The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

I never really understood this album. Too artsy, too intellectual. It wasn’t until their 1980 album Duke that the group really hit their stride. Peter Gabriel had already left by then to start a lame solo career and Phil Collins’ influence became more apparent. The Invisible Touch is of course their undisputed masterpiece, an epic meditation on intangibility. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument.

This album is what happens when a band decides, “Hey, what if we made a double LP that’s 90% plot, 10% music, and 0% editing?” It’s a self‑indulgent prog swamp that wanders around like it lost its keys somewhere in New York and refuses to ask for directions. I like Peter Gabriel. I like Phil Collins. I like Genesis. But this? This is the musical equivalent of someone cornering you at a party to explain their dream in excruciating detail while you slowly realize they’re not going to stop. The 70s were full of concept albums, but The Lamb feels like the final boss of unnecessary prog. It’s two hours of “trust me, it’s deep” backed by weird noises, metaphors nobody asked for, and a storyline that reads like a Mad Libs written during a fever. Even for me, a person who willingly listens to experimental music, this was too weird. Not “fun weird.” Not “Gabriel weird.” Just weird‑weird, like someone spilled surrealism all over the mixing board and called it art. This feels like Peter Gabriel standing in the middle of the studio screaming, "I'm trying to make something MEANINGFUL here, and if you can't get behind me, I'm DONE!", and the rest of the band staring at him saying "We just wanna write some decent songs, man." My Rating: 1/5

Not nearly as overblown or pretentious as I expected. It’s too long and absolutely insane, but there’s a ton of great music and vocals here to enjoy.

I still don't totally feel like I'm into Genesis's music, but this is a good album. It feels epic and meticulously crafted, and even if I don't love it all there are some real good tracks here.

Meh

Okay. It's way too long. I think they bit off more than they could chew. It has amazing songs. It has filler. A lot of filler. A lot of it is boring. Some of it is amazing.

Genuinely amazing album, I'm definitely going to check out more of their stuff after this, and more progressive rock in general. Could be a bit shorter though. :3

Album is way too long. Disliked the singing especially in the first half. Music was interesting and good at times, but I don't think it was interesting enough to justify the length.

Longtime Genesis / Peter Gabriel fan! Saw this tour in Atlanta and to this day it was one of the most theatrical shows I’ve ever seen!

i dont get it too much. even the lyrical content isn’t that great. “and then this happened and then this happened and he had some coochie and ate their corpses” most boring, one-dimensional rock opera.

What a bunch of noise. And way too long as well. This is far from their best work. Why is this on the list? 1/5

This ran out of gas...but A for effort.

There's some really incredible moments of music (I think Carpet Crawlers is a really wonderful song) on this album but unfortunately, they're mostly loaded onto the first half and it undeniably runs out of steam. It's obviously a bit pretentious but what's equally obvious is the musicianship of each member. Tip of the cap to Peter Gabriel for leaving it all out there in terms of lyricism and storytelling. And another tip of the cap to Phil Collins' drumming. Steve Hackett is supremely talented as well, just not always my cuppa tea. I've come to realize that there are many prog rock songs I like, but not nearly as many prog rock albums. Thank you, 1001, for helping me learn more about myself

probably did this dirty listening to it at work so maybe with a pair of headphones i'd like it more but, with all apologies to Pat O'Connell & Mike, i do not want to spend ninety minutes listening to this again this year. maybe in 2027

Me gustó, disfrute. Agradable, cosas diferentes, buenas voces, disfrutable.

Both critics and Genesis fans agree that this album is their magnum opus (at least as far as the 1970s are concerned). Musically, it’s quite a pleasant listen, dominated by various keyboard textures and Phil Collins’s drum fills. Despite its 90-minute runtime, the record never feels tedious; the eight- and ten-minute suites largely give way to shorter, sketch-like tracks — and the songs themselves aren’t particularly complex, leaning more toward art-rock than progressive rock. Things start to fall apart when it comes to the lyrics — which are, of course, essential for a rock opera with a continuous narrative. Peter Gabriel crafted a fantastical tale in which the protagonist ends up in either a parallel world or some form of purgatory, faces a series of trials, and then… it all ends in… nothing? In short, reading these lyrics is like knowing every individual letter of the alphabet but being unable to form a single coherent word. An interesting album, to be sure, but an incredibly unwieldy one.

