Have heard a number of people over the years refer to the Lamb story as too bizarre and mostly hogwash. I've researched the lyrics thoroughly and feel that as rock operas go, this is by far the most brilliant. A spiritual journey where the protagonist starts out as a street punk and finally achieves the "it", a term from Zen Buddhism, I believe, that refers to the transpersonal self. Tommy, Quadraphenia, the Wall and others, have nothing on Gabriel and this ingenious concept told through all kinds of metaphors from religion and mythology that I'm not going to pretend to fully understand, but much of it is decipherable, despite what many people say about it being a lot of nonsense.
I don't believe Gabriel ever really wastes words with his lyrics. There's not a lot of filler here. Almost every lyric is necessary to get to the over-arching meaning he wants to convey. Though the second album has some weak moments musically, or seems to get too drawn out, the lyrics don't fail and continue to tell of maybe the greatest obstacle in Rael's spiritual evolution, his shedding of his physical (or "earthly") urges, his sexual perversions, as told through the Lamia and the Slippermen. Awesome.
I am always interested in more insight on the Lamb if anyone would like to weigh in. Most of what I've learned was from members on an old forum years ago.