Supper's Ready - the full menu

[r2daft2]

In the beginning there was Supper’s Ready.
Just 5 years later there was another Supper’s Ready - a live version - and the debate began as to which was the definitive/best version….
Was it the Foxtrot original? - PG on vocals and carefully constructed in the studio, or
The Seconds Out live version? - PC on vocals and the added energy and ambience of a live setting.

For many years this situation remained unchanged until the following versions of the (full) song started to appear:
• The 1973 Rainbow Theatre recording
• A 5.1 Surround sound mix of the Foxtrot recording
• The 1973 Shepperton Studios video (a “standard” stage presentation by the original line-up)
• The 1974 Melody French TV video (with added TV graphics)

And if we include Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited recordings:
• The Genesis Revisited II album recording (with multi-vocalists)
• The Live at Hammersmith video/audio
• The Live at The Royal Albert Hall video/audio (same arrangement as Hammersmith?)
• The Live at The Royal Festival Hall video/audio (with orchestra)

The Seconds Out version remains the only complete recording of Supper’s Ready released with Phil Collins fronting the band (we only have an incomplete recording on the 1976 Concert Film with Bill Bruford on drums). The only arrangement of the song by the “3-man” line up of the band is that performed on the Three Sides Live tour in Aug/Sept 1982 (and at the reunion with PG). It’s unlikely that recordings of any of these performances will ever see an official release.

So two questions:

1. Has anybody got a new favourite version of Supper’s Ready? There are 10 versions to choose from now (excluding any tribute band recordings)! How would you rate them?

2. Are there new fans out there who’s first exposure to Supper’s Ready has been through one of the latter released versions? One of Steve Hackett’s recordings perhaps?

It always seemed to me that anyone who had become a Genesis fan during the Gabriel –era was more likely to prefer the Foxtrot original whilst newer fans, who’s first exposure to Genesis was of a band fronted by Phil Collins, would opt for the Seconds Out version.
Personally, I find it impossible to choose a favourite – I’ve heard the song so many times now.
I enjoy the novelty of listening to a different version but, although I have copies of all ten versions listed above, I don’t think I’ve played any of the newer versions more than a couple of times each. All are enjoyable in their own way, none are badly performed or recorded but I haven’t formed a particular attachment to any of them. This is why I’d be interested in the views of others to see if any one recording has more admirers than the others.
Least essential? – Probably one of SH’s Hammersmith or RAH live recordings?
I also suspect that any new fans are far more likely to hear the Foxtrot original on the R-Kive compilation rather than any version included in the box sets or one of the SH recordings.

And a trivia question for the real enthusiasts:
Are the taped effects played during the song (“We will rock you, rock you little snake…”, whistles, bangs etc.) always from the same original source recordings?

[TheH]

Chili con Carne with Jalapenos with some French White bread
Strawberry cheese Cake to finish...

[proggy_jazzer]

I first heard the Seconds Out recording, which blew my young mind. The Foxtrot recording came to me after Phil's vocals were seared in my brain, and so it took me awhile to appreciate, but eventually I heard it as separate yet equal. The Gabriel live recordings are astounding for their energy and accuracy in the face of limited technology. The Hackett GR recordings are marvelous in a more contemporary way, and I'm really glad that he's keeping the flame alive. My current ranking would be the original, SO, Gabriel live and Hackett.

[BobM]

What he said ^^^

[SunRunner2]

I have only heard 3 versions of this classic cut, in the order of 1) Original 22:58 minute studio version on "Foxtrot" (Atlantic label), 2) The live performance I saw at my first Genesis concert in April of 1976 - Trick of the Tail Tour, 3) The "Seconds Out" version.

My favorite by a slim margin is the "Seconds Out" live version. However, as good as that version is I never grow tired of the original studio version even though I don't have it in 5.1 Surround Sound. To my way of listening, the original studio version almost sounds like a different song than the live version and it has that early English twee aspect that I believe endears it to a fan of their earlier releases. The version I saw live 44 years ago is somewhat blurred in my memory, but the entire concert was outstanding and rates as the very best live performance I have ever witnessed.

Although I consider myself an avid fan of Genesis, I don't have any interest in seeking out the plethora of other versions that you chronicled above. I'll stick with the two I have on CD recordings and the one stored indelibly in my hippocampus in 1976, but now resides in my frontal lobes.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

1973 Felt Forum
The version intended for the two-disc version of Genesis Live

Both ROIOs

[mozo-pg]

I have only heard 3 versions of this classic cut, in the order of 1) Original 22:58 minute studio version on "Foxtrot" (Atlantic label), 2) The live performance I saw at my first Genesis concert in April of 1976 - Trick of the Tail Tour, 3) The "Seconds Out" version.

