G e n e s i s
THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY
(1974)
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Disc 1 (http://www.megaupload.com/de/?d=43QWMDFJ) Disc 2 (http://www.megaupload.com/de/?d=40RN7PQ4)
"Progressive rock" is the term that is so often and much associated with the magnum opus of early Genesis leader Peter Gabriel. Back when the now so illustrious Phil Collins was "only" the band´s drummer and its fan community was of almost diminutive size compared to a few years later, the five men pioneered rock music with both a knack for beautiful melodies and a will to expirement boldly.
The arguably most important record of this era is the quadruple-LP epic "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". The record is a tale from the streets of New York City, revolving around the struggles of young Puerto Rican immigrant Rael who tries to keep his head above water in this urban jungle. Gabriel´s artful narrative portrays more than just the main character of the story; the often surreal and at times slightly confusing lyrics, mostly written from a first-person perspective, contain references to typical 1970´s issues that are quite often satirical and more ambiguous than one notices at first glance.
Yet, the story of protagonist Rael, who, trying to save his brother, gets tangled up in a bizzarre underground realm, remains the focus of the album, as it keeps heading for its dramatic closure throughout an overall playing time of more than 95 minutes. The metaphorical proportions of many songs are enourmous though; while the title track and opener makes an almost pompous musical appearance and does not yet reveal much about the entire album´s soundscape, it is even the more defining for its lyrics. Gabriel´s writing - he insisted on doing it all himself - is a poetical depiction of New York city and an individual´s life, often dwelling in the surreal: The first track actually describes a lamb lying down on Broadway:
And out on the subway,
Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid
Exits into daylight, spraygun hid,
And the lamb lies down...on Broadway
The lamb seems right out of place,
Yet the Broadway street scene finds a focus in its face.
Somehow it's lying there,
Brings a stillness to the air.
Though man-made light, at night is very bright,
There's no whitewash victim,
As the neons dim, to the coat of white.
It has to be said that, despite being mainly Peter Gabriel´s project, "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" brillantly showcases the talent of his fellow band members Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins and Steve Hackett. The compositions were indeed done with little participation from Gabriel, whose focus lay almost completely on the lyrics. This seperation didn´t do the band any good; shortly after the album, Gabriel left Genesis to pursue his own creative vision. The band lost many long-time fans, but with their - much more convential and mainstreamish - new sound, they found many more new ones than they´d ever had.
What Gabriel had left behind to this day stands as maybe the most important monument of what is referred to as "progressive rock". Its expensive live show - too expensive as it would turn out - is legendary among the band´s fans. Despite limited commercial success and receiving mixed critics at first, "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" is a gem in the treasure chest of pop history, a musical microcosm that reveals more and more about itself with every listen, complex and beautiful at the same time.
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