I agree with that. And also the loudness of the album is off. I have to turn the volume of these up more, compared to some of the earlier albums.
Yep, me too. And some of the songs just lack a certain bite. I love All in a Mouse’s Night but the synths sound so thin. Nothing close to the richness of earlier tracks like Watcher of the Skies.
I'm surprised by the lack of love for Dancing with the Moonlit Knight. Sure, it's overshadowed on the album by Firth of Fifth and Cinema Show, but it's stunning it's own right.
The a capella opening just grabs the listener.
Some great musical interplay throughout the whole song, and Steve Hackett's playing is superb.
I'm surprised by the lack of love for Dancing with the Moonlit Knight. Sure, it's overshadowed on the album by Firth of Fifth and Cinema Show, but it's stunning it's own right.
The a capella opening just grabs the listener.
Some great musical interplay throughout the whole song, and Steve Hackett's playing is superb.
I agree it's a great track but I think the vocal jump-start in Looking For Someone is even better. Especially considering what their experience to that point had been.
I would echo your surprise but with regards Musical Box instead.
I'm surprised by the lack of love for Dancing with the Moonlit Knight. Sure, it's overshadowed on the album by Firth of Fifth and Cinema Show, but it's stunning it's own right.
The a capella opening just grabs the listener.
Some great musical interplay throughout the whole song, and Steve Hackett's playing is superb.
DWTMK would be my favourite opening track along with Abacab & NSOM.
I agree with the comments about Hentschel-era production. Trick isn't too bad, Duke is probably the best of his but W&W and ATTWT aren't good. As mentioned elsewhere I also think that Seconds Out sucked the life out of their stage work. The 07 remasters, of which I know some here are not fans, give a tad more oomph to Three but they're working with poor starting material. D&O could definitely have sounded a lot better but for me the strength of the song manages to punch through to some extent.
I agree with the comments about Hentschel-era production. Trick isn't too bad, Duke is probably the best of his but W&W and ATTWT aren't good. As mentioned elsewhere I also think that Seconds Out sucked the life out of their stage work. The 07 remasters, of which I know some here are not fans, give a tad more oomph to Three but they're working with poor starting material. D&O could definitely have sounded a lot better but for me the strength of the song manages to punch through to some extent.
I agree 100% about Seconds Out. All of those voices babbling at the beginning of side one sound like Sgt. Pepper’s. I’m assuming at the concert in Paris that people actually cheered for the band when they came on stage and didn’t simply sit in their seats chatting like a bunch of high school students before class. And the absence of any sort of crowd noise at the beginning of sides 2 and 4 adds to the “lifelessness.” Production wise Three Sides Live kicks Seconds Out’s a**.
I agree 100% about Seconds Out. All of those voices babbling at the beginning of side one sound like Sgt. Pepper’s. I’m assuming at the concert in Paris that people actually cheered for the band when they came on stage and didn’t simply sit in their seats chatting like a bunch of high school students before class.
Yes! I've always thought it about Pepper but it hadn't occurred to me about SO, possibly because I simply don't listen to the album so I'd forgotten about that. What a ridiculous way to start a live album. In the Album Covers thread I banged on about how even the front cover is too clean and clinical but in that sense I suppose it reflects the contents. The fuzzy pic on the back cover is far better.
I agree it's a great track but I think the vocal jump-start in Looking For Someone is even better. Especially considering what their experience to that point had been.
I would echo your surprise but with regards Musical Box instead.
I know I'm the one who brought up Moonlit Knight, but I would also have to go with Musical Box as my favorite opening song....possibly my favorite Genesis song of all.
But, Dancing with the Moonlit Knight would be in my top 10 Genesis songs as well.
Never could totally get into Down & Out....I think there's something about the odd rhythm that I could just never wrap my head around.
Tough question.
Drama: Watcher
Bang: Behind The Lines
and No son of mine is also a great opener.
It's amazing how many different answers we've had to this question!
I haven't checked but most openers have had a mention one way or another. I suspect there aren't many bands with so many releases that would create such different opinions amongst fans. (Based on pure speculation, not empirical research).
I suspect there aren't many bands with so many releases that would create such different opinions amongst fans. (Based on pure speculation, not empirical research).
I agree, I've often thought exactly this. It's one of the things I really enjoy about this forum, that the discussions reflect the spread of opinion among fans which in itself feeds off the fact there were such different phases in the band's output. Also perhaps to some degree that there is such a diversity of work associated with the individual band members. How often does that happen?
I too can't claim to have researched this extensively but from what I've seen of similar fan boards, while there are areas of debate and disagreement it's nowhere near the extent of what you see on this site.
Back to openers, Musical Box has been mentioned. It's a great song and the closing section is one of my absolute favourite Genesis moments, it played a huge part in my becoming a fan. But I've never been that convinced it's that good an album opener. I'd put it at the end of side 1 and run the album Hogweed - Harold - TMB / Absent - Stones - Harlequin - Salmacis - Happy The Man.
I think DWTMK isn't just a brilliant opener but is the perfect Genesis song and encapsulates everything about them at that stage. If a prog-uncertain person wanted one track to sum up PG-era Genesis I'd pick that one.
It's amazing how many different answers we've had to this question!
You'd almost want one of those poll type thingies 
You'd almost want one of those poll type thingies
We need a poll to decide whether we should have a poll.
Never could totally get into Down & Out....I think there's something about the odd rhythm that I could just never wrap my head around.
The odd rhythm in D&O has always reminded me of Grand Illusion by Styx. I’ve never been a big Styx fan so I guess it makes sense that D&O has never done much for me either.
The odd rhythm in D&O has always reminded me of Grand Illusion by Styx. I’ve never been a big Styx fan so I guess it makes sense that D&O has never done much for me either.
If you mean the intro section of Illusion, I can kind of see what you mean.
Nah, Styx had the odd good tune but on the whole I'm not keen and they could be laughably naff and bombastic - which, I got the sense (possibly unfairly) came mainly from Dennis De Young.
Watcher of the Skies
Me, too.
My favourite...
Eleventh Earl of Mar
(But with the added power of the Rainbow 1977 live concert)
If you mean the intro section of Illusion, I can kind of see what you mean.
Nah, Styx had the odd good tune but on the whole I'm not keen and they could be laughably naff and bombastic - which, I got the sense (possibly unfairly) came mainly from Dennis De Young.
Yes, the intro and outro on GI is what I had in mind. I’m not big on Styx. I CAN’T STAND Dennis DeYoung’s voice. Just something about it totally grinds my gears.