My favorite by a slim margin is the "Seconds Out" live version. However, as good as that version is I never grow tired of the original studio version even though I don't have it in 5.1 Surround Sound. To my way of listening, the original studio version almost sounds like a different song than the live version and it has that early English twee aspect that I believe endears it to a fan of their earlier releases. The version I saw live 44 years ago is somewhat blurred in my memory, but the entire concert was outstanding and rates as the very best live performance I have ever witnessed.

Although I consider myself an avid fan of Genesis, I don't have any interest in seeking out the plethora of other versions that you chronicled above. I'll stick with the two I have on CD recordings and the one stored indelibly in my hippocampus in 1976, but now resides in my frontal lobes.

My situtation matches yours. I saw the Trick tour in March 1976 and although I love the Gabriel version the Second's Out is even better. Hard to believe, when I'm such a die hard Gabriel fan.

[BarryLI]

In the beginning there was Supper’s Ready.
Just 5 years later there was another Supper’s Ready - a live version - and the debate began as to which was the definitive/best version….
Was it the Foxtrot original? - PG on vocals and carefully constructed in the studio, or
The Seconds Out live version? - PC on vocals and the added energy and ambience of a live setting.

For many years this situation remained unchanged until the following versions of the (full) song started to appear:
• The 1973 Rainbow Theatre recording
• A 5.1 Surround sound mix of the Foxtrot recording
• The 1973 Shepperton Studios video (a “standard” stage presentation by the original line-up)
• The 1974 Melody French TV video (with added TV graphics)

And if we include Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited recordings:
• The Genesis Revisited II album recording (with multi-vocalists)
• The Live at Hammersmith video/audio
• The Live at The Royal Albert Hall video/audio (same arrangement as Hammersmith?)
• The Live at The Royal Festival Hall video/audio (with orchestra)

The Seconds Out version remains the only complete recording of Supper’s Ready released with Phil Collins fronting the band (we only have an incomplete recording on the 1976 Concert Film with Bill Bruford on drums). The only arrangement of the song by the “3-man” line up of the band is that performed on the Three Sides Live tour in Aug/Sept 1982 (and at the reunion with PG). It’s unlikely that recordings of any of these performances will ever see an official release.

So two questions:

1. Has anybody got a new favourite version of Supper’s Ready? There are 10 versions to choose from now (excluding any tribute band recordings)! How would you rate them?

2. Are there new fans out there who’s first exposure to Supper’s Ready has been through one of the latter released versions? One of Steve Hackett’s recordings perhaps?

It always seemed to me that anyone who had become a Genesis fan during the Gabriel –era was more likely to prefer the Foxtrot original whilst newer fans, who’s first exposure to Genesis was of a band fronted by Phil Collins, would opt for the Seconds Out version.
Personally, I find it impossible to choose a favourite – I’ve heard the song so many times now.
I enjoy the novelty of listening to a different version but, although I have copies of all ten versions listed above, I don’t think I’ve played any of the newer versions more than a couple of times each. All are enjoyable in their own way, none are badly performed or recorded but I haven’t formed a particular attachment to any of them. This is why I’d be interested in the views of others to see if any one recording has more admirers than the others.
Least essential? – Probably one of SH’s Hammersmith or RAH live recordings?
I also suspect that any new fans are far more likely to hear the Foxtrot original on the R-Kive compilation rather than any version included in the box sets or one of the SH recordings.

And a trivia question for the real enthusiasts:
Are the taped effects played during the song (“We will rock you, rock you little snake…”, whistles, bangs etc.) always from the same original source recordings?

It doesn't fit the prescription but I thoroughly enjoy this version: https://youtu.be/AR948ak4VjM

[SunRunner2]

^^^^

That Hackett orchestrated version is certainly beautifully performed and it's easy to understand why you like it. I must say that the vocals are too polished and quasi-operatic for me to put it in the same category of the studio cut or Seconds Out version. Also, the song itself doesn't require a full orchestra treatment to appreciate the instrumental beauty of the original. The more rugged nature of PG's vocals and the lively, upbeat and more lighthearted qualities brought by Phil make the cut so special for me. But, we agree that it is an enjoyable take on the classic.

[JKL2000]

1973 Felt Forum
The version intended for the two-disc version of Genesis Live

Both ROIOs

That's the one I know best after the original, and it's also quite good. I am a pariah in that I don't think I've ever heard all of Seconds Out, and I'm not positive I've ever listened to that version of Supper! That might be my homework tonight...tonight...tonight...

