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The last in a series of four deluxe box sets reissuing the entirety of Genesis' catalog (excepting their all-but-disowned debut recordings, produced by Jonathan King), Live 1973-2007 contains four of the group's five live albums -- 1973's Live, 1977's Seconds Out, 1982's Three Sides Live, and both volumes of 1992's Genesis Live: The Way We Walk, sequencing the two into concert order -- adding an empty slot for 2007's Live Over Europe, which is not included in this set. Some longtime fans will be disappointed over the decision not to include the version of "Supper's Ready" that was deleted from Live, owing to the extra LP side it would have entailed (that particular concert album was intended to fill the gap between studio recordings, but a three-sided double LP didn't make economic sense at the time) -- as is explained in the wonderfully extensive annotation, this collection is less a vault-raid than a re-configuring of the group's live history, cleaning up the sound and placing it all in coherent order, so there were no alternate takes chosen, or expansions of existing established recordings; and it was felt that the "Supper's Ready" from Live at the Rainbow -- a concert already partly released in excerpts on previous sets -- was superior to the long-missing rendition in question. As is explained in the notes, in addition to polishing up the audio on everything (especially Live, which does sound better than ever) the producers endeavored to release 5.1 surround sound mixes on DVD of anything not otherwise available that way and already on DVD (which is why Three Sides Live and The Way We Walk are here only as CDs). There are still limitations on the 1973-vintage material in terms of resolution, but the DVD versions of those concerts are worth acquiring -- you get a real sense of stage ambience and spatial relationships on Live, and the presence of everything is enhanced in a way that fulfills what longtime fans have long known was there, waiting to be brought out. And the DVD versions of Seconds Out is every bit as impressive -- what's more, the makers haven't been afraid to push the volume, which is good and loud for a change. The only complaint, apart from not seriously considering the "lost" "Supper's Ready" -- which is more than made up for by the complete Rainbow show, in phenomenal sound and good photographic accompaniment on each song -- is the packaging; was it really necessary to put the DVD of Seconds Out in a sleeve so tight that it will likely be scratched over time from normal use, no matter how careful the owner is? Otherwise, a lot of this will be a dream-come-true, omissions aside, for longtime fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Bruce Eder, All Music Guide All Music Guide

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