Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

Genesis
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

Charisma, 1974

Peter Gabriel - lead vocals, flute, oboe, tambourine
Tony Banks - keyboards
Steve Hackett - guitars
Mike Rutherford - bass guitar, twelve string guitar
Phil Collins - drums, percussion, vocals

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. Carpet Crawlers
11. The Chamber of 32 Doors

1. Lilywhite Lilith
2. The Waiting Room
3. Anyway
4. Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist
5. The Lamia
6. Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats
7. The Colony of Slippermen (The Arrival/ A Visit to the Doktor/ Raven)
8. Ravine
9. The Light Dies Down on Broadway
10. Riding the Scree
11. In the Rapids
12. It

This is an album that creates fanatics everywhere it is heard, the legend from Gabriel-era Genesis. The double-concept album by which they will forever be remembered. An album of very strange concept. To state it in its most literal state, the protagonist, Rael, is swept into a strange land where he has some odd visions, has a sexual experience with three lamia, turns into a slipperman, has his penis cut off and then chases the bird who steals it. He stops his chase to pull his brother from a river, but finds his own body instead. Now of course there's some (okay, a lot of) symbolism here, and Gabriel has said it's really about finding a part of himself. I won't analyze it here, because these guys have said everything I could possibly tell you, and done so a lot more.... thoroughly.

Musically, the album has some amazing high points. The first five tracks are all stellar, some of the best work Genesis ever recorded. However, this albums grand scale is also its weakness. It spans a little over 90 minutes, and it's very difficult to create a work that long that is solid throughout. There are several tracks that come off as space-filler, the instrumentals, to anyone who knows anything about Peter Gabriel, probably seem like they were put in so he could have time to change outlandish costumes. For the most part, they are rather pretty and well-played, although the experimental Waiting Room wears thin quickly. And others suffer from the cheesiness that Peter Gabriel occasionally inflicted on the music of Genesis by trying to be "whimsical" or do vocal impressions. However, this is certainly not a bad album, just an uneven one. The first five tracks are all amazing, as are the last few tracks. Carpet Crawlers and The Lamia are both good as well, and Counting Out Time is very catchy, albeit creepy in places.

As a final verdict, I feel this album ranks at #3 in the lineup of Genesis albums. While it's uneven, it's high places soar beautifully.