The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

It’s only over recent years that I’ve started paying any attention to prog-rock. Rush came up on my radar and I fell in love, and I have since listened to Yes as well. I’d never really given Genesis a chance as the songs I’d already heard (Invisible Touch and Land Of Confusion) were much more pop than I expected. Songs I already knew: none Favourite after listening: Counting Out Time, Carpet Crawlers First, this was a double album so is longer than most, taking just over 90 minutes to get through all 22 songs. Longer albums have scored poorly from me before as it takes a lot of mental stamina to focus for that long. However, I was able to sit through this in one session and at no point felt bored. I will say that some songs are a little weird, but in a way that fits well with the rest of the album. Overall, I loved it but I know that prog isn’t for everyone, so I can understand people hating it too.

Disclaimer: Huge Genesis fan here. I was listening to this in the car with my teenage son recently, as one does, right? Right?? I was surprised that he's been digging early Genesis so we went through this one. It was interesting to listen to it with him and think about how this album sounds to new ears. Album 1 is amazing and my son absolutely loved it. The opening trio of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Fly on a Windshield, and Broadway Melody of 1974 is just stunningly good. Chills every freakin' time. Back in NYC, In the Cage, and Carpet Crawlers are all great songs. Album 1 is a clear 5. Album 2...well, it has some great moments: Lilywhite Lilith. the keyboard solo in Riding the Scree...plus "It" is a great closer (both to the album and to Peter Gabriel's time with Genesis). But Album 2 also has a lot of weird moments - I was cringing a few times at how it might be coming across to him and I can imagine that a lot of people end up saying "wtf" many times during Album 2 (and maybe even occasionally on Album 1). Plus, I worried that Album 2 was dragging out too much and the story is, um, awkward to say the least (google Peter Gabriel's slipperman costume. On second thought, don't). But, as we neared the end and I told my son that we were on the second to last song, he was actually disappointing that the album was almost over. Poor kid is going to be a prog fan I guess. I want to make it crystal clear I didn't push him to listen! Anyway (as the song goes)...to give it a 4 or 5? Here's where I'm going to have to let my Genesis freak-flag fly: It's a 5 (it's also chicken, eggs, and in between your legs). Every time I hit the end of the album, I want to listen again. If that isn't a 5, I don't know what is.

This is Gabriel Genesis at its peak (in my humble opinion)…he is about to break from them and forge his own path.

This is a prime example of why most double albums are overhyped marketing tools. As Bilbo would say, this album feels like butter scraped over too much bread. It's still great, but there are too many thin spots that drag it down from what should be something better.

Did no one try to stop them?

"The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" is the 6th studio album for Genesis. It is a double album and the last one with Peter Gabriel as lead singer. It is also a concept album (boy, is it ever) about a Puerto Rican boy, Rael, from the Bronx who goes on a self-discovery adventure in NYC and faces challenges with family ( I think his brother betrays him like two or three times), authority, sex, love and self-sacrifice. The story is both easy and hard to follow the exact details. Peter Gabriel wrote the story and all the lyrics and said it was loosely based on "West Side Story," several pyscological concepts and the western film "El Topo." The first part is more about Raul discovering the outside of NYC and the second side is more fantasy with caves (lots of caves), mythological beings (Lama, Slippermen), ravens, boats and rivers. I really don't know if Rael ends up dead or alive at the end. Although Genesis wanted to avoid the Prog Rock moniker, this is solid prog rock. Musically, the synthesizers, organs, piano and keyboards of Tony Banks and the drumming of Phil Collins are the highlights. To experience this album, you really need to listen to it whole. It is exhausting though at 1 hour 34 minutes and with the entire storyline. For me, the song highlights are the ones you here on the radio (at least in the US). I always liked the title track for Gabriel's vocals (both lead and backing) and the keyboards and piano. It starts Rael off on his journey after apparently witnessing a lamb lying down on Broadway (not entirely clear). "The Carpet Crawlers" has the best and weirdest story, Rael in a room of people on their knees (the carpet crawlers) going towards a door and a Spiral staircase. Well, in the next few songs, Rael goes up the spiral staircase to a room filled with 32 doors and is eventually rescued by a blind women whom he leads across the floor. Anyway, Banks' keyboards and Collins' drums/drum programming are great in "The Carpet Crawlers." If you're a Genesis, Prog Rock, concept album or maybe even a fantasy fan, this album should be right up your alley.

