Reviews (page 3 of 7)
Samma låt text men inte lika njutbar som Draft punk gör det
Hade svårt att bestämma mig om detta, mycket upp och ner. Överlag känns 3 rimligt.
Fuck me, 94 minut. I can do this. Ok, glede na vajb prvega komada je to spet mogoč en teh albumov k je mišljen kot rock opera? (Grem preverit - ugh, ja je, ja. Not my favourite genre, tbh.) Se pa komadi lepo prelivajo en v drugega. U, ta inštrumentalni del v "In the Cage" mi je všeč. "The Carpet Crawlers" je fajn. Je pa faking a lot tale album. Pač, lengthwise. Ne bi rekla, da je muska slaba, sploh ne. Velik komadov je hudih, variacija je, zanimivi do. Samo dolgooo je. Recimo zj sm pri "Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats", zelo miren komad, totalno vajb konca albuma - ampak ne, je še 24 minut. Fajn epic konec.
An absolutely amazing progressive rock concept album.
peak fav song: Back in NYC
The last stretch of the first part is really good. Don't care much for the rest.
This album was a real drag for me. I found most of it pretty dull and honestly struggled to stay interested. The only song that actually clicked was “Counting Out Time” — everything else just felt like a long, boring prog workout with no real highs. Peter Gabriel’s vocals are all over this record with that constant crying, screaming, and scratching style that gets really tiring. On top of that, Phil Collins’ drumming and backing vocals are everywhere too, and his overall presence just adds to the stuffy, theatrical feel I couldn’t get into. I know this is considered a classic by many, but their voices and the whole atmosphere just didn’t work for me at all. The remaster is clean, but it didn’t make the songs any more exciting. Most tracks drag on way too long without much payoff. If you’re deep into 70s prog you might love it, but for me it was a big miss. I’ll stick to the shorter, more straightforward Genesis tracks instead.
This is one hell of a rollercoaster. Peter Gabriel’s fever dream brought to life by the skills of Hackett, Banks, Rutherford, and Collins. If you can’t take the whole thing in one hit split it into the four quarters with breaks so you can really appreciate this masterpiece. Quality work
It says a lot that an album with 17 songs has not one worth listening to twice
Mom jeans.
I came here to mock Genesis, not to praise them, but this mostly rocks - that Collins chap was a good drummer, whatever happened to him - and the lyrics are hilarious, though my biggest laugh was when I mistook “lamia” for “labia” and assumed Gabriel was describing a vagina as a “long passageway lit by chandelier”. Though he probably was; Jesus, read the lyrics, Christ, “the scent of garlic that lingers on my chocolate fingers”. Happy Easter Simon, hope you don’t think of that on the egg hunt!
Never felt the urge to explore this before, intimidated by its runtime and general prog overload reputation. And.. it's too long and too similar throughout but has some lovely instrumental parts ("Hairless Heart" especially) and several top tunes ("Fly on a Windshield", the two singles) where Gabriel's and Collins's voices entwine pleasingly. Half 2/half 4; bet it was great live! [EDIT: I have been obsessed by this album the past week so have changed the rating up where it belongs, far more 4 than 2 upon reflection.]
Every prog concept album must appear on the list, it’s the law of 1001 albums. Didn’t know about this side of Genesis, being more familiar with the Collins pop era of the 80s. This, as with most prog, is quite overblown and gets tiring quickly. Some good stuff though, it’s a shame it’s a filtering process to find it.
Never actually listened to this Genesis before. Not sure what else to say besides I can dig it.
3,5
What a refreshingly weird and awesome album! I loved this, consumed it all in 1 sitting. I've never heard any early Genesis before but I'll be revisiting for sure. easy 5 stars
Oh hell yea PROGGGGGGGGGGG 🤘
Not my favourite Genesis album
For hardcore Genesis fans only.
2.9
Favorite instrumentals in an album so far. Love a good amount of songs here because of that. Perfect for long listens.
This is interesting. It's soo old, but there's some modern sounds there that makes me think it's from 80s. Idk this was super weird to listen to tho
I might have a small brain because I don’t understand the magnificent of this album. This album just left me confused and with a headache maybe I should’ve been born in the 70s to understand not really Vibing with it. There were two songs that I did like so you are safe from the dreaded one star review but you were desperately close I don’t think I needed to hear this album into the void you go
Phil Collins is aight. This album didn’t hook me but there were some enjoyable moments. I love this era but I don’t think this is one I’ll revisit
Genesis wie Sie so waren, Ist eine neues Album noch nicht gekannt, etwas durchzogen
4/10
o instrumental é MUITO BOM, mas pra primeira ouvida achei um album muito longo, tem muitos arranjos repetidos e começa a soar mal no meu ouvido
Should be a 3.5. Really interesting but I didn't like about 1/4th of it. Some of the songs were really good, though.
