With The Moonlit Knight 3 )I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) 4) Firth Of Fifth 5) More Fool Me 6) The Battle Of Epping Forest (great rendition of this extraordinary play) 7) Supper's Ready

The double CD with the live representation from "The Lamb" was recorded during an L.A. representation at the Shrine Auditorium. I have a particular love for the live rendition for "The Lamb". It was the single concert with their greatest line-up I saw live in Brussels (in 75). During the concert there were three screens where slides were constantly displayed (more than a thousand in total). The "theatrical" style of Gabriel was quite sober I remember (on the contrary of all that has been said about it. Most of the time he was wearing a pair of jeans and a leather jacket. At times there were some effects like in "The Lamia" when he was surrounded by a coloured cylinder and of course in "The Colony Of Slipperman" where he was wearing this ugly, bestial costume of the creature. Some tracks (weak in studio) gain a lot in this live version : "The Grand Parade"and "The Waiting Room" for instance. Something stupid about this recording though : at the end of the show, the technicians ran out of tape and they could not record the end of "It". Yes sir ! Fortunately they did not cut the spoken introduction to the story of Rael, our hero ... Four stars for all these great moments (I would have rate it five stars if the fourth CD had been skipped).

I appear to be in the minority at Prog Archives concerning this first box set of archival recordings released by Genesis. I don't consider this a masterpiece and I don't recommend it to first-time listeners of the group. I do not consider The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway a masterpiece. I think it could've been a much better record if it was only limited to one LP instead of two. Half this box set is taken up by the performance of it live. It really is a nicely done performance, but like I said on my other review, it drags on for too long. My favorite CD of the collection is the third one because it has some unreleased material and contains some live performances by Gabriel of material that was never made available before. The fourth CD is just a bunch of demos mostly from 1968, some of which would make it onto their debut album. Their debut album was just awful, so the demos and recordings of things that didn't make the cut are even worst.

I understand this is archival stuff, thus aptly titled "Archive," so this box set to me serves more of a historical purpose for die-hard fans of the group. Thus I can't recommend this for everyone. Newcomers to the group should start with their studio albums of 1970-1980 (maybe later years if you dare). After that, if you really love Genesis, then consider getting their Archive box sets. At the very least, they are nicely done supplements to a Genesis collection. I would have to give this work three stars, mostly for the material on the third disc and for some of the better material scattered about on the first two discs containing The Lamb live.

I usually try to avoid box set compilations as I find no need to rehash the songs that already exist in my collection. But Genesis Archives captures unreleased live elements of the best Genesis period. The first two disks consist of a live Lamb Lies Down...in its entirety. An outstanding performance to have in any Progressive listeners collection, even more so for the hardcore Genesis fan. Disk 4 contains songs from the "Genesis to Revelations" period that are really rather forgetable. Where Genesis Archives really stands out is disk 3 with unreleased live versions of some of their greatest masterpieces. The best being "Supper's Ready", previously only available performed live on Seconds Out with Phil on vocals. The remastered recordings are brilliantly executed, capturing the raw sound of the live performances, while supressing the noise and distortions typically present in live recordings of the era. This is a 5 star set for disk 3 by itself. The live version of "Lamb" is just icing on the cake, while the coaster that is disk 4 is easily ignored. The included booklet also provides a fun look back.

A must have for any prog collection.

Boxsets and archive recordings are mostly really crappy outtakes, live jams or other strange rarities, but it´s not the case with Archive - Volume 1: 1967-1975. This is absolutely a worthy purchase and an essential one to fans of Peter Gabriel era Genesis. It is pretty expensive of course, but you get 4 CDs worth of songs.

The first two CDs are The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway performed in it´s entirety. It is a very good perfomance of the album and the production on this show is awsome.

The third CD is the most exciting one as it has some songs on it that hasn´t been on any other Genesis live CD before. Dancing With the Moonlit Knight succeeded by Firth of Fifth are good examples of excellent songs played live. The most interesting is Suppers Ready though, with Peter Gabriel singing as oppossed to the version on Seconds Out were Phil is singing. Needless to say which version is the best. These songs have excellent sound quality. I Know what I like is a nice live song and a good addition to this CD, but for the life of me I can´t imagine why they would put More Fool Me on this else perfect CD. What a horrible song and it doesn´t get better just because it´s played live. Stagnation is played live at a BBC session, and is in a differnt version from what you hear on Trespass. It´s not neccesearly a bad thing though. One of the real winners here are Twilight Alehouse though. This is really a beautiful Genesis song with one of Peter Gabriel´s best vocal perfomances. It sounds like it could have been on Nyrsery Cryme or Foxtrot. It´s from a single released in 1973. What a winner. Happy the Man is from another single and it was released in 1972. A pretty weak song in my ears. Rather commercial in the bad way. Not very exciting. The last song on CD3 is Watcher of the Skies in a cut single version. This is really a bad idea. Don´t waste your time on that one.

