I loved this album dearly. I was so disappointed to find out that when it was remastered that the original 4th side of the US album which were the studio tracks (and the reason for the title of the album) were replaced with the UK version of different live material. My favorite "You Might Recall" was removed and is not available on any other album. Also gone is Paperlate, Me And Virgil, Evidence Of Autumn and Open Door.
The live performances are incredible and bring a new dimension to each song, but I feel the fans lose out when a song is pretty much deleted from a band's catalog.
I hope that one day Genesis will release this classic album in its original intended form.

A lot of people divide Genesis up into two periods, the Gabriel era and the Collins era. And many fans are divided over which version was better. Personally, I prefer the Gabriel era, but the Collins era was really good for awhile there. In fact the albums with Steve Hackett were just as good as the ones that came before in my opinion.

What you have here is a collection of live recordings from the Collins era, spanning from 1976-1982. And they are very good selections. The first CD focuses more on "the hits" so to speak, but it's a good selection of their more progressive and energetic rock songs. Dodo-Lurker, Me and Sara Jane, and Duchess are great songs.

CD two begins with one of the biggest hits in North America at least, Misunderstanding, which doesn't work as well live as the other tracks, but it quickly kicks into a high gear with an awesome rendition of In the Cage from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The end of the song morphs into a lightning fast version of The Cinema Show instrumental section with snippets of The Colony of Slippermen and Riding The Scree sprinkled in for good measure. The song eventually becomes Afterglow, a great song that works well after long instrumental passages.

You know you have the remastered version if the next track is One For the Vine, an incredible prog mini-epic off of their Wind and Wuthering album, but the real highlight is Fountain of Salmacis, another Gabriel era song from Nursery Cryme. This was an unexpected surprise, and they do a great job with it, although I wish they included a version with Steve Hackett playing guitar, as I think he handles this song better than Stuermer. Hackett is present, however, on the next track, it., also from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, which merges into an awesome instrumental excerpt of Watcher of the Skies from Foxtrot.

What I like about this album is mainly the energy of these performances. While I didn't like a lot of the poppier more electronic they were writing at the time, they still could put on a killer show at the time, as is evidenced by this live album. In many ways I like it more than it's predecessor, Seconds Out, which could have been a better album if it wasn't for the first CD, which I felt had a weak song selection and ordering.

Incidently, the other version of this album, pre-remaster, has Five studio tracks instead of One For the Vine, Fountain of Salmacis and it. / Watcher of the Skies. On the record, these songs took up the entire fourth side, hence the title "Three Sides Live". I prefer this remastered version because I feel those live tracks omitted were the highlight of the album, and the studio tracks are more in the vein of 80's pop rather than prog. Still, if you want those tracks, I believe they are available on the Archive 2 box set in addition to the original pressing of this CD.

How was Genesis able to fill huge arenas and concert halls across the world in the 70s without the benefit of a hit single? It's because they were awesome in person and this collection is proof positive. They weren't content to just attempt to reproduce their album cuts, they wanted to improve them and let them grow on their own volition. The fact that most of the songs featured two of the best rock drummers in the world (Phil with Bill or Chester) made them instantly different from the recorded versions. I still consider Seconds Out a fine live record but this one is just as good, if not more dynamic with the remastering job. Turn it on, Abacab, Follow You and Misunderstanding got lots of airplay but in concert the band took them to new heights. Abacab sizzles with the two drummers kicking butt throughout. Dodo is like a whole different song. But the In the Cage mdeley is beyond belief. It transcends even Suppers Ready on Seconds Out. I've been listening to it since it came out on vinyl in 82 and it still sends chills up my spine. And Phil's emotional vocal on Afterflow justifies its repeat from that same album. The inclusion of the songs with Bill Bruford on drums make this a true must-have for any Genesis fan. The songs were their creations even though PG had departed and they were still very proud to perform them for their audience and the raw enthusiasm comes charging right through the speakers on every cut. I know there were studio songs on the original US version but they pale in comparison to these live gems. Get this before it's gone as it may be one of the most overlooked collections in the entire history of the band.

somehow the 4th side of the LP containing the hit "Paperlate"
and many other songs have been replaced with live cuts from the Secconds Out "period
I'm told the LP appeared this way in the UK and that the "Studio tracks"
were releseds as an EP

well it's 4 sides live now!
Good in that it features Steve Hackett and Bill Bruford
Bad in that those studio tracks were excellent.

I have about everything that Genesis has released (and more). While different than the other live releases, 3 Sides Live fits the Genesis live album structure of showcasing current material. This album sounds beautiful; crystal clear while sounding live. The perfomances are spot-on and give added depth and emotion to the original releases.

To those who miss One Side Studio. The second Archive Set contains most of the songs from the original US release. It also contains (disk 2) live performances that you will want to hear the instant It/Watcher of the Skies ends.