The Lamb Lies Down

Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974) {2CD Virgin Japan Mini LP, SHM-CD, VJCP-98019-20 rel 2013}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 620 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 223 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 628 Mb | 5% repair rar | SHM-CD | Mini LP
© 1974, 2013 Virgin Records Ltd. / USM Japan | VJCP-98019/20
Rock / Art Rock / Prog-Rock

One of rock's more elaborate, beguiling and strangely rewarding concept albums, this double-vinyl classic stars the ever-theatrical Peter Gabriel as Rael, a Puerto Rican street punk who descends into the New York underground to experience a series of surreal adventures. ("It seemed that prancing around in fairyland was rapidly becoming obsolete," Gabriel explained to his biographer.) Bassist Mike Rutherford, however, wanted to base the band's last album with Gabriel, who'd announced his intention to leave Genesis, on Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince.

What happens when you take a master of progressive rock and an accomplished Nashville producer engineer, and put them together with a host of top-flight Nashville session players to reinterpret one of the most revered 70s prog double-albums? In the case of Spock s Beard drummer Nick D'Virgilio and producer engineer Mark Hornsby, you get Rewiring Genesis A Tribute To The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, and it's fantastic. While the original featured layers of classic synthesizers (ARP, Mellotron, etc.), there's none of that fake string or choir stuff going on here. Besides rock guitar, bass, and Nick's great drumming (and tasteful lead vocal work), The Lamb is filled with real strings, huge vocal arrangements, horn sections, and even some accordion! Clearly, it's not attempting to simply re-record the classic, it's a fresh and beautiful sounding reinterpretation.

Given all the overt literary references of Selling England by the Pound, along with their taste for epic suites such as "Supper's Ready," it was only a matter of time before Genesis attempted a full-fledged concept album, and 1974's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was a massive rock opera: the winding, wielding story of a Puerto Rican hustler name Rael making his way in New York City. Peter Gabriel made some tentative moves toward developing this story into a movie with William Friedkin but it never took off, perhaps it's just as well; even with the lengthy libretto included with the album, the story never makes sense…

Given all the overt literary references of Selling England by the Pound, along with their taste for epic suites such as "Supper's Ready," it was only a matter of time before Genesis attempted a full-fledged concept album, and 1974's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was a massive rock opera: the winding, wielding story of a Puerto Rican hustler name Rael making his way in New York City. Peter Gabriel made some tentative moves toward developing this story into a movie with William Friedkin but it never took off, perhaps it's just as well; even with the lengthy libretto included with the album, the story never makes sense. But just because the story is rather impenetrable doesn't mean that the album is as well, because it is a forceful, imaginative piece of work that showcases the original Genesis lineup at a peak…