The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, 50 Years Later | Vinyl Monday

[@abigaildevoe]

what’s your favorite peter gabriel costume? mine is NOT the slipperman. comment below!

[@tremelo8508]

Fox in the red dress

[@davidbanan.]

Despite being a massive fan of genesis I can't really get behind the costumes. So I don't really know any of them

[@nvm9040]

I saw two albums that one was pink and the other green so I’m conflicted 😅

[@writinghour]

The Watcher of the Skies, or maybe the flower guy?

[@wolves7655]

I quite liked the old man face for The Musical Box. Now he has the same face as the costume....sands of time and all that nonsense.

[@guardianx1328]

This album is so uniquely haunting. After nearly 40 years since I bought it, it has stayed with me. No matter how many times I have listened to this album, there's something new to discover.

[@chrisfox2890]

I bought it in August 1987 (aged 18) and after 3 or 4 plays I became infatuated, I played the album in full today and still class it as a masterpiece.

[@MJ1]

I saw this tour. What is amazing, particularly by today’s standards is the album wasn’t even released yet. We had not heard a single song. That completely didn’t matter. Fans were so much willing to “ride the scree” with the bands in those days. The stage production was unlike anything of the time. The 3 screens actually worked. Peter had a body double on stage. He’d finish a line, the lights would go out momentarily and somehow he was now at the other side of the stage. What’s gets lost is the ambient instrumental sections were beyond awesome. This was before ambient music. Before New Age. They lifted up the audience and took us all on a journey…a journey inside and outside of us simultaneously. Some of the sonic tones were shocking to hear back then. The electronic didgeridoo sounds at the start of In The Cage grabbed your attention like the place was being raided by the cops. Keep in mind how new these sounds were for the time. That solo mesmerized, only to come out with an extremely dramatic section where the vocals come back and the intensity in the room was beyond intense. I remember so many moments looking at strangers near by, exchanging glances with expressions that WTF could never convey. The Lamia was a peak. It was sensual. It was psychedelic. It was sublimely beautiful. I still get shivers. By the end when we reach IT, everyone was up in the aisles dancing. If it’s hard to get this album in vinyl, it wasn’t hard live. We got it. We didn’t just hear it. We lived through it. And we are all better for the experience.

[@ThomasJester1968]

I am so insanely jealous. I've seen Musical Box do it 2x but I have no doubt it pales to really seeing it.

[@sugadelicsavagesoul8623]

Damn, that sounds epic. Amazing.

[@abigaildevoe]

i need to know how people reacted to the slipperman costume! i would have screamed in horror

[@likesnoozn]

@@MJ1 same. I saw it on Dec 7 ‘74 at the Acadamy of Music NYC. Didn’t know anything from the album. Was expecting SEBTP with some new songs. There was the gatefold story of Rael on the back of each seat. The encore was The Musical Box. It was a surreal experience. Watching Gabriel trying to crawl out of a blow up phallice was a sight to see!

[@audiotomb]

Rael NYC does the best Genesis indepth album reviews - visually stunning

[@smaz9]

Frank Zappa: Only I can make a concept album as insane as Apostrophe! Peter Gabriel: Hold my lamb

[@abigaildevoe]

dog wee and thieving ravens…1974 was some year

[@ChromeDestiny]

And then later Zappa did Joe's Garage which pokes some fun at Prog and Concept Albums. Might be worth an episode one day.

[@fireant1015]

XD

[@farrellmcnulty909]

YES! Nail on the head - a comment after my own heart - I love those two albums - can't make jack out of them, but they're still great.

[@iwanbottos5128]

She pulls the album out like chewing g gum . I let the music roll over me and try not to talk toomuch . For Abby it's the other way around . They are just a vehicle for her to babble about a bit . To hear her criticize my favorite albums is not really nice. 24 years old . Let her talk in 40 years or so . I am not really taking her serious . Who the ffff is she anyway .

[@josemaria8177]

No lambs, lamias or carpet crawlers were harmed in the making of this episode

[@jon-paulfilkins7820]

A Pecker on the other hand may have been a little bruised!

[@SuperStrik9]

@@jon-paulfilkins7820 ✂

[@MarkBauman-e9w]

Don’t try to understand the lyrics, just let the music take you wherever it wants to take you. Works for me every time. And I’ve listened to this album A LOT.

[@donaldanderson6604]

You really need to see Steve Hackett's current tour where he plays about half the album. His band are so tight and Steve is clearly having a great time.

[@mikewest1542]

@@donaldanderson6604 It was brilliant, I saw it in London at the Royal Albert Hall last month!

[@gemmachaos]

I saw Hackett a few time. That is probably one of the greatest groups of musicians touring right now. Reingold on bass, Blundell on drums, King on keys, Townsend on woodwinds and the sensational Sylvan on vocals. Plus Hackett himself. That's a supergroup right there.

[@taoofjohnandpaul]

No one ever underestimated Peter as a vocalist! Lauded in all corners since day one.

[@ernestorochehall2303]

@@taoofjohnandpaul dejen tanto esa estúpida frase de subestación con ningun integrante de esa banda Peter Gabriel fue y será por siempre un genio y ese primer formato de Génesis con Peter Gabriel al mando fue una constelación única e irrepetible de genios musicales Génesis es un fenómeno en el sentido más colosal de la palabra del xx y de los años venideros a Génesis se le debería hacer un momento en todos los países del mundo que les guste la mejor música porque gustele o no a alguien es la mejor agrupación de la historia.

[@ObjectivelyL]

Abby is absolutely FEEDING us prog fans

[@shuriflwrs]

This is my favorite KZbin Channel.

[@kiimawittu_]

Same

[@grandtheftaholic]

mine too!

[@cryo7730]

I like your spangled poncho and elevator shows

[@beryllium9112]

@@shuriflwrs Goated profile pic

[@allenf.5907]

She does a phenomenal job putting these together, and her research is always OUTSTANDING.