Admittedly, pretty exhausting. The synth sounds range from "interesting" to "that hasn't aged well *at all*". Also contains one of the least sensual songs on sex I've ever heard. I can hear Rush being inspired by this. I feel like it'd make an interesting stage show, though. Favorite tracks: "In the Cage"

Weird

Solid progressive rock. Production values are very high level, and I think ahead of their time for 1974. This could have come out in 1984 and I would have had the same sentiment. Cons: Even though I mentioned it being great production, I think that synths in the 70s were still a newish tech for bands and acts around this era tended to overdo it. For me, the synth solo throughout the track "In The Cage" really is quite annoying. Synths most often are devoid of any dynamic qualities. They are 100% volume 100% of the time (unless the volume of the instrument is changing at the mixing stage), unlike a piano or a guitar. These solos are blistering runs that lack any kind of interesting layer in them beyond "speed". Not really my thing. Could be my age speaking since I don't really like any kind of solo that's only interesting quality is "fast" "Back in NYC" is really cool. I love the lead instrument. It's repetitive yet really cool and interesting intervals, and tied to the drums to make a really fun groove. "Hairless Heart" sounds like a Final Fantasy video game track. So cool. "Counting Out Time" is very obviously about erogenous zones. Gotta love that. "Colony of Slippermen" is so weird- it's like goblins talking into your ears.t The in between / instrumental tracks are really well placed. This album is an adventure. It really goes places. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The only thing keeping it a 5 is that it doesn't really have any huge memorable / catchy tracks that the band is capable of. Or maybe it's just that it's my first time hearing these. I'm giving it a 4 but it's a very high 4.

I have no idea what to think about this. After like a quarter of the album I wrote this: "This is my intro to Genesis and Peter Gabriel, and I’m thinking it might not be the greatest place to start. There’s definitely some good here, particularly lots of unique instruments and sounds behind the vocals. Overall though, this just is not working for me. I don’t love the concept album, it feels like it should be the soundtrack for a movie or something instead of a standalone album. Everything just sounds a little over dramatic to me. This also might be heresy, but Peter Gabriel’s voice kind of rubs me the wrong way on a lot of the songs. I’m very open to being wrong about this one after listening to more of their stuff, but right now it’s not doing it for me." Then I don't know if the album took a turn for the better or I just started to get it or what, but I really liked a lot of it. There were a few stretches where I would give it a 4-5 rating and a few stretches where I would give it a 1-2 rating. Some of my criticisms from the beginning still definitely hold. It's a bit overly theatrical for my liking and it's way too long (especially given some weak stretches). I also do like the uniqueness of the background noises, but it's a bit synth-heavy on the back half which isn't really my thing. But still, a few places where this totally shined too, like Carpet Crawlers is buried in the middle of this 94 minute album and it's just incredible. I've never written so many words in a review and I still have no clue what to rate this. Usually a 3 for me means I'm mostly indifferent, but that's not the case at all here. What a ride. I think I need to listen to more Genesis and come back to this. Favorite song: Carpet Crawlers Others: Counting Out Time, The Waiting Room, It

Over the years I spent a lot of time with this album. I have mixed feelings about it: on one hand, it's got songs I consider proper favourites (Carpet Crawlers, to name one off the top of my head). But on the other hand - 1. It's a bit too prog when it comes to prog rock, at least in my book. 2. Sides 3 & 4 offer nuclear winter levels of desolation when it comes to quality tunes, at least in comparison to the wealth on offer by sides 1 & 2. To sum up, there are some excellent tracks here, but the album itself is far too long for its own good.