I didn’t know I kind of like old Genesis music. It’s a bit of a conundrum—I’m repulsed and intrigued at the same time.

Oh dear, another concept album. A double one with a runtime of more than an hour and a half. It's prog. Early indications are not promising, but this project is all about voyaging into the unknown, broadening horizons and finding gems in hitherto unexplored corners. So was I pleasantly surprised? No. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

Ok. Kinda weird concept thing

"Good" Genesis is still kind of boring. Too long.

I tried but the synth killed me.

Muy bueno el progresivo con Gabriel a todo pero que necesidad de hacer el álbum doble. Se hace larguísimo

beeeeeeeem longo, mas muito legal. nunca fica chato. eu achei a produção muito linda. se fosse menor, seria perfeito.

There's too much here to absorb in just a couple days but I really appreciate what I've heard and can tell it's something I want to listen to more.

Ambitious and messy with a near incomprehensible “story.” This is worth another look, especially with good songs here like The Carpet Crawlers, but I can’t say I found this as life-changing as Peter Gabriel might have imagined it to be.

A classic among progressive fans. For some reason early Genesis never connected with me (and I like later Peter Gabriel and later Genesis). Probably their most famous/popular album. Probably a very good album but it does nothing for me.

4.5

4.5

Nice prog, but too long. 4 stars

4.5/5

If this were just the first half, I'd go 4 stars, maybe even 4.5, but there's a lot of prog nonsense on the second half that brings it down. I definitely appreciate the shorter, tighter song structures here, as well as the more art rock direction. Standouts for me are the title track, "Fly on a Windshield", "Counting Out Time", "The Carpet Crawlers", and "Back in N.Y.C." 3.5 stars.

no, just no.

Well this really was something quite special. For whatever reason I had it in my head that I didn't much care for Genesis, but this album was genuinely fantastic. Whilst it is probably slightly too long, it never really felt like a drag and is likely one of those albums that could sneak its way up to being 5/5 with more listens.

На моей технике, звук ужасен. Что 2007 ремастер, что 2025. Когда писали высокие вывернули до предела. Никогда не делал, но и фильтры и эквалайзер не помогли. Что помогло? Слушать в машине, перестроить тракт на домашней.

First Genesis album I've listened to, mixed bag really, I had hoped it would be a bit better than average.

sixth album release from rock band genesis, and also the last one to feature peter gabriel as a vocalist. if you've been paying attention to past reviews, you'd probably remember how when I talked about car... this elaborate "rock opera" was made during tensions from band members, a lot of songs being from scattered jam sessions. initial critic reviews were mixed, but they wanted to get the music out there regardless, touring and performing the entire album live for a bit. this album is very ambitious, really because it's so long and story-driven, dabbling into human and sometimes existential themes. it's a prog rock three-ring circus, the entire thing going up, down, and all around in your ears. peter gabriel i think is a great vocalist, but i feel like at this point in the band's timeline, phil collins' style of singing might've ended up working better for this album. i love me some prog but sometimes this album gets a little looney. but hey, if you're wanting more of that stuff, there's a really wide spectrum of songs just for you.

I am more familiar with Genesis's pop albums post Gabriel. But I love Gabriels voice and liked this album more then I thought I would. I really enjoyed Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats oddly as its not usually my kind of song. While I still enjoy their later stuff more, this has encouraged me to seek out more of their prog rock. Like most double albums I find this does suffer from quantity vs quality and there was some weird electronic sounds added that I did not enjoy. Upon research I suspect these came from Brian Eno's contributions as I did not enjoy Roxy Music at all.