[@ben_automotive]

HOLY SHIT FINALLY GENESIS MENTIONED ON THIS CHANNEL RAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Doing a video on the follow up album 'A Trick of the Tail' is a must, a much more concise and tighter album where it plays out like a storybook with each song being its own little world with different characters

[@samcarson8161]

My 1st Genesis concert was "Trick of the Tail" tour in '76 in Chicago (Auditorium Theater). Phil was the hardest working guy in rock! In addition to the full "Supper's Ready", they did "White Mountain" & I think "Fountain of Salmacias", both extreme "Deep Cuts"! Rough seeing Phil now so aged & infirm. But we were lucky, really to have him in the cockpit from "Nursery Cryme" onward.

[@ogam5]

.....TOOK the words RIGHT out of my.....FINGERS, Ben - while between it and Lamb, I feel Seconds Out is among THE best live albums EVER made (#1, KANSAS' Two For The Show.....)

[@davidellis5141]

The Chamber Of 32 Doors is my favorite track on the album & in my opinion the best vocal Peter Gabriel ever recorded. A haunting song.

[@MJ1]

If only Peter didn’t have the creative cycle of a cicada.

[@farrellmcnulty909]

Peter can do as he pleases and take as much time as he pleases.

[@MJ1]

In the creative process, sometimes having too much time and having no discipline for constant editing can be a bad thing. But love Peter. I marketed all his Real World music releases. Was very fortunate to spend quality time with him.

[@toneslotohnz4540]

I used to think PG and Bryan Ferry were in a contest to see who could take the longest between albums. PG won by a decade and a half.

[@Billfish57]

I saw this album preformed live in West Palm, Fl. the year after I saw Genesis my first time in Miami. After that first show, my standard for concert sound and entertainment was raised to a point I thought would never be topped, until the Lamb tour, yep, even better. Perter was the show, the rest simply played fantastic all the time. Those were days in concert going that can never happen again. The 70's were pioneering and so creative and no one did it better than the original Genesis band IMO.

[@abigaildevoe]

from what little footage exists, the production value looks amazing. do you remember how much tickets for the lamb tour cost?

[@DocRock67]

@@abigaildevoe In America tickets were sold for 6 to 7 $.

[@TedDiabetes]

"Rael" was the nickname lovingly given to my father by his best friend, being that he was the token Puerto Rican kid in the group, and they were both Genesis fanatics. They saw that tour on December 17th, 1974, at the Auditorium Theater in Rochester, NY. The full audio from that show is available on KZbin. The Lamb is an extremely important album for him, as it is for me. Thank you for doing this episode, Abby.

[@TheProgCorner]

My second favorite album ever!!!!!

[@abigaildevoe]

can i take a wild guess at your favorite?

[@samcarson8161]

I do hope "Lark's Tongues" gets the spotlight in the near future.

[@theasphaltworld849]

After Tales from Topographic Oceans, right? 😆

[@TheProgCorner]

@ Exactly!!!!

[@TheProgCorner]

@@abigaildevoe It’s actually Tales From Topographic Oceans!!!!! LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!!!!

[@chuckazeee]

Thanks for your absolutely honest and brilliant review of this album. This is the most important album in my entire musical collection. Unlike many here including yourself, the second disc always been my favorite of the two. “The Lamia” basically made Steve Hackett my guitar hero.

[@gibsonfan159]

I've been circling around early Genesis for a long time and this might be the push that gets me to dive in.

[@emdiar6588]

Some friendly advice: Save the Lamb till last. Personally, it's my least favourite Gabriel-era album, but also it's objectively the most inaccessible. Nursery Cryme or Selling England are way better. Even Trick of the Tail (the first Collins-era album) is much better than Lamb, and very Prog. I don't usually use the terms Gabriel-era/Collins-era. A much more useful distinction is pre-Hackett's-departure-era vs Post-Hackett-era. That's when things started to fall apart for Prog fans.

[@ChromeDestiny]

@@emdiar6588 It helps to break it into eras: Pre Phil Psych Folk era '67 - '70, Classic Prog era with the five man lineup '71 - '75, Prog era with the four man lineup '76 - '77 and Pop Trio Genesis '78 - '92. Pop Trio Genesis still has some traces of prog especially on And Then There Were Three and Duke.

[@emdiar6588]

@@ChromeDestiny I give ATTW3 a pass. Duke has its moments but they were already getting sparse among the formulaic, made-for-radio crap. After that, dreadful 80s Dad Rock, loved only by Jeremy Clarkson clones in their supermarket denim and Audi Quatros,

[@julianstrand3623]

@@emdiar6588 sound advice.. the Lamb is not a good introduction to Genesis!

[@NFLed]

Best album ever, and no filler in my view. I also greatly enjoy the other Gabriel-era 1970s Genesis albums as well as a lot of other 1970s prog rock.

[@ilabelle1]

My favourite Genesis album. I like that they stepped away from their pastoral side and got grittier and urban. It was a great move. From Trespass to Duke just incredible. My avatar says it all.

[@abigaildevoe]

i couldn't help but notice john wetton and peter both writing about new york at the same time. it's like they subconsciously knew the next big thing was going to come from there

[@ilabelle1]

@ Hmm…interesting. I never noticed the connection.

[@SuperStrik9]

Duke is my favorite Collins as frontman era Genesis album. Misunderstanding, Turn It On Again... Great tracks.

[@ogam5]

@@SuperStrik9 : LOVE that album IMMENSELY; as personal as Phil EVER got - and, just STUNNING arrangements - but I now position Trick as EQUAL to it; other post-Gabriel masterpiece is their 1983 eponymously-titled (HAD abacab been released as a double with songs as originally ordered - INCLUDING "You Might Recall", THAT'd be a FOURTH such.....)

[@michaelenosmusic]

@@SuperStrik9 Also..I love flooding the room I am in with Duchess

[@JPproductions303]

OMG AN ACTUAL VIDEO ON LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY. It’s my favorite prog rock album if you can’t tell

[@abigaildevoe]

IT IS NOWWWWW

[@musicofjondonnegan]

Fantastic! Been looking forward to watching this all day since it dropped this morning. Rock on Abi!