There are a lot of great moments here, but they are just that…moments. The songs here seem to lack the cohesion that Genesis captured exceptionally only two albums prior on “Foxtrot”. A lot of songs on “Lamb” don’t seem to have that cohesion; their movements come and go, often quickly, and they don’t really seem to fit together sometimes. As a concept record, it feels clunky and probably could have been paired down to an excellent single album, rather than a feature film-length double lp. The album for me hit its peak in the back half of the first record, starting with “In the Cage” and the following 4 or 5 tracks. By the 11th track, I started losing interest. By track 15, I was ready to lay down on Broadway and let traffic take its course. It’s too much. I mean, people weren’t really wrong about prog, were they? This is definitely a pretentious, overwrought collection of songs with rock music presented in a similar vein to a Broadway musical and at 90 minutes long, it starts to feel like homework after a while.

*sigh* I'm bored at approximately the same place as the last time. I should like this; I've tried to like this, but there's something so earnestly self-serious that is leaving me underwhelmed. It's hermetically sealed for the already fans, and I can't get in. I'm sure it's important, just not to me. I like Hawkwind.

I guess I'll never get Genesis. It's so goofy sounding, but not in a fun way like Rush or Yes or whatever.

Hallelujah! I had given up any expection of finding this album on the list (988 albums in) and the relief is palpable. This is one of the greatest achievements in rock. Utterly sublime from start to finish. It is so good that availability should be strictly limited to those capable of appreciating what is surely Peter Gabriel's finest hour (and that's really saying something). Mere words are inadequate and 5 stars aren't enough - just listen in awe.

Genesis at their very best. Gabriel's tale of Puerto Rican street punk Rael in NYC is timeless. If I had to choose one album to take on a desert island ...this is the one!

An early favorite

a really great album, the last Peter Gabriel-fronted release, still sounds progtastic, a concept album !

Ohhhh, this one is goooooood. I’m angry I’m only hearing it now. I wish I’d discovered it as a teenager when I would listen to albums enough to memorize them. I don’t think I have that in me now but I’m tempted to try.

This is a thought on. I am neither sure if I loved or hated this and think I need to listen a few more times, but also know it is an hour and a half a time. It was at points beautiful, at points grating, lyrics often daft and sung with seriousness, sometimes at the same time. It sounds like a wierd cross between the Who, Zappa and Preservation era Kinks. My favourite moments tended to be the instrumentals, the waiting room and silent sorrow in empty boats, finding Gabriel's voice and lyrics a bit hard to take. I can't help wonder what the whole thing as pure instrumental would sound like. Yet despite all this, I can't help admire the ambition of it and found myself thinking more about this album than many I have lived. Perhaps that is a sign of its depth or maybe its just too silly for me to properly focus. Who knows, maybe that's what makes this challenge worthwhile.

82/100. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis is a great progressive rock record with solid production and strong vocals throughout. While I might not love it quite as much as some others do, it’s still extremely enjoyable, especially considering its ambitious 90+ minute runtime. A bold and imaginative album that showcases Genesis at their creative peak.

Patchy, but Gabriel’s genius is still there

Amazing album. Love it.

