brainee

I admire how he's sticking around, waiting for the "good stuff" to start Almost there - just one more Peter Gabriel album to go!

Supermallet

I highly doubt he loves A Trick of the Tail or Wind and Wuthering either, though.

reverie

I've personally never taken sides with different singers in the same bands. I like all incarnations of Genesis (including Ray), and like some albums by each singer better than others by the same.

cungar

Wonder if he likes this:



(Inside and Out is a great track from the Collins era)

Alvis

Don't think I've heard any of these. However, I will give them a listen if they are in one of the Archive sets.

Edit: Well, it appears Pigeons and Inside and Out are in Archive #2, but not Match of the Day.

cungar

Inside and Out is the only Genesis song about a murderer or rapist (depending on how you interpret it). Which makes it fairly edgy material for the Collins era.

At the party, he was on his own
All he did was say he'd take her home
But it seems they didn't go straight there
'cos on the porch, she told him,
"put your hand here"

Yes it's that same old story
They told her mum she's not to worry

Alvis

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway



Released November 18, 1974

1. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
2. Fly on a Windshield
3. Broadway Melody of 1974
4. Cuckoo Cocoon
5. In the Cage
6. The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging
7. Back in N.Y.C.
8. Hairless Heart
9. Counting Out Time
10. The Carpet Crawlers
11. The Chamber of 32 Doors
12. Lilywhite Lilith
13. The Waiting Room
14. Anyway
15. Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist
16. The Lamia
17. Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats
18. The Colony of Slippermen
a. The Arrival
b. A Visit to the Doktor
c. The Raven
19. Ravine
20. The Light Dies Down on Broadway
21. Riding the Scree
22. In the Rapids
23. It

Personnel

* Tony Banks – keyboards, piano.
* Phil Collins – drums, percussion, vibraphone, vocals
* Peter Gabriel – vocals, flute, oboe
* Steve Hackett – guitars
* Mike Rutherford – bass, twelve-string guitar, bass pedals

plus

* Brian Eno - enossification (treatments)

Production

John Burns and Genesis

Note: The Annotated Lamb Dies Down On Broadway attempts to explain the story told by the album. I have not read all of it as it is quite extensive.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is a double concept album recorded and released in 1974. It was their sixth studio album and the last album by the group to feature the involvement of lead singer Peter Gabriel.

The album tells the surreal story of a Puerto Rican juvenile delinquent named Rael living in New York City, who is swept underground to face bizarre creatures and nightmarish dangers in order to rescue his brother John. Several of the story's occurrences and places were derived from Peter Gabriel's dreams, and the protagonist's name is a play on his surname. In an interview Phil Collins remarked, "It's about a 'split personality'. In this context, Rael would believe he is looking for John but is actually looking for a missing part of himself. The individual songs also make satirical allusions to everything from mythology to the sexual revolution to advertising and consumerism.

Gabriel was absent from the album's writing and rehearsal sessions due to personal problems – his first wife was having difficulties with her first pregnancy. For this reason, most of the music was written by band members Tony Banks, Phil Collins, and Mike Rutherford, with some contribution from Steve Hackett and, at first, virtually none from Gabriel. Gabriel, for his part, insisted on writing the story and all the lyrics himself, which caused friction, in particular because Rutherford had originally suggested another project for the band – an album based on Antoine de Saint Exupéry's The Little Prince. In the event, Banks and Rutherford did write the words for "The Light Dies Down on Broadway", as Gabriel could not come up with a linking piece between "Ravine" and "Riding the Scree". In addition, when Gabriel put lyrics to a piece of music written by one of the other band members (such as Banks' "The Lamia" and Hackett's "Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist") the composer would often insist on adjusting the lyrics slightly to better fit the music, an action Gabriel did not take kindly to.

Gabriel's then-wife Jill pointed out in Spencer Bright's Peter Gabriel: An Authorized Biography that he wrote the main melody for "The Carpet Crawlers", of which he is especially proud. Tracks like "Anyway" and "Lilywhite Lilith" and "Colony of Slippermen" were developed from earlier unused 1969 compositions by the band ("Frustration" and "The Light" respectively) which were likely to have been group efforts, which Gabriel had played some part in creating.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway met with mixed reviews, and reached number 10 in the UK, while nearly cracking the U.S. Top 40, reaching number 41 and eventually going Gold. The band went on a world tour upon its release, performing the album in its entirety 102 times. The Lamb Tour was slated to begin on 29 October 1974, but due to an injury to Steve Hackett's hand, the tour was postponed until 12 November. Opening night for the tour commenced at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois on 20 November 1974. The final show on The Lamb tour was 27 May 1975, at the Palais des Sports in Paris, France. Early into the tour, Gabriel decided he would leave Genesis, although he would finish the tour amicably with the band and not go public until August 1975.

cungar

The Lamb has always been a tough nut to crack. I love the first album but the second album is definitely an aquired taste and gets a bit mundane and repetitive. Have to admit that it's tough to listen to the second album all the way through and I've found myself hoping it would end.