[@DNF81]

A few points (about an album I regard as nigh-on perfect and the best thing Genesis ever did): * It's not true that an entire concert performance of THE LAMB was never recorded. The 21 January 1975 show at LA's Shrine Auditorium is available on the grey market - in radio-broadcast quality you get THE LAMB performed in its entirety with *most* of Peter's spoken-word interludes intact as well as the 2-song encore. (This same show was included in edited/slightly re-recorded form in the official GENESIS ARCHIVES 1967-1975 box set but the unofficial 2CD of the show is a more honest representation of the gig.) * While it's true THE LAMB doesn't have as many leitmotifs as TOMMY or THE WALL, there are still some there - for example, the tinkling keyboards in the title track's middle-eight are reprised all throughout "Carpet Crawlers." * I think THE LAMB is a fascinating example of how savvy Brits like Peter Gabriel and David Bowie could see the writing on the wall with the coming of punk and started shedding their fairytale trappings. Bowie's DIAMOND DOGS (also released in 1974) is Bowie's farewell to glam infused with a more streetwise, hard-rock/punky sensibility with an eye on America; THE LAMB is Peter Gabriel's farewell to prog in the same manner. (Plenty of similarities between DIAMOND DOGS and THE LAMB, e.g. both albums quote the song "On Broadway" in their opening tracks; both albums have a song that name-drops celebrities and serial killers ["Candidate" and "Broadway Melody of 1974"].) * Was THE LAMB an influence on THE WALL? Both albums feature the main character mutating in a fleshy lumpy manner (granted in THE WALL it's not apparent until the film version) and both have a creepy doctor character showing up. * The fact Peter Gabriel's newborn daughter almost DIED around the time of this album's recording is a not insignificant reason why Peter needed to divest himself of music industry commitments for several years.

[@fernandoperdomomusic]

Anyway is my fave song in the record with the best lyric ever "Anyway, they say she comes on a Pale Horse... but I swear I hear a train"

[@crimsonking70]

Selling England by the Pound and Foxtrot, highly recommend. Selling by the Pound - for better conceptual integrity with the lyrics, themes and music (Firth of Fifth and Cinema Show are the high water marks). Foxtrot - for Supper's Ready (Genesis's progressive magnum opus)

[@nectarinedreams7208]

One of my absolute favourites. Thanks for covering it! Your editing is great. I love everything about The Lamb, warts and all. I like how Disc 1 is mostly song-driven art rock with prog touches, foreshadowing where Gabriel would go solo (I love his solo work), and Disc 2 is full-blown prog absurdity in the best way possible with loads of sonic experimentation and atmospheric, ambient exploration. Sonically, Banks and Hackett are at their best here. This album takes the "movie for your ears" idea to as literal a level as it's ever been taken to. It's extremely cinematic. And tbh, I do like Jodorowsky's films and I'm a surrealist art guy so it all just works for me!

[@SuperStrik9]

The Lamb contains some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. Especially on Disc 2. Carpet Crawlers, The Lamia, Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats are tremendous amongst others. The Colony Of Slippermen is incredible. 10/10 album imo.

[@Brian_Boru]

I love Genesis but I've always found Lamb to be impenetrable. Thanks for helping me understand it better. Great work in this episode! Really thoughtful stuff.

[@derekduncan-tm2yj]

I’m so glad you did this. It’s in my top 5 and even have a Lamb poster framed in the music room. Made my day.

[@rk41gator]

You put out a GREAT summary of this iconic album. Your humor was on point, the criticism fair, and you had a nice appreciation for the surrealness of this work. I feel this is one of the best musical creations of the 20th century. The hurried nature of its creation helped because it kept it fresh without any fussy 'fixing' of things. It is raw, organic, and edgy. The 'Ulysses' of concept albums. Sides Three and Four have grown on me over the years and have some of the best solos of the criminally underused Steve Hackett. For me, Genesis is musically the best band in rock.

[@scifiwriter98]

His solo on Superna Anesthetist is one of the highlights. It's a shame he wasn't more involved, but at least we have that and Fly on a Windshield.

[@kingjohnny4314]

This has been the greatest season of vinyl monday and we only just started! We got red, abraxas, and lamb lies down in the same season! If we get can, rush, and the mahavishnu orchestra this month i will be able to live happily for the rest of my life! Love your videos and the channel, currently my favorite channel!

[@abigaildevoe]

rush and mahavishnu will have to wait until 2025. double album december is on the horizon and this was just my warm up!

[@pattheplanter]

@@abigaildevoe I would add Vashti Bunyan to that list.

[@smaz9]

@@abigaildevoe I'm still holding out for a Talk Talk video...

[@davidvangelista7109]

I love The Lamb Lies Down Broadway it’s my favorite double album and one of best concept albums.

[@KraigWeiss]

They just announced a Lamb box set which includes a full “unearthed” live concert from Jan, 1975!

[@EmmanuelPehau]

I dreaded that day. Genesis has slowly but surely become my favorite band in the last twenty years. I will be heartbroken if you don't get them. Especially if you don't get The Lamb, which has a special place in my heart mainly thanks to Pete's very informed and compassionate approach to psychosis (the plot is clearly informed by as, a bit a Joungian psychology that was very fashionable at the time, but more acutely Laing and Cooper's "anti-pyschiatry", as is confirmed by the extract from Pete's working material one can spot in the Hipgnosis documentary, Real does the anti psychiatric journey from a "breakdown" to a "breakthrough") and also by the music from the other four embracing its own kind of life-affirming journey. Well, I don't know if I wanna watch this. " I must decideBetween the freedom I had in the rat-race Or to stay forever in this forsaken place". Here we go !

[@mlgbaconator6853]

A lot of the places you don't understand about the album are some of the most genius parts of it

[@ExKingFelix]

Agreed. My jaw dropped when Abigail glossed over the deepest and most beautiful part of the LP (side three, including Lamia).

[@SuperStrik9]

@@ExKingFelix Agreed. The Lamia is one of the most beautiful songs/pieces of music I've ever heard in my life. The entire album is tremendous and every song essential to the concept of the album.

[@christophermiller7051]

Outstanding Abbie. This along with Unknown Pleasures are the ones I love most of the albums you have reviewed so far. The first album I ever bought was a Genesis album. Still one of my favourites. The Lamb would probably be no. 2 on my list. A trick of the tail is my favourite. As for favourite Peter costume I liked the fox head/dress combo but my vote goes to the flower.

