Genesis Lamb Lies Down On Broadway CD

Genesis: Peter Gabriel (vocals, flute); Steve Howe (guitar); Mike Rutherford (12-string guitar, bass instrument); Tony Banks (keyboards); Phil Collins (vibraphone, drums, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Brian Eno.
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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Peter Gabriel's conceptual lyricism reached its apex on the double-length LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY. An epic undertaking even for a band used to 10- and 20-minute songs, LAMB weaves over 20 songs into one long suite ostensibly about the tribulations of its urban protagonist, Rael. The group achieves an unprecedented level of focus and force here. No matter how complex the guitar and keyboard themes get, they're driven home with enough force and conviction to make them instantly memorable.
The panoramic scale of Gabriel's lyrics is easily equal to the grandeur of the music, making this at once Genesis's most hard-edged and most complicated album. From the lush sweep of the opening title track to the almost Beatles-esque Britpop of "Counting Out Time," Genesis is at the top of its compositional game throughout LAMB. Having thoroughly topped himself with this release, Gabriel subsequently quit the group, leaving Phil Collins to take over as vocalist for the next phase of the Genesis story.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."