Do people still swap these?

  • I have a couple of shoeboxes full of these not to mention a bunch on my hard drive that I have downloaded somehow, (I forget).

    I am curious does anyone still collect these and if so, just to collect or to listen to as well.

    I used to swap them by post with other Genesis forum members so long ago (happy days!).


    The effort some people have gone into to create them is awesome and I have received a couple from recent concerts I have been at, great for memories.

  • Cavalcanti

    Changed the title of the thread from “Do people still swp these?” to “Do people still swap these?”.
  • I remember the old official Genesis forum, doing blanks & postage deals with people from all over the world... furthest I think was South America, Argentina... those discs took a while to arrive, but they did arrive. I think it was a Phil Collins concert from memory.


    But like you Cavalcanti, I wonder if people still trade / swap...


    Regards


    Mark

  • I collect mostly for my own pleasure although I used to swap on a regular basis. If anyone I know needs something I have I tend to send them electronically now rather than by snail mail

    “Without music, life would be a mistake”

  • I still collect unofficial live recordings though it's probably been about 15 years since I last engaged in a trade. The ability to download recordings from torrent and file sharing websites has essentially eliminated the need to swap discs to expand your collection.

  • I remember the old Yahoo vine group, waiting anxiously for a package to arrive and then making copies for another three fans and sending them off. Happy days. Torrenting has made everything much easier but waiting for a show to download doesn't match the mounting anticipation of waiting for the postman to come.

  • I did collect lots of unofficial live recordings (not only Genesis), but a couple of years ago it came to my mind that I never heard them.

    So I stopped that. I have never traded anything, just got lots of stuff for free by some nice chaps. The rest was downloaded (mostly torrents).

  • I did collect lots of unofficial live recordings (not only Genesis), but a couple of years ago it came to my mind that I never heard them.

    So I stopped that. I have never traded anything, just got lots of stuff for free by some nice chaps. The rest was downloaded (mostly torrents).

    When I used to trade by snail mail and also took part in vines I listened to every show I got many times over. It was like getting a surprise or winning a prize when the package came through the post. Waiting for the package was part of the drama. In the past few years with advancement in technology (torrents etc) it is so easy to download so many shows in a very short time that the magic has gone. Instead of really looking forward to a recording arriving through the post it is now so easy to download for the sake of it (not because you want the recording). I found that I was not listening to them. What is the point of that!!!!!

    I still do download shows but now listen to them all and only download what I really want.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake”

  • I realised the other day that I've probably accumulated more music than I will ever get around to listening to in this lifetime. A sobering thought, that.


    I've decided that I need to catalogue all of my bootlegs in a style reminiscent of Paul Russell's excellent Play Me My Song which covers Genesis shows from the very beginning up to 1975. Obviously, this is very much a work in progress but I'm making good headway on Genesis 1976 - 1992. Other projects include Phil Collins 1982 - 1997 and Yes 1972 - 2004. I don't know what I'll do when I've completed them. Destroy them probably!

  • Paul Russell's book was an excellent tome on the subject, he had at the time access to the farm (supervised) and he was able to listen to what the band genuinely have in their archive. Albeit only the cassette's / dat tapes that the band had uploaded into a digital format.




    Paul had no interest in the 1976 onwards recordings which is a shame because a second / third volume of the book would have been a worthy item.


    A link with some information about the book.


    http://thegenesisarchive.co.uk…-me-my-song-paul-russell/


    Kind regards


    Mark

  • Spot on, Mark. Paul Russell wrote about his favourite era of the band which is fair enough. It's a shame that a writer of his calibre has not picked up where he left off.


    Not only does Play Me My Song serve as a fitting testament to one particular era of the band's performing career it's also a helpful guide to anyone who is interested in collecting Genesis bootlegs from that time.

  • Well, I don't want to get into that with regard to calibre. Paul Russell and his publisher secured access for Paul at a time when Genesis was pretty quiet post The Calling All Stations tour.