Album #169: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - Genesis Genre (W): Progressive rock, art rock Singles: Counting Out Time, The Carpet Crawlers I have listened to this album once before. Thoughts?: I think this album has a great production, but Peter Gabriel’s story is extremely bizarre. I get the message he is going for, but it feels like purple prose for the ears, or scenery porn. Favorite tracks: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Fly on a Windshield, Broadway Melody of 1974, In the Cage, The Chamber of 32 Doors, Lilywhite Lilith, Anyway, Here Comes the Supernatural Anasthetist, The Lamia, The Light Dies Down on Broadway, it.

never really listened to Genesis before, so this was a first impression for me. overall sounds like each player wanted to play as much as they possibly could. most songs beg for space; without it, the songs blend into each other and pass by with a lot of activity and panache and passages that feel like showmanship rather than a pursuit of anything deeper. there were a couple moments I did enjoy: the ambient approach on "Silent Sorry in Empty Boats", the spooky ambiance of "Ravine", and the declaration of "Erogenous zones, I love you" in "Counting Out Time".

Okay, so this really didn’t need to be this long. There were some sounds and moments I liked, like on the title track when they say, “On Broooaaa-aaa-haaa-haaad-wayyy,” and then they bring it back like 80 minutes later, that’s cool. But I couldn’t really follow it a lot of the time, bored as I was. I see there’s another Genesis album on the list and it’s a lot shorter. Hopefully they and I can stay a bit more focused. 2.5

Huh I should listen to more Genesis

The Genesis that pushed the boundaries and formed Peter Gabriel’s sensibility

Should be a rock opera

What a trip this one is when you really get down into the story. A double concept album with explorations of sexuality and interpersonal relationships through a journey through mythological fantasy world eventually ending in castration and literal self discovery. Crazy stuff. Great prog rock though.

Such an exceptionally well put together concept album. Music is big and sweeping and a masterpiece.

25/09/2026 I have to say I am very disappointed with this album... was very boring. Spotify listeners: 9.4 million

Had af en toe een "nowadays" Opeth momentje. Daarmee een iets hogere rating dan wat ik eerst voor ogen had.

Very proggy...

Echt wat een rollercauster. Er zitte echt heel goeie dingen in, heel slechte. Het feit dat ze per kan van de lp een andere muzikale stijl kiezen maakt dit erg wisselend

muy guapo

It was just … ok. I thought I liked genesis but this was a slog to sit through

Not pink Floyd bad but still bad

Finally some interesting music!! It's been a while. This is WAAAAAY too long and really could have used an editor, but I still had a great time. I had a six-hour train ride to kill, anyway.

Lesser than the sum of its parts

Αχ δεν ξερωωωωω

Excessive, indulgent prog dross.

There's one song I thought was really groovy but I don't think I'll ever hear it again because to find it would be like looking for a needle in a big, solo-filled conceptual haystack.

Impressive playing. Quite a lot to take in and the theatrical bits lose me sometimes.

Supposedly this was an hour and 34 minutes but I could believe I was listening to it for days. One thing I've learned from this album is that double albums are basically always overly bloated, self-indulgent exercises carried out by artists who really need someone to tell them which 50% of the tracks need to be cut in order to distill the work down to its best parts. If this were a long book I'd say it needed a more assertive editor. I don't know who plays the equivalent role is in the music industry but anyone producing over an hour's worth of tracks should get a brutally honest third party's opinion on what really shines and what's just filler

Genesis is so fucking good. I’m reminded every time I revisit an album of theirs. It’s a journey and a commitment but so worth the lengthy ride!

A gem?????

Jag har det lite svårt att bedöma detta album eftersom det är ganska komplext och långt. Jag gillar albumet och tycker det var underhållande men längden på det gjorde att det ibland kändes lite uttjatat. Jag tror att det är den typen av album som bara blir bättre och bättre för varje gång man lyssnar. Det var inte helt lätt att ta sig an men jag gillar väldigt många låtar och tycker om kreativiteten och soundet. Jag gillar Genesis sen innan och tycker om hur Phil Collins och Peter Gabriel samspelar. Jag ger albumet en 7,5/10.

