Editing Genesis Live (section)

== Background ==
Genesis were persuaded by their label, [[Charisma Records]], to release ''Genesis Live'' as a budget-priced title to mark time while the band recorded ''[[Selling England by the Pound]]'' in mid-1973. The group's manager, [[Tony Stratton Smith]] said that the low price would allow it to be sold in stores such as [[Woolworths (United Kingdom)|Woolworths]] and [[WHSmith]].{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=[https://archive.org/details/genesisbiography0000bowl_h5d4/page/78/mode/2up 78]}} ''Genesis Live'' was issued in the US several months after ''Selling England'''s release,<ref>''Genesis Live'' was the last Charisma Records album distributed in North America by [[Buddah Records]], as Charisma had moved their distribution to [[Atlantic Records]] several months earlier; ''Selling England by the Pound'' had been the first Charisma album distributed by Atlantic.</ref> which upset Gabriel as the album included songs from their old live sets and was quickly recorded with little care given to the quality of the recordings. When Gabriel reluctantly agreed to have the album released, part of the deal was that it would not be issued in the US.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://newspapers.com/image/493015873/|title=Glitter rock shows prove uneven|first=Rick|last=Atkinson|date=2 December 1973|newspaper=The Record|page=47|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=subscription |access-date=15 December 2018}}</ref>

The album was recorded when the band was touring in support of ''[[Foxtrot (album)|Foxtrot]]'', by the Pye Mobile Recording Unit, engineer Alan Perkins; all tracks were recorded at [[De Montfort Hall]], [[Leicester]], England on {{start date|df=yes|1973|2|25}} except for "The Return of the Giant Hogweed", which was recorded at the [[Free Trade Hall]] in Manchester, England on the previous day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caminorecords.com/product/genesis_live.html |title=Genesis Live |access-date=19 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071204000536/http://www.caminorecords.com/product/genesis_live.html |archive-date=4 December 2007 |df=dmy }}</ref> These recordings were originally made for the U.S. radio show [[King Biscuit Flower Hour]], though they were never broadcast. John Burns mixed the multi-track tapes in July 1973.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=[https://archive.org/details/genesisbiography0000bowl_h5d4/page/78/mode/2up 78]}}

A handful of early radio promotional double-LP [[test pressing]]s were created which included a 23-minute version of "[[Supper's Ready]]" from the Leicester show. This album's running order was "Watcher of the Skies", "The Musical Box", "Get 'Em Out by Friday", "Supper's Ready", "The Return of the Giant Hogweed", "The Knife", and included between-song patter by Gabriel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/genesis-1575319-details.aspx|title = Genesis}}</ref>  "Supper's Ready" was not included in the officially released version, even though the front cover photograph was taken during a live performance of the song (with Gabriel donning the "Magog" mask). A live recording of "Supper's Ready" from later that same year was released on 1998's 4-CD boxed set, ''[[Genesis Archive 1967–75]]''. However, Gabriel re-recorded some vocals for that release.

A remastered version was released on CD in 1994 by [[Virgin Records|Virgin]] in Europe and [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] in the US and Canada. A remixed version was included in 2009's ''[[Genesis Live 1973–2007]]'' set, also released by [[Virgin Records|Virgin]] in Europe and [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] in the U.S. and Canada.

A surrealistic short story by Peter Gabriel was printed on the back cover of the album. [[William Friedkin]], who directed the film ''[[The Exorcist (film)|The Exorcist]]'', read the story and was interested in possibly working with Gabriel on a film.  Discussions with Friedkin took Gabriel away from the 1974 recording of ''[[The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway]]'', his final album with the group.{{sfn|Bowler|Dray|1992|p=[https://archive.org/details/genesisbiography0000bowl_h5d4/page/90/mode/2up 90]}}