Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
“Don’t look at me I’m not your kind, I’m Rael”
OK Let me start by saying this is my favourite Genesis album and it is my second favourite record of all time behind Quadrophenia by The Who and ahead of Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space by Spiritualized.
The Selling England tour lasted 8 months from September 1973 through May 6 1974 and actually had two slightly different stage sets and setlists. The first set of shows was in Europe, US, and Canada and became known as the White Show. The second half of the tour from March to May 1974 is referred to as The Black Show due to more elaborate stage set up, black curtains and black painted gear and accessories all of which allowed for a much more dramatic lighting effects and screen projections. It is the beginning of a change to their live shows that became more and more focused on lighting and visual effects throughout the remainder of their career (costumes aside).
A month after returning home from the tour the band set aside 3 months to work on the follow up to Selling England. They moved into Headley Grange which they were under the impression was a beautiful place in the country to escape to, however it ended up being a rat-infested shit hole. They had decided ahead of time that they wanted to do a double album and Peter presented the concept of a New York City punk named Rael who ends up on a Pilgrim’s Progress type journey of self-discovery, after rejecting Rutherford’s suggestion of a concept based on The Little Prince. Somewhere along the way he has sex with a lizard like creature, gets an STD and his penis is cut off before being stolen by a Raven and dropped in a river. The band eventually agreed to the somewhat surreal Rael story, however Peter insisted on writing all the lyrics which was not how they had functioned to that point. In particular Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks had contributed a great deal to the lyrics on previous records. So reluctantly the four musicians worked in one room on music while Peter would work in a different room on the lyrics, which caused some friction within the band. You can read the full story on the inside of the Lamb album. It may or may not help.
Then to throw a possessed child into the mix, part way through writing, film producer William Friedkin (director of The Exorcist) invited Peter to work on a screenplay. Peter left for a week and the band were uncertain whether he would even return. This arrangement likely contributed to their confidence they could continue without him…if that should ever come to pass…which it did…sooner than expected. So, they continued writing and Gabriel returned after the film project fell flat. Adding to the difficulties was the fact that Steve and Peter were both married. Steve had a young son and was going through a divorce from his first wife and Peter’s wife was pregnant with their first child. In late July Peter’s wife Jill gave birth to Anna-Marie but it was a very difficult labour and required an incubator for the first few weeks. The band was focused on getting the album written and Peter was focused on whether his daughter would survive, something that the rest of the band couldn’t relate to and have all admitted in hindsight, were not particularly sensitive to or sympathetic of the situation he was dealing with. They were recording the album in Wales and Peter was driving back and for from London to deal with serious real-life issues. All of this led to increased tensions within the band and made Gabriel realize his time with the band was done.
The album was completed in a frenzy of mixing for the November 1974 release date which saw the band start their tour in Chicago on November 20…the album wouldn’t be released in the US until two days after the tour started. But what an album it was…and is. Four sides of pure musical perfection executed by musicians in the prime of their creativity, writing and recording music as a masterful unit. I’ve thought about trying to describe this album song by song as I’ve done with previous posts, but I think it is too much to try to tackle and I have a limited number of adjectives and adverbs in my lexicon. I will say this…It is not an easy album to become familiar with. It takes a lot of time and attention. You really need put on a good pair of cans, close your eyes and pay attention to how the story and the songs unfold. Most of them merge into one another, some are short connecting pieces (such as Hairless Heart, The Supernatural Anaesthetist, Ravine) and others are longer more complex compositions (In The Cage, The Lamia, The Colony Of Slippermen). Some songs are shorter but work as a collective unit such as Fly On A Windshield/Broadway Melody of 1974/Cuckoo Cocoon. Some songs stand-alone such as Back In N.Y.C, The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging, The Chamber Of 32 Doors. The one thing that is consistent though, is that every single song is indispensable. Even stretched out over 2 records and 94 minutes nothing is wasted. Nothing overstays its welcome or need, and nothing sounds superfluous. Everything is executed with awe inspiring ability – it is highly creative in the soundscapes produced and instruments utilized. It is a musical journey that flows from beginning to end and there is not another album out there that sounds anything like it. I’ll stop there and just say if you have never heard it – take 90 minutes at some point and listen…then listen again and again till it all sinks in. The story can be hard to follow and is a bit of a metaphysical beast to try to grasp…but the lyrics and vocals are sung incredibly and are highly enjoyable to sing along to…even if they may be cloaked in obscurity in places. Because of the story telling nature of the album, it is also one that is hard for songs to stand alone easily, which is why the band only played a