Toda vez que escuto esse álbum, ele parece mais genial. A narrativa dele é interessante, trazendo referências bíblicas e mitológicas sem parecer confuso. As letras casam completamente com a produção extremamente polida, instrumentação potente, e mesmo com uma duração grande ele não se arrasta.
Jesus man. 90 minutes is too long for almost any album. And genesis of all bands too. Couldn't be further from my thing. Genesis had this smoothed over style thats is just so unappealing for me. Then they do some ambient stuff thats even further out from what im looking for. Its just alot i dont like. The one song that I felt anything for was counting out time but then I caught a few lyrics and it kinda grossed me out. Maybe im a prude or whatever but it was a bit icky for me. Straight up a not enjoyable record. I can see someone liking this but not me
More great prog from early Genesis. Giving this the rare double album 5.
Maybe this would be better as a film, because as a concept album I wasn't following the narrative at all. Outside of it being a concept album, the lyrics and music don't readily blend. Much of it is too long and too far out there for my taste.
Sonically, all over the place. Maybe that’s what’s to be expected from prog rock tho.
normally i hate prog rog but i'll admit its a good album
3.5
Never really done a deep dive into Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, because I have preconceptions, and this doesn't change those notions. It's purportedly a concept album, but I didn't really notice the link via lyics other than it flows well. There's a handful of cool songs, and its a great sounding record. A little bloated, but that's the 70s.
I wanted to give this a deeper listen but I have to accept I prob am not going to — on second listen got down to the song with New York in the title. this album is fine, rock opera as a genre just hasn't aged super well (for me) happy to have heard it but probably won't be going back
There are some songs I really like but it's so stretched out. It's fine. 3.5/5
Great record! I love prog rock and this is certainly that! Really goes all over the place in the best way
Some fun songs but a bit too operatic at times and also overly long.
Pretty dull prog.
Too long to keep enjoying or to hold my attention
all due respect to Phil and stuff, but what the fuck is this
Weird, man.
Still haven't 'got' Genesis but this was pleasant
Почему так долго
Amazing. It’s like someone specifically tailored an album to be maximally insufferable to me: “rock opera” compete with wacky characters and scenarios; cheesy lyrics/rhymes; overly theatrical; way, way too long; and just the entirety of whatever “The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging” was. I can respect the originality and the effort this took to make, but man, I hated listening to it. Well, actually, I kind of enjoyed having an album that I completely disliked, since it’s so rare. I'm sure I'm an outlier here, and I'm open to the possibility that I'm completely misjudging it, but at least for today, I'm going with my gut. 1.5
This was alright but it didn’t get me jazzed up.
Why does prog rock just take itself way way way too seriously
First Listen; 3.5; The second half of the album sounded like it had influences from Brian Eno, and sure enough he is on the record. I also enjoyed the drumming and the instrumental tracks especially. I was worried this was going to be a drawn out album that got boring. It definitely felt that way in parts, but was at more interesting and varies in enough parts that I wanted to keep listening. Favorite Track: In the Cage
What I’ve learned about prog from this list is that I’ll never actively listen to it as a genre but it’s a totally fine thing to have on in the background at work or walking home
Artistically very sound, but definitely not my favorite Genesis album. This one takes itself way too seriously, and the frenetic keyboards end up being overwhelming. I find it more cheesy than epic.
Not a real big fan of Genesis but I do like this LP.
In parts I enjoyed this, but Genesis aren’t my favourite progsters
I wonder why the idea of making a concept album fell out of favor? Maybe people don't have the patience for it anymore. Or maybe it never really was that popular and I just kind of like the idea more than others so it seems like it had a day when it reality it was sort of a flash in the pan. This one is sort of a tough sell, 94 minutes of conceptual prog rock is not an easy ask for most people. And I feel like this one is an album you kind of need to sit down with and follow along with the story or else you won't appreciate it as it should be. It would be really hard to listen to this album on shuffle. I can certainly see how this album influenced a lot of the music I love that followed. Rush (the greatest band of all time) definitely owes a lot to early Genesis and you can hear it in this album in particular. And remember the Jeff Buckley cover of Back In NYC? That always seemed a weird choice to me but he did it really well. It's a banger of a song though, probably my favorite part of this record. If you sit and listen to this whole album, it's kind of a masterpiece. Casually listening to it in the background is not going to do anything for you. It's a great album though and one I absolutely need to get on vinyl. 5/5
Genesis can be hit or miss, but this is pretty good.
247/1001 Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ❎ Given that this is an hour and fourty in length, I found so much of it sounding incredibly similar. That being said, I didn't dislike what I heard...
