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

Quote from thewatcher

😆 I'm picturing Tony maxing out his stone-face as he listens to the noise, and Peter and Eno backing slowly away.

Banks was certainly sniffy about Eno's contributions, and is reported as having irritably reacted to his being credited when "he just twiddled a few knobs" but PG & PC insisted he be acknowledged.

Good point re the fly-like 'buzzing' over the piano intro, I've always noticed it but never wondered any further about it other than idly thinking it might be a guitar effect. The idea the piano would morph into noise is amusing.

This is one of my favourite tracks. It has a lot of complexity in the chords and Tony's double-hand playing, and yet at the same time is very catchy. I have spent a lot of time trying to learn the keyboard part and I still marvel and Tony's ingenuity. Mike's bassline is almost a lead riff for the song. Phil's drumming and harmony vocals are great. Although Steve's presence is harder to hear, he adds a softer texture amongst a lot of harder edges. And while Peter's vocals don't make me think of Puerto Ricans in the slightest, he does inhabit a particular attitude right from the get-go that establishes Rael's character and enlivens this song.

Although I almost always prefer live versions of Genesis songs (more power, more integration), this is one of the few that I prefer the studio version. As others have mentioned, the studio version is more aggressive and has more sharp edges. The Seconds Out version is sped up and light. The versions/snippets from the early 80s and also the Old Medley were better at recapturing the original spirit. The version from Archive 1 is closer to the album, but like all versions, suffers from the lack of an acoustic piano to start it off.

14 from me

What a great album opener this is!

13. Very strong track! But there are a few better ones on that album so 13 is a appropriate rating imo

I love the album, but the title-track itself for me is only sufficient +. I prefer the "Light dies down" version...

Going to see the Musical Box next week when they'll perform it live in its entirety. My 5th time seeing them and in 5 different cities: Baltimore, Laval, Houston, San Francisco and Halifax.