Album one is brilliant and I've always loved the title track. It may well be the first Genesis song I ever heard on the radio before I got into them and there's something mysterious and compelling about it. Though it's labeled as progressive rock, the song is almost a Who style rocker with a bridge not unlike something off Who's Next.

The whole side first album is brilliant. I especially love Fly on a Windshield, Back in NYC and Counting out time.

The story of Rael is pretty strange but unique for progressive rock. While other progressive bands (including older Genesis) were singing about fairies, nymphs and topographical oceans the story of a Puerto Rican trying to find his brother in New Yorks subways and sewers is pretty unique.

The 5.1 Audio DVD released a couple years ago includes the original slide show shown from the Lamb tour and is indeed a mindblowing experience.

cungar

6 long years and 4 very long albums

Trick of the Tail
Wind and Wuthering
..and then there were three...
Duke

Supermallet

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is one of my favorite albums by any artist. Genesis did a great job of shortening the run times of their individual songs while widening the scope of their sound. Gabriel's lyrics are vivid, full of fascinating imagery, and his vocal performance is simply fantastic. I can see how people who adored Foxtrot and Selling England may not think The Lamb is as good, but I think it's the band's best recording, and the one I listen to the most. Even the more atmospheric songs on the second record hit all the right notes for me. Flawless from beginning to end.

ken_572002

The Lamb is one of the two greatest albums ever produced by a band. The second was Disintegration by The Cure. This one was an achievement that would never be equaled again by Genesis. And seeing that Trick of the Tail, Wind and Wuthering, and Duke were still to come, that is really saying something.

This recording lives as one of the finest musical outings ever put to tape. Thank you Peter, Mike, Tony, Steve and Phil for this incredible masterpiece.

cdollaz

I think I shot a load the first time I heard this album in full.

I remember hearing "The Waiting Room" for the first time and thinking "WTF is that?"

bunkaroo

Well this thread has made me try and revisit the Gabriel catalog. I think I bought it all at once years back and it was just too overwhelming. I've been spending time with just Foxtrot and Selling England. Once I get comfortable with those I'll digest Lamb.

Years ago my keyboardist introduced me to Trick of the Tail and that's remained my favorite 70's Genesis record, but as my fondness for Gabriel's earlier solo stuff has increased I find I need more of him.

I imagine this thread will get lean once things hit the 80's, but for better or worse, Invisible Touch is one of the best records of the 80's IMO.

cdollaz

That would be sad, as there is a lot of great Collins-era stuff.

cungar

And LOT of really BAD Collins era stuff

cdollaz

The good far outweighs the bad. The only thing I don't really care for are some of the later ballads.

cungar

Personally I think the bad far outweighs the good. Save for a couple songs their last few albums were awful. Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance are embarassing to listen to. I can't even imagine someone liking songs like Illegal Alien, We Can't Dance, Hold on My heart and No Son of Mine.

cdollaz

I like Illegal Alien OK, but I can do without the rest.

Illegal Alien is the least track on the S/T album, which is very good on the whole. I can understand someone not liking Invisible Touch (the song), In Too Deep, and maybe Land of Confusion, but the entire second side of that album is good, as is Tonight x 3. I won't defend the We Can't Dance album too much, but I think half of it is pretty good stuff.

As for the other 80's stuff, I think Duke is one of their best 4 or 5 albums, and Abacab only has a couple of missteps.

Alvis

I have listened to Lamb several times, but I can say that it will be a long time before I really understand it all, if I ever do.

I really enjoy the first disc, and the second disc less so.

Before listening to this album, I'd been hearing the tracks the Lamb Lies On Broadway, the Carpet Crawlers, and In the Cage while listening to the live albums the Way We Walk and Live Over Europe. Whatever version I've listened to of these songs, whether they be sung by Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, or Ray Wilson, I've enjoyed them.

Of course, listening to Lamb allowed me to somewhat place these songs in context and to discover some other songs on the album that while not as catchy as the aforementioned songs, are still good.

I also enjoy this album more than the previous ones in the sense that it is much more about something I can understand and is not as esoteric as the previous albums. That said, I still think that SEBTP is my favorite Gabriel era album.

The songs I particularly enjoy on the first album are TLLDOB, Fly On a Windshield, In the Cage, Back in N.Y.C., Hairless Heart, Counting Out Time, and the Carpet Crawlers.

Only two singles were released from this album, Counting Out Time and the Carpet Crawlers. Neither charted and it's not hard to see why. Both have catchy melodies, but each one is hard to understand without at least knowing a little bit more about the story Lamb is trying to tell. Also, they probably just seem weird to the average listener. And as much as I enjoy Counting Out Time, I find lyrics about 'erogenous zones' to be somewhat humorous.

I agree with many people that the second album is harder to get into, although I do enjoy a few tracks on it.

