THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY

Presenting Peter Gabriel's amazing backing band, here is "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway." This reviewer is sensitive to the approach of tragedy and can identify the first warnings of the '80s Genesis on this record, interestingly not perpetrated by everyone's favourite scapegoat...

The simple fact is that the music is much reduced from previous, more democratic Genesis albums, and dominated by Peter Gabriel's singular vision. If only it was a good one, eh? Here we have a muddled concept mired in lyrics which can be painfully vacant. I don't appreciate the way Hackett and company are kept on a leash, only allowed to really PLAY on the instrumentals "The Waiting Room" and "Riding the Scree" - Gabriel still interjects in the latter song but not enough to take the focus away from what Genesis were always so good at doing.

Some of the tracks are enjoyable and catchy - "The Lamia" is fairly luscious and enveloping, and progresses pleasantly with a melody that makes sense and a little playspace for Gabriel's bandmates. The main theme, repeated in a few ways, is of course quite showstopping. From here there is a precipitous drop in quality, as many songs seemingly exist only to further the convoluted Lamb plot. Frequently melodic but unfortunately predictable, Gabriel gets to sing his pick of the lead lines in a voice that gets gradually more irritating as the album unfolds, leaving solo spots few and far between. Sadly, some of these are not really capitalised on all that well - this, at least, is not Gabriel's fault - and meander, or worse, fail to sound new.

I understand that my fellow reviewers see fit to forgive these various tresspasses as the concept's the thing on "The Lamb", but I can't agree - to me, the music is always the most important element on a prog disc. I reward Genesis with the lowest mark possible, not because of the pretentiousness and uncalled-for expansiveness evident on the album, but because the music is unfulfilling and, following the exceptional "Selling England by the Pound", almost criminally disappointing.