Like a number of other prog rock bands in this collection, Genesis doesn't need more than one album for the vast majority of us to get the feel for them, and it's particularly frustrating that the two Genesis albums in this collection were created and released only a couple of years apart. At the very least, it would have been nice to get one Peter Gabriel-helmed album, and one Phil Collins-led album, but I guess that's not meant to be. I'm not sure I could say that I enjoyed this album much more than "Selling England By The Pound", and I definitely wish this wasn't a double-album, as it loses steam long before the second disc is even ready, but I'll give them credit for taking the whole "concept album" concept pretty literally. I'd also say that the best tracks are found as you flip from Side 1 to Side 2 ("The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging" and "Back in N.Y.C." in particular), although "Counting out time" is also a fun self-contained number that also seem pretty out of place. As a soundtrack to a musical about a Puerto Rican kid on a spiritual journey, it's definitely more musically interesting and engaging than Andrew Lloyd Weber's rock-oriented compositions (and I would highly recommend reading the Wikipedia entry for the album for the plot summary, as there's no way I would have ever found a story from the songs themselves). But that may not be saying much, I admit. And props to Peter Gabriel for finding some inspiration from Jodorowsky's films, with all their bizarre/allegorical mind-bending qualities. Interesting too that both Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel cite it as their favorite Genesis album.

Genesis with Peter Gabriel > Genesis with Phil Collins. Anyway, here are 1,001 albums you need to hear if you’re super into prog rock.

3.1 - Album 1 is good. I’d give album 1, by itself, a 3.6. Album 2 is absolutely horrendous. Every minute feels like the rock gods are meticulously exacting their pound of flesh from various parts of my body.

Finally bit the bullet and listened to the whole thing. Ambitious, musical, but still lacking those giant songs needed for something like this.

Bit long

That was harder work than I expected. Never listened to this start to finish, and it really is far too long and convoluted. There are a few brilliant bits in there - The Cage, both the On Broadway tracks, and Carpet Crawlers - but it's surrounded by a lot of what feels like filler. Story is convoluted and too literally 'Hero's Journey' for me, and musically it's much the same. Shave out the filler, cut it down to under an hour, and it's probably a 4 for me, as it is it barely scrapes a 3. Hopefully we have more, tighter Genesis albums to come...

I was only familiar with their well known songs so I was very interested in listening to this album because there aren't any well known songs on it. My first thought after listening it for the first time: Boy, I do NOT get progressive rock lmao! Also the album is a long one, but I guess if you're into Genesis alot that's a good thing. Tbh, I'm not really that into Phill's vocals. The lyrics vagueness differ from song to song and the usage of the synthesizer (way ahead of its era) makes the album a woolly experience. Sometimes I had the idea I was listening to an acid trip unfolding. I think I'll keep to their well known songs.

There’s some decent prog rock in here when Gabriel shuts the hell up. When he is singing I feel like if I wanted to listen to Pinball Wizard I’d listen to Pinball Wizard. Ultimately I don’t know why I’d listen to this over Selling England by the Pound or basically anything by Yes

I have no idea why this album is on here. genesis has some great albums and this one is just meh

Oh boy, I got entirely too anxious for this one to be over.

Too long, and not enough to keep me there

It’s very boring. None of these songs grabbed my attention. I just prefer the sellout pop rock version of Genesis to the highly conceptual prog rock one. Give me Invisible Touch and I Can’t Dance over this carpet crawlers bullshit any day.

why was it an hour and 34 minutes?

I kind of would just rather listen to Phil Collins’ or Peter Gabriel’s solo music… prog rock is so hard to get into

I don’t know if I’m just deaf or something but I understood 5 words per song on this album

I feel i should like this more than I do, have tried to listen to the whole album several times however and it doesn't do it for me. I normally like prog rock and story telling in music. This leaves me uninterested however, like a band trying hard to make an arty album.

First time hearing. Too whimsical for my taste. I like a lot of prog stuff from this era but couldn't really latch onto any tracks. The album is absurdly long too, which didn't help.

Might be the biggest load of pretentious nonsense I've heard so far. From the absurd plot (as described on Wikipedia) which appears, incredibly, to be being taken seriously, to the self-indulgent tunes and length, this whole album is insufferable and self-satisfied. The single enjoyable track in it for me was Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats, a simple instrumental. Otherwise, yuck.

Um, this is not really my jam. I guess it’s a little better than yesterday’s selection but not by much.