    Paul was able to have access to the archive ( sound board cassette's ) at Fisher Lane, which gave him a vast head start compared to anyone else trying to start such a project.


    Whilst there is some common and private materials in the Phil Collins era Genesis and Ray Wilson era, it remains a cornerstone of any research to have access to the recordings held at FLF and now digitalised but held at FLF.


    Paul also wrote a few pieces for Record Collector


    http://thegenesisarchive.co.uk…view-archive-one-special/


    Somehow he was lucky to be at the Heathrow business terminal meeting when Genesis all met up to promote the Archive one - 1967 to 1975 box set in 1998.


    So an interesting guy who moved to Canada, who's main profession was landscape gardener.


    Regards


    Mark

  • Yes, I think that access to The Farm made a vital difference to the book (although some bootlegs have since entered the community that are not reviewed in Play Me My Song - from memory, I believe they're from The Lamb tour). Of course, Phil has always claimed to have everything they ever did (onstage and in the studio) on tape. None of that has ever seen the light of day, though, which is a huge shame.

  • I listen a lot to different Genesis and solo live recordings. I like the dynamic of a live show, so I don’t get bored listening to the same songs as they are somewhat different in the different recordings.


    I used to trade bootlegs through CDs in 2000–2002. I have approximately 200 Genesis recordings and some 50 solo recordings. I think it was quite easy to do it: just do an exact copy of the CD, without gaps between the tracks.


    I tried doing torrents maybe three years ago, but I actually found it very complicated. Of course I managed to download some stuff and then help upload it to other users. But, as you understand, I have quite a lot of recordings on CD that I would gladly share, but when I looked at the manual on how to do it I simply thought: I really don’t have the time to delve into all this – too much information! But maybe I was mistaken?

  • I tried doing torrents maybe three years ago, but I actually found it very complicated. Of course I managed to download some stuff and then help upload it to other users. But, as you understand, I have quite a lot of recordings on CD that I would gladly share, but when I looked at the manual on how to do it I simply thought: I really don’t have the time to delve into all this – too much information! But maybe I was mistaken?

    It is complicated. I only tried it once and then got shot down in flames for not doing it properly! So I just download torrents now and leave the torrent open to seed to others.


    With Genesis shows, not only do you get the added dynamics and the occasional added guitar solo or a bit of improvisation in the instrumental passages but you also get the wonderful in-between song banter and stories, something that really set Genesis apart from other bands.

  • When I started I resolved to only collect soundboard and pre-fm material. Over time I've opened up and I'm glad I have. There are some vital audience recordings out there. One that springs immediately to mind is the show at The Marquee in 1982. An audience recording from an intimate venue such as The Marquee not only captures the band performance really well but you can also hear some of the comments from the crowd which are funny and good-natured and give a great example of the relationship between the group and the crowd. Hearing them singing along to Supper's Ready, whilst something of a disctraction for the listener and, I'm sure, the band themselves, is quite a moving experience.

  • Well, I may have you beaten in regards to regretting getting rid of this sort of stuff. I used to tape interviews off the radio. I had the Compleat Collins which was a series done by Radio One with Mike Read interviewing Phil about his career up to and including But Seriously. I had a great interview that Genesis did with Gary Davies, again on Radio One, for the release of We Can't Dance. I had an interview with Phil done by Paul Gambaccini for Both Sides (this featured an impromptu performance of Strawberry Fields by Phil). All of these priceless recordings and more.


    A few years back, clearing out the loft, I threw the whole lot out, thinking I'd never be able to listen to them again because I no longer have a stereo system. None of these interviews has since appeared on any of the torrent sites to which I subscribe. Lost forever. I am such a fool :(

  • I hated myself before you told me this. To think that I could have given the tapes to you and that you could have found a way to get them on the Archive site...well, I think I might just go and throw myself under a bus now!