The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Vinyl by Genesis 2Record

Rating

Album: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Vinyl by Genesis 2Record
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, The
2)	Fly on a Windshield
3)	Broadway Melody of 1974
4)	Cuckoo Cocoon
5)	In the Cage
6)	Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging, The
7)	Back in N.Y.C.
8)	Hairless Heart
9)	Counting Out Time
10)	Carpet Crawlers, The
11)	Chamber of 32 Doors, The
1)	Lilywhite Lilith
2)	Waiting Room, The
3)	Anyway
4)	Supernatural Anaesthetist, The
5)	Lamia, The
6)	Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats
7)	Colony of Slippermen: The Arrival/A Visit to the Doktor/The Raven, The
8)	Ravine
9)	Light Dies Down on Broadway, The
10)	Riding the Scree
11)	In the Rapids
12)	It

Album: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Vinyl by Genesis 2Record
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, The
2)	Fly on a Windshield
3)	Broadway Melody of 1974
4)	Cuckoo Cocoon
5)	In the Cage
6)	Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging, The
7)	Back in N.Y.C.
8)	Hairless Heart
9)	Counting Out Time
10)	Carpet Crawlers, The
11)	Chamber of 32 Doors, The
1)	Lilywhite Lilith
2)	Waiting Room, The
3)	Anyway
4)	Supernatural Anaesthetist, The
5)	Lamia, The
6)	Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats
7)	Colony of Slippermen: The Arrival/A Visit to the Doktor/The Raven, The
8)	Ravine
9)	Light Dies Down on Broadway, The
10)	Riding the Scree
11)	In the Rapids
12)	It

Performer Notes

Given all the overt literary references of Selling England by the Pound, along with their taste for epic suites such as "Supper's Ready," it was only a matter of time before Genesis attempted a full-fledged concept album, and 1974's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was a massive rock opera: the winding, wielding story of a Puerto Rican hustler name Rael making his way in New York City. Peter Gabriel made some tentative moves toward developing this story into a movie with William Friedkin but it never took off, perhaps it's just as well; even with the lengthy libretto included with the album, the story never makes sense. But just because the story is rather impenetrable doesn't mean that the album is as well, because it is a forceful, imaginative piece of work that showcases the original Genesis lineup at a peak. Even if the story is rather hard to piece together, the album is set up in a remarkable fashion, with the first LP being devoted to pop-oriented rock songs and the second being largely devoted to instrumentals. This means that The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway contains both Genesis' most immediate music to date and its most elliptical. Depending on a listener's taste, they may gravitate toward the first LP with its tight collection of ten rock songs, or the nightmarish landscapes of the second, where Rael descends into darkness and ultimately redemption (or so it would seem), but there's little question that the first album is far more direct than the second and it contains a number of masterpieces, from the opening fanfare of the title song to the surging "In the Cage," from the frightening "Back in NYC" to the soothing conclusion "The Carpet Crawlers." In retrospect, this first LP plays a bit more like the first Gabriel solo album than the final Genesis album, but there's also little question that the band helps form and shape this music (with Brian Eno adding extra coloring on occasion), while Genesis shines as a group shines on the impressionistic second half. In every way, it's a considerable, lasting achievement and it's little wonder that Peter Gabriel had to leave the band after this record: they had gone as far as they could go together, and could never top this extraordinary album. [The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was re-released on LP in 2016.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Professional Reviews

Q (12/94, pp.162-3) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Their masterpiece...Sprawling and often obscure, it's the nearest they got to being cool....it iconised America in the same way SELLING ENGLAND [BY THE POUND] did their home country..."

Q (Magazine) (p.120) - "'Back In NYC' plays like a trial run for the sort of edgy pop Gabriel would later make as a solo artist."

Mojo (Publisher) (3/01, p.82) - "...Ambitious if often bewildering double set....Genesis began to perceived as a one-man band [Gabriel's]. He left at the end of the tour."