THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY

For me, Gabriel-era Genesis were at their absolute best when they were singing about English drawing rooms, delicate music boxes, and medieval moonlit knights; and adapting poetry by Keats to song. I suppose one's appreciation for The Lamb Lies Down depends on whether one can accept Gabriel's lyrics and Genesis' sonic palette (flute, mellotron, nylon string guitar, and keys approximating a harpsichord) used to further a tale about a Puerto Rican New York gang member's experience while walking down Broadway. Personally, I find it absolutely preposterous! When I want gritty NYC 70s vibes, I don't reach for Genesis; instead, I reach for the Velvet Underground and Lou Reed, the Ramones and perhaps certain urban jazz and fusion works. Imagine if Scorsese tapped Genesis to score Taxi Driver; it would've been an unmitigated disaster! See what I mean?

Having said that, there are some decent tunes here that wouldn't have sounded out of place on Selling England by the Pound; namely, Anyway, Fly on a Windshield/Broadway Melody of 1974, and especially The Carpet Crawlers. The Chamber of 32 Doors and The Lamia also are decent songs. For me, this is a cut-and-paste album where I savor my favorites, but don't really listen all that much to the rest. I suppose if it were a single album, I'd feel differently. But in my opinion, the place to start with Genesis is the previous three albums, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, and Selling England by the Pound (their crowning achievement). This one's just never made much sense to me...