Ugh, a prog "rock" album that's light on rock, heavy on pop. But, has a less coherent story than Quadrophenia and Tommy put together. I made it to "The Carpet Crawlers" and nothing impressed me. In fact, many reviews noted how much they loved Carpet Crawlers and it was a complete nothing song for me. One star - too long; didn't finish. Won't every try to understand Genesis. Good lord this was trash.

Yeah, no thanks. If my music is gonna tell a story— it is gonna be METAL!!!! And probably the story will be about dragons n’ shit!

What is the point of prog? This sounds like Spinal Tap without a hint of irony

1.5

94 minutes! Goodness me God prog rock can be boring.... How can three grown men seriously sit and write this tosh! Boring beyond belief Rush do prog rock better

A while ago I decided I should try to get into Genesis, but I hadn't taken that much time for it yet, so I was very glad to generate this album. Absolute banger! There's only a few moments I didn't love, like the first 3 minutes of The Waiting Room.

Masterpiece

Amazing album. Prog rock at its finest and I believe it was Peter Gabriel's last hurrah with Genesis! A fitting end

A masterclass in prog rock, simply as. Solid 5 Stars.

I’m at a 5. Not quite what I was expecting as a follow-up to “Selling England by the Pound” – that’s a pretty straightforward prog rock album. This is… certainly something, though I think its wild eccentricities are right down my alley. Peter Gabriel should probably be tested for drugs. This is a science fiction journey that starts in New York City with a graffiti artist named Rael, who becomes abandoned by his brother & entrapped in a cave, before dealing with humanoid factories & weird insectoids that can’t decide how society should work. He then finds 32 doors that seemingly only have one way out, before escaping to face his fears. He then dies of anesthesia, gets revived as a humanoid blob of gelatinous flesh, meets some mythological temptresses, but because he’s so goddamn boring, he literally kills & eats them. Afterwards, he canoes his way to a society of “Slippermen” (and by all means, please Google “Slippermen”), who rip his dick off in an attempt to make him fully human again… before a fucking raven takes his ripped off dick and flies away with it. He finds a portal back to New York City, but before going through it, sees his brother drowning in river rapids near a ravine, and decides to save him… before it turns out, he was his own brother all along. He has saved “himself”. From what? I have no earthly idea. That is, at the very least, my rough interpretation of whatever this story is, which is a maddening concept album that feels like a Star Trek parody on drugs. I truly cannot imagine writing this at all. And yet, for whatever god damn reason, because it’s Peter Gabriel, his maddening vision somehow fruitfully comes to life in one of the coolest prog rock soundscapes I’ve heard from a 70s album. Even if you ignore the batshit insane plot from a lyrical standpoint, the instrumentals, vocal performances & song titles do a decent enough job of getting a framework across. I don’t think this is as good as Selling England by the Pound, if only because it’s 40 minutes longer & is significantly more confusing due to the concept album plotline, but in terms of pure musicality, this feels kind of even. There’s some fantastic melodies throughout this thing, some excellent guitar work, and some absolutely mental drum patterns from Phil Collins. Honestly, the whole album feels pretty captivating throughout; even at 94 minutes, I never found myself in too much of a lull, but it certainly helps that each side of this album is sort of its own act in this overarching story. Combine that with the number of ambient instrumentals that work as transitions, and the pacing of this album keeps it feeling fresh. I liked it, but I totally get why someone else might hate it – it’s a weird fucking album, for sure, and following this plot might take away from some of the more musical moments scattered throughout. It’s definitely not the straight-forward, easy, mesmerizingly good album that “Selling England By The Pound” was, but it’s not trying to be at all. For Peter Gabriel’s final album as a member of Genesis, he sure went out with… it. I still truly don’t know what “it” is, but he sure seemed happy to find it. Ultimately, this is a goofy science fiction album that plays itself totally straight, and which has no right to work as well as it does. I’m a sucker for that sort of campy B-movie bullshit, sue me. At worst, I think it’s a 3 if you hate the presence of a plot, or if the album is just too long to hold one’s attention – for me, it’s a 5. God bless the other members of Genesis for indulging Peter in this wacky plot. How that same man wrote “Melt” & “So”, I’ll never truly know. What a guy.