[@ziccuj]

What a great review with some very interesting points. I just received my vinyl copy of this album a month ago - a German first pressing from 1974 - and I'm definitely going to play it through on friday just to celebrate its half-a-century milestone. This was my first visit on your channel, but I enjoyed this video so much that I must check out more of your stuff in the furure. All the best from Finland and keep up the good work!

[@iantanner]

El Topo is AWESOME!! (So is The Holy Mountain!). Weird af but whatever!! Fantastic episode, as always Abby.

[@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout]

Agreed, but difficult to understand especially if you lack context of 1) 70s drug and spiritual culture, 2) Jodorowsky’s own background with the Panic Movement and surrealism. It’s very much of its time and place.

[@iwanbottos5128]

​@@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeaboutExactly, shut her up , please .

[@sugadelicsavagesoul8623]

Both great but I prefer The Holy Mountain. I regard it as the weirdest, trippiest, mind-blowing movie ever made. If someone asks, what's the strangest movie you've ever seen? Here it is, the Holy Mountain. Lol. Nothing tops it, imo.

[@ShedSoundsMediawithIanBeabout]

@ certainly the best example of John Lennon’s money I’ve yet seen. 😂 Abbie would probably think I’m crazy because I own the Jodorowsky blu ray boxed set on Arrow and an original pressing of the El Topo soundtrack.

[@ChromeDestiny]

Also I personally mostly love Ken Russell's Tommy The Movie. The way they depict the stuff from side one is a bit of a tough go in places but once it gets to The Acid Queen it kicks into high gear imo.

[@lefteyereport6354]

OMG I've been so hyped for this video for so long!! Thank you Abi! This is my favorite album ever and it gets far too little attention out of dedicated prog circles

[@marcduhamel-guitar1985]

Re-listening to album 2 in its entirety a couple of years back for the first time in decades, I noticed that a lot of that 2nd album contained elaborate instrumental jams featuring Collins, Rutherford and Banks. Foreshadowing what the band would become after Duke and the 80's self-titled album, you can hear them play around ideas as they found an island of creativity during a time when the personal lives of pretty much everyone in the group was topsey-turvey... They were coping together on Lamb, but the new Genesis capitalized on the newfound creativity of the more compact unit the band became after Peter and Steve left. Great episode, Abbie, cheers!

[@ExKingFelix]

This has been my favorite Genesis album since 1980. I bought it the summer I turned 14 (1980), listened to "The Lamb" and "Trespass" over and over, simultaneously reading LotR, best summer of my life. That summer's Tolkien/Genesis cocktail blew my little 14-year-old mind. Later that year I saw "after the heat" by Eno, Moebius, and Roedelius in the import bin at Musicland and bought it based on interesting track titles and fell in love with it. (A strange first buy for an Eno collection, but by that time I knew him from the Lamb, Low and Heroes, and Talking Heads.) All three mentioned LPs (Trespass, Lamb and heat) are in my all-time top 10. Side Three is my favorite sequence of Lamb (Waiting Room through Silent Sorrow, with "Lamia" being the best thing on the album, and one of the 5 best things Genesis ever did, context or no context). Topographic Oceans is 15 minutes shorter than the Lamb, but it's a meandering bloated mess full of filler and The Lamb feels crammed full of avant-garde ideas by comparison. I consider The Lamb a masterpiece, and I think Genesis scared themselves with it, and retreated a bit and played it safe on Trick of the Tail (a fine album but lacking the inspired lunacy of TLLDoB.)

[@stoneyboyd]

There’s a guy at my work who LOVES Prog Rock (moreso than me) and Genesis is one of his top 3 Prog bands (the others are Yes and Rush) I asked him once about where I should start in the Genesis catalog. I told him I was interested in the earlier Prog stuff and not the later Commercial Pop stuff. He then gave me a warning about the Gabriel era. He told me that it can be hard to get into for some and can be extremely weird at times. So I started by listening to Selling England by the Pound and I loved it. But before listening to Lamb I looked into the album and its history and as soon as I saw the Slipperman costume I screamed “WHAT THE____?!” It was then that I realized what the ProgRock guy at work was trying to warn me about. I still can’t wrap my head around lamb, it’s WAY too out there for me. The music is amazing, but the lyrics and story are just INSANE.

[@paulmarr7873]

Just found this album about 10 days ago and it has been the only thing I have listened to, it's truly a stunning work of art. Among the best thing I have ever heard. Great review!

[@jeffreypeeling8341]

Abigail, When I was in high school, I was convinced that the Lamb was not only the greatest album by Genesis, but in rock history. Now that I am older and have heard more, I no longer believe it to be the greatest album of all time, but I think it is pretty close. You said it yourself with all the varied points of inspiration. I love ot so much. I love the way it jumps from pop / rock all the way to freeform improv rock. I can't get enough of the second disc and the Waiting Room is a fave for me. I love the way it starts as free anarchy and then coaleses into a structure. I also wish the movie had gotten made because I love Alejandro Jordoworsky, especially the Holy Mountain.

[@slinkman79]

This is the best review of this album ever! I loved every single bit of this video!

[@allenf.5907]

Tackled a BIG one here. ^^^

[@tableface77]

I'm glad you picked up on the pop sensibility of this record as that's something most, if not all reviewers overlook. The music on this album really shines and it's always been in my top three of all the groups output :-)

[@timhollis3390]

My favorite album by one of top 3 favorite bands including Yes and XTC.I really hope you can review XTCs English Settlement album that I saw you picked up recently.You always do a great deep dive

[@ogam5]

.....Skylarking, would be an even BETTER Partridge & Gregory album choice - maybe with a STOPOVER at the Dukes.....

[@ExKingFelix]

English Settlement is a brilliant record! XTC's finest!

[@davejackson8376]

I was too young and unaware to see the original tour but I have seen the Lamb performed twice in it’s entirety by Britain’s best tribute band Regenesis and just to hear the music being banged out was an unforgettable thrill. The source material was so good.

[@lefteyereport6354]

The 50th Anniversary Release is coming with a full show recording of the Lamb live! Including encores and the tour programme!