I love rock operas. I don't really understand how anyone couldn't. It's fun and whimsy, the genre. Literally if anyone listens to The Wall and says "that was boring" they didn't listen to The Wall. This one even throws a random 7/8 song right in the middle and has a bajillion instruments. A lot of the reason I love Prog so much is the "why not?" energy the entire genre brings by existing. It's a genre that started and continues by not a whole lot more than amphetamines and forgetting what rules are, because absolutely nothing other than submission to our capitalist system and a lack of imagination is stopping people from writing 8+ minute songs. This is all to say I love this album. It feels so unchained from expectation. "Let's write the unsexiest song about sex we can think of," "let's throw in some existentialism right here," and whatever other random ideas made it onto this album all really make it what it is: way too much fun.
It's fantastic but it's entirely way too long
Exhausting. Some decent tracks but I was exhausted by the length of it.
Peter Gabriel in any form, automatic 5 stars from me.
My tolerance and enjoyment of prog rock somehow grows with every decade. I look forward to going back to this.
I don't know how to judge something as competent but also meandering as this.
Very long but quite rewarding album. I think it needs several listens to get into and makes more sense as time goes by. Worth making the effort though. 4
There’s a truly brilliant album here somewhere but the entire project feels bloated
Uma das coisas mais chatas que ouvi na vida
Slides off my mind like it's Teflon-coated. I find little here to get a proper grip on. Possible exception: Counting Out Time (sidenote: does KT Tunstall have to share royalties for similarity to that one?). And soooooo looooong; had to listen in two installments.
Ah yes, the "Lamb" parts one and two... Even as a big fan of Gabriel era Genesis, I've found this album a bit confounding. In a nutshell, it seems to be a loose narrative influenced by the ancient trope of the hero descending, or ascending, into an underworld and emerging with a deeper understanding of some personal, esoteric knowledge. In the case of Genesis, and maybe more specifically, Gabriel, influence was probably also drawn from experimentation with acid. One shouldn't think too much about a grand narrative or you might get frustrated or lose interest. In terms of the music and flow of the album, it's a bit messy but it's doing some interesting things. It would seem that the first half deals with the surface world and the second half describes events of the underworld with both album sides having some parallels with each other both musically and thematically. Both halves are just as weird but it kind of intensifies as the album progresses. As above, so below, one might say... Stylistically, there seems to be a slight overall shift from the neo classical prog into something that sounds more urban, even punky with possible traces of soul. Much of this fits well with Gabriel's early solo material. And it all feels surprisingly breezy despite the 90 plus minute run time. It's a challenging listen and it probably won't win over any new fans, but I think this project is pretty impressive. I would recommend listening to the 2025 remaster which gives the album a needed punch and better channel separation. High marks but not without some trepidation.
Musically very accomplished. Some interesting soundscapes and guitar riffs throughout. Does overstay its welcome a bit but I do want to listen to it again if I ever have the inspiration.
This hurt me. 97 minutes of wandering bullshit. It’s so important to me that the whole album is listened to, like I think you need to listen all the way through to have an informed opinion on an album even if you don’t like it. This was almost impossible. I hated this. Genesis sure are great musicians and for that they likely deserve a high rating here but oh my god. If I was into prog i could get it, I like rush!!! But truly what a boring album. I’m sure this is someone’s abbey road but not me.
I definitely prefer Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins’s solo stuff. This just felt like so much. It’s very long. Dramatic, but not my thing. I kept checking to see how many more tracks were left because it just kept going on and on
I found this to be a very boring, generic prog rock album. I’m not a big fan of prog rock in general and this one was so far for even the genre. I liked the later Genesis and I liked Peter Gabriel by himself, but the two together just didn’t work for me.
actually enjoyed this one more than i thought i would.
Ehhhhhhhh
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is a gloriously overblown concept album: ambitious, surreal, occasionally baffling, and far more compelling than its excesses should allow. The story often feels like a fever dream in platform boots, but that is part of the appeal. Rather than presenting a neat narrative, Genesis builds a strange, theatrical world that pulls you along through atmosphere, tension, and sheer conviction. As a concept album, it works less because it is perfectly coherent and more because it feels so complete in its own odd logic. What really makes it land is the music. Even when the plot threatens to disappear into symbolism and eccentricity, the band keeps everything alive with urgency, beauty, and a sense of scale. There are moments of real grandeur alongside passages that feel intimate and haunted, and that contrast gives the album its staying power. 8/10
Excellent 8
One of my all time favourite acts at the peak of their early period of creativity. A troubled gestation, all lyrics written by the soon to depart lead singer and premiered on a US tour to audiences who’d never heard it in readiness. Having seen it performed, with slides and costumes, by The Musical Box, it is quite baffling for the uninitiated. Nevertheless it’s a prog masterpiece - remarkable music.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘮𝘣 𝘓𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘺 marks the end of the Gabriel era, and it’s exactly as ambitious and theatrical as that turning point suggests. The album is a sprawling, surreal journey, driven by Peter Gabriel’s vivid storytelling and the band’s tightly interlocked musicianship. When it clicks, it’s imaginative, strange, and completely absorbing. But the album’s biggest flaw is its scope. At this length, some passages feel more like conceptual obligation than musical inspiration, and a leaner version would almost certainly land with more force. Still, even with the excess, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘮𝘣 remains a bold and memorable farewell to one of prog rock’s most distinctive lineups.
