Genesis – Harry “The Criminal” (Siréne-033)

Harry “The Criminal” (Siréne-033)

Maracananzihno Stadium, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – May 15th, 1977 (late show)

Disc 1: Intro/Firebird Suite, Squonk, One For The Vine, Robbery Assault & Battery, Inside & Out, Firth Of Fifth, …In That Quiet Earth, Afterglow, I Know What I Like

Disc 2: Supper’s Ready, Dance On A Volcano, Los Endos, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, The Musical Box (closing section)

Genesis was the only big group that I can think of who toured South American countries in the 1970’s and certainly the only progressive rock band. Others like Yes and ELP never visited until the nineties. They traveled from Los Angeles and played dates in Porto Allegre, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in Brazil. The late show on May 15th was the sixth show in their tour. David Dunnington, author of The Complete Guide To Live Genesis Radio Shows writes that this “must be a strong contender for the worst ever live recording to be aired on radio!” This tape is the source of a previously released mystery bootleg Brasil ’77which has no label information nor the date and venue. The notes on this release say this is from the “Radio Mundial” AM broadcast containing some DJ commentary during the broadcast (it was also broadcast on “Eldorado FM Radio”).

The tape begins quit distorted but clears up significantly during the disco section in “One For The Vine” and becomes much more enjoyable but there is intermittent distortion from the feed. It also seems like the engineers never covered a rock concert before and are woefully unprepared. There are significant balance problems. At times an instrument will become much louder in the mix, like the keyboards in “…In That Quiet Earth”. It also sounds like the crowd was massive making a big, deep noise throughout the show. The recording includes the commentator speaking between some of the tracks. He speaks in Portuguese and there is no idea what he’s speaking about, although he says something about lasers after “I Know What I Like”.

“The Carpet Crawlers” and “Eleventh Earl of Mar” were normally performed in the set list but are absent. It isn’t clear if they were edited for time constraints, to fit a complete “Supper’s Ready” in the broadcast or if the feed became too distorted. The rest is spot-on Genesis: great versions of “Firth Of Fifth” and the finale “Dance On A Volcano/Los Endos” as well as a version of “Supper’s Ready” that makes the crowd so quiet you can hear a pin drop! It is good that Sirène has made available this very rare broadcast and they did the best they could with it. The label uses the same quality paper inserts they used for their old label, a thick and rough grain. The cover art is interesting with a far stage shot with Phil in his “Harry The Criminal” costume from “Robbery Assault & Battery” superimposed over it.

Harry “The Criminal” is among the Genesis CDR titles released by the label and it isn’t clear exactly why Sirène issues some shows on silver and others on cdr.  The common assumption is this label was supposed to be a silver counterpart to the Ayanami label and this really should be on silver.  Howver this is a fascinating and historical recording but appeals solely to Genesis collectors. There are much better documents from the Wind & Wuthering tour, including the official release Seconds Out, that are available.