Customer Reviews
An offbeat way of creating a greatest hits album - By: Gavin Wilson, 05 Oct 2008 
When this LP was first released --in between FOXTROT & SELLING ENGLAND -- proper studio albums cost £2.50. This album cost £1.99. Impoverished though we teenagers were, the 51p difference didn't make the album more tempting. Instead it flagged the fact that, like other cheap albums at the time (CAMEMBERT ELECTRIQUE for £0.69, FAUST TAPES for £0.59, & NO PUSSYFOOTING for £1.30), the material might well not be to everyone's taste.
But actually GENESIS LIVE was far better than that. At the time, Beatles & Dylan apart, there were very few greatest hits albums available. The live album was the standard way, for a serious album band, to create a greatest hits LP. There is a small amount of banter between the crowd & Genesis, but largely this is a record of a band trying to be utterly faithful to the studio recordings.
Personally, I feel the keyboards are a little too highin the mix, drowning out Hackett's guitar at times. Rutherford's Rickenbacker-style bass emerges well.
For me, the band were about to produce their two masterpieces -- SELLING ENGLAND & LAMB LIES DOWN -- & this live album neatly showcases the wonderfully English & classically influenced group before they became tempted by Americana & stadium rock.
First and best Genesis live album - By: D. J. H. Thorn, 17 Mar 2008 
This is the last Genesis album from their 1970s heyday I bought. I used to think there was little pointin acquiring material that I believed would be far better on the studio albums. Instead, it takes on a new lease of life. 'Watcher Of The Skies' was superb on 'Foxtrot' but here it takes on a more vibrant form. 'Get 'Em Out By Friday' was less impressive on 'Foxtrot' & certainly benefits from a live treatment. One of the big improvements is the contribution of Phil Collins. His percussion work is more prominent & breathes extra life into the material. As he joined the band after 'The Knife' was recorded, this track gains the most. 'Hogweed,' being one of their more aggressive songs, lends itself more to live performance anyway. The closing section of this rumbles with power. Probably only 'The Musical Box' doesn't gain anything here, but it's still a worthwhile performance. I know 'Seconds Out' is highly regarded among fans, but I much prefer this.
Classic Live Recording By Classic Genesis - By: John Smith, 04 Jan 2008 The main recording that became 'Genesis Live' was never intended for record release, but was actually recorded by the King Biscuit live production company, for radio broadcast (on a show called King Biscuit Flower Hour). However, the band & record label Charisma were so impressed by the quality of the sound achieved by King Biscuit's engineers & of the performance, they decided to remix & release a shortened edit of the recording as a live LP, partly to bridge the gap between studio albums (which by today's standards was not that long at all).
By modern standards, the sound is still very good, though not perfect. There are frequent occasions when the sound is a bit heavy on room ambience. This is likely to be slightly over-zealous studio reverb added later to give an authentic 'hall' effect, rather than the actual ambience of the hall, as there are moments when the sound is noticeably drier - last track 'The Knife' is an example of this. The album would sound better generally if it were a little more dry like this throughout.
That aside, the mix is still very good indeed - the drums are prominent, the bass nice & heavy - if a little muddy, the guitars & keyboards well separated - whoever engineered this did an excellent job - & King Biscuit were/are renowned for their high quality productions.
The performance by all is excellent. This is pure classic line-up Genesis, featuring Peter Gabriel on lead vocal & flute, Phil Collins on drums (although the remaster CD wrongly credits sacked drummer John Mayhew, who was frankly rubbish), Tony Banks on keyboards, Mike Rutherford on bass & rhythm guitar, & the wonderful Steve Hackett on guitar (again the CD wrongly credits former member Anthony Phillips on guitar).
For me the standout player is Collins - his energy is relentless throughout, & 'The Knife' is taken to a whole new level after Mayhew's lacklustre drumming on the studio version a few years earlier. This is Collins showing us & Mayhew how it should be done. Gabriel sings with passion too.
The album does suffer a little from being cut short from the original concert. The band originally wanted a double album to come out, but Charisma were not prepared at that time to foot the bill to investin a double. It would also have meant that most of one side would have been the epic medley 'Supper's Ready' which had only recently appeared on their last studio album 'Foxtrot', taking up most of side 2. In the end a shortened edit - with a recording of 'Return Of The Giant Hogweed' taken from the previous night's concert - was put out.
Still, what we get is an exciting slice of rock history, from a band who neither accepted nor merited the 'prog rock' tag (the music was always beyond such categorising), & whose biggest influence at the time was The Beatles. And it showsin terms of the creativity.
All things considered, this fine album deserves nothing less than 5 stars.
The Best Genesis Line Up............The Best Genesis Album.........Maybe. - By: Randy, 21 Mar 2007 Shame its only five tracks long,but a must for any fan & any woodbe fan.
A great starter album with some of the best tracks from Nursery Crime,Foxtrot & Trespass on a brilliant Live album.The guitar playing of Steve Hackett & drums of Phil Collins is just outstanding on this record.
You won't regret spending your money on this album.
Great document of the Gabriel era - By: D. Smith, 28 Jan 2007 It's a shame there isn't any more commercially available material from the Gabriel era if this is anything to go by. The playing is almost flawless, the atmosphere electric (audience reaction to 'The Knife'), & the album cover is possibly one of their best. There's just something about that picture that is atmospheric & creepy. I also think the production is superb & does more justice to the Nursery Cryme & Trespass material than the original recordings.
Incidentally my view of The Knife is that Gabriel is putting his voice through an effect which is why it sounds like he has forgotten the words.