CD4 is from the "From Genesis to Revelation" period of the band. And it is not as bad as some of the previous reviews have stated, but then again I kind of liked "From Genesis to Revelation". Here the songs are in other versions. Some not quite finished and some more raw than the original. Actually I like these versions much better than the ones on "From Genesis to Revelation". There is even an early version of Dusk here.

While not for the new fan of Genesis Peter Gabriel period, it certainly is for the incarnated one. I find it very essential, and it is only because of the flaws on CD3 and the good but not essential nature of the songs on CD4 that this is not a masterpiece. 4 stars will do.

"Jerusalem boogie to us perhaps but to the worms it meant Supper is Ready"

Where can you Peter Gabriel utter those words? Right here on this fantastic box set that's where. How long did people wish for the things in this box set? Do I need to remind you? How about live renditions of both the Lamb and Suppers Ready? How about some other things like Stagnation? Firth of Fifth? Twilight Alehouse? More Fool Me? (OK that's a joke). Disk three is worth the price alone however if you take these songs and take Genesis live and add the Lamb shows in hows that for a brilliant 4 desk live snapshot of the Gabriel era? So what is wrong? Gabe and Hackett correcting a few major warts on the Lamb? That's stopping you? Don't let it because this thing is brilliant for that alone. The Lamb live a complete a snapshot in time to add to what the studio offers is essential. Add in some demos and other rough mixes of unreleased songs and you got a tight little package. Great booklet as well with lots of pictures of the band, picture of memorabilia and a great history of the era.

If you are a fan of the Gabriel era this set is essential to your collection. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is well i can't think of any reason not too so here it is 5 stars.

I have little to add to those who wrote reviews on this four CD boxset before me. In fact I have mixed feeling towards it. While I loved Disc 3 a lot, with the inclusion of such rare tracks like Twilight Alehouse and Happy The Man (a truly 5 star live recording), and could stand the ´raraties´of Disc 4 (for hardcore fans of their very early period, exclusively), I´ve always found hard to swallow the redone live version of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. I Mean, I could live with some overdubs like 95% bands do, but knowing that ALL vocal parts were rerecorded (plus a good chunk of instrumental parts) was just too much. I much rather stand the raw, off key original version, since no one expects perfection on a live recording. And it would be more honest to the audience. Still, it was very decent of their part to announce it and not trying to hide it from the public like so many have done.

For all that this boxset promised, I found little real reward in the end. Maybe I expected too much and the information I got before I bought it at the time was not complete. And I´m still waiting for a DVD of this tour (if there is one).

In conclusion I must say it is a worth addition to the Genesis fan collection. Not really essential (except disc 3, a great find!), but for the seasoned Genesis fan, good overall. 3 stars.

Happy the man, when he reaches the twilight alehouse

In contrast to the Genesis Archive #2 1976-1992 box, this first archive box set (covering the years 1967-1975) contains mostly live material. The first two discs of this four disc set contain a performance of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway in its entirety. This is a nice, but ultimately not entirely satisfying feature for me as this particular album is, in my opinion, the least good of the Genesis albums from 1970 to 1980 (i.e. from Trespass to Duke). Taking up 50% of the space in this whole box it might be considered a bit overkill. But it will surely please those who hold up The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway as a personal favourite. The fourth disc goes all the way back to the very earliest days of Genesis career in the late 60's, a time when neither Steve Hackett nor Phil Collins had joined the band and when progressive Rock didn't yet exist. The 1969 - 1970 demos and outtakes are interesting, but the 1967 - 1968 material has very little to do with the Genesis we all know and love. Besides, the sound quality of these older demos is not very good.

It is clearly the third disc that holds the most interest. Here we first have some more live material, but this time there is a heavy focus on the much more satisfying masterpiece album Selling England By The Pound as well as a performance of the entire Supper's Ready. These are precisely the tracks that the first official Genesis live album was missing and as such this disc is an excellent companion to Genesis Live from 1973. In addition we get here also two studio tracks, Happy The Man and Twilight Alehouse that are not featured on any album. These two tracks are, as far as I know, not available anywhere else. They are both good songs, but not up to par with the album material of the times.

