Genesis – Three Sides Live [1982]

Let me explain. In 1982, the double LP "Three Sides Live" was released.

This is Genesis' third live album, which takes place mainly between their “A Trick of the Tail” Tour in 1976 and their “Abacab” Tour in 1981. It mainly features songs from the LPs “Duke” and “Abacab” and a few oldies. Three sides of live music by Genesis members Phil Collins, Michael Rutherford, and Tony Banks, left over after the departure of guitarist Steve Hackett and singer Peter Gabriel. Side 4 was filled with "B-sides" from “Duke” and “Abacab”  that had been shelved.
Somehow, a pressing with four sides of live music was released in England for a while. Featuring older recordings of the songs One for the Vine, Fountain of Salmacis, and It/Watcher of the Skies. Oddly enough, this one remained called "Three Sides Live."

I always thought it was some kind of misprint, but it turns out there's a complicated commercial story behind it. Genesis was a huge success at the time, both in England and the US. At the time, the band was signed to both the American record label Atlantic and the English label Charisma. Both labels had their own ideas about this album. They were free to make their own choices about tracklists and marketing. Charisma initially opted for four live sides, believing that this would resonate better with European audiences. This was soon changed to the American "Three Sides Live" version, to avoid confusion. But the English pressing remained on the market. It's much harder to find and now a collector's item.

These days, you can buy anything online for a fortune, but I consider it a sport to rummage through record stores looking for these kinds of rarities. On many vacations, I sent my wife out to buy shoes so I could go to the local record store. I'd always walk to the Genesis bin, hoping to find the four-sided live version. You can't tell from the front. Only the back tells you what's on side four. Usually, I'd see the opening track, Paperlate. And then I knew enough. Back to the bin.
But finally, in my beloved record store, Zardoz Records in Hamburg, I came across it: the special English edition of Charisma. My heart raced. Was this really it?! Yes, it was. The song It/Wachter of the Skies even mentioned drummer Bill Bruford and guitarist Steve Hackett playing on it.
Back home, I wasn't disappointed. Three brilliant live performances that, in a nutshell, summed up my love for Genesis' music. The song One for the Vine still brings tears to my eyes, especially those opening lines: ‘Fifty thousand men were sent, To do the will of one, …In his name they could slaughter, For his name they could die’.
Madness, but unfortunately very relevant.

The second song, Fountain of Salmacis, reminds me of the Italian cover band The Watch, who regularly reprise Genesis' music at De Boerderij. They perfectly perform the LP "Nursery Crime," on which this song appears.
When I hear the third song, It/Watcher of the Skies, I'm thrown back to last year, when guitarist Steve Hackett performed at De Boerderij for four days. That's surely one of the highlights of De Boerderij's fifty-year history. I spent four days with band and crew. The show's closing number had a slightly different climax than this version, but the effect is the same. Everyone is ecstatic, even the crew members who have been working with Steve Hackett for years. I can still see their feet moving to the rhythm and mouthing the lyrics. Beautiful to see.

Mission accomplished. The four-sided live version is in the pocket. The cover itself doesn't tell much of a story. A simple stamp and an inner sleeve with a live photo.
That's it... I thought. Until a colleague pointed out that the English version's live photo is mirrored compared to the regular "Three Sides Live". Back home, I immediately placed the LPs side by side. And yes, my colleague was right. Such details are wonderful. I can't get enough of them; they make my heart beat a little faster every time.

Gerrit-Jan Vrielink

Translator: Alex Driessen