THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY

(A PERFECT ALBUM)

So here's yet another review of one of the key staples of the progressive movement, but nevertheless I feel compelled to review this truly essential work. "The Lamb..." is a pure concept ablum, in fact it is more of a rock opera. Having listened to most of Genesis' other works before this one I eagerly awaited the long bus ride home to listen to this one. My first impressions were that this was much more 'electronic' sounding as compared to earlier works such as "SEBTP" or "Foxtrot". In fact those first few listens were greatly disappointing, but certain tracks caught my ears so I continued to listen, thankfully. This is definitely a hard collection of music to get used to and I would never suggest this as a first listen for those wanting to embark onto the world of Genesis.

After nearly 12 years of listening to this album I'm still enthralled beyond that of any other. The story concept is somewhat difficult and abstract to grasp especially when trying to decipher from listening only (note: I generally only care about lyrics and such after about 50-60 listens). The first CD (I'll call it Act 1) runs nearly continuously giving the feeling of an epic with 11 movements and an astonishing epic it is. This opening concerns with the main hero, Rael, being submerged into a sort of crystalized world, during this initiation he is generally rendered immobile and reflects upon his somewhat tormented past all the while he is coming to grips with the reality that is set before him. I still marvel at the depth at which the pieces are played and how 'full out' the band seems to be going the whole time. This opening is highly charged and difficult but extremely rewarding if you give it a chance there is not a weak point the whole way through. Act 1 ends sublimely with Rael having an opportunity to escape this surreal prison, so to speak.

The second CD (Act 2) starts out like the first, that being with the heavy charged upbeat 'Lilywhite Lillith' but as the hero Rael escapes the prison he is brought to an even more surreal world whereby the worthiness of his character is brought to the test. The story becomes quite abstract here and I will not comment to much from here on in. Musically Act 2 is much harder to aquire a taste for. "The Waiting Room," is somewhat avante-garde to start with and leads into a wonderfully powerful riff. Seeing this live proved this song to be even more hauntingly powerful than on CD, with the various sounds resonating throughout the entire music hall and through the body, quite an experience. From there we go to the quircky "Supernatural Anaesthetist" which although very short is also equally very timeless. The core of Act 2 is Rael's dealings with the Colony of Slippermen and the Lamia which spans 7 tracks. Again I'll reiterate that upon listening to this the first 10 times or so I did not find much here, but as time wore on I've come to find this perhaps the highlight of "The Lamb.." Having escaped the Colony, not without enduring some farily horrific experiences (e.g. castration) Rael comes to a point where he is given the opportunity to save himself and escape back to NYC or save his brother John. Amidst this part is the wonderfully crafted keyboard solo by Tony Banks on "Riding the Scree". At this point of the concept the music and story seem to wain a bit, however this is not enough to sway me from giving this effort top marks.

Overall this is my FAVOURITE of musical works spanning any genre of music (including styles outside of prog). It is unfortunate that Gabriel left after this album as it was here that Genesis was starting to leave all other bands in the dust, including the masters Yes and Pink Floyd. If you are into progressive music at all, this album is absolutely essential.

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