My main problem with this box set is two-fold: (1) there is too heavy a focus on live material over studio material and (2) there is too heavy a focus on the very early and very late Peter Gabriel-era i.e. 1967 - 1970 and 1974/75 and not so much on the years in between (1971 to 1973), which were, after all, the most interesting years of the Gabriel-era. However, I do understand that they cannot do magic - they cannot give us something that does not exist in the vaults. But take away the performance of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and the pre-Prog 60's demos and you have about one disc's worth of material left that is of genuine interest.

I strongly feel that it would have been better if they had released an archive box set containing only studio material (such as non-album b-sides) from the whole career of the band and then another archive box set containing only live material from the whole career of the band. In that way it would have been possible to better follow the evolution of the band. This box set, like the follow-up Genesis Archive #2, is a nice addition and recommended for fans and collectors (like myself). These fans are, after all, the obvious target audience for these archival box sets anyway. For most others, having all the original albums, both studio and live (plus one or two live concert DVDs), is quite enough for a comprehensive Genesis collection.

Genesis fans jumped all over this long-awaited four-disc box set when it came out in 1998. Some praised it for including a generous selection of rare and live material from the band's most creative era; others complained about the uneven organization, and the belated tampering with the original live tapes.

I can sympathize with both views. But despite some obvious flaws it remains an invaluable collection for aficionados in particular and progheads in general, and here I freely admit to being a long-standing member of each group. My own introduction to Progressive Rock was through the good example of the 1973 "Genesis Live" LP, and this early chapter in the band's history still carries a strong sentimental attraction. So the first volume of the Genesis Archive is easy to recommend, but not without a few nagging reservations.

This particular compilation benefits from its limited scope, adhering to the band's Prog Rock zenith between 1967 and 1975 (no ersatz-solo Phil Collins pop music here, thanks very much). But unfortunately the emphasis is on the extremes at either end of the era, with fully half the box devoted to a complete live performance of "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", and another entire disc reserved for unreleased demo recordings from the band's teenage pre-Prog roots at Charterhouse School.

The epic "Lamb" saga is best heard without interruptions or edits, but including what amounts to a note-by-note duplication in concert of the entire twin LP (to a lot of fans, myself included, perhaps the most over-rated of the band's early classics) unbalances the four- disc set. Yes, the dynamic live sound is a lot more engaging than its studio counterpart. But, except for the audience applause and the occasional narrative monologue by Peter Gabriel, this 1975 performance at the Shrine Auditorium in LA is indistinguishable from the original album, released only two months earlier. (The concert version actually runs a little longer, but only because of the overall slower tempo of the live performance.) Substituting a video document of the elaborate stage show would have made this an essential collection, but that's just wishful thinking: the band, somewhat incredibly, never filmed any of their "Lamb" performances.

Meanwhile the Disc Four demos seem to be aimed more at diehard collectors, proto-prog archeologists, and those few misfits who champion the 1969 "From Genesis to Revelation" album ("the excellent debut LP", writes Jonathan King in his notes for the box set...well, he produced it after all, so what else would you expect him to say?) These undeniably pleasant but completely negligible pop songs show a group of kids treading a tentative path toward the same lightweight musical terrain already well-staked by the MOODY BLUES (at their most conventional). An early version of "Dusk", later to appear on the 1970 "Trespass" album, is a real highlight, as are the three very pretty songs lifted from the BBC Night Ride radio sessions. But the other fifty (!) minutes of raw, immature demos may not earn much repeat play after the first, curious listen.

This leaves us with Disc Three of the set, where all the gold is buried. An energetic live performance from October 1973, in support of the "Selling England By the Pound" LP, shows the band at their absolute peak. The partial concert includes all of Side One from the classic album plus a complete version of "Supper's Ready", and by itself is worth the market price for the entire four-disc box (it's a pity however that the rest of the gig was omitted: see the 2009 "Live 1973-2007" box for the missing numbers). Peter Gabriel's voice overdubs are painfully obvious, but the live sound is absolutely thrilling, especially when Mike Rutherford unleashes his bass pedals, always a signal of high musical drama. Even the otherwise forgettable early Phil Collins ballad "More Fool Me" is vastly improved, and the banter between songs is priceless (my favorite moment: when Collins misses his cue during one of Peter Gabriel's oddball stories. "Sorry, man", he apologizes, "I wasn't paying attention...")

