"Seconds Out" is compiled mostly from the band's four dates at the Palais des Sports in Paris between 11–14 June 1977. The shows were recorded and broadcast in part by French radio station RTL. One track, "The Cinema Show", was recorded at the Pavillon de Paris on 23 June 1976 during the 1976 tour supporting "A Trick of the Tail" (1976). This features Bill Bruford on drums. "I Know What I Like" contains a snippet of the 1953 song "I Love Paris".