[@abigaildevoe]

@@lefteyereport6354 NO F(Beach Boys sample)CKING WAY

[@lefteyereport6354]

@@abigaildevoe Book with "rare photos" is also included, and in general I'm so excited they actually seem to be giving this anniversary some love, I remember when you couldn't even stream the Lamb on Spotify.

[@pvlounge]

Abby, this is your finest review, totally brilliant! Great album! 🥳

[@hipstereagle6050]

Steve Hackett’s guitar work on Supernatural Anaesthetist makes me wanna dance harder than any song ever has

[@kalibduarte536]

Applause. Great review. On the mark with everything I though in high school many moons ago. Remake!

[@tylersproul4067]

Good job! Lamb is one of my favorite prog albums. Your videos are some of the most entertaining and informative on you tube. I always look forward to “Vinyl Monday”

[@DanielDennett-l9n]

I’ve been reading attempts to summarize the Lamb for most of those 50 years, and this is the best. Thank you. It hits all the major points about the band, context in music culture, inspirations, frustrations, where it soars, where it bombs and how it defines fan ambivalence. I have felt the same frustrations over the decades but I can’t put it down, either. I have an edited version of the live archive Lamb recording which has become my personal go-to as a result, in which the second half is much better, but the thorny question of intended and unintended meaning is there with every listen. Even the topic of giving Gabriel more time is double-edged, it’s an obvious point, but if the meat grinder 70s music industry had actually waited for him to realize all these ideas in full, wouldn’t we still be waiting for the end result? By which I mean looking at another unfinished project. There’s a lot about Peter’s life at the time in there for me. Themes of impossible choices, fraternity, autonomy, sex and death, identity, feeling trapped, extreme allegory, hunting for direction, control, questioning loyalties. A friend of mine saw the Musical Box play it and ended up rocking back and forth on her seat, hands over her eyes. At the end of a TMB concert I saw, the lady sitting next to me, obviously there with her fan husband, said to me “the music is great, but what on earth is it about????”. I told her Genesis fans have been trying to figure that out for decades. Like the 1976 film “Logan’s Run”, it’s flawed but indispensable, rollicking, annoying, something to get your teeth into, vapid and at the same time the least vapid thing you’ll ever hear. Thanks again, you did such a good job of fully reviewing this strange album without making the review even longer than the album itself

[@donkelley7407]

This was excellent Abby. I'm a huge early Genesis fan although this one had me scratching my head in 1974. Would love to see reviews of anything from 1970-73, especially Trespass. It seems overlooked today but the seeds of greatness are there! Steve Hackett's first solo album would be awesome as well; has guest appearances from both Phil and Mike. Thanks

[@kt_phoenix]

Never clicked on a video so fast! I remember getting really deep into Genesis and when I finally listened to this I completely bounced off it. Eventually though it became a favourite of mine, one that I keep coming back to time and time again. I also really liked how you spoke about some lines just hitting extra hard. There's one line in The Lamia where he says "only a magic that a name would stain" and that's lived with me ever since. Keep up the content, you're the best thing I've found on KZbin in years! (also you saying this has trans undertones makes me, a trans Genesis fan feel very seen (and called out lol)).

[@johnruth2668]

I got Lamb, before it was released in 1974, and I saw the live tour in 1975, it was life changing. Your review and analysis of this prog dinosaur is outstanding! I've listened to this recording , hundreds and hundreds of times, and the lyrics can be very deceiving and complex, but the music, with it's Mellotron, guitar, bass and superb drums sort of bypasses the story line, or lines... Everybody has a different take on this masterpiece, but, you really put the whole thing in a nutshell, and gave it to us as clearly and precisely as anyone ever has. Bravo! I'm very impressed with the way you conveyed what this thing really is about. Congratulations, and thank you for not simply passing the thing off as prog indulgence! Great job, young lady, and you're quite lovely to look at as well. But I'm mostly impressed by your "mind"!

[@alanclayton9277]

gabriel idolized otis redding he places that sound within a sometimes theatrical context but his sound is often plaintive. there is complex music to love on this album and a big signpost to peter's first solo effort and his heart going boom boom boom. i'm just loving these prog episodes saw a KZbin channel yesterday,parlogram, and a special episode on mellotrons. thank you ahead of next week's ep. i mean lordy mama thank you. that's a pretty quick return to an artist by vinyl monday standards.

[@GabrielRhodes-ff5xr]

Clicked on this video as fast as I can! Beyond elated to have you covering one of my favorites albums by one of my favorite bands, Holy s*** what a nice surprise. Thank you for putting shine of this incredible piece of art. What blew me away is that I've loved this band and their music for years now and I've studied them, and yet I learned new things watching this video. Incredible Job Abby 😁 OH! So Genesis put out a box set in 1999 called "Genesis Archive : 1967-1975". On the box set features a mostly full professionally recorded show from the Lamb Tour, Los Angeles 1975. Only issue is that Peter Gabriel re-did all his lead vocals! Hahaha. So you get to hear the band from 1975, but with PG vocals from 1999. Still worth a listen, the performances from that show are Stellar!

[@mikecampbell3027]

I saw this show in Toronto in December of the year it came out. One of the most extraordinary live shows I've ever seen. Sure, I might have been on purple microdot acid but that only added to the wow factor of the show's staging - unlike anything I'd seen before or have seen since. The only song not on Lamb they performed was Watcher of the Skies, batwings and all and it was magnificent.

[@scifiwriter98]

Lucky guy! I had a friend drive to Chicago from Detroit to catch the show and he raved about it for weeks, especially the part where Gabriel disappeared and reappeared in a different place. Im glad that I at least saw The Musical Box version.

[@truvakaplan2376]

I am very impressed with your knowledge of twentieth century music. The Lamb is one of the strangest albums ever made, from the art to the entire 90-odd minutes of strangeness.

[@stephenbarrow3352]

It's a very slow grower. It took me years to get into it but it definitely clicked in the end😊

[@greggorup1006]

My favorite album of all time. Bizarre and awesome music. It's a dream in a nightmare but somehow it works

[@RudyDeblieck]

Kudos Abigail, for such a young person amazing how you nail it. ❤

[@scifiwriter98]

I have to admit, I wasn't expecting The Lamb to appear on Abbie's playlist. This is an immediate watch.

