REWIRING GENESIS - A TRIBUTE TO THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY

What I am about to say is perhaps high heresy to prog purists, but I'll go ahead and say it anyway: this is better than the original. While I am a huge Genesis fan, I could never really get into the Lamb. It always just seemed sort of dry and not nearly as interesting as Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot or Selling England by the Pound.

Anyway, I heard a clip of the title track on this and figured I'd pick it up. Let me say, it is phenomenal. Nick D'Virgilio of Spock's Beard and Mark Hornsby, who I must confess I am not familiar with, have outdone themselves on this one. All the tracks seem to come alive in a way that they never did on the original, due in part to (I believe) a full horn and string section. The production is crystal clear (another problem I had with the original), and many songs have a slightly jazzier edge than in the original. Don't let that put you off though; there are no drastic re-imaginings here; everything just seems to "pop" a little more.

The other big difference is the vocals. Peter Gabriel was a stellar vocalist; one of the best, and I won't just come out and say that I prefer the vocals here. However, Nick is more than up to the task of singing the lead role here, and many songs have additional harmonies that weren't easily heard in the original that are beautifully brought out here. Especially of note are songs like The Lamia and The Colony of Slippermen, where additional vocalists sing the different parts. This small touch gives the piece a much more theatrical feel.

Overall, an absolutely stellar interpretation of a great album and the best version I've heard.

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