Interesting album. First song is great.
After having both read the plot summary on Wikipedia and listened to ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ multiple times, I still can’t tell you what it’s about. What I can say is that it’s very theatrical, dense, and often impenetrable as a narrative. Long, ambitious, completely maximalist—some might say self-indulgent. It’s all that and more. The performances and arrangements are top-notch throughout, particularly Phil Collins’ drumming. The music often borders on symphonic. As an album it feels like the culmination of the classic Genesis lineup, pushed right to the edge of what they could do together. It’s no surprise Peter Gabriel parted ways after this, and that the band eventually ditched the long, convoluted prog-rock approach in favour of a more direct, radio-friendly pop-rock sound in pursuit of rock superstardom.
First two sides - "Maybe I've been wrong about prog rock all this time. This is some of the most adventurous, thrilling and fun rock music I've heard in a minute. I'm feeling a strong 4 to 5" Second two sides - "The punks were right to want to destroy this bloated, pretentious nonsense. Light 2"
Counting Out Time sounds like it was written by a man who had only learned about sex from his Great Aunt who never married. If this album didn't have Peter Gabriel I'd really be struggling. This is some weird ass prog rock written by white nerds for white nerds.
I somehow skipped reviewing this months ago. Proggy album, goes on for too long, could have been helped by brevity. 2*
I find albums like this funny, because we have someone like Phil Collins who know I feel like he is now known as kind of a soft rock non controversial family friendly (Disney Tarzan soundtrack!) rocker, but this was so before that. This album reminded me a little of Jesus Christ Superstar or Godspell but one ever more shrooms. There was just too many instrumental riffs that were okay but sometimes felt like unnecessary filler. I didn't get to listen closely to the lyrics, but the vibe of a guy have a spiritual awakening felt really obvious (not sure if that is a good or bad thing). In the times I am sure this was great, but for me today it just felt blah.
I grew up on Genesis’ 80’s pop hits so going backwards to this is a tough pill to swallow. I didn’t appreciate it until I saw a live reproduction show for this particular album a few years ago. That was super cool! I still feel like these songs were made up on the spot, but I appreciate the high art nature of it all. Peter Gabriel’s voice shines. Phil Collins bangs out those complex rhythm’s beautifully. I can’t go super high here, but if I’m going to love their 70’s prog output, it starts here. 3.5/5
I’m always suspect when I see something like, “people thought this originally sucked but then it gained a cult following years later” in the Wiki description. But I still try to go in with an open mind. The “this sucks” people were correct on this one. The songs feel very self indulgent and pretentious to me. Add that to the length and it’s just doing way too much. It’s a long and boring meander to nowhere.
I tried so many times to get into this and just kept abandoning it, and not just because I have a horrible attention span. There's just too much, I couldn't get into the overall concept, the vocal modding in certain sections would drive me crazy. There's good parts and good instrumentation but not enough to sustain me through the corny and boring parts. I feel like this kind of prog is just not for me, it takes itself too serious.
74. sounds cool
surprisingly psychedelic
I don’t know if this works as a concept album and I definitely don’t think it works as an album that’s 90+ minutes long. We didn’t need all of that. But there are moments
This was about 80 percent terrible with 20 percent interesting, Peter Gabriel has output of wildly varying quality. It (the song) as good, quite liked anaesthetist and Lamia. Otherwise reminded me of a less unsettling Tommy, stock genesis music that's just a vehicle for some awful lyrics. Laughed particularly at "thank God for erogenous zones" but there was a boatload of other nonsense. There were other parts of songs that piqued my interest every now and then but by and large not very good.
This quite surprised me - I only know pop-rock Genesis (their latter stuff: I Can't Dance, and so on). This is a sprawling, theatrical, prog-rock soundscape concept album. I really like Peter Gabriel (and I don't mind Phil Collins) and he sounds great here. Jam-rock, but more focussed than Pink Floyd. I could only pick out Cuckoo Cocoon as a highlight, but had a good listen.
Distinctly remember hearing my dad play this in the car when I was little. The opening track and cuckoo cocoon mostly. More appealing now than it was then for sure, although I'm not sure how much more. Some of it is pretty good, but I don't need an hour and a half of it. I can feel Peter Gabriel's influence over the lyrics and style. Think I preferred his solo stuff though. Also some fairly weird concepts and themes. Not sure I'll be back but ok
I can't imagine how this could ever be cool for more than half an hour. If they had stuck to a single CD, I might have enjoyed the album, but as it is, it feels like "getting carried away with a mediocre idea" -the album. 2.5/5
aburrido
phil stay with us 🙏🙏🙏🙏
"Opera Rock", "Album concept", "1h34". Ça sentait l'embrouille déjà.