[@ApolloSuns]

love Jodorwosky work. Wish he had made Dune

[@alansmith1989]

Giving my age away- but I bought this when it came out. In the UK it was on the `Charisma` Label; `Small Mad Hatter` design. Though I found it tough to get into at first, it grew, and grew on me until, today; I regard it as one of the finest double albums in Rock History. Certainly does `not` drag one iota for me. I had previously got into Genesis by purchasing a copy of `Nursery Cryme` on Charisma`s `Pink Scroll` label. The design of that album is the best I have ever encountered, `Cynthia` and the Croquet Lawn and the inners of the gatefold highlighting (Visually) each song as a `Victorian Picture Card Album` utter Genius.

[@Four_EightMusic]

Awesome video! I love me some Genesis (I actually just did a video about Selling England on my own channel). The Lamb is a great challenge to me every time I listen to it, and I love how completely envelopes me into its strange world. From an outside perspective, it has so many problems: Gabriel's distractions and lack of commitment (and Hackett's, too), the time crunch you mentioned, the lack of leitmotifs - they just stack up. But when I listen to the Lamb, all those concerns just sorta melt away. 😎

[@pedronight2150]

YESSSSSS, my most anticipated video from you

[@michaellieto3505]

As much as I love Genesis, this album took a really long time for me to sync my teeth into. Only recently have I begun to regard it as a complete masterpiece. This might be one of the most difficult albums you’ve covered so far in my eyes! This one is really a lifelong love and lifelong listening album. Gets better every time, Phil Collins is the real MVP here bringing his drumming to the absolute peak!

[@allenf.5907]

It was too far ahead.

[@joegruber7705]

The first time I heard it in the 70's, I thought it was crap, with a little Genesis. Like you, it became one of the most enduring masterpieces EVER. It just didn't take me as long. I put this album on, when I mow the lawn several times a summer, I love it. The lawn takes about 4 minutes longer than the full album. It was meant to be. lol

[@georgemathie8123]

This is definitely one of my top favorite albums of all time and as of the first day when I first heard this album in its entirety which was Christmas 2001 it took me on a fantastical journey and every member was at the top of their game on this album Peter Gabriel was at his eccentric best delivering an amazing vocal performance, Tony bank's keyboards where adding layers of melody to every song, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford were a strong rhythm section and to top it all off Steve Hackett's awesome guitar work this is the album that has made me a progressive rock fan and still am today in 2024

[@RobtSc]

I like your idea of a more Enossified version. I'm still hoping that Devo release the Eno vocal version of Q: Are We Not Men ?(since he produced it and gave them a version with how he felt they should sing the tunes). Never saw Genesis live, but when Peter Gabriel toured his first solo LP, Robt Fripp played with him (behind a curtain and introduced as Dusty Roads). He encored (leather jacket and all) with Back in NYC.

[@fingersforey1]

I first heard the Lamb when I was a kid at my cousins place and was blown away by the music. It’s still my favourite album of all 50 years later and I can only listen to it when I’m definitely not gonna be disturbed and can get immersed in the whole thing. I can’t imagine how it would feel to listen to it for the first time in this day and age, so interesting to hear your review. Cheers

[@jaywysard]

I'm 63 now. I've always really, really liked "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" as a single, but I'd never listened to the whole album until about a year ago. I don't know...I'm sort of ambivalent about it. It is haunting and interesting in that it feels not like a full on nightmare, but a very, very uncomfortable dream or a state of psychosis that you'd get from huffing paint for three days straight without sleep. So that's what's good about it. But for me, musically it just sort of wanders around. Like the walking dead. I listened to once...wasn't sure. Listened to it again...wasn't sure. Listened to it a third time. Still not sure. And that's where I stand today. Confused and unsure.

[@fingersforey1]

@ I completely get the confused bit. I think I’ve always been confused by it, but happily so. It’s the music that gets me and feel like Gabriel’s singing parts are part of the music. Maybe one day it’ll grow on you and you’ll get why I’m so nuts on it. All the best.

[@daledavidson8242]

Like Quadrophenia, when everything worked during the live Lamb concert, it was exquisite.

[@robertschmus9943]

Thank you Abby!!! This is one of my favorite albums

[@lisaweston6322]

I remember in my teens seeing the musicians I knew cradling this album in their arms, looking at it as a thing of wonder. It was then only three or four years old, and the world had not yet changed. In my sixties I look at the plot as a writer and think, this is the kind of story musicians write. They could make this work as music for three sides, but the fourth peters out (pun not intended!) in a way that leaves the whole story without a worthwhile purpose, without saying anything, when it could have said a great deal. They get working on the music as is only natural for them, and the story gets lost along the way. But oh, how wonderful to listen to for three sides ... Personally I think the work is best from 'The Carpet Crawlers' to 'Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats'. This section works as a cohesive story, as music, and as drama. 'Fly on a windshield' is unforgettable, but between that and 'The Carpet Crawlers' the wonder is from some other place; nice music, different story, and not as good as CC to SSIEB. Side four ... dies in a corner. The narrative you provide about how the album was made, does a lot to explain why. Sometimes a deadline is the making of a story; life, like a story, without an end to it can lack urgency or purpose. But too tight a deadline or too many mishaps before it, can result in a mess. I'm now more surprised that half of this is superb than that the last side gets more and more pointless. Having said that, if all I had ever done was create the section from 'The Carpet Crawlers' to 'Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats', I would be proud. "Selling England by the Pound" is more consistently high quality and says a lot more than "The Lamb" while not even trying - the bookends say something profound about the way England was changing at the time, which stands as a comment on that era of unusual depth at the same time as saying what it says with a marvelous economy of words and time. "The Lamb" tries to do more and does some things wonderfully well; but a smaller proportion. By comparison with 'Yes', "Close to the Edge" works better than "Topographic", which follows it. "Selling England by the Pound" works better than "The Lamb". And like "The Lamb", "Topographic" resulted in a key departure. But Wakeman came back and Yes still had things to do that were worthwhile. Genesis without Gabriel could never be the same band, because frankly they didn't have the depth of things to say. Phil Collins singing about classical themes never could sound authentic, whereas Gabriel did. Genesis lyrics post Gabriel underwent a steady decline, from a worthy effort in 'A trick of the tail' downwards into utter drivel sung over a feast of virtuosity. For me, Gabriel leaving Genesis was the Day the Music Died. And when Hackett left, that was the end of a meritorious wake. The correct title of the album after that should be "And then there was nothing left worth keeping" by comparison with the Gabriel era. All good things come to an end ... for Genesis, this was the end of a particular type of good thing.

