Seconds Out received average to positive reviews upon its release, and reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 47 in the US. Hackett left the group to pursue a solo career while the album was being mixed, reducing Genesis to a core trio of keyboardist Tony Banks, guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford, and drummer and singer Phil Collins. Seconds Out was reissued in 1994 and 2009, the latter as part of the Genesis Live 1973–2007 box set.
Seconds Out is compiled mostly from the band's four dates at the Palais des Sports in Paris between 11–14 June 1977. Collins said the group considered the recordings made that year were superior in quality than the ones taken a year prior, and that his singing and Banks's keyboards sounded better compared to the previous tour.[1] The run of shows in Paris allowed the band to spend more time on getting their performance and quality of the recordings right.[1] One track, "The Cinema Show", was recorded at the Apollo in Glasgow on 9 July 1976 during the 1976 tour supporting A Trick of the Tail (1976). This tour featured Bill Bruford on drums. Mixes of "Firth of Fifth", "Los Endos", "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)", and "White Mountain" from 1976 were produced, but scrapped.[1] The band recorded performances of "Inside and Out" from the EP Spot the Pigeon, but were unable to get the song to sound as good as the studio version.[1] "I Know What I Like" contains a snippet of the 1953 song "I Love Paris".[2]
The album's credits include details of which drummer(s) are playing on each song. Mixed in with these credits are the notes "Robbery Assault & Battery – keyboard solo Phil" and "Cinema Show – Bill Bruford, Phil keyboard solo". This should be read to mean that Collins played the drum kit (along with Thompson or Bruford) during that solo, not that Collins played keyboards.
Hackett's departure
When Seconds Out was announced in the press on 8 October 1977, the news coincided with Hackett's departure from Genesis. He had announced his decision to the group two months earlier while cuts for the album were selected and mixed.[3] Collins recalled spotting Hackett on the street while on his way to the studio and offered him a lift, but Hackett declined. Collins found out from Banks and Rutherford that Hackett had quit. Hackett later said that if he had got in the car, Collins would have been the one person to make him reconsider.[4]
On the 1990 documentary video Genesis – A History, Banks joked that Hackett was mixed out of Seconds Out as a result.
Release
Seconds Out was released on 14 October 1977.[3] Charisma Records organised an extensive promotional campaign for the album that included double page spreads in newspapers, window displays, colour posters, and commercials on national radio.[5] In the US, the album was released by Atlantic Records.[6] It peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 47 on the US Billboard 200.[7]
Hugh Fielder of Sounds gave the album five stars out of five.[2]Melody Maker reporter Chris Welch, with assistance from Bob Gallagher, also praised the album.[11]Rolling Stone praised the contemporary incarnation of the band, noting they had "less reliance on theatrics" than before Peter Gabriel's departure, "and an added dollop of jazz-rock inclinations."[9]
In their retrospective review, AllMusic wrote that Genesis's renderings of songs from A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering surpass the studio recordings, with "superb vocals by Collins throughout," and drumming by Chester Thompson, which they described as "at least a match for Collins' best playing." They considered the tracks from earlier albums to be weaker, however, finding Collins "...can't match the subtlety or expressiveness of Gabriel's singing, though he comes close."[8]
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins has described Seconds Out as "one of my drum bibles" and "one of my favorite-sounding drum records too."[12]
Reissues
In 1994, a digitally remastered version was released on CD by Virgin Records in Europe and by Atlantic Records in the US. Seconds Out was reissued with new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes completed by Nick Davis and released as part of the Genesis Live 1973–2007 box set in September 2009. On the original LP, "Dance on a Volcano" and "Los Endos" are banded as one track. This error was corrected on the box set. In November 2012, a 35th anniversary LP was pressed using the 2009 remaster.
"Supper's Ready" i. "Lover's Leap" ii. "The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man" iii. "Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men" iv. "How Dare I Be So Beautiful?" v. "Willow Farm" vi. "Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-Starring the Delicious Talents of Gabble Ratchet)" vii. "As Sure as Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)
[nb 1]" (from Foxtrot)
Some CD copies of the album have an error on the last two songs "Dance on a Volcano" and "Los Endos". "Dance on a Volcano" is 8:26 long instead of 5:09. The last 3:17 that has been added to "Dance on a Volcano" is the first 3:17 of "Los Endos". This makes "Los Endos" only 3:14 long. This error is also on some streaming services such as Apple Music,[14]Spotify (sometimes)[15] and YouTube Music[16] (sometimes).[17]
On this album, "The Carpet Crawlers" was originally titled "The Carpet Crawl". On Apple Music, it is listed as "The Carpet Crawler";[18] on Spotify it is listed as "The Carpet Crawlers"[19] and on YouTube Music it is listed as "The Carpet Crawl"[20] (sometimes "The Carpet Crawlers")[21] for unknown reasons.
All tracks were recorded during the band's 1977 tour in support of the Wind & Wuthering album, except for "The Cinema Show" which was recorded during the 1976 tour in support of A Trick of the Tail as it was not performed on the 1977 tour.
^The names of the sections of "Supper's Ready" are taken from the track listing from the original album, Foxtrot. They are not listed in the album package for Seconds Out.