Jag lyssnade väldigt mycket på detta dubbelalbum igår! Skulle beskriva detta som ett funk prog album. Generellt så gillar jag albumet. Det har sina definitiva låg punkter men också otroliga höjdpunkter. Tycker att dem två sista låtarna är ren peak och helt otroliga. Men samtidigt så har vi låtar som The waiting room som tyvärr är en skip varje gång jag lyssnande. Jag förstår att ett progalbum som detta behöver per definition sina lugna stunder där de bara är atmosfäriskt, men kan tycka att just här drog de ner betyget. Det positiva är att dessa lugna och dåliga stunderna gör dem riktiga låtarna så pass mycket bättre. Tror att jag säkert hade uppskattat albumet mer ifall jag lyssnade fler ggr. Men det är här denna längd på album förstör lite helhetsupplevelse när man har sån kort tid att lyssna. Jag Grabbensomintekollarpåexplosioner ger detta album en 8/10, men de är för att ”in the rapids” och ”it” drar upp helheten sååå sjukt mycket. Vill också säga ”The Chamber of 32 Doors” är också en banger. Finns säkert fler låtar på albumet som kommer växa på mig och bli bangers.

I initially thought I hadn't heard much early genesis, but was surprised to know that I was quite familiar with this album's opening songs. After the first handful of songs, they are less familiar. All seemingly high quality lyrically and musically but nothing that hooks me in. The Waiting Room, I listened both to the original version and the 2007 Remaster. This is a jam-band style presentation with lots of electronica and normally I really like those, but I felt happier when it ended. I've rarely found a double album that couldn't have been improved by cutting it down to a single album, but this may be an exception. Certainly, a few songs lost might have improved things.

38

No, sorry, this is incomprehensible prog-concept stuff that really over stays its welcome over four sides of vinyl. Having said that, this was probably quite an influential album until prog got caught in the punk avalanche and fell somwhat out of favour.

Pre-listen thoughts: There are movies shorter than this album. This had better be an odyssey. Post-listen thoughts: Alright, yeah, that was pretty impressive. Kept me engaged almost the entire time. Sincere in its execution and commitment to the concept, but not overly serious. Some striking performances from the band here and great melodies and hooks. Certainly ambitious. A huge listening commitment that didn’t make me feel like I was wasting my time. Prog I can get down with. This feels like I’m conceding something somehow.

I like it better than Yes. It's more of a mood than a series of songs. The double album length was too much for me, but I enjoyed it for about 20 mins. I like Gabriel's solo work better. But Genisis with him is better than Genisis without.

I like Genesis, but sometimes it's repetitive :/

Phenomenal album. I bought a record player specifically because I saw this on vinyl at the record store and was compelled to own it. It was a good choice.

Pa nije loš album uopće, nisam ih nikad aktivno slušala i bila sam skeptična, ali ovaj album mi je dobar. 3/5, 6/10

I can see why Gabriel’s bandmates weren’t thrilled with him doing all the lyrics. There’s some cool stuff on here, and some stuff that falls flat because it’s too weird because they’re trying too hard to be like The Beatles.

I got over halfway though this, but seriously, what was the point of continuing? I hate prog. I hate theatricality. And this is both. On a double album. But I want to try. So I paid attention to some of the lyrics - after all, prog is about "study" and "discovery" right? "The cheerleader waves her cyanide wand, there's the smell of peach blossom and bitter almond". Yeah, I feel there is less to unpack here than some might suggest. Lyrically it feels like a bad movie full of obscure cultural references - tiny dopamine hits of recognition hiding a fundamentally lacking product. In my last review I talked about Spector's Wall Of Sound, and how I don't get the hate it receives. I expect that the people who hate on Wall Of Sound also worship stuff like this - intricate, defined, eclectic... disjointed, gibberish, soulless. I'm well ahead of my DNF target, so I do not feel bad about giving up on this.

Melkeen yltää 5 tähteen! Olis 4,5 jos vaa pystys antaan.

Hmmm

I love that all these guys broke up, gave up on this prog sound and all became wildly successful playing completely different music

Not quite as good as their best albums.

I suspect the lamb lay down in the hope it would be crushed and therefore never have to listen to Genesis again.

