Genesis In Concert 1976 (Laserdisc) – review

Exactly two years ago, we reported on the film Genesis In Concert 1976. We would like to revisit this live material, as the already interesting story of this film has had a remarkable sequel. Rumours began circulating at the end of 1992 that this film would be released as a high-quality video for purchase. Well, this dream has finally come true, albeit in a limited form. Genesis In Concert 1976 was released some time ago in Japan as a video laserdisc! For around £50, you can order this disc (order number VPLR-70468) from the relevant retailers.

Presentation and technical requirements

When you finally hold the LP-format cover in your hands, the first thing you notice are the photos printed on the sleeve. Some of them are completely unknown. However, since Japan uses the NTSC TV system (as opposed to PAL in Europe), you need to have the right equipment to really enjoy the full viewing and listening experience. At least the notes on the back cover promise that the moving images have been pressed onto the 12-inch silver disc in full colour and the sound in stereo. A bootleg video was recently released on the market. This contains a PAL version of the material found on the aforementioned video laserdisc. This allows us to review the digitised ‘re-release’ without owning an NTSC-compatible laserdisc player ourselves.

Comparisons with the well-known recording

Comparing the picture quality with previous copies, a significant improvement can be seen. The 44-minute live recording, filmed on reels of film during the A Trick Of The Tail tour in Glasgow and Stafford and shown in cinemas in 1977 together with a documentary about the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck called ‘White Rock’, can finally be viewed in decent quality. It can be assumed that the available and relatively old tape material has been digitally remastered in some way.

Otherwise, there are no major changes compared to the original version. This set is still enchanting. This incloudes I Know What / Like, Fly On A Windshield/ Broadway Melody Of 1974, The Carpet Crawl, Cinema Show, Entangled, Supper’s Ready (Parts 6 & 7) and Los Endos. Unfortunately, the sometimes unspeakably bad cuts and transitions between some songs have also been retained. This also applies to the unforgivable cuts in Cinema Show and Supper’s Ready. It is not easy to assess the change in sound quality. In our opinion, a purely subjective assessment reveals a slight improvement over older recordings.

Conclusion

All in all, it can be said that this laserdisc is a great addition to any collection. Who knows how long this piece of Genesis history will still be available? After all, a laserdisc is much less susceptible to quality loss than a video, for example. Speaking of which, Genesis In Concert 1976 is said to have been released on video by the same company that released this laserdisc.

Author: Bernd Zindler
First published in it-Magazine #16, September 1995