[@lisaweston6322]

The cyanide wand, smell of peach blossom and bitter almond --- this is a lead in to 'Caryl Chessman', the Red Light Bandit, executed in the gas chamber by cyanide. 'Broadway Melody' is full of clever writing, so typical of Gabriel at the time. Wikipedia puts it well: The song "Broadway Melody of 1974" by the rock group Genesis, off their album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, contains the lyrics: "The cheerleader waves her cyanide wand with the smell of peach blossoms and bitter almond." (Gas chamber reference) then: "Caryl Chessman sniffs the air and leads the parade, he knows, in a scent, you can bottle all you made." Sniffs the air" likely refers to the execution method; *** also the singer Gabriel pronounces "in a scent" indistinguishably from "innocent". *** Likewise in "The lamia" Gabriel turns the 'I' in 'I feel no pain' into a cry of pain that denies his words. His verbal inventiveness in this and the previous album was breathtaking at times. Phil Collins is a wonderful drummer, but his brains are all in his hands, not in his words.

[@pizzawithkaas]

Damn didn’t expect this one. My view of what music was forever expanded by these wacky Genesis prog theatrics. I know Peter Gabriel was inspired and haunted by El Topo and Jodorowsky, but never knew it inspired this album directly. That explains a lot

[@sugadelicsavagesoul8623]

Same here. First time I'm hearing about that.

[@TheMister123]

There is a recording of the lamb live, sort of, on the Genesis Archive 1967-75 box set. It takes the best live recordings from the tour, augmented and fixed by the members of the band in the late 90s. So, yes, you end up hearing 1997 Peter Gabriel doing his best impression of 1975 Peter Gabriel on a handful of tracks. But it's actually pretty good, IMO!

[@ThomasJester1968]

My fave version, actually. However, I THINK except for IT the whole Lamb backing is just the Shrine LA show, no?

[@TheMister123]

@@ThomasJester1968 You're probably right.

[@xianshep]

And the solo Hackett slapped over its 'Lamia' may be his best ever.

[@richardlambert9375]

Favourite costume: the old man (Musical Box denouement). Loved this review Abi! Feel like I knew this album but learnt so much from your excellent research. Your humour is an enjoyable counterpoint to the pretentiousness and it does need to be cslled out. However... like a gold panner, it's well worth sifting away for that luminous precious metal. Your choices as the album's highlights are spot on; Fly/Broadway Melody being the golden nugget. Musical Box performed the entire set a few years ago and included the original slides for the backdrop. A faithful facsimile, it could have been 1975 if you shut your eyes ...

[@MJ1]

FYI in March there will be a special release of the Lamb on Blu-ray in Doby Atmos. Lots of extra tracks. The Shrine show has been redone. It sounds awesome.

[@michaelgreene5703]

one of my top ten albums of all time absolutely incredible, love every detail, even the cheesy knock and knowal ending lyric incredible musicianship and peter class and creativity i could go on and on and on BRILLIANT!

[@herbcraven7146]

What a good day to stumble upon your channel! Great review! You were very thoughtful and very fair to an album that is probably the most difficult entry point for someone unfamiliar with the band. You have a new subscriber!

[@David-xl9cp]

One of my favourite album and Abby has done an amazing job reviewing this work, you are so interesting to listen to 👍

[@scifiwriter98]

She went a lot deeper into it than I would have expected, although I disagree with her assessment. It's the band's magnum opus and despite the slow pacing on side 3, is one of my favorite albums by anyone. Definitely top 5. And side 4 is perfect to my ears musically as it leads up to Rael's revelation in the rapids. But in the end, it's only rock & roll, after all.

[@David-xl9cp]

@ I would agree with you, I personally like side 4, but I think this could be an age thing, as we grew up with the changing style where Abby jumps back and forward through the years as soooo young 😊 Having said that, she does do an amazing amount of research and she is doing a in depth review every week. 👍

[@MDElam]

A great album with all the flaws you rightly point out, and, imho, Genesis' second best album. Their concept album, Selling England by the Pound, is much tighter, and, also imho, one of the finest albums ever made. TLLDoB, though, has some of my favorite Genesis songs ("Riding the Scree" and "Back in NYC" being my top ones), but I think you're right; it's really difficult to understand what's going on, which is important for connecting with Rael's struggle, which I want to do though I never quite have been able. Love your review and hope to see some other Genesis material here (even Duke?)!

[@KevinMooretoons]

Being an 80s teen, I had the opposite experience with Gabriel: his solo work like "Shock the Monkey," "Games Without Frontiers," and "Solsbury Hill" prepared me for his Genesis work, but not for the So material (which I still like.) Phil Collins' 80s work, however, did not prepare me for his prog era -- where he largely supported others with incredible drumming and had little room for the cheese. I think Phil is a great talent, but he's best when working with others IMHO. Thanks for reviewing this album!

[@Issicra]

Awesome! I got into Genesis kinda late in life (about 10 years ago) after really only knowing their 80s stuff. Lamb is a nutty record(s). I always make a point to playing it all the way through, oh and I have the yellow Atco labels on mine.

[@tomatopie34]

Just discovered your channel and am binging HARD. My favorite part is the background on the making of the album. I already know a lot of these, but so often the story of what was going on, how events like personal drama, drugs, weather, some stupid with a flare gun or even tax laws affected the recording process and the outcome. Great albums are still being made and will be made in the future. What will forever be lost is the mythology that accompanies the likes of Exile, Rumors, Low, Topographic Oceans, Wish You Were Here, Night at the Opera, Machine Head or anything recorded at Headley Grange (like Lamb!). Now, every album story will be “Producer Dropboxed the files, musicians laid parts down on their laptop, emailed them back and producer stitched everything together, none ever being in the same place at the same time.”

