THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY

well this album is somewhat overrated, I think. Not bad, but it should not be allowed near the top 10. It is by no means a masterpiece, and while it has some very good stuff, it is largely disapointing after the four previous albums.

Disc One is pretty good, as one disc it is a little less good than Selling England. It has lots of strong tracks, including the uplifting (if somewhat poppy) title track, Fly on a Windshield, which is an awesome Egyptian synth dirge, similar to Kashmir by Zep. In the Cage is another great one, listen to it on here if you want, classic dark Genesis. Back in NYC I guess you could call proto punk, because of the verse melody and lyrics, but it doesn't sound like punk to me very much. All in all, very good song, especially the chorus. Hairless Heart is a haunting, melancholy instrumental. Very good. Carpet Crawlers, everyone knows it is great, fantastic melody. Chamber of 32 doors is a nice song as well, combining sections of what sounds like Trespass-era Genesis, Beatles, and... America? Of one of those southern-esque American rock bands. Still, very good.

Now the duds of disc 1... Broadway melody of 1974 is the same little chord progression for 30 seconds, it's pleasant, but pointless, and should have been part of Fly on a Windshield. Cuckoo Cucoon is another somewhat pointless song which does little for me. It's pretty much just a catchy regular song, not quite pop. Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging isn't really a dud I guess, it's strange and catchy and I like it, but all these puny short songs ruin it for me. That was what I didn't like about the Wall. Give me somethig epic! Oh well. Counting Out Time is a terrible pop song in the style of I know What I Like. SKIP!

Disc Two fares less well with me. There are very few incredible tracks, while there were a handful on Disc One. it starts off with the semi-straight forward hard rock of Lilywhite Lilith, which is an enjoyable song.

The waiting room is terrible for the most part, but about 3 minutes in, if you could handle 3 minutes of pointless noisemaking, then some cool riffs come in, and it is kind of uplifting.

Anyway is an underrated little gem on here, it really reminds me of Trespass. Dark, and catchy, and great mellotron interludes. Good stuff.

Here comes the supernaturl anaesthetist... Starts off with a terrible poppy melody: Check. Overtly bright and poppy instrumental parts: Check. Pointless filler: Double check.

The Lamia is an alright song, if a little boring. The melodies are all alright, none are outstanding. The best part is this Zelda esque synth line Banks plays a couple of times. Kind of a sad, melancholic song, maybe too much so.

Silent Sorrow is cool and ambient, but too long. FILLER!

Slippermen starts off strangely, pointing to the world-music direction Gabriel would take in later years. The main verses are alright, but the goofy voices make me want to die. Most of the melodies are pretty good, really a fairly enjoyable track, but the subject matter kills it. Rael, the main character must be castrated to escape the Colony, and there is much innuendo and such. Bleah.

Ravine is the best filler I have ever heard. Haunting, dark, scary, original. That said, it is two minutes of the same thing over and over, therefore, Filler.

The light dies down is by far the best song on Disc 2. Kind of psychedelic, same great melodies from the first song of the album. Good song. Slower and more haunting as well.

Riding the Scree is alright, but is largely filler. Strange rhtyhm, which is kind of cool, but for the most part is pointless keyboard wankery, although parts are noteworthy. The lyrics and melody are nothing special, and the goofy voice here always makes me cringe.

In the rapids is an alright song, sounds like Gabriel solo to me though. Alright melodies, slow and pleasant. Alright track, nothing that special.

It is a somewhat disapointing ending to a somewhat disapointing album. Give me something epic guys! The only traces we had of epicness were on Disc One, and even they were few and far between. Anyway, It is not really a bad song, somewhat poppy for my tastes, but its alright I suppose. I think they should have made a suite to end the album, combining all these songs dealing with Rael struggling in the river.

So this could have been an alright album with just disc One, but Disc Two is largely filler or no goodness. Cut out all of the filler on both discs and you probably could have filled one LP full of amazing material. So this is a somewhat disapointing album from a great band, and it has great moments, but it also has the worst moments this band ever had (in the classic lineup). And the story isn't anything special either.

Highlights: Title Track, Fly on a Windshield, In the Cage, Back in NYC/Hairless Heart, Carpet Crawlers, Chamber of 32 doors, Anyway, Light dies down.

Lesser good songs: Grand Parade, Lilywhite Lilith, Lamia, Slippermen, In the Rapids, It

OK filler: Broadway melody 1974, Cuckoo Cucoon, Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats, Ravine, Riding the Scree.

Complete duds: Counting out time, Waiting Room, Supernatural Anaesthetist.

That said, 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.