Filling out the balance of Disc Three are some rare singles and B-sides from the "Nursery Cryme" / "Foxtrot" days, including the mini-epic "Twilight Alehouse", previously known only to very lucky collectors and completists. But to me the true hidden gem here is the gentle "Happy the Man", with its very catchy Cat Stevens-like chorus and melody, atypically simple for such an increasingly ambitious outfit at the time. Too bad more material from this truly magical, embryonic stage of development hasn't been recovered.

The box set booklet is somewhat disappointing, being top heavy with retrospective praise bordering on hagiography. Producer Jonathan King (quoted elsewhere) glosses over his myopic misread of the true potential in his young protégés. And fanboy journalist Chris Welch concludes his essay by writing, "...with albums like "Invisible Touch" and "We Can't Dance", it seems they had saved the best until last."

[...pause here while we all attempt to recover from our dumbfounded apoplexy at such an idiotic observation...]

In all, not quite the ideal collection some of us might have been expecting. But there isn't anything here unworthy of attention, even if it's only from academic interest. And for that reason alone the box deserves a spot in every well-rounded Prog Rock library, with Disc Three alone earning a special place of honor among longtime fans.

I got my copy of Archive - Volume 1: 1967-1975 around 2004 which was pretty late considering its 1998 release. My main interest of this box was sparked by the entire live performance of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and, if I recall correctly, it was also here that I got to hear this performance in its entirety for the first time. You see, the CD version of the studio album was released around 1994 and was had to come by at this point. This was why I got myself a used vinyl copy of the original release and it was far from a perfect experience for me.

The two CD performance of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway recorded at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles in the early 1975 was just an amazing experience for me and I'm pretty sure that this is the Genesis live album that I've heard most times so far. I know that this recording was criticized for Peter Gabriel's and Steve Hackett's partial re-recording of their parts but I really can't complain much about it since it only enhances the original performances that would otherwise have sounded barely audible in some sections. Unlike the studio version, where the second half of the performance looses some of its energy, I really can't say the same about this live counterpart. If anything, the intensity of the performance actually thickens with time and bring out an extraordinary Genesis live show that is of worth to both existing fans and absolute beginners.

Not only do we get a complete recording of the 1974 masterpiece but also an expansion of the Genesis Live release with over 50 minutes of live material from Rainbow Theatre from 1973. We finally get those beloved classics like Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, Firth Of Fifth and Suppers Ready in unforgettable live renditions that is guaranteed to make any fan jump in complete joy. I especially love the story sections in between the songs the intros to Dancing With The Moonlit Knight and Suppers Ready feature some of the most classic tales that have been uttered by Gabriel back in those days.

The final CD consists of demos and other unreleased material from the band's early period between 1967-69 and it might not be as excellent as the three CD's before it. Still, there are a few nice surprises even here which begin with the stripped down version of In The Wilderness that really brings out the core of this wonderful tune. I was also completely blown away when I heard Shepherd, a song where Tony Banks sings backing vocals, and realizing that Banks could indeed give Gabriel a run for his money in the vocal department. It made me even more confused why Tony didn't sing on his solo albums since his delicate voice would have added so much to, say, his debut album!

It's obvious that I'm a huge fan of Genesis which makes Archive - Volume 1: 1967-1975 an automatic must-have compilation for me. But I would actually go further and proclaim it too be an excellent addition to any prog rock collection just for the first three CD's. Genesis was a great live band and I'm sure that their live enthusiasm will make anyone fall in love with this quintets history!

***** star songs: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (6:31) Fly On A Windshield (4:38) Broadway Melody Of 1974 (0:34) In The Cage (7:56) Hairless Heart (2:22) Counting Out Time (3:59) The Carpet Crawlers (3:59) The Chamber Of 32 Doors (5:52) Anyway (3:29) The Lamia (7:12) The Light Lies Down On Broadway (3:37) Dancing With The Moonlit Knight (7:05) Firth Of Fifth (8:29) In The Wilderness (3:00) Shepherd (4:00) Dusk (6:14)

