SECONDS OUT

God! Where do I start from? This is probably the best piece of live music I've ever heard (together with the band's previous live album) and definitely one of the 4 or 5 albums that I would give 6 stars, if I could. Well, this album has this certain overall sound that makes you feel that all of the songs in here come from he same album. The versions are quite loyal to the originals but, at the same time, they have a unique sound that makes them "feel at home" in Seconds Out, sounding different from the studio versions. This unique overall sound (clean keyboard sounds, echoed organ, potent bass, stunning drum work, and sort of background guitars), which I'll call "The Magic of Seconds Out". 1-Squonk: The album starts quietly; you can hardly hear a sound, until Chester Thompson does the counting with his drum-sticks and BOOM, it starts off. Great guitar sounds, well played bass lines, nice keyboard sounds, and Phil's vocals are in really good shape. I also like the sound produced by the guitars when mixed with this sort of "echoed" organ. 2-The Carpet Crawlers: The previous song ends with a lot of power and flows quietly into this one. As the audience finishes clapping, Tony Banks enters with stunning mellow electric piano, then augmented with Steve's guitar on the background. The vocals enter softly, sounding totally different from Peter's, and, later the snare drum. The song builds up and up, until it reaches its peak, and softly ends. Perfect! 3-Robbery, Assault and Battery: The concert continues to flow nicely with the synth riff of this great piece from "A Trick of the Tail". Phil plays the different characters changing his voice, while Mike does some great bass job and Steve plays his guitar parts, really well. During the keyboard solo (which is awesome), Phil jumps back to the drums providing some excellent playing. I really like the part where Tony plays the Hammond. This is a great experimental keyboard solo. 4-Afterglow: Excellent version of this great track by Mr. Banks. Wonderful organ and guitars, breathtaking mellotron. Phil sings his soul out here, again. Awesome drum duet in the end. This version is very similar to the original, but it's even better. The ending will take your soul away. 5-Firth of Fifth: Now, this version is very different to Peter's version. The vocals sound more peaceful, the sound is not as aggressive as the original. We haven't got the piano intro here, but it's still great. The virtuoso solos by Tony Banks and Steve Hackett are present and extremely well executed, not to mention the stunning drumming. Mike plays both guitar and bass with his double-necked. 6-I Know what I like: Wow, here's some "Magic of Seconds Out". It's nothing to do with the original and it has this overall sound like all the other tracks, so it feels as if they all came from the same album, as I mentioned above. Just listen, it's a lot longer than the studio version, and Phil's way of singing it is absolutely different. Oh, pay special attention to the syths and the stunning bass lines. 7-The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway: Great version, almost the same as the original, except for the vocals, of course. Really good version, maybe even better than the 1974 version. 8-Musical Box (closing Section): You may ask yourselves: "Why would I want to hear just the closing section?" Well, the effect it produces is wonderful. "The Lamb" ends with nice guitar arpeggios which flow seamlessly into the last part of this epic track, to close the first half of the show. If you want the complete version, you've got it on "Nursery Cryme" and "Genesis Live". This is a whole different point. It's like a brief ending to the first disc. The guitar solo is done with a lot of passion, as well as the singing. Oh, very loud ending, typical of great live shows! 9-Supper's Ready: Disc two starts off with the ENTIRE version of Genesis's magnum opus. Wow! Incredible version. For the ones who think Phil would fail singing this epic, listen to this and you'll most likely find out that you're wrong. Banks, Rutherford and Hackett come in playing guitars, as Phil's voice gently sings the "lover's leap" section. His voice sounds more peaceful than the original and it hasn't got that high-pitched second voice on the background. Tony's electric piano solo sounds very clean and clear and it gets mixed with the guitars perfectly. Very loudly played "Guaranteed eternal sanctuary man" section. Well, everything here is perfect. Every note in its right place, all played with energy and soul. I'd like to remark the transition from "How dare I be so beautiful" to "Willow Farm" and the whole "Apocalypse in 9/8". The part where the demonic mellotron and guitars get mixed sounds really scary, and the Hammond organ solo is just perfect! This guy is awesome, man! The drum work there is also stunning, as well as the backing guitars, augmented by strong bass pedals. The ending is colossal! Steve's solo is top-notch! This is, actually, the first version I've ever heard of this song (even before the original). Just plain perfection! 10-Cinema Show: This is the only recording taken from the "Trick of the Tail" tour, with Bill Bruford on drums. Sang with soul, played gently, just great. The awesome part is the instrumental half, with those virtuosic keyboards, and drums. This part is better than the original, played with a lot more energy. 11-Dance on a Volcano: I remember this was one of my favorite Genesis tracks, when I started getting into the band. The performance is, again, stunning and there's a 1- minute drum duet in the end. It's good to have this, because Chester and Phil would do that on every tour since then. 12-Los Endos: Performed awesomely, with the virtuoso keyboard, guitar, bass and drum playing. God, these guys were all virtuosos! Loud, really loud ending for this awesome show! Well, this is not actually all the same show, but it really feels like it. The set-list is really well arranged and the flow from one song to another creates the atmosphere for a perfect live show. Just listen and enjoy one of the best live pieces of music ever!