4.5

one of their masterpieces

Great album. Love the narrative.

I had taken a break off this project recently as it had started to become rather onerous to wade through all these endless iterations of white dudes' rock from English speaking countries but this? This right here? Fuck yeah! I had no idea! And I really should have had an idea. On one last day before the summer holidays, when the history teacher rolled in the VHS unit for us to see a movie or something for that year's last lesson, Birte and Tanja produced a tape of Marillion at Lorely, the 1987 concert. So we watched that. And Thank you, Birte and Tanja! That had kicked off quite a bit of fandom. Now, I had been somewhat aware of Marillion being compared to or even accused of copying Gabriel era Genesis but only in the context of Grendel/Supper's Ready. But now I see! And it's wonderful. How have I not heard this before?? At #366, the easiest and most pleasantly interesting long album so far. Only one moment where my attention, interest and joy drifted off a bit (Counting Out Time) but other than that, Perfection. This is the good prog. 10 stars.

I have happy memories sitting around with my older siblings listening to this while reading.

So many good songs here. I could easily listen to this again and actually get the lyrics this time.

Due to its great length as a double disc with so many strong songs, "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" might be my favorite Genesis record, even if there are bits of it I'd prefer to skip. But beyond that, this album demonstrates a wide variety of sound and styles. From an odd hybrid of prog meets punk on 'Back in NYC' to the proto-ambient atmosphere of 'Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats', the band routes its talented passages through the weird world of Peter Gabriel's imagination. The concept is incomprehensibly wacky, and when listening, you sometimes get the sense that Peter Gabriel snuck into the studio to lay down his lyrics and voice on top of whatever the band cooked up without him. Nevertheless, follow along with the lyrics and read what was written; even if the story doesn't make sense, the word play at work in these songs is remarkable. It all makes for an expressive and memorable record, the magnificent swansong of the Gabriel era of the band.

Bliss. One of the best three albums ever. Probably the best concept album ever. Keyboards are amazing. The variations in speed, key, emotion are just wonderful. And each track fits so beautifully together to make a fantastic whole. Truely a Ten, out of five.

5/5

Filled with a lot of great moments. Excellent jams and songs throughout the entire album. Its a long sit but it doesn't really lose my interest and is plenty varied. All the songs work incredibly well on their own.

Peter Gabriel is wacky and makes wacky nonsense. You can't look at Genesis without admitting that. With that said, this is a great album. Concept albums almost always get a little fanciful and out there and this one does that in spades. Most of it being based on dreams and having a loosely disjointed thread is so great to see in an album. All the skill and talent are here and they built something they wanted to do in their own way, knowing it would be weirdly received by critics at best. Not all music can be like this but I'm really glad some is.

The album art, tho a little interesting doesn't do much for me. I got five tracks in on the car stereo, but this is a headphones album. Cinematic opening track. Fly on a Windshield/ Brodway Melody has a cool vibe. In the Cage; again so cinematic, driving energy. The synthy stuff is so good on here. This would all go great with 1980s animation like Time Masters or Gandahar. Back in N.Y.C. gives me anxiety, but it goes places. Maybe three tracks didn't instantly hit me on disc one, but they were all strong enough that I believe with more time appreciation would grow. I think taking a pause or intermission between disc one and two is the way to go. It felt jarring to go right into it. The Waiting Room was captivating. Anyway made me want to re-listen instantly. The Lamia won me over. Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats was very pleasant accompanying the sun rise while listening. Then an audio play. The vocals could be a little louder. Great ending track for this cinematic experience. Takes you out on a high. Peter Gabriel makes really good cadence choices that make the listener pay attention. The production, creativity and writing are interesting throughout the two discs. It's a lot to listen to in one sitting, but it's quite the accomplishment. I'll need to schedule another listen someday.

