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THE REVIEW
I love to call it “Music-All”: a watershed between a rock opera (some would say concept album) and a musical to be performed on a Broadway stage.
Music-All, all the music there is. The genesis of a masterpiece. The end of an unrepeatable lineup. The journey of a Puerto Rican from the slums in a dangerously fascinating and incentivizing New York for every man in search of his dimension.
The document with which Gabriel officially declares the journey (genetically precluded from repatriation) of Genesis over, striving to rekindle the sparkle depicted by the group in order to then bury it without the danger of having to face any bitter legacies.
Peter’s mind already multitasking. The music almost entirely crafted from Banks’ piano arrangements (the album’s intro, the title track, will remain for eternity, amen) and the sweet notes given by the bass caressed by Rutherford. Phil Collins' genius limited to the use of drums and percussion, where his personality fully unfolds in open contrast with Gabriel.
A story whispered with intelligent metaphors and sweet melodies contained in lyrics of purest breed.
An hour and a half accompanying young Rael on the journey through the Big Apple. "Enossification" of the great Brian Eno in The Waiting Room with his typical signature of the airplane fluttering.
The story is divided into twenty-three chapters, split over two CDs of approximately the same length, that must be listened to in one go without fail. Beware not to do so, carefully avoid listening to it partially or in fragments: it would be pointless as well as harmful for you (you would deprive yourselves of the delight of the eurythmy with which it was conceived) and disrespectful to the Opera.
Remember that the meaning of a beautiful creation lies at least as much in the soul of the beholder as in the soul of the creator (who said that?).
Catapulted to Manhattan by Gabriel's rigorously rhymed lyrics (who did not want any assistance in writing them, to keep the reconstruction of the singer's state of mind within the story tangible), surrounded by six-string tapestries illuminated by Steve Hackett, we retrace backwards the stages of Genesis’ life, an evolution that I find divinely encapsulated within the phrase: “The un-paid extras disturb the sleeping Broadway. WALK to the left, DON’T WALK to the right: on Broadway directions don’t look so bright.”
Gabriel, by then barely tolerated by the band exasperated by his charm and protagonism, gifts the last breath of life of one of the most important progressive rock bands. After this album, which does not admit of perfectibility, Genesis no longer existed. Should you not like this album, I recommend consulting a good doctor for an otoscopy. WALK to the left, DON’T WALK to the right: on Broadway directions don’t look so bright.
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Summary by Bot
This review praises Genesis' 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' as a groundbreaking concept album and rock opera. It highlights the album's intricate musical arrangements, poetic lyrics, and the intense storytelling that follows the protagonist Rael in New York City. The review stresses the importance of listening to the album in its entirety to appreciate its full artistic value. It also reflects on the album as the final masterpiece of the classic Genesis lineup before their evolution.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Genesis
English rock band formed in 1967, celebrated for landmark early-1970s progressive albums (Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, The Lamb) and a later, more pop-oriented phase led commercially by Phil Collins.116 Reviews
Other reviews
By Mariaelena
"This double album is astonishingly difficult, progressively dilatable and becomes unique because it is full of merits, flaws and double meanings both for the lyrics and the music."
"Rael and John dissolve because maturity will have been reached due to a fundamental choice transforming them into a single complete man... You are free to interpret, and this is what Peter Gabriel wanted to convey to us."
By Old King Cole
"The Lamb is something more... too varied, containing too many different elements to be classified in a genre that is undoubtedly open but still has boundaries that delimit it."
"The main instrument in 'The Lamb' is [Peter Gabriel's] voice, which finally reaches its peak of technique and, above all, of expressiveness."
By STIPE
"Gabriel was Genesis and Genesis was Gabriel."
"A courageous work, completely different from their discography and also the last one by Gabriel with his old companions."
By paolofreddie
The album ranks among the most interesting in progressive and rock music in general.
The Lamb is one of the most complex and difficult to analyze albums in the history of prog and that is what enhances its intriguing nature.
By EverardBereguad
"The result was a carpet of 'pure anxiety' on which all the songs were built."
"It is a mistake to look for what Genesis had to say with this album in the moral of the story or the meaning of the lyrics."