**** star songs: Cuckoo Cocoon (2:17) The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging (4:25) Back In N.Y.C. (6:19) Lillywhite Lilith (3:04) The Waiting Room (6:15) The Supernatural Anesthetist (3:57) Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats (3:15) The Colony Of Slippermen (8:46) Ravine (1:39) Riding The Scree (4:30) In The Rapids (2:25) It (4:20) More Fool Me (4:02) Suppers Ready (26:34) I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (5:36) Stagnation (8:54) Twilight Alehouse (7:48) Happy The Man (2:54) Watcher Of The Skies (3:42) Pacidy (5:42) Build Me A Mountain (4:12) Where The Sour Turns To Sweet (3:15) The Magic Of Time (2:01) Hey! (2:28) Sea Bee (3:05) She Is Beautiful (3:47)

*** star songs: Let Us Now Make Love (6:14) Going Out To Get You (4:54) Image Blown Out (2:12) One Day (3:08) In The Beginning (3:31) Hidden In The World Of Dawn (3:10) The Mystery Of The Flannan Isle Lighthouse (2:36) Hair On The Arms And Legs (2:41) Try A Little Sadness (3:21) Particia (3:05)

I grabbed hold of this as soon as it was released (hard to believe it was thirteen years ago now), all a quiver with excitement. As much as I enjoyed Collins era Genesis, the opportunity to pass up on a compilation like this was too much to refuse.

Was it worth it? Well, emphatically yes. This is a very clever release, and for that we have Tony Banks to thank. Rather than taking the easy option of pulling together a lazy compilation of previously available sets, Banks pulled off a coup by bringing us a live set of The Lamb which had passed into legend, with the added bonus of getting the band together in the studio for the first time since 1975 to "finish off" It, the final track which had disappeared from the master.

Not only that, on CD3, we had a good proportion (more was to follow in a later release) of a legendary set from The Rainbow from the Selling England tour.

Listening to both of these, you wonder just why the "official" live releases were so silent in terms of interaction between singer and audience (I include Collins as well as Gabriel here). The stories and dialogue were such an important part of the live experience, it is a wonder we had to wait so long to hear it on an official release (The Lamb set was widely available as a bootleg for many years prior to this).

CD4 is the one that is for pure completionists only, but contains some interesting curios and demo's from the band's earliest formative stages as spotty public school kids at Charterhouse. If you are able to put aside the obvious production shortcomings, and also naivety of the band, tracks such as In The Wilderness and Shepherd give a hint of the greatness to follow.

The Lamb live is nothing short of a revelation. Extremely well performed, and, given that they were playing a huge chunk of music live to many hearing it for the first time, extremely well received. Whilst tracks such as In The Cage sound better re production values on Seconds Out, the whole set has a rawness in its feel that completely matches the theme it deals with in the story.

The Rainbow set on CD3 is exceptional. Suppers Ready as it was meant to be heard, full of emotion and prog greatness. Dancing With The Moonlit Knight is wonderfully bought to life, and, also, for the Collins doubters, witness the difference in the audience reaction prior to More Fool Me (utter silence) and that when this great track dies to a close. They go bonkers, and rightly so. The fun doesn't end there, either. Old BBC archive material of Stagnation and Twilight Alehouse (both superb tracks) and an early attempt at hit single status in Happy The Man are all fantastic.

Lastly, this boxset is also worth getting and splashing a great deal of money on for the content of the booklet that accompanies it. Full of fascinating interviews, a history by the great journalist Chris Welch (who was there from the start), memories of a unique time in rock music history, and curiosities, you will visit this time and time again.

As for rating, CD4, whilst interesting and important in understanding the band's early development, renders it just short of a masterpiece. The remainder though, every single bar of music and dialogue, is nothing short of prog heaven.

Four stars. An excellent addition to any prog rock collection.

This is a weird one - it's a boxed set consisting of rarities, radio sessions, demo mixes of material from their debut album and a full live performance of the Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, but I'm not sure any one of those components quite fully delivers.

Having a full live rendition of the Lamb is something which some Genesis fans would be very keen on - witness the spectacular number of bootlegs from the Lamb tour that circulate - but I actually find it somewhat less than thrilling compared with Genesis Live or the Rainbow tracks (some of which are included here - but frustratingly not the full show, and particularly frustratingly not the excellent rendition of Supper's Ready). A live rendition of the Lamb doesn't have Eno's contributions, for instance, and nor does it quite disguise how tired and cranky the band seem to be coming across. You can see the wheels are about to come off the Gabriel-fronted version of the band.

Similarly, the BBC sessions presented are interesting, but far from complete, the rarities include obvious singles mixes, and the demos are focused on the least interesting era of Gabriel-fronted Genesis. It's an interesting grab-bag in all, but compared to bootleg rarities sets has all sorts of odd gaps.