To be honest, even without carefully following the lyrics, this album takes you on a journey. It feels like the story flows not only through lyrics but also tone and mood of the tracks, very impressive. 4.5
Over the past week or two, I’ve had this new-found obsession over Magdalena Bay’s album Imaginal Disk, and I’ve been playing it on repeat ever since I listened to it. Last night, I saw this album show up on the generator. Unrelated to that, I started listening to Imaginal Disk again right after seeing it and was curious to see which artists and what albums were its influences. Lo and behold, this was one of the first albums that popped up. Quite the fun coincidence. The album itself was just okay for me. Some good stuff here, some stuff I didn’t care for there. Basically how prog rock goes for me.
ein bisschen crazy, stresst beim autofahren, aber wenigstens nicht lagweilig
nett
great prog-genesis album. peter gabriel genesis > phil collins genesis. that said, phil is a beast on the skins. one of progs' great drummers. i've seen the musical box recreated tours of the gabriel years, and they're a lot of fun - this tour does the whole album and then an encore of some earlier stuff. selling england is a better album (and tour) tho. this is how you make a concept album (looking at you 'the wall'). more than a handful of memorable songs, songs that can be played out of context and enjoyed.
Borderline unlistenable.
no more 70s guitar pls
Can we talk about prog rock for a second? If you're not familiar with that term, prog rock is "a subgenre of rock that emerged in the late 1960s/early 1970s, blending rock instrumentation with classical, jazz, and folk influences, often featuring complex, long-form compositions, virtuosic musicianship, and conceptual theme." I know it's a thing, I know people love it, I know that some amazing, beloved musical arrangements have been created in prog rock scenarios, and people hope that their beloved prog rock bands will just continue to play until everyone in the audience falls over dead. I, however, can only handle prog rock in small doses. And bud, this album is LONG - 24 songs at anywhere from 3 minutes to 9 minutes - with a full runtime of 95 minutes. It has a cult following, as do a lot of our friendly prog rock bands, and while I no longer judge people for their musical likes (mostly), I do wonder who has the patience for this whole thing. For the love of Peter Gabriel, I have shit to do, and it's not listening to this whole album in one sitting. This started out as a concept album against the storyline of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and I might have actually preferred that over this story of Rael, a "troubled and rebellious youth who is unexpectedly taken on a journey of self-discovery and identity as he encounters a series of bizarre incidents and characters." Knowing all this now, there might be a time that I actually sit down and learn about Rael's adventures, but today is not the goddamn day. This is a did not finish at 49 minutes. My nervous system could not take another bit of the twee-ass synths in the background. Standout: The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging, because that's where I completely disassociated from this experience.
I fear I did not have the prerequisite amount of drugs to get a kick out of this I also probably wasn't paying the right amount of attention, a bit daunted by its length so trying to get through tracks between work calls and whatnot rather than soaking up the whole thing in one go. Random thing that annoys me about streaming older albums is that it often doesn't make it clear where the gaps between sides/discs are which can be kind of important to understanding the flow of an album, especially a concept one like this. Give me Sledgehammer and Solsbury Hill anyday tho
does feel like im listening to a musical sound track for a musical ive not heard before Do think that this could grow on me though, may have to come back it if this came to a theatre near me as a musical i would strongly consider going to see it... Highlights: title track, in the cage, carpet crawlers, it Lowlights: the waiting room 3
Long but good
Feels big and epic but decidedly not for me. The only song I really enjoyed was “it”. These prog bands were doing A LOT. I like Peter Gabriel solo stuff tho!
"Have two ears and a heart, don't I?" IYKYK
love the album especially fly on a windshield (that breakdown is incredible) amazing psychedelic/progressive album
This is dreadful, bloated and a bit too pleased with itself. I’m sure there’s something good in there somewhere but it’s obscured by the pretentiousness.
4 out of 5. This album was a journey. Would very likely to listen to it again.
not for me lmao
its okay
rock n roll came a long way in 10 years man if one element is stumbling just change your focus. every time I heard a weak lyric I'd just start listening to Phil Collins drumming his heart and brains out
Not my cup of coffee
This was really not good and then I got to The Colony of Slippermen This is abysmal.
Strangely difficult to get through, considering that I like art rock, prog rock and Genesis.
1.5 hours of my precious time were wasted on this album. I don't even want to call it an album, it was just noise 94 MINUTES OF MY LIFE! 1 ⭐️
I really like Genesis but I think this is overly long
veraferze ver vkoncetrirdebi medzineba da esec moswyenia. vachuqeb 1 qulas ig
Overall: 8/10 I'm a huge Peter Gabriel era Genesis fan, and if this was Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot or Selling England by the Pound then it would be getting a big ol' 5 star review from me. Sadly, this is The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. An overbloated, frustrating album that's full of all of these incredible moments that make the hair on the back of my neck stand up, but also has moments that make me ask "why, oh why, would you guys do this?". I can see why this album would have caused so much friction within the band. Obviously, I still really love it as a Genesis fan, and I would recommend it to anyone who is already a fan of the band and NOT just getting in to them for the first time. Fav Song: In the Cage
Rock session on "Fly on a Windshield" is golden. AND it bleeds into the next song??? God forbid a group of white men catch a vibe.
