Artist: GENESIS
Album: THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY REMASTERED (2CD)

Year: 1974/ 2009
Media type: CD

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (sometimes called simply The Lamb) is a double concept album recorded and released in 1974 by the British progressive rock band Genesis. 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 half-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. It should be noted that 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. The title track, as well as "The Carpet Crawlers" and "In the Cage", are live favourites for the band and both have been included in 2007's Turn it on Again tour, with "The Carpet Crawlers" played as the closing number.

Gabriel was absent from the album's writing and rehearsal sessions due to personal problems — his 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 Exupйry'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, an action Gabriel did not take kindly to.

In the end, Gabriel did contribute more to the writing of the music than is sometimes assumed. His 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. It should also be noted that tracks like "Anyway" and "Lilywhite Lilith" were developed from earlier unused 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.

During the album's pre-production, Gabriel was contacted by filmmaker William Friedkin, (at the time enjoying success with The Exorcist), about a possible film project after Friedkin read Gabriel's short story on the sleeve of the Genesis Live album. Despite his bandmates' disapproval, Gabriel left them to work on some early script drafts. However, the project came to nothing (Friedkin instead working with Tangerine Dream to score his next film, Sorcerer), and Gabriel returned to the band.

All songs by Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford.

TRACKLIST CD1:

"The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" – 4:55
"Fly on a Windshield" – 2:47
"Broadway Melody of 1974" – 1:58[5]
"Cuckoo Cocoon" – 2:14
"In the Cage" – 8:15
"The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging" – 2:45

"Back in N.Y.C." – 5:49
"Hairless Heart" – 2:25
"Counting Out Time" – 3:45
"The Carpet Crawlers" – 5:16
"The Chamber of 32 Doors" – 5:44

TRACKLIST CD2:

"Lilywhite Lilith" – 2:40
"The Waiting Room" – 5:28
"Anyway" – 3:18
"Here Comes The Supernatural Anaesthetist" – 2:50
“The Lamia” – 6:57
“Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats” – 3:06

"The Colony of Slippermen (Arrival - A Visit to the Doktor - Raven)" – 8:14
"Ravine" – 2:05
"The Light Dies Down on Broadway" – 3:32
"Riding the Scree" – 3:56
"In the Rapids" – 2:24
"It" – 4:58

LINE-UP:

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