[Mister Triscuits]

The only arrangement of the song by the “3-man” line up of the band is that performed on the Three Sides Live tour in Aug/Sept 1982 (and at the reunion with PG). It’s unlikely that recordings of any of these performances will ever see an official release.

Not sure if I want to hear this, but how much of it did they do? Which part[s]?

[TheH]

Not sure if I want to hear this, but how much of it did they do? Which part[s]?

All of it,live versions from this tour are even some minutes longer than the Studio one.

[happytheman]

Not sure if I want to hear this, but how much of it did they do? Which part[s]?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2zIWLAgyKE

[Trane]

I first heard the Seconds Out recording, which blew my young mind. The Foxtrot recording came to me after Phil's vocals were seared in my brain, and so it took me awhile to appreciate, but eventually I heard it as separate yet equal. The Gabriel live recordings are astounding for their energy and accuracy in the face of limited technology.

Yup, count me in as those who actually grew familiar to SR via SO, and kind of still prefer it

I suppose I own it twice more via the first Archives boxset (the Rainbow) and in the DVD of the 5.1 Foxtrot , but it's not like I ever got much mileage out of either. Had their first Live album been a double and included it, I suppose I'd have been very familiar with that version as well. But it's not like Supper ever differed much from 72 to 77, IMHO.

My favorite by a slim margin is the "Seconds Out" live version.

Although I consider myself an avid fan of Genesis, I don't have any interest in seeking out the plethora of other versions that you chronicled above. I'll stick with the two I have on CD recordings and the one stored indelibly in my hippocampus in 1976, but now resides in my frontal lobes.

yup, all I ever needed... the others came via other needs.

[JJ88]

I think 'As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs' is always improved over the studio version. It feels like they rushed through that to fit it on the vinyl and on a technical level Rutherford hits a few bum notes ('corrected' on the remix). Live, they played it slower, lowered the key and heightened the drama and I like that little guitar coda from Hackett.

Seconds Out was the first version I heard and it probably still is my favourite. I think in terms of musicianship they peaked on that tour. Just magnificent playing, and Collins really did a great job on vocals. He doesn't do the 'hey my bab-EEEE!' thing Gabriel does on live versions, which you like or you don't!

With Gabriel, I like the Rainbow version, although in its raw state rather than the doctored Archive version (where Gabriel chose to overdub some of the vocals in the 90s).

The still-unreleased version which is on that Live album acetate is good, again overdubbed (listen to Collins' vocals on 'Willow Farm'), but in the 70s so it's not to the extent it bothers me.

Shepperton is invaluable as it provides a visual record of what it was like live, albeit not on a night where this happened!



Among bootlegs which have not seen any kind of official release, maybe the best known is that Montreal 1974 radio broadcast? That's a great performance, ISTR.

[smcfee]

So here's an odd take... my first time really hearing Supper's Ready was as performed by The Musical Box in Hull around 1996-ish. The opening group was Salem, a Quebec-based Tull clone. It had already been a mind-blowing show but Supper's Ready was definitely the capper, with the flash powder explosion going into the finale and then Denis Gagné floating to the top of the venue... I picked up Foxtrot with my next paycheck.

[Man In The Mountain]

Whenever I hear the Second's Out version I am amazed by it, very flashy and super-charged. However, the original with PG is the masterpiece in my mind, the true painting. It's the only version I ever listen too.

[WytchCrypt]

There's a version I haven't seen mentioned yet. I have a recording of the 4/13/76 radio simulcast of the Trick of the Tail tour from the Syria Mosque Hall in Pittsburgh. I originally recorded it on 8 track way back on Christmas day of 1976 when it was rebroadcast on KOME (then the big rock station in San Jose). It includes a complete 22+ minute version of SR and while it's not separated out in it's own vid, it begins at the 1 hr 3 minute mark here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbr17yKXpDQ

The 1st version I ever heard was the studio one, then the one I recorded from the Pittsburgh show, then the version they played when I saw them on the Wind & Wuthering tour, then Seconds Out and finally the '73 Rainbow show. I also have a version on an Italian box set from 1993 called, "From One Fan to All Others" though I'm not certain of the recording date of that one.

Anyway, as far as my fave version it would still be the studio version followed by the Pittsburgh show

[Rye-Ergot]

There's a version I haven't seen mentioned yet. I have a recording of the 4/13/76 radio simulcast of the Trick of the Tail tour from the Syria Mosque Hall in Pittsburgh. I originally recorded it on 8 track way back on Christmas day of 1976 when it was rebroadcast on KOME (then the big rock station in San Jose). It includes a complete 22+ minute version of SR and while it's not separated out in it's own vid, it begins at the 1 hr 3 minute mark here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbr17yKXpDQ

I was at this show. I was a senior in high school and worked at a local chain record store (National Record Mart) in western Pennsylvania at nights and weekends. We sold tickets for concerts and employees could purchase good tickets as a perk.
Great show.

