TotW 05/15/2023 - 05/21/2023: GENESIS - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

1st Official Post
    • Official Post

    Your rating for "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" by GENESIS 34

    1. 15 points - outstanding (17) 50%
    2. 14 points - very good (7) 21%
    3. 13 points - very good - (5) 15%
    4. 12 points - good + (3) 9%
    5. 11 points - good (1) 3%
    6. 10 points - good - (0) 0%
    7. 09 points - satisfactory + (1) 3%
    8. 08 points - satisfactory (0) 0%
    9. 07 points - satisfactory- (0) 0%
    10. 06 points - sufficient + (0) 0%
    11. 05 points - sufficient (0) 0%
    12. 04 points - sufficient - (0) 0%
    13. 03 points - poor + (0) 0%
    14. 02 points - poor (0) 0%
    15. 01 points - poor - (0) 0%
    16. 00 points - abysmal (0) 0%

    GENESIS - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

    Year: 1974

    Album: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway [album review]

    Working title: unknown

    Credits: Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett, Rutherford

    Lyrics: Yes

    Length: 4:52

    Musicians: Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford

    Played Live: 1974/1975/1976/1977/1978/1981/1982/1983/1992/1998/2021/2022

    Cover versions: tba


    Notes: The title track of the band's most ambitious album is comparatively short. Tony's cross keyboard playing is striking, as is Peter's spoken word vocals, which make one thing clear right away: This is something other than Selling England.


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    We invite you to share interesting facts and tidbits about this track. Let's look at the track in the context of the band's / the artist's history, at the music, the songwriting and all other aspects that are relevant for this track. Please do stick to the discussion of the track above. Comparisons to other tracks are okay, but remember that the other track you may be keen to talk about has or will have its own Track Of The Week thread.

    If you spot a mistake or if you can close a gap in the fact sheet above please feel free to contact martinus or Christian about it; we will gladly add and improve!

    (Which bit counts as spoken word?)


    In addition to the above notes on piano and vocal I'd add in the crunchy growling bass which I love and is among my favourite of Rutherford's work. I've heard others say that's something they don't like! Always interesting how fans differ - eg I'll never understand the preference some have for the lighter, skippier Seconds Out version which I find too fey and way inferior to the chunky slightly menacing original.


    I also like the vocal harmonies on the title phrase, and the solid drumming. Hackett seems distant on this track but his characteristic subtle touch is there in the mid section.


    I suppose you could say this track gives the album a much better opening than the ending. Its 'looming' feel seems to preface the arrival of the huge cloud soon to engulf Rael and start his strange adventure. It's a nice scene-setter, giving us a picture of NYC into which the protagonist steps and we immediately get a sense of who he is with his spraypaint can. Whereas it leaves us hanging somewhat.


    I like that it was such a frequent feature of their live set and was surprised and pleased with the 'lounge' version on the final tour.


    Banks said it was the last song he and Gabriel sat down to write together. In that sense it marks the closing of the key partnership they established at school, so it was fitting it featured in the band's final outing.

    Abandon all reason

    Like 3


    Yes! The bass is amazing on this track.


    It's in my top 10 Genesis tracks, which is high praise indeed. 15/15.


    There's so much to say about this track I dont know where to start. But I think the one thing that leaps out is the POWER of this track. You can tell from track 1, this isn't the Genesis of SEBTP. The track immediately taps into the power and other-worldliness of the album. And it's not the weirdness of Unifauns and Chocolate Surprise.


    Plus, I've just come back from a brilliant week in NYC, so this is good timing!

    And echoing Backdrifter, I never really got the live version. Too light, too fast, and sometimes too funky.


    The album version is menacing, growling and gritty in the way they didn't seem to want to replicate live.


    Having said that, I'm very happy to say I got to see Peter perform this with Genesis at the reunion in 1982.

    I so much prefer the Seconds Out version. I got to know that version first and I was really disappointed from the studio version. The SO version is tight, rocky, fast, a real rock song; the studio version is dragging, lacking the tightness, and I never got into Peter's vocal part when he makes the "Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid" part.