[@konowd]

A Peter Gabriel solo album episode would be most welcome

[@Hotdogwaters]

Never had heard this album, threw it on and was not prepared for the ride I was about to go on. SO. DAM. GOOD.

[@williamlangan5902]

Thank you for making this video, Abigail! Since I’ve had a lot on my mind and going back to school, I have a lot of catching up to do with your videos. But I thought I’d take time to learn more information about a classic album! Yeah, the logo is a little lame. I personally think Yes’ Going For The One is a missed opportunity. They have Roger Dean include amazing paintings from Fragile to Relayer and they go without on G4T1?! Even though I have a better understanding for the story thanks to your explanation, it’s still not something I could explain to anyone what it’s all about!

[@laurenceellis8311]

A thorough appraisal of my favourite album of all time... While a Genesis led live recording may not be available, there is Kevin Glberts 1994 progfest Lamb with his band that had NDV in drums (later with Genesis 'calling all stations')...and while Kev didn't dress up beyond the character of Real, the band (either Thud or Giraffe) dud a truly remarkable joy of recreating the dense musical 'lamb-scape'...a worthy and respectful homage to one of progressive rocks seminal offerings...

[@laurenceellis8311]

Apologies for the typos...it's what comes of not proof reading ..

[@paulclegg498]

Nice work Abigail. Prog was the Classical music of the seventies & will hopefully be remembered for years to come. Wonder if you have some Gentle Giant in your collection ?

[@joshbusby47]

Hello, Been subscribed to your channel for a little while now, but am just now tuning-in for the first time. (I am a huge fan of "The Lamb" and was curious to hear your review.) This video was Fantastic & I can't wait to explore your library. I really, really enjoyed this; thank you so much!

[@BossTweed-mj7jp]

I bought this album after hearing the title song on an AOR station and still like that song. Appreciate the explanation of what this album was about and how it came together.

[@MyCrazyDogs32]

OMG - I hope we get Relayer by Yes for it's 50th anniversary on November 29th.

[@michaelfavreau7617]

This is one of my fav albums of all time. Although I must admit, I never put on side 3 anymore. Great show, well researched and organized. As all your shows are. PS, my favorite Gabriel costume is the Batwing outfit for Watcher....And the face paint for the Security tour.

[@SuperStrik9]

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is my favorite Genesis and Progressive Rock album of all time.

[@SunFellow941]

50 years ago last night was the opening night of Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour: Wednesday, November 20, 1974 -- Wednesday, November 20, 2024. It was at the Chicago Auditorium theatre, the most beautiful concert hall in Chicago that would still allow us dope-smoking hippies inside to hear our favorite pop bands (or in this case, artsy fartsy intellectual pop bands). So, dope in hand, this senior at West Aurora High School got high as he headed out down the highway that stretched from the furthest reaches of the Chicago suburbs, Aurora Illinois, seemingly straight down to the door of the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. At my side was my trusty concert-going friend Melissa, and between us was some crappy portable cassette player blasting side 1 of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway over and over. We only had side 1 because the album wasn't released yet, and I just counted my blessings that I was able to record the first side the week before from Triad Radio, Chicago's most prized progressive station. Besides, with shimmering synthesizers, howling guitar climaxes, and Genesis' most clever wordplay yet, it was glorious from start to finish. I was so taken with it that I made the rare phone call to the station to thank them and casually ask if they could play another side? "No." How about just side 4? "NO!" I surmised they must have gotten a call from a pissed off record company, cassette taping of albums being a sensitive financial issue in the 1970s. Oh well, once I entered the theatre and saw Peter Gabriel's silhouetted form swimming in a rose water pool surrounded by sensuous and bitterly devious Lamias, all would be forgiven. Steve Hackett's responding guitar solo would give us all permission to cry.

[@scifiwriter98]

I heard it was a great show from a friend who drove there from Detroit.

[@stephensorensen4477]

Love the one with the bat wings and the flower is fun! You should hear the musicianship on Selling England By The Pound ! 🎵😎🎶🎸🥁🎹🎤

[@macsnafu]

Genesis! You finally covered a Genesis album! Yay! Genesis is easily my favorite band. I have all their albums, from From Genesis To Revelation all way to Calling All Stations (not their best, but still underappreciated). But you really did jump into the deep end with Lamb. Argh. While there's lots of good things to say about it, there's also plenty of bad things to say, too. It's a real roller-coaster ride with incredible highs and terrible lows, and it really feels like an accomplishment when you manage to listen all the way through it! I know this album is their big 'concept' album right in the middle of their classic prog era (and the last one with Peter on it), but it's not my favorite Genesis album, if only because it's not very representative of the band. I much prefer Selling England By The Pound and A Trick of the Tail, the albums before and after Lamb. I can appreciate that Peter wanted greater expression, but that shouldn't have come at the expense of the rest of the band members, especially when Peter was having so many problems and could have used some lyrical help, even if it diluted or changed his 'vision' for the album. And really, that would have just meant getting the OTHER major lyricist in the band, Tony Banks, on board to help write lyrics, because while the other members helped create the music, they had contributed very little in the way of lyrics up to this point. Or perhaps it could have been a golden opportunity for the others to try out their lyric-writing chops. I love the reversing of the "reverse mohawk" at the end. Cute. I hope you'll cover other Genesis albums. A Trick of the Tail, Wind & Wuthering, Duke, Selling England by the Pound, Foxtrot, and maybe even Nursery Cryme or Trespass.

[@weezadam]

I saw Slowdive last night!!! They were incredible, my fifth time seeing them and they seem to get better and better the older they get.

[@abigaildevoe]

aah i can't wait for my gig! they were wonderful in boston but it was still so early in that tour, they still had some sound issues to work out

[@weezadam]

@@abigaildevoe I saw them a year ago and they seemed not as into it but it was the "late show" at the 930 club so maybe some sleep deprivation was involved. Last night they were all into it, Neil was bouncing and Rachel seemed to have fun. Missed Simon though!