A number of live albums were released in the 1970s, which, as standard works, should not be missing from any collection. Even those who weren’t a glam rock fan had Kiss’ “Alive”, those who didn’t like friendly West Coast rock had Peter Frampton’s “Frampton Comes Alive!” and for those who found Supertramp far too cheesy (ie everyone), “Paris” stood reliably on the shelves. One of those canon concert recordings is also Genesis’ “Seconds Out”, released in 1977. The album forms an intersection in the history of the band. It documents the final conclusion of the early progressive rock phase, singer Peter Gabriel had left the band two years earlier, but the style-defining lead guitarist Steve Hackett was still on board. After the tour, he also said goodbye – the path towards stadium pop was then carefully and increasingly successfully taken.
But on “Seconds Out” it was still possible to create one for hardcore from smoother songs from the Gabriel era, the multi-part overlay “Supper’s Ready” and a few of the already slightly overused tracks from “Trick Of The Tail” and “Wind & Wuthering”. -A perfect mix for fans and mainstream audiences alike. For many Genesis connoisseurs, “Seconds Out” even marks the zenith of their career. And indeed: the four concerts that were recorded in the Palais des Sports in Paris in June 1977 had an almost elegant flow, they showed artistic virtuosity and a really excellent Phil Collins. All of this can, but does not have to, be reflected in a recording, but here the balance of clear sound and stage authenticity was perfect. Much less aggressive, uncompromising and raw than on the first “Live” album (1973) and less cool and serene than on “Three Sides Live” (1982), “Seconds Out” allows for either deep immersion – or semi-focused humming along while working in the craft room. Number 4 in the UK charts, that speaks for itself.
Steve Hackett, who has taken over the maintenance of the repertoire for his membership in Genesis since the early 1900s and has been running it very successfully, had already announced the reproduction of the “Seconds Out” tour, which was currently in Germany and on Sunday in Berlin, for 2020. Corona caused postponements, but there was another aspect. Completely surprisingly, Genesis also announced new concerts in March 2020 and so it came about that for decades it was considered impossible to see both a few Genesis concerts and Hackett live with the band classic within a week. The last time something similar happened was in 1986, when the band and Peter Gabriel toured at the same time.
So: While Genesis played twice in the Mercedes-Benz Arena in front of 10,000 spectators each at the beginning of the week, Steve Hackett was in the smaller, not completely sold out Verti Music Hall. Fleetingly observed in front of almost identical audiences: mostly old white men. At second glance, however, it was clear that Hackett had not been able to persuade their wives to come with them. Because Genesis to “Invisible Touch” – that’s boys’ music.
They now sat well-behaved and motionless in the hall, drank one beer after the other and discussed why Nick Beggs (formerly Kajagoogoo, today Prog-Bass-Hero) isn’t there, whether “Selling England By The Pound” is the better one album as “Trick Of The Tail” and how much one would miss Chester Thompson on drums. Hackett’s “Second Out” concert was, so to speak, the men’s night of the Genesis tour. After a short set of his own pieces, in which the master practically made himself his own opening act, there was a break. Then the live album, in one go, in the same order, so a kind of resumption of the well-known production?
No. Despite being faithful to the original, Hackett and his band have developed enough self-confidence over the past decade to approach the classics in their own way, sometimes changing, omitting or adding to them. What you saw was not a reproduction of the 1977 Paris shows, but the same setlist as then in the new Hackett arrangements. Clever insofar as the special atmosphere of the original concerts cannot be cloned anyway, insofar as it is a pity that some things came across as a bit antics. “Supper’s Ready” is quite a long track at 23 minutes with one of the great final moments in Prog Rock history. It is questionable whether a long (great!) Hackett solo is needed as a final point. Also, Rob Townsend, the tin man, was most effective when he just played flute, where Gabriel played flute. Whenever he played the saxophone too much, it became too pointed, too shrill, too mannered.
Unfortunately, the Hackett band found the pressure that the pieces deserved late
And of course all of this was especially true for Nad Sylvan, who has been the singer at Hackett’s side for years. Sure: there are dozens of excellent Genesis cover bands with vocalists who imitate both Gabriel and Collins perfectly – and that doesn’t always have to be the case. But far too often Sylvan went his own way in Berlin without having the courage to leave the traditional ones completely. So it was neither fish nor flesh, neither Gabriel nor Collins and it was most effective anyway when there was a lot of reverberation under Sylvan’s voice. Cold, I heard. Fine, but Hackett could think of an alternative for a change. Nick Kershaw (no joke) would be one. His singing on The Lamia cover is great.
Unfortunately, the Hackett band found the pressure that the pieces deserve late – around the middle of Supper’s Ready”. But then it got really good. “The Cinema Show”, “Dance On A Volcano” and “Los Endos” were already a convincing performance. The brawny gentlemen in the audience got up from their chairs and put down their beers and mobile phones. Suddenly there was a connection between the band and the audience and, no wonder, everyone was having a lot more fun together.
And compared to Genesis? Bit unfair to compare. The band’s “Last Domino?” tour is also a requiem and something like that never fails to have an effect. After all, there were six overlaps on the setlists. My rating: Clear points for Genesis for everything emotional like “Afterglow”, “Carpet Crawlers” and the excellent “I Know What I Like”. Tie on the instrumental part of The Cinema Show. But on “Firth Of Fifth” Genesis tour guitarist Daryl Stuermer can’t quite match Steve Hackett, and the straight version of “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway” was also better than the botched acoustic version of the “Domino” tour.
We went out and looked forward to the Genesis concert the next evening in Cologne. Just as one had looked forward to the Hackett concert after the last Genesis concert in Berlin. Actually, not much more is possible.