Genesis - Evil Jams From The Waiting Room (1975) (mp3, 256kbps)

More Genesis improv music. This time, we've got a compilation of Waiting Room jams, also sometimes referred to as Evil Jam. In the narrative sequence of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the hero Rael is, at the beginning of the second half (lp side 3), led out of a Chamber of 32 Doors by a blind woman called Lilywhite Lilith. From that moment, the tale becomes particularly twisted. Rael has a close call with Mr. Death, enjoys sexual relations with 3 female snakes, which, in turn, causes him to be transformed into a hideous monster. The only way to change back into his old self is to have his penis removed. Now, that's fun for the whole family!

All of this insanity is ushered in by a stop in the Waiting Room. The second song on the second disc is a noise jam that, as the legend goes, was performed at Headley Grange during a storm. Just at the moment of a giant crash of thunder. All the lights went out and the band transformed from a noise jam to a triumphant melodic march. Mike Rutherford holds the rhythm on mild fuzz bass while the other four members push each other over the edge as the exercise becomes more and more feverish. The problem with this legend is that, if the lights went out, how could they still have power for the array of electronic instruments and toys?

While there may be no good answer to that quandary, the truth is that The Waiting Room is a very special piece of music. It was performed live every night on the tour to support 'The Lamb', and, unlike any Genesis music up to that time, it was different at every performance. The same enterprising fan who prepared the Headley Jams I recently posted gives us this gem and it is a gem. On the noisy parts, every item of electronic and percussive trickery is employed to bring about the most unnerving atmosphere possible. And when it's time for 'all change', we get to hear the sublime soloing of Banks and Hackett as they reach higher and higher without sacrificing the deliberate emphasis that makes every note valuable. For a band that didn't improv, they do a fine job and here are the recordings to prove it.

1. Headley Grange 1 (7:16)
2. Headley Grange 2 (9:14)
3. Phoenix (3:48)
4. Dijon (3:39)
5. Nurenburg (4:51)
6. Saarbrucken (4:48)
7. Munich (5:21)
8. Groningen (5:35)
9. Wembley (6:20)
10. Southampton (6:05)
11. Liverpool (5:08)
12. Edinburgh (4:37)
13. Manchester (5:08)
14. Rheims (4:29)

All songs written, performed and arranged by Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett and Rutherford

The link is in the comments.