And suddenly it is there. The Longs, the second part of the Way We Walk live album for which you have to pay some DM30 [15EUR] instead of the “specially reduced price” mentioned in the first part of the live album.
Tony Banks explains that the peculiar appearance of Genesis’s fourth live album gives you the opportunity to choose between both parts according to what you feel like. Many fans frown at this business policy. Why on Earth do not Genesis release a double album that would certainly prompt the listener to play both albums in a row for a concert experience? Okay, so you can assemble a full We Can’t Dance tour show from The Shorts and The Longs, but who bothers? It seems that this release is simply another step towards a perfect financial record.
Both albums have a breathtaking sound, and it is almost as if this was another studio production. The “sterile” mix of the material makes this a live material on which, except for the applause, next to nothing can be heard from the audience. It is miraculous that a couple of announcements have made it to the CD. In the first song on The Longs Phil announces “Mr Rutherford” before the first notes of Dance On A Volcano can be heard, the first part of the lovingly so-called Old Medley. After great versions of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, The Musical Box and Firth Of Fifth, I Know What I Like brings on the other “oldies” That’s All, Illegal Alien, Follow You Follow Me and the Stagnation finale.
One may suspect that the line “Me, I’m just a lawnmower – you can tell me by the way I walk” prompted the album title. Who knows. – The following song, Driving The Last Spike, showcases Genesis’s outstanding musical abilities. It is remarkable how the live presentation is not the least worse than the studio version. After that there are the crown jewels of the last three albums. First there is Domino that really brings on this brooding atmosphere. Fading Lights and Home By The Sea / Second Home By The Sea will (finally) divide the audiences; the long instrumentals in those songs will likely delight those fans who do not care whether the song was a hit or not. The finale of the album is the Drum Duet. It has a gripping rhythm, and it unites the extraordinary drumming of Phil Collins and Chester Thompson in a new way. Still, many fans will find it very difficult to mention The Way We Walk along previous live albums such as Three Sides Live (particularly if you take the UK pressing with the additional live songs) or Seconds Out.
by Bernd Zindler
English by Martin Klinkhardt
first published in German in it magazine #6 (March 1993)
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