Love Peter Gabriel and his era of Genesis. Love this album.

Gabriel era Genesis >> Collins era Genesis A rock opera of sorts, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is a sprawling prog-rock adventure. In the Cage is an absolute jam. Love the synthesizer and bass work with the poly-rhythmic drums throughout. Back in N.Y.C. is another standout -- synthesizer dances up and down arpeggios while the bass thrums slowly. But really it is the drum work that shines here -- busy, but tight and always gratifying. Hairless Heart is both a very strange song name and a great instrumental ballad bridging Back in N.Y.C. into Counting Out Time. Things spread out into aural / ambient territory on Silent Sorry in Empty Boats before bleeding over to the multipart odyssey The Colony of Slippermen. The foreign sounding synth instrumental intro channels a more experimental atmosphere that's far from where this album started, but things quickly adopt a familiar tone as Gabriel takes the mic. Riding the Scree is way groovier than it has any right to be. While the tone of synths (often what I associate with ELP) is inherently silly (to me) the song absolutely jams with an energy similar to Stranglehold. Love this album through and through. Soft 5 (9/10) territory

That was a bit of an epic album I must say. Never really listened to old Genesis with Peter Gabriel at all but now I feel like I must listen to much more. That was like a combination of Rush, Yes, and Pink Floyd all rolled up into 1 Prog Rock opera sandwich which absolutely hits all of the right parts of my music affinity. Even at a whopping 94 minutes that album absolutely flew by with the seamless transitions and little instrumental/synthy interludes that came out of no where. Absolutely a slam dunk 5

1970s long form relax drug music. But LLDOB is so good!!

complex, unique, truly superb. continues to reward relistens, more than a decade than i first heard it.

One of my favorites, full of melody and bombast.

Amazing prog vibes

My favorite prog concept album. It never takes itself too seriously and is more outwardly impressive if a bit showy musically instead of being self indulgent. The story is gritty, psychological interesting and gounded in NYC reality rather than being a flight of fancy.

I love this album. So many fantastic tracks. Superb composition and instrumentation. A lot of the sounds on this album are just magical. Title track is fanatastic, the intro piano sets the mood for the album so well. In the Cage's keyboard solo a few minutes in is so good. Back in NYC is an absolute killer track and I love the high gritty vocals. Carpet Crawlers is delightful and often gets stuck in my head. Anyway has such an amazingly sinister heaviness. The Lamia is one of the most enchantingly beautiful songs I have ever heard, amazing composition and chord progression (and the subsequent track sounds like heaven). "It" is simply one of the most perfect final tracks I know of, it wraps the album up so well with such an amazing energy.

I’m a sucker for an overblown concept album so there was always a danger that I’d love this. Fortunately I’m also a sucker for a catchy hook, good riff and a bit of poetic storytelling and these are all present in spades. Of course, there is a lot here that is batshit crazy but it keeps on rewarding me with melodies, basslines and little fills that just bring joy to my ears. I had to come back to it a few times and kept expecting it to outstay its welcome (23 songs, 94 minutes…) but it never did. An absolute masterpiece.

Somehow never listened to early Genesis before; this is great, although dauntingly long of course. It'll need a few listens, but it's a masterpiece. Lyrics might indeed be completely mental, but the music is incredible.

The problem with streaming is you don't experience the bat shit crazy liner notes that peter Gabriel wrote on the vinyl cover. But, putting that aside, this is music that takes years to get into your DNA but, when it does, its majestic. Try 'Carpet Crawlers' as a stand alone track and you'l lget an insight as to what each piece can bring eventually. Its my favourite Genesis album and in my top 20 albums of all time.

Eines der größten Konzeptalben aller Zeiten. Klare 5/5 Sterne mit Herzchen!