few songs and song sections on subsequent tours. I will point out one song in particular though, which is The Carpet Crawlers. This is my favourite Genesis song. It is a beautifully constructed song that starts gentle and just builds and builds with every verse – adding instruments and tempo adjustments as it progresses but very subtly. Also, I have no idea how the bass was produced on this song, but it is incredible in tone and poetry in sound – it is almost like another vocal. The band would actually end up recording a brand-new version of the song titled The Carpet Crawlers 1999 for their “Turn It On Again: The Hits” album. To date it is the last studio recording by Genesis and featured Hackett, Banks, Rutherford, Collins and Gabriel with vocals by both singers. The last verse was planned for Ray Wilson to sing but for some reason it didn’t happen and was dropped from this version of the song. Absent porcelain mannequins aside it is a pretty awesome version of the song. One other interesting thing to note is that two of the songs on The Lamb were ideas that dated back to the earliest days of the band. Anyway developed from the song “Frustration” and Lilywhite Lilith” from “The Light”. One other piece of music I want to point out is the Dark/Light transition in The Waiting Room. I absolutely love the shift from chaotic breaking glass sounds to the galloping guitar sound that emerges like a slow motion shot of a horse riding toward the camera through the mist in some weird Lord Of The Rings type scene that I play out in my mind. It is one of my favourite moments in any Genesis song. Phil Collins has a solo vocal spot on this album as well which is Here Comes The Supernatural Anaesthetist. He does a great job again with a double vocal self-harmony even if it is only a couple of lines. Oh one other little tidbit I realized while listening recently – there are two songs in the Genesis discography I’m aware of that reference the title of a different song in their lyrics. One is Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats which is a line from The Lamia and the title of the instrumental that follows it.. The other is Paperlate which would become the title of a song 9 years after it was spoken in Dancing With The Moonlit Knight (I know he says “Paper Late” but you get what I mean). The others that I’ve forgotten will undoubtably be pointed out by fans.
The Lamb tour proved to be highly ambitious utilizing three screens and 1450 slides from 8 projectors that required perfect timing with the music (it seldom was). Gabriel created new costumes to act out the story including Rael, The Lamia and The Slippermen – a costume which was so challenging to work with that it was almost impossible for him get the mic close enough to his mouth to be heard. Smoke Bombs and light flashes also added to the production. The tour lasted 104 dates across North America and Europe with the band performing the entire double album in its entirety and only 1 or 2 older songs as encores. Early into the tour (November 25 or 26 in Cleveland Ohio to be specific) Gabriel announced to the band that he would be leaving the group following its completion. They agreed to keep the news secret and the tour ended May 22 1975 in Besancon France. News of Gabriel’s departure found its way into the public domain in August at which point he wrote a personal statement for the English press to confirm his departure and explain his reasons for leaving.
The Lamb show itself has been heralded as one of the most spectacular ever executed to that point. Unfortunately, the band decided not to do a proper video recording of any of the shows, so a high-quality version doesn’t exist. There are some fan compiled videos that do a pretty good job of capturing the majority of the show, some of it being of pretty dodgy quality, but in the end it is all there is at this point. There are some great live recordings floating around though. A full live show from Jan 24 195 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles was released in 1998 as part of the Genesis 1967-1975 box set though it does have some rerecorded vocals and guitar parts, and the final song “It” is a completely remixed studio version. The flipside of the Carpet Crawlers single used a live version of The Waiting Room from this show as well.
I think I’ve sort of explained why this album is my favourite Genesis album. I’m not exactly sure how to articulate why. I think it is due to many reasons. The story is kind of weird and convoluted but it does have a flow…the music is cinematic and challenging and delicate and aggressive. It is played so so well. It has greatness from its epic songs and tiniest moments. It has subtlety and even the smallest parts have impact. I hear things all the time I’ve never heard before and I’m constantly amazed that the songs no one but fans know (which I guess is most of them) are as blissfully amazing as the iconic numbers from other albums. I love that The Waiting room is so strange and then evolves into a thing of beauty. I love that songs like Hairless Heart at 2:13 exists and wish it was longer but I’m ok that it isn’t. I love that even after 90 minutes into the album there is something as beautiful as In The Rapids which is easy to overlook but shouldn’t be. I love that I can listen to The Carpet Crawlers on repeat and never tire of it. I love Broadway Melody of 1974 and I Love Back In New York City. I love that I barely understand it after all these years, yet I keep going back for more. That’s why I love The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway plus a hundred other reasons.
Recommended Listening – Fly On A Windshield, Broadway Melody of 1974, Cuckoo Cocoon, In The Cage, Back In N.Y.C., The Carpet Crawlers, The Chamber of 32 Doors, Lilywhite Lilith, Anyway, The Lamia, The Colony Of Slippermen, Riding The Scree, In The Rapids
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