When Peter Gabriel left Genesis in 1975, the band promoted drummer Phil Collins to frontman status.  The next couple of releases were holding true to their pure prog roots but by 1978’s ...And Then There Were Three..., the band were starting to compose more radio friendly pop but with a prog twist.  Sure, they still peppered their albums with progressive material, but their main focus seemed to be to write material that would make it onto FM radio and appeal to a much wider audience.  That gamble paid off because in the 80s, the band was huge.

This collection of live tracks are culled from their Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance tours.  The material is not only the shorter tunes that they performed live but they were also the de facto “hits.” While the songs are not overtly prog, there are still hints here and there that harken back to their roots.  One of the things that I really like about this record is that material is a bit heavier due to the live setting.  Another point in its favor is that all the songs flow together without many fade outs between tracks like Rush’s Exit... Stage Left.  This album transports the listener to the concert and makes them feel like they are there in the middle of the action.  This may not appeal to prog purists but if given the chance, I feel they would find plenty to like on this disc.

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The disc starts off with a slightly heavier version of this tune.  It is a bouncy track that has a denser verse that gives way to a slightly lighter chorus.  As the song moves forward, there is a very typical 80s mid-section that gives away its age but will take the listener back to that time.

I really like this piece as it starts off as a darker moodier tune that just has Collin’s voice and keyboards.  After a bit, the rest of the band joins in, and the moodiness disappears and it becomes another 80s Genesis hit.  I feel the beginning really elevates the track and I would have been happy if the whole song would have stayed that way.  Even though it ventures off into “hit” territory, I still like it.

This faster song rocks a bit more than the studio version.  Based on the tele-evangelists that were very prominent in the 80s, Genesis makes fun of them while musically, giving us a light-hearted bouncy tune.

Genesis, and Collins especially, were experts at giving us basically a ballad but wrapping it up in a keyboard heavy hit.  I’m sure plenty of couples danced to this track at different events.  On this live version, Collins gets the crowd involved with a little singing in a call and response section.

This quirky song is where I hear some of their prog roots come up.  Even though it was a hit, I feel that the reason it charted was just because it was by Genesis (who were really big at the time).  It is a very percussive tune that follows the same rhythm throughout the whole piece and doesn’t really veer off into any other direction.  There is not much difference compared to the studio version except that it is a little heavier.

On this song, I feel the studio rendition has more bombast than the version presented here.  It contains all the same elements but the section where the band finally kicks in, lacks the same punch that is on the self-titled record.

Here we get another ballad that is essentially Collins and Tony Banks on keyboards.  Even though I’m not into ballads, there is a dreamy feel to this track that I enjoy.  They stick to the original very closely and give this one a very “note for note” performance.

This was a huge hit off the self-titled album but I never liked it.  This live version doesn’t change my perception of a track that I feel is beneath Genesis.  There is a slightly cool guitar solo stuck in there but I feel that it is just too immature for what us prog fans were yearning for.  I was able to enjoy most of their catalogue but this and “Illegal Alien” just didn’t cut it.

Collins was a hit maker in the 80s because of tracks like this.  Here is another piece that I guarantee was played at many a wedding.  Just like “Hold On My Heart,” this is a very keyboard heavy ballad but this one has the rest of the band joining in, albeit in the background.  If you like ballads, no one does it better than Collins.

Things improve with this song that starts off very percussive and builds into a very moody rock tune.  On this live performance, Collins got the crowd singing the chorus, which does a great job of transporting you and giving you the feeling of being at the show.  Although Genesis moved away from prog in the 80s, they still incorporated some elements and this is one of the pieces that I feel that melded their new sound but nodded a little to their history.

Without missing a beat, this track flows in from the previous one, and it is a lively version of the title track.  Although it was played to death on radio at the time, I still feel it is a worthwhile track.  Sure, it has all the pop rock elements but no one did it better than Genesis.  I realize that this record is not presented in the order of one of their concerts, I feel that this one would have been an encore so it is fitting that it is the last tune presented here.