5/5. This is nostalgia for me, and that will definitely be put into my score for this album. I can admit that song to song, they are not all perfect, but with albums as a whole, especially concept albums, the flow from song to song is most important and I am engaged every time, moving through each song with feeling and arriving solid conclusion. And then I want to start it up again. Progressive Rock is pretentious but it is also fun and epic, trying new things, hoping they stick, and if they do, it's hard dislike. My opinion of course, but an awesome album for me. Best Song: Carpet Crawlers, In The Cage, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

I first listened to this in my teens. It was my only attempt to listen to Genesis, and it put me off from them. I think my brain was simply too small then.

Some people consider this album to almost be the first Peter Gabriel solo album, but it's actually more accurate to think of it as the first Genesis album without Peter Gabriel, seeing as he wrote the lyrics, but then left it very much up to the rest of the band to come up with the music. It's probably the album from the original line up with the most consistent quality - in my opinion anyway. I can also understand the common complaint that it's hard work and doesn't have any stand out tracks. I struggled with this album many times before something clicked and I came to love it. It's very much a concept album, in that it needs to be played from start to finish in one sitting, taking you on a musical journey. It's also my favourite Genesis album by far, and an easy 5 stars. However, there's individual tracks on other albums that in isolation are head-and-shoulders above anything appearing here.

I am so glad so many people don't like it - it just confirms everything I ever thought about why people might listen to music. It mine, my precccciousssss. You will not get it.

Desert Island Disc. I’ve loved it for years.

First Album is nearly perfection. Second album gets a little lost, but ultimately still has some great moments. Chamber of 32 Doors and Anyway are incredible.

Uncertain if this is my favourite Genesis album (it’s either this one or Selling England By The Pound) but any album that is over an hour long that can keep me this engaged is an easy five-star album!

Genious album

Throwback to being young, discovering prog rock for the first time, and having plenty of uninterrupted 90+-minute segments throughout the day to actually listen to a full album.

It’s impressive that Genesis was able to produce one of the greatest prog albums of all time, when you read about the problematic writing and recording sessions. It’s too rare of an occasion that I get to listen to the entire thing in one sitting … And while that’s shame, I wouldn’t want it to be even a second shorter.

Wonderful!

I know my rating is irrationally high, but it is from my 15-year-old self.

Errogenous Zones, I love you! I've listened to this album many times before, and still have no clear idea what the narrative is about. The lyrics are very poetic, however, full of striking images and interesting turns of phrase. Musically as well, this album is great; I love the frantic keys and fantastical melodies that turn up throughout the first half. The second album is a bit more meandering and nightmarish, but still enjoyable and very atmospheric. I think this is the band at their creative peak, as things just weren't the same after Gabriel (and later Hackett) left. In fact, I think their second phase was so starkly different to the first that they should have changed the band's name. Overall, this is a brilliant album and one of the few double albums on the list that earns it's place. A real high point in prog rock.

so amazing!!

I'm continuing the tradition of giving every famous prog-rock band 5 stars (except Rush). This album has everything: the drummer being the most famous member of the band, weird lyrics, that electric organ, a flute, and a long runtime. It's also just beautiful.

An absolute mess of a narrative, but I’ll take this over The Wall any day. Brilliant songwriting and musicianship throughout. A-

Good find, really enjoyed it !

Original lineup of Genesis? Wonderful, legends of whatever genre that is, let's assume progressive rock. Influential, amazing, original and breathtaking. Definitely an album that deserves to be somewhere on the top of this list.

(Mai ascoltato prima) Wowww, fenomenale e super super inspiring. È così che si fanno le canzoni da 8 minuti cazzo.

An ambitious album that doesn’t quite meet its brief but reaches musical highs and still impresses to this day.

I absolutely LOVED this. The first disc is an easy 10 for me. I didn’t really enjoy disc 2 as much - but the first side being so good is still gonna keep my rating perfect. Love phill Collins but more so love the unique sound of the production.

Amazing prog with a soul

and the laaaamb.... lies doowwwn.... ON BROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADWAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY LETSFUCKINGO