Absolutely mad album. Not sure what i was expecting but it wasn't this. Quite enjoyed it weirdly

I knew there had to be a reason why I'd only heard of 1 track from this album!

It’s the Wall but good. Liking this was an uphill battle for me… double album … rock opera….. and yet, it succeeds and does so in spades.Ridiculously consistently fun and interesting not sure if I actually prefer it to selling England by the pound or not but was very impressed and will come back for more (when I have a big gap to fill). Outstanding

8. septembar 2026. 21.38h can i be hony? im idgafing about genesis RIGHT NOW ovaj album mi pomalo zvuci kao nesto sto bi carli iz its always funny napravio sigurna sam da je bas dobar nekome ko voli genesis best: in the cage, the carpet crawlers, the waiting room

Love prog rock love genesis it's not they're best but still a great record

They're calling it "Diet Prog Rock" Gabriel is fine but his voice doesn't feel very suited for music like this. Also it has been 0 days since British musicians wrote commentary about America. Some of the lyrics felt so weird, like "Groucho in his movies but he forgot the punchline". It feels like 1/3 prog rock surrealism and 2/3 quirkchungus imitation/meaningless commentary. Instrumentation was fine but pretty forgettable, you know it's bad when they don't mic the drum like other prog rock groups. 2.5/5

Fav: It’s all so good I can’t choose L: 5 Last one to rate to the album thinks Genesis was better without Peter Gabriel. I got this cd a couple years ago and I think I enjoy it more every time I listen to it. The second side really slows down and probably loses a lot of people but I enjoy the whole thing with all the goofy stuff and everything. Wesley would live in the colony of slippermen. Cover: 4.5 awesome but I don’t really like the genesis logo Name: 4 very good

"numbers" are so back. This could be a 5 with time, I think. I'm not sure how to feel about the general sound throughout. But the songwriting and talent is unmistakable. W: back in nyc, counting time L: none 4/5

I'm into a lil whimsy

Of the two albums I got this week with Peter Gabriel on them, this one is certainly umm… the longer one? There is a world of difference between this and what he was doing later in his career and thank god he changed

prog genesis

not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue

Great production value and you can tell very good art, it’s just not my sound.

Don't know if I fully understood the lyrics to this, but still a very entertaining listen. Despite being over 90 minutes long, it held my attention for the entirety of the runtime, helped immensely by the composition and production. The writing is very eclectic for a prog album, with the mood swinging from soft and introspective to wild and experimental in a way that feels completely natural. The lyrics by Peter Gabriel are very striking and evocative, and while I'm not entirely sure how to interpret them, they definitely succeed in painting a scene quite well.

This was good, overly long, but good. I doubt I’ll ever listen to it again, but I’m glad I listened once. 7.5/10.

The last Genesis album with Peter Gabriel and it still a pity that they moved apart from each other. Genesis became a pop band and although I love the Peter Gabriel solo output, it never reached the same heights as with the Genesis albums. Classic timeless progrock.

Not my vibe.

interesting but not for me

What a mess

I couldn't finish it. In the words of the stoner older brother from sing street... "No woman can ever truly love a man who lsitens to Phil Collins"

I have a lot of time for Genesis and prog rock in general but this never really grabbed me like some of their other works. The first disc has the better songs, and the better arrangements, with the second disc getting more in to prog weirdness. It's not always a bad thing but that weirdness has to be compelling and this just isn't to me. I couldn't really follow the story of the album that well. It just seems like a guy leaves his place in the Bronx, goes to Manhattan, sees a bunch of weird shit, meets a magical lady, and then goes on some insane acid trip without doing any drugs. It wasn't that interesting, which is disappointing because Genesis can write some really great lyrics, but they didn't here. I'm complaining a lot but on pure musicality this is solid Genesis and a competent prog album. Not too many other bands could write something like this, let alone perform it competently. It didn't drag on too much despite being an hour and a half long. Its' got some great solos, particularly the keys. It's not bad it's just not up to Genesis standards, I think.

At first I thought, "oh, double album, this is going to be really long". But then, not so much only 94 minutes. Then I though, "wow, double album, this is really long."