If you recall the intense drama, disagreements, difficulties, and subsequent fallout from The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, the sixth album by Genesis, it’s no surprise that the much-hyped 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of the album was delayed by six months. Only this time, it may well have been a technical issue, which was apparently corrected. Singer Peter Gabriel and keyboardist Tony Banks, friends and musical partners before they went on to co-found Genesis, reportedly were odds over the album and what it was all about. For the 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition, they are co-credited as “supervisors” over the new remastered 96kHz/24-bit high-resolution audio and Dolby ATMOS mixes of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. So, what could possibly go wrong?
Going back to 1974, Gabriel was preoccupied with a possible collaboration with film director William Friedkin and a wife suffering through a difficult pregnancy, which lead to his departure from Genesis in 1975. For The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, he insisted that he write all the lyrics, based on a story about a Puerto Rican kid named Rael living in New York City and caught in a series of surreal misadventures. A lot of it didn’t make much sense to some of the other band members (mostly Banks), but they managed to come up with music that aligned perfectly with Gabriel’s words to create what would ultimately become one of the most celebrated and influential progressive rock albums of all time.
Whatever happened since doesn’t really matter because the new mixes are out of this world and well worth the wait. The previous 5.1 mix from 2008 on the right system brought the album to life. This time around, with Dolby Atmos tapping into the spaces and crevices in new and wonderous ways, it’s like a fresh coat of paint, all shiny with a sleek sheen, an aurally infused adventure old or new ears rarely experience.
The piece begins with Banks’ keyboards circling overhead before plunging directly into the title track with Gabriel’s passionate, taunting vocal leading the way. “Fly On A Windshield” finds the band in stride, with Hackett taking a victory lap on his guitar before hardening up the pace for the theatrically charged “Broadway Melody Of 1974.”
“Cuckoo Cocoon” pulls the heartstrings, while “In The Cage” showcases a special and tight chemistry between the players, with Banks taking the lead through various musical passages. “The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging” is Gabriel’s apex of wordplay as he rambles through a mounting soundtrack.
“Counting Out Time” and “The Carpet Crawlers” bear all the markings of bona fide hits of the day, though neither single failed to dent the charts. “The Carpet Crawlers,” a song about getting in to get out, would eventually gain long-overdue recognition when the group reunited for a new version in 1999, featuring both Gabriel and Collins on vocals.
“The Chamber Of 32 Doors” wails through the corridors before lead by “Lilywhite Lilith” through a melodic, pastoral grove that dissolves “The Waiting Room,” a terrifying, death-defying sound collage that explains finds Banks pushing the outer limits of his synths. His piano work accompanying Gabrile’s snarling vocal on “Anyway” somehow does wonders to lighten the mood, even as carnal (“The Lamia”) encounters lead to unintended consequences (“Here Comes The Supernatural Anaesthetist” and “The Raven”).
How Gabriel’s vocal remains calm and determined as the ambiguity of the story seems to waver off into a dreamlike continuum, rigidly supported by Bank’s steady hand, is a miracle unto itself. “The Light Dies Down On Broadway” and “Riding The Scree” offer respite, simmering the piece. “In The Rapids” provides Rael with an exit strategy while “It” sums things up for him on a seemingly good note.
Upon its release, critics took aim at the album’s disheveled storyline, while including the usual slam about Genesis and bands like them coming off as pompous and pretentious in their stalwart approach to making music. That didn’t stop the double record from becoming a Top 10 album in the UK with respectable enough sales to earn it a Gold record in their native country, as well as the United States.
The 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition — with input from Gabriel, Banks, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford, who all played on the record — comes in a variety of configurations, including a five LP or four CD set with a Blu-ray disc packed with all the new mixes.
The previously released Live At The Shrine Auditorium from January 24, 1975, captures The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway on stage. Remastered, it also premieres the two encore tracks, “Watcher of the Skies” and “The Musical Box,” which means you’ll have the entire show from start to finish.
Three never-before-released demos from the Headley Grange Session are part of a digital download card included with the set. Also featured is a 60-page coffee table-style book filled with photos from Armando Gallo, Richard Haines and other noted photographers, plus Alexis Petridis’ liner notes and interviews with all five members. A 1975 tour program reproduction, replica ticket, and poster complete the package.
For all the turmoil surrounding it, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway remains the peak of the classic Genesis lineup of the early 70s. It only took 50 years for the five principal members — Gabriel, Banks, Collins, Hackett and Rutherford — to agree on its rightful place in the extensive catalog. Now, with the new mixes, it’s poised to excite fans, new and longtime, for decades to come.
~ Shawn Perry
