It was 40 years ago Saturday (June 4th, 1982) that Genesis released its double-album concert collection, Three Sides Live. The album, which was primarily recorded the previous year during the band's tour in support of its MTV breakthrough Abacab collection, was the group's third live set, following 1973's Genesis Live, and 1977's Seconds Out.
Three Sides Live, which hit Number 10 in the U.S. was the band's second Top 10 hit in the states and peaked at Number Two in the UK. An accompanying video version of the album with a slightly alternate tracklisting was an early-MTV concert staple. The U.S. version of the album featured the fourth side comprised of the band's 1982 British EP 3×3 along with a pair of B-sides from their 1980 Duke album, with the overseas edition of the set featuring a trio of live tracks recorded live between 1976 and 1980.
Highlights on Three Sides Live included such recent Genesis favorites as “Turn It On Again” “Abacab,” “Behind The Lines,” “Misunderstanding,” “Follow You Follow Me,” and “Afterglow” — along with a nearly 12 minute dip into the early-'70s Peter Gabriel-era with the “In the Cage,” medley, which featured portions from both “The Cinema Show” and “The Colony Of Slippermen.”
Back in '82 Phil Collins spoke about being a full time fromtman and only an occasion drummer during the Genesis live shows: “Well, I realize that I am a singer now — whether I like it or not. But really, I still think of myself as a drummer. I still think that if I've got any magic, it's as a drummer — not as a singer. That's really where I'm most natural. That's my most natural habitat, (laughs) if you like, It's about a drum kit. Although I do enjoy singing. Apart from the fact that I have to, y'know, right now as talking to you, in the back of my minds is: 'Don't use your voice. Don't use your voice'; because I have to sing. Whereas with drumming, of course, as long as you can stand up straight, you can play.”