    It’s a belter and proof, if needed, that Genesis could write well-formed short songs early on. The opening keyboard is portentous and the lyrics manage to bridge the gap between portraying a scene from everyday New York and the concept of a Lamb lying down for no obvious reason. It enables the story to get underway and is one of the best tunes on a great album. It also rocks, loudly, and has a nice middle section to act as contrast. Liked the version from the last tour but on Seconds Out I felt that the drumming (and I rate Chester very highly as a rule) tended to take some of the punch out of it. It was as if Phil’s tambourine kept the main beat and some fairly muffled drum rolls punctuated the gaps in vocals- whereas on the studio album the drums really drive it. Agree with comments about the bass, a reminder of what an outstanding rhythm section they had.I’ve mentioned it before but the little drum riff just ahead of ‘Nightime’s flyers…’ is very clever and stuck in Phil’s memory enough to adapt it for the Band Aid single.

    Quote from Thelawnmower

    Liked the version from the last tour but on Seconds Out I felt that the drumming (and I rate Chester very highly as a rule) tended to take some of the punch out of it. It was as if Phil’s tambourine kept the main beat and some fairly muffled drum rolls punctuated the gaps in vocals- whereas on the studio album the drums really drive it.

    Well put. Yes that version is deprived of the original's punch. Plus I don't think his vocals had matured enough yet and touches like his "sleeping CHEAP-ly" make the whole thing too light and a bit fluffy. But it made sense to go for a different feel and it clearly works for many others. I liked the 1982 version, but that was generally a point where their live renditions of 70s stuff was at a peak. I must revisit the 81 version too.

    Abandon all reason

    Like 1

    I think the Seconds Out version suffers from DH's propensity as a producer to take all the sharp edges off. The whole album (Seconds Out) sounds to me like it was recorded in a giant empty room, rather than a full arena.

    Quote from MoonlitKnight

    The whole album (Seconds Out) sounds to me like it was recorded in a giant empty room, rather than a full arena.

    And as I think you and I said before, there's that ludicrous opening sound of people chatting - terrible start to a live album. Did the crowd have to duplicate that on the Hackett SO tour?!


    What do we think of the Archive 1 Lamb show version? Obviously there's the vocal overdub to bear in mind. It bothers me a little that the 'lamb' of "And the lamb...." lead line is so much shorter than on the album. Anyone know of any other good recordings of it from the Lamb tour?

    Abandon all reason

    Like 1

    I’ve always thought the sound of SO was disappointing, too polished, and frankly a bit bland. But the half speed vinyl version is much better to my ears, beefier and a bit more focus

    on guitar. The Lamb sounds better but still lacks the bite of the studio version. I’ll have a listen to those other versions.

    Quote from Thelawnmower

    I’ve always thought the sound of SO was disappointing, too polished, and frankly a bit bland. But the half speed vinyl version is much better to my ears, beefier and a bit more focus

    on guitar. The Lamb sounds better but still lacks the bite of the studio version. I’ll have a listen to those other versions.

    Personally I think the sound works for some tracks (CS, DOAV, SR etc) and not for others (Lamb, Squonk, Afterglow).


    But then with those latter songs, I always preferred the studio versions anyway. I think those 3 songs are examples of tracks which had a magic element to them on the album, which they didn't manage or choose to recreate live.


    So my gripe is probably more about the live feel, than the SO production itself

    Quote from Backdrifter

    And as I think you and I said before, there's that ludicrous opening sound of people chatting - terrible start to a live album. Did the crowd have to duplicate that on the Hackett SO tour?!


    What do we think of the Archive 1 Lamb show version? Obviously there's the vocal overdub to bear in mind. It bothers me a little that the 'lamb' of "And the lamb...." lead line is so much shorter than on the album. Anyone know of any other good recordings of it from the Lamb tour?

    I wonder what folks think of the rearranged version they played on the 1982 tour as an encore that transitioned directly into Watcher of the Skies? Personally I liked it, but I know the rearranged jazz-rock intro and outro to The Lamb may be off-putting to some.

    Good tune I've often overlooked, probably for familiarity. I've always liked the faint buzzing noise at the start that sounds like part of the waiting room trying to break through. Sets an uneasy tone.


    Can't ask for a much better opener for the album in terms of introducing the world. Can't say any more any better than the numerous, well-articulated comments above.


    14.

    Quote from thewatcher

    Good tune I've often overlooked, probably for familiarity. I've always liked the faint buzzing noise at the start that sounds like part of the waiting room trying to break through. Sets an uneasy tone.

    I've been wondering if this was some of Brian Eno's contributions. I've been reading somewhere (no memory where I got it from) that Peter and Brian Eno were trying some experiments, one of which was Tony's piano intro turned into sheer noise; according to the source Tony was very not amused of this. So I wondered if these humming sounds were the leftovers of this. The 2008 remasters have these noises removed, instead the piano starts without a fade-in. Maybe Tony finally got his will on this.