The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis, from 1974.

A double LP, a rock opera, the band's last work with Peter Gabriel on vocals. A masterpiece, not well received by critics at the time but rightly re-evaluated over time. I consider it one of the 50 essential albums of prog music in general.

A lot has been said about this album, practically everything; I'll limit myself to a few anecdotes and my impressions.

The songs tell a story conceived and written by Peter Gabriel, which is reproduced in full on the inside cover. Gabriel also wrote all the lyrics except one: "The Light Dies Down on Broadway," written by Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks. The protagonist of the story is the Legendary Rael (derived from the surname "Gabriel") and is an anagram of "real." Gabriel himself suggested in the story's prologue that he's using the character as his alter ego, and in several interviews he's explained how the story is a device to give form to themes that concern his inner self.

This album contains tracks that have become part of the story, practically all of them. I've started making a list, but I haven't excluded any.

Full lineup and Brian Eno on effects for "In the Cage" and "The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging."

An era had ended, with a masterpiece. It couldn't have been otherwise for that lineup, an album released just a year after Selling England by the Pound and after a production that saw them release one studio masterpiece a year since 1969 (some say since 1970). Many of us are still "orphaned" by Gabriel, myself included, and I believe this is the reason.

The subsequent albums, with the lineup undergoing further changes and departures, are something different. Personally, I love A Trick of the Tail in its entirety, Wind & Wuthering, and ...And Then There Were Three... for some songs, from "Duke" onward, there are some peaks of excellent pop-rock (with sporadic prog sounds and reminiscences that fade with each album) played by fantastic musicians, therefore of the highest caliber, but nothing comparable to their previous works, even if the greatest popular success was achieved in this second phase of the band's musical life, so little can be said about the band's longevity and undisputed artistic ability.

Genesis's influences and the splendid solo work of all the band members will remain in history. Some of them decided to remain fully committed to prog, first and foremost Steve Hackett, while others pursued solo careers in other areas of the musical spectrum: Peter Gabriel moved towards art rock and world music, and Phil Collins towards pop and soft rock, to name the most productive, the latter achieving resounding success.

This album isn't recommended, it's just worth listening to.

If you haven't heard it yet (1), you're either not a fan of prog (2), or you're not a Genesis fan (3), or you're young and unfamiliar with this genre and this band of "oldies." In these last three cases, I recommend giving it a listen; you'll be amazed, to say the least.