Not a fan of prog rock but this was ok
Prog Rock will always be my favourite genre of Rock music!
meh
this is actually just the kind of thing i was hoping to discover with this list previously my exposure to Genesis was just the more radio friendly Phil Collins stuff. this was really different than anything I'd ever expect from them based on that. i really liked a lot of the songs, and its a concept album where i wasn't even following the story so i'd imagine it really gets better and better the more you listen
Awful, I can’t listen to Genesis
This was very long and had so many different sounds and instruments. I like that it is all one long story. It seems like it could have been made into a musical. I imagine hearing it live was surreal.
A rather interesting album, gave me a bit of an insight in what Genesis music was all about, outside of their global hits I had known before :)
I went into this with a bias against Genesis and this album has done nothing but deepen that sentiment. The concept is pretentious and the whole album smacks of a group of men who think they’re far more intelligent than they actually are. This album for me is the absolute worst of Prog Rock and the reason it gets such a bad name. Even at their most self indulgent conceptually bands like Pink Floyd and The Who can fall back on the quality of their playing and instrumentation. The same cannot be said for Genesis. None of the band are talented enough musicians to carry the songs should you find yourself fortunate enough to tune out the at times painful lyrics. By the end of this I found myself genuinely irritated by what I was listening to. I defy anybody who thinks I am being harsh to read through the “plot” of this album (which was included in the liner notes at Peter Gabriel’s insistence) without rolling your eyes or audibly laughing at how up itself it is.
Odotin enemmän. Pitäisi kuunnella myös useamman kerran. 3/5.
Right out of the bat I'll say I'm not a fan of Genesis or over-structured prog. I prefer them weird. However, this has interesting song build-ups and progression. Well put together, even though the synths quickly outstay their welcome.
7.5/10
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Counting Out Time Carpet Crawlers
kende Genesis onder Gabriel niet zo goed... viel zeer goed mee, mooie prog-rock
Because of it's length I couldn't pay enough attention on the whole album at first run. But the deeper I dived into the album the more it clicked for me - although it is still not 100% my preferred kind of music and I'm not always fine with the vocals and some instrumental parts. Anyway: "Carpet Crawlers" stands out as a song and especially in terms of a complete album absolutely worth to be on this list. Side 1: 4,5 stars Side 2: 4 stars Side 3: 3,5 stars Side 4: 2,5 stars
Tried listening to this three times, couldn't push it through.
It's long and (to me) boring. There are parts of some songs that are interesting, but then Peter Gabriel starts singing, and it throws me off again.
Starts good and then you are suddenly on a medieval market.
The lamb lies down on broadway - 2 Fly on a windshield - 2 Broadway melody of 1974 - 4 Cuckoo cocoon - 2 In the cage - 2 The grand parade of lifeless packaging - 2 Back in n.y.c. - 2 Hairless heart - 3 Counting out time - 3 The carpet crawlers - 4 The chamber of 32 doors - 3 Lilywhite Lillith - 4 The waiting room - 1 Anyway - 3 Here comes the supernatural anaesthetist - 2 The lamia - 2 Silent sorrow in empty boats - 2 The colony of slippermen - 2 Ravine - 2 The light dies down on broadway - 3 Riding the scree - 2 In the rapids - 3 It - 2
Catchy, familiar yet oddly different
not my tempo
This album definitely enjoys the smell of its own farts. A few interesting instrumental arrangements aside, it's all pomp and no soul. Not for me
This album is easily a 4.5 or 5 stars, as it is just a brilliant piece of orchestrated music with so many dynamics and changes and consistently great songs. I have other favorite Genesis albums, but there is no denying the brilliance of this piece of work and a reason it has stood the test of time this many years later.
Not my style of prog music. Most of these songs sucked.
Nice, not fully my style
It's not that interesting for prog...
fire
A top ten Prog Record, Gabriel at it’s peak,
70’s Progressive Rock ⭐️Back in N.Y.C.
Mostly ponderous, lethargic and listless. I felt that way about it when I first heard it back in 1974. Still sounds the same to me all these years later. I think rock operas were a thing of the past by then.
It might've been a bit long and dragged a little at some parts, but I think it kept it fresh and interesting enough to keep me engaged. It seems that I'm a fan of prog rock Favorite Songs: Carpet Crawlers, Colony of Slipperman
Parece bem experimental, diferenciado. Te transporta para outro lugar. É uma história no álbum mesmo, estilo Tommy, mas não me chamou tanta atenção. Pior que quanto mais foi avançando mais tive curiosidade de prestar atenção na história. Outra hora quero voltar pra ouvir com calma. Por enquanto só curtindo a parte musical, to gostando. Hoje é um 3*. Se eu curtir o conceito poderia virar um 4.