But, the Foxtrot studio version is still my favorite.

[yesstiles]

I became a Genesis fan in late-1989 via A Trick of the Tail.

The 1972 studio version of "Supper's Ready" is my favorite. It's so delicate and so bombastic in all the right places and Peter makes it shine.

[Splicer]

The only thing I don't like about the Foxtrot version is that the vocals were not arranged for Pete's voice which forces him to shriek at times beyond his range. Live bootlegs from that era seem to have a version rearranged so that Pete can sing it more comfortably. The Second's Out version remains my favorite because Phil's vocals are perfect and the band is really puts on a top-level performance. I like the arrangement for that band as well. However, because I like to listen to Phil drum, the live versions from the Gabriel era are my favorite to listen to for that reason. I especially love the Apocalypse section during this era because there's Phil behind that drumkit of his building and building, adding and adding until the beat is in there somewhere but there is so much more going on.

All in all, live versions of the song are better for me than the Foxtrot version.

[Top Cat]

The song itself is the star, doesn't matter to me which version, I like them all.
I'm waiting for Tony Bennett's version..it would probably still sound great.

Last weekend I watched for the first time, Supper's Ready on YouTube from the Steve Hackett's Genesis Revisited Band with Orchestra and loved it. Best I've heard Nad do it..he retained his own style but true to the original and the Band and Orchestra knocked it out of the park.
I had been on the fence about this DVD, but it will be my next purchase..wonderful concert.

[SunRunner2]

There's a version I haven't seen mentioned yet. I have a recording of the 4/13/76 radio simulcast of the Trick of the Tail tour from the Syria Mosque Hall in Pittsburgh. I originally recorded it on 8 track way back on Christmas day of 1976 when it was rebroadcast on KOME (then the big rock station in San Jose). It includes a complete 22+ minute version of SR and while it's not separated out in it's own vid, it begins at the 1 hr 3 minute mark here:

Anyway, as far as my fave version it would still be the studio version followed by the Pittsburgh show

Man, you brought this great "Trick" tour version of SR back to my mind in living color with this post. Twelve days later, on 4/25/76, they performed what was the same version at Memorial Hall, in Kansas City, MO. That's the version I was fortunate enough to witness live and I alluded to in my earlier post.

As they went forward they would place less and less emphasis on the classic PG lead cuts and by the time I saw them again in June of 1980, it was included as a brief medley, in favor of the post "Lamb" pieces. However, the 1980 concert was still a great one, leading off with "Turn It On Again", with Phil mimicking the character described in that song and his obsession with his TV set.

Thanks for the rewind to 1976 and "Supper's Ready".

[WytchCrypt]

Glad I was able to rekindle some memories of the excellent Pittsburgh show! For anyone who hasn't heard it, you might want to check it out on youtube (link provided earlier). It was a radio simulcast and I'd rank the sound quality around A- while the performances and song selection are outstanding. An extra bonus is it's PC's first tour fronting the band so his between the songs banter is very fresh and a new thing for him (especially amusing is when he opens the show with "Good evening Baltimore" instead of "Good evening Pittsburgh" Shoot they even put Hackett & Rutherford on the spot announcing a couple songs - though Banks would have nothing to do with that!

Like every Genesis fan on the planet in '77 I bought Seconds Out the day it hit the record shop. Unlike most Genesis fans though, I was never a big fan of the album because I had recorded the Pittsburgh show and liked it much better. Bruford is my favorite drummer so having a complete show with him was always going to be more popular with me than SO. I loved Chester's work with Zappa, but for me Bruford's style and sense of improvisation was always the perfect compliment to PC - though I've read his improvisations and going "off script" used to drive Banks crazy!

[GuitarGeek]

I'll tell ya what, I still prefer the version that was in Genesis In Concert. Yeah, we only get the back half in the film, but that was how I first heard Supper's Ready. I rather like the sound of Tony playing the flute melody at the beginning of Apocalypse in 9/8 on the Pro-Soloist, for one. I also prefer the way the passage that follows "In blood he's writing the lyrics/To a brand new tune" on the 76-77 performances, seems a bit more bombastic with the drummers really letting loose, in comparison to how the drums stay locked into the Apocalypse riff during that bit.

And during the As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs solo, there's a moment where Bill plays this one roll that goes for line an entire bar, I like the way it sounds, sort of halting the rhythm for a few seconds, before continuing on the next downbeat.