The Waiting Room is just plain strange. The first track we come to that I really enjoy is either the second or third part of The Colony of Slippermen. The first part, the Arrival, is quite eerie, and nearly gave me the creeps the first time I heard it. So I suppose if that is what the band was trying to accomplish, then they succeeded admirably. I also enjoy the Light Dies Down On Broadway. I will see with further listenings if I can get into the second album a bit more.

When (If) we get to the later albums such as Invisible Touch, and We Can't Dance, I hope you all will be as eager to discuss them as you are now. Even if that discussion is mostly negative.

(Currently listening to A Trick of the Tail to get ready for the discussion of that album. Enjoying it so far.)

reverie

I could never quite get into "Lamb".. a little too over-my-head. But it does have quite a few good tracks on it. I know it ranks among the top Genesis albums, and certainly among the PG years, but still... Give me "Foxtrot" or "Live" any day over this.

cungar

NO ONE ever understood it. Even Peter Gabriel has said he never really got a handle on the story. Want a real challenge? Read the inner liner notes and try to tell us what it means.

Just listen to the music and dig the obtuse lyrics. It is amazing.

Supermallet

I once read an incredible (must have been a college thesis) article on how The Lamb is a description of a particular type of meditation. I can no longer find the article, but it went really in-depth and the guy made a good case for his points.

cungar

Suprmallet, is this it?

Genesis and the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway


Almost the whole book is online. I may have to read that.

Falc04

This was the pinnacle of all that was Genesis. I was first introduced to their music back in 1980, when my older brother was playing Duke in his apartment. Wow, I thought, fantastic music here. Even today, I consider Duke to be the peak of the Collins-lead band. Saying that, I was not prepared for the epic-ness (if that's a word) of what is THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY. From the opening track to the closing track, the music just soared out of the speakers, like nothing I had ever heard before.

I have close to a 1000 cds in my collection. The really great ones, I rate with 5 stars. When it comes to The Lamb, it is the only recording I own that I would rate 6 stars (which is pretty hard on a scale of 1 thru 5).

A truly magnificent opus that I'm fairly certain, will never be attained again.

brainee

You should read the whole thing. It's not that long, and has a lot of cool stuff (especially for those interested in Genesis, which the people in this thread obviously are).

One cool tidbit that I didn't know: Peter Gabriel was collaborating with Alejandro Jodorowsky to make a "Lamb" movie?!? Holy crap! If there ever was a director to make that movie, he's the one. Though it seems Jodorowsky was involved in a bunch of stuff at that period that never got made

Though works like Lamb can come across as extremely pretentious, reading interviews with the band leads me away from that line of thinking. As has been mentioned here, even the band members don't claim to know what Lamb is about (where the pretentious attitude to take would be to claim if you don't understand it, you must not be intelligent enough). The "Annoted" article talks about how at points, Gabriel's lyrics weren't so much to tell the story in a coherent way - rather, he just liked the way some words sounded and the images they conjured. As a band, Genesis seems very aware of prog-rock's (and their fans) label of "pretentious" ... and they have fun with it. I like the line in "It": "If you think that it's pretentious, you've been taken for a ride." Maybe Gabriel's way of saying that even if you didn't buy into the crazy Rael story, at least Genesis probably did something to your mind with the music you'd been listening for the last 90 minutes.

About Lamb ... I think it did improve for me with multiple listens, and more of a perspective on the band. Like I said earlier, after my first listen (years ago) I didn't have that positive of a response. The meandering 2nd part dulled the dynamic 1st part. And for someone diving in as a strictly Collins-era Genesis fan to get a taste of the earlier works, it was a bit too much. Like others have said, the 1st part is about as tight a rock record as Genesis had ever made (and will make). The group never seemed to have a problem with strong melodies, and they're still on display here (no matter how abstract the lyrics).

I like the comment made in the Allmusic review, saying that (with hindsight) Lamb feels more like Peter Gabriel's first solo album than Genesis' follow-up to Selling England. Like Lamb, PG's solo albums had tighter, more rocking, songs (with less instrumentals). The subject matter and style, instead of being fantasy-pastoral, were modernistic with introspective subject matter. On the other hand, with Gabriel gone the rest of the band went right back to making what feels like a follow-up to Selling England (in Trick of the Tale).

BTW, I'm trying to get my hands on that Lamb DVD - hopefully in a couple of days, I'll be able to see it. It really does sound like you needed to see this (the whole multi-media live presentation) to get the full effect. And while the DVD isn't the full live show, it sounds like the best thing that's been preserved.

Has anyone here seen a show from the Lamb tour? I've seen Genesis perform some songs from Lamb songs in later tours ... but the Lamb tour was before my time.

I don't think so. If nothing else, the "purists" will chime in saying how much Phil Collins sucks. But from the comments I've read here, a lot of people like both. I know I'm not the only one who never heard of Genesis until the Phil Collins 80s era (I was just too young for the earlier stuff). And even though that stuff has its flaws, I find a lot to like. And since I grew up with that music, I have a soft spot for it (and have listened to those albums much more than the Gabriel stuff).