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

This is an album arranged primarily by Spock's Beard drummer (and now singer as well) Nick D'Virgilio. Nick is undeniably an incredible musician with true skills. Few people can make a band like Spock's Beard still produce good album after the departure of their frontman, Neal Morse. So, naturally, I was very excited to hear that he and Mark Hornsby were teaming up to do a different take on one of my favorite albums of all time.

If you are expecting just a modernized version of The Lamb, you are very, very wrong. They made a more jazz/rock fusion version, substituting guitars for trumpets, and synthesizers for strings. And they generally pull it off exceptionally well. As a huge Genesis fan, you would think I might find this to be sacrilegious, and at sometimes I do, but you must realize these guys weren't trying to sound like the original. The wanted to make a jazz rock version of The Lamb, and they do it very well.

The only knocks I can give this remake is that the music occasionally sounds very bare bones. There are some times where it's simply drums, bass, and an instrument soloing. At these times I wish they would have some chords in the background to add some depth to the music. This only happens a few times in the album, but it still is ultimately a problem. I love Nick D'Virgilio's voice. He can sing with such power and emotion, but sometimes he sings a little too whiny for me. Again, this is fairly infrequent, but both of these flaws are ultimately present.

Aside from that, this is perfect. I love the solo in "In the Cage" and the way they alternate an orchestra and trumpet. At some times the arrangements are better than the original. Anyone who has a problem with the recording quality of early Genesis recordings may want to also give this a try. The production quality is a vast improvement over the 1975 version. So if you want good production and a cool new take on a classic prog album, get this!

4/5 stars