This lasted forever and provided me with nothing.
I love Genesis. Brings me back
If I were born in 1956, I have no doubt this would have blown my mind. My mind isn’t blown, but it’s still pretty good. Too long for my Gen Z sensibilities though.
Slow and psychedelic again. With every other song i would debate 3 or 4. They are good tho
Found this weirdly hard to focus on; my mind kept drifting away.
I gave Selling England by the Pound 3 stars and this is a much stronger record, a bit too long but Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel are at the top of their game here so the hour and a half passes quite quickly A solid four.
I’m only familiar with Phil Collins era Genesis, but I became a big fan of Peter Gabriel through this project, so I was very excited to see this pop up. This is Gabriel’s last outing with Genesis and was very haphazardly recorded, but one would not know that just by listening. Such is the talent of the band to cobble this together and it be so good. As a double album, it does have some fat that could be trimmed as most double albums do. Otherwise, this would be a 5 star record, IMO.
So long.
Terrible. If I could give it zero I would.
Not really a fan of this album
I like the album as a concept piece and as an overall work of artistic expression. Relistenability and straightforwardness was a little wonky, but I think it was a cool idea with interesting sonic elements.
Gosto de rock progressivo, mas esse não me cativou. Longo demais. 1 hora e 34 minutos de muita informação, definitivamente você tem que estar na vibe, eu não estava, e mesmo se estivesse sinto que não ia gostar mesmo assim, sonoridade cansativa. Da banda prefiro ouvir "Invisible Touch".
Album 13 Top 3 favorites off the album: Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats, In the Cage Here Comes the Spiritual Anaesthetist It was hard to pick 3 favorites because the album flows song into song into song so seamlessly. It's been so long since I've listened to an album like this. It's one of those where I want to say something new and meaningful, but I'm not convinced I can. Maybe it's enough to just enjoy it. I did more reading about this album than I have about any other album thus far. Also, I have decided that I am not going to resist my natural inclination towards enjoying slower, quieter songs anymore. I always tell myself that I should pick more upbeat, loud, bright songs. I do enjoy some. But you know what? More than anything else, I enjoyed Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats! I did! The variety of directions this goes sonically could have made this feel unapproachable, but it was so carefully constructed that it didn't feel jarring. There was humor. There was meditation on the human condition. There were sounds in The Colony of Slippermen that scratched my brain. There were funky time signatures. What a listen. This is one that you have to sit down and really pay attention to, not listen while doing other things. My parents love Genesis, and I am a Peter Gabriel enjoyer. Perhaps this wasn't the best album to start with. That's not to say it was an unpleasant experience; now I know I can handle an hour and a half of Genesis! It was just... much. This is the first full rock opera I've listened to. Andrew Lloyd Webber, I'm coming for you next.
As much as I love PG (tbh, from face melt forward, tho obviously some great songs in the first two solos) I just don't resonate with this Genesis era at all. None of it is even “ok” for me. I dunno why, it's just all so self indulgent. Was there no producer in the studio to be like, hey guys, do we really need 23 tracks of this? Obviously the musicianship is top notch, PG is a great vocalist, but the songs just do not resonate. At all.
É um disco interessante. É uma peça musical de certa forma bem intrigante. Kawanoaudio Horaiko.
Now i see why Genesis is a worshiped prog rock band. And why some people find progressive rock so boring.
It’s solid Genesis, but it’s definitely too long and overstuffed. (3.5)
I appreciate the scope but not really in for the ride.
Couldn't make it past side 2, I'm a prog rock apologist but this was practically unlistenable
not their finest
it occurs to me that i was a pretentious artist at one point in my youth so i really cant fault these guys for high concept. they are great musicians. they are right in that prog rock genre here with all of the hallmarks. they eventually get poppy. this is kind of nice to see the start. i'm not a genesis fan or phil collins, so a 2.
I had always heard that Genesis was a prog rock band, but that label never really made sense to me. Turns out I just hadn't ever listened to anything pre-Invisible Touch. I get it now. I didn't totally enjoy listening to this, but I am going to save it to my library and hopefully come back to it. I'm intrigued and can see that there's some meat here to chew on. "Counting Out Time" was bananas.
Spotify claims this album is one hour and 34 minutes, but I'm pretty sure it's twice that. At some point during "The Light Dies Down on Broadway," I had the thought, "Wait, this is STILL GOING." Toward the end of disc two, Peter Gabriel's vocals are less of a presence, and the proggy synth jams ratchet up (see "Riding the Scree"), and it's all too much. I enjoyed a lot of disc one, thinking, "Hey, this isn't so wanky!" That didn't last. At one point I looked at Spotify to see I had nine songs left. That seemed like an eternity, and it was. FUN FACT: Genesis' Invisible Touch was the first CD I ever bought. What if I had accidentally grabbed this instead?
