Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)
Tony Banks - Keyboards
Phil Collins - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Peter Gabriel - Vocals, Flute, Oboe
Steve Hackett - Guitars
Mike Rutherford - Bass, Bass Pedals, 12-String Guitar
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Fly on a Windshield
Broadway Melody of 1974
Cuckoo Cocoon
In the Cage
The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging
Back in N. Y. C.
Hairless Heart
Counting Out Time
The Carpet Crawl
(U.S. title: The Carpet Crawlers)The Chamber of 32 Doors
Lilywhite Lilith
The Waiting Room
Anyway
Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist
(U.S. title: The Supernatural Anaesthetist)The Lamia
Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats
The Colony of Slippermen
The Arrival
A Visit to the Doktor
Raven
Ravine
The Light Dies Down on Broadway
Riding the Scree
In the Rapids
It. ----------
Genesis felt that they were ready to tackle a double LP concept album, something that few bands attempt. It is somewhat more common now, but in 1974 it was still very much a rarity. Yes had released
Tales from Topographic Oceans earlier that year, and The Who had released their
second concept album,
Quadrophenia, in 1973 (
Tommy of course was the first, and the archetype for all such albums), but that was about it. Pink Floyd's
The Wall was yet to come. Dream Theater's
Scenes from a Memory, and
Snow by Spock's Beard were still decades away.
They knew they wanted it to be a story, since they were good at telling stories and felt that the double album format would give them room to stretch out. They already were thinking in terms of standalone songs for major "scenes" in the story, with instrumentals and other shorter bits connecting things together. Mike had the idea of setting "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry to music, while Peter was thinking in terms of an original story. Those were the only two candidates, and eventually the band decided that an original story was the way to go. They also agreed that one person should write all the lyrics. This would give the story cohesion and a more consistent tone. Since it was Peter's idea, it made sense that Peter would write the lyrics.
They headed out to Headley Grange, a house in the English countryside previously occupied by Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, and other bands. Peter found a room in which to sit and start writing lyrics, leaving the others to begin writing the music. This was very different from how previous Genesis albums had been written, but they were very excited to be trying something new. Tony, Mike, and Phil ended up writing most of the music, although there are some parts which Steve contributed. Steve had some trouble adjusting to the new writing format and finding ways to contribute. He has said that the album has a lot of great keyboard work, and some areas where the guitar gets an opportunity to be heard.
It was during the writing sessions at Headley Grange that Peter received a phone call from William Friedkin, author of the novel
The Exorcist which had recently been made into a very popular movie. It seems that Friedkin had a copy of
Genesis Live, and was intrigued by the strange little story on the back cover which Peter had written, based on one of the ad-libbed stories he'd come up with in between songs to give the band time to tune their guitars. Friedkin was starting to work on his next project, a science fiction film, and wanted Peter on board as a consultant because of his "weird, visual mind". He didn't want the rest of the band; he already had Tangerine Dream on board for the music. He just wanted Peter.
Peter went to the others and asked if they'd mind if he'd go off to Hollywood to work on a movie. They were very much against it, as they were all, including Peter, working to finish their next album which, by the way, had a deadline. Peter left anyway.
The remaining four members were dumbfounded. Here they were, writing some of the best music they'd ever written, and suddenly the band was without a singer. Phil suggested (and it's unclear just how serious he was) that they record it as an instrumental album; they had plenty of music, and it was very good.
Peter got to Hollywood and told Friedkin that he'd left Genesis and was ready to work; Friedkin was aghast. It was not a permanent position, it was not full-time, it was just for some ideas. And he definitely did not want to be responsible for breaking up Genesis. Besides, the project really hadn't started yet; there wasn't actually any work to do. This left Peter in limbo, having quit Genesis, but currently without anything else to do.
Eventually, Genesis manager Tony Stratton-Smith got Peter to commit to completing the album before doing anything else, and Peter returned to England. Mike called him, asked him to come out to Headley Grange, and they would sort it all out. Peter came back out and continued working on the lyrics for what would become
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The others had written a lot more music in the meantime, and the deadline for starting recording was approaching.
Ultimately, they finished the album, recorded it, and began a U.S. tour before the album had been released yet. This meant that the concerts, which consisted of the album in its entirety, with "The Musical Box" and/or "Watcher of the Skies" for encores, were being played to audiences who didn't know any of the new music and were expecting a "regular" Genesis concert. Instead, they got an hour and a half of a sprawling, confusing story, with great music and visuals, so it was overall a strange, mixed experience. Peter performed the first half of the album as Rael, the main character in the story, but the second half was mostly done in various costumes, some quite elaborate ("The Lamia", "The Slipperman", etc.). There were three large video screens, each with images to help augment and flesh out the story, but they were prone to timing issues and breaking down, and thus didn't quite have the intended effect.
Tensions rose within the band, mostly borne of frustration with how the concerts and the tour were proceeding. Audience reactions varied widely, from acclaim to consternation, but one constant was that Peter was seen as the "star" of the show, and the others were just his backing band. Tony, Mike, Phil, and Steve would play 100 minutes of excellent music every night, music that they'd put their hearts into, and backstage the fans would run right past them and surround Peter, telling him how great he was and asking for his autograph.
Peter decided that he would leave the group after the conclusion of the tour. When he told the others, they weren't particularly surprised, having already dealt with him leaving once before, knowing that he was apparently capable of doing it again at any time, and sensing his growing alienation from the band.
The tour finished with a European leg, with the final dates in France. Ticket sales were poor, and the last show was cancelled. This meant that when they played their last concert together, they didn't know that it was their last concert together. The final date was cancelled at the last minute, the tour was over, and they all went back to England.
The classic era of Genesis was over. It ended on a high note artistically, but with the future of the band uncertain.
Topic: Genesis Discography (Read 54883 times)
