SECONDS OUT

This album sounded awkward at the time and I still get this feeling today. It had a bitter taste also, because by the time it was released I already knew Steve Hackett was gone. I had the feeling that this would be the end of the band (in a prog way, I was right). Anyway, this live album is a good one, it has some fine moments. Still it is like hearing two different bands playing sometimes. The Collins era stuff is simply great, with some songs sounding better live than in the studio versions. The older stuff sounds just right, but more like a cover band doing them (even if is a brilliant cover band). And it definitly does not have the same musical quality and guts as the earlier Genesis Live (although the production is drastically better in Seconds Out). The inclusion of a whole Supper´s Ready is dubious: it takes so much CD time and the performance is good, but it pales if you hear the original one or the DVD version recorded with Peter Gabriel in Shepperton . It would be much better if they played some latter day stuff instead.

All in all a good live album of this transitional period. It lacks however some balance and the Wind And Wuthering tracks are sorely missing here. It would be much better if they played more of it (one song only?). Even if the band is excellent and the performances are spot on, this release is far from essential.

Final rating: 2,5 stars that I´ll round up to three because with Steve Hackett still on board, they were still brilliant.