Oof this one was a rough listen. I don't necessarily dislike prog rock and it's clear how this album was foundational to the genre, but it goes on waaaaay too long. A bunch of the songs are just irritating noises that didn't need to be there, while others feel like rambling lyrics that don't match the music at all. There are good songs mixed in there, but overall it really feels like this album is trying to waste your time.
If listening to your album takes longer than watching most movies, then it better be fucking good. This was not. This self-indulgent album was made purely for the enjoyment of the artists themselves with no thought at all for the listener.
Fine. Counting out time was a highlight.
One of those examples where this could have just been a single album, and it would have been a banger. Sadly it goes on way too long, and some tracks are just not very good. And when they start playing, it's kind of jarring.
It’s pretty cool, but I could have lived with just one disc, not two. It’s too much of a good thing all at once
I'm sure this whole album is amazing, but it was just too long for me to really get into. Found the sampling of other songs in the first chunk of the album to be amusing. Overall, great musicality and the amazing talent of Phil Collins, just overwhelmed by the content.
A bewildering progressive rock opera that combines terrific and often tight rock songs, its fair share of progressive dalliances including sometimes impenetrable lyrics, and a strange narrative that intermingles gritty New York with standard 70s progressive fantasy fare. The album is arguably overlong, but that oversight is more than made up for by a truly terrific batch of songs with just the right amount of diversion into progressive noodling and other strangeness like "The Waiting Room." This record works as a great rock album, a great rock opera, and a great progressive rock statement. As good an ending as any for Genesis 1.0.
Favorite Track: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
The music itself is good, but the album is too long and held back in places by the narrative. I like that the story is kind of bizarre, but it's abstract enough that I don't know if there's really a point to making it a concept album. Favorite track: maybe "In the Cage"
A very good concept album however much too long of a listen.
4.4
I haven't explored too much of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. I only know they were more artsy and that's clearly apparent here. This is a trip. Whether it's the good kind or the bad kind, that's up to you. I admittedly didn't really follow the whole concept here, but what stuck out to me were the various goofy sounding instruments that were used among these grand compositions. It's all overwrought and weird, as is most prog rock from the 70's, but Genesis sort of separated themselves with their wacky and imaginative storytelling and how it was presented.
Great
Pretty epic album
When a British prog band is coming up with a subject for a concept album and their first idea is “a young Puerto Rican New Yorker goes on a musical adventure” they should at least think of one more idea and see if that one is better.
Tosi paljon kivoja arpeggioita. Hieno, viihdyttävä ja monipuolinen prog rock levy. Hiukan pitkä, jokusen osuuden olisi voinut jättää pois. Parhaat: The Chamber Of 32 Doors, Anyway, The Lamia, It
so ridiculously long i could t get through it, maybe you had to have been there but i just didn’t get this
Decent, but very long.
This is an absolute behemoth. I had to listen to the whole thing three times to really digest it. I have to pose the question I ask of every rock opera: “Is it as good as Quadrophenia?” I would have to answer no here. This definitely has highlights, but sometimes the story gets a little lost in the instrumental passages, especially in the second half. Also was there a reason the main character was half Puerto Rican? Like was Peter just feeling it one day? I really liked the album, but I don’t think it is as good of a full package as Selling England and doesn’t quite reach the same heights as Foxtrot. Favorite songs were The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, In The Cage, Counting Out Time, The Carpet Crawlers, Lilywhite Lilith, The Lamia, and It.
The listener goes for a long lie down
long album. ok 80s i guess.
Double album. 50th anniversary deluxe edition. Let's go. Big, piano and keyboard driven title track to start. Punchy. Fly on a Windshield introduces a crushing bass line and drum beat, but the keys are light and airy. Cuckoo Cocoon is beautiful, lightning quick piano and pan flutes. In the Cage feels like the first big climax, powerful and dramatic. It's got grit though. Bite. Hairless Heart is a delightful symphonic interlude before the quirky, crunching Counting Out Time. The Carpet Crawlers has a bit of a hypnotic effect, and then it's the end of disc 1 with The Chamber of 32 Doors. A return to big drums and guitars and the organ. Early on in disc 2, The Waiting Room starts off all dissonance, shattering glass and spooky noises. Back to something more coherent with Anyway and its looping piano melody. It's still ominous though, foreboding. The Lamia is the highlight of this side, and maybe the whole album. Again it's tense, dark, but the music is grand in scale and ambition. Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats is the perfect comedown, then it's back to the weird and wonderful: The Colony of Slippermen. After the synth intro, it's some of the more upbeat msuic on this disc, juxtaposed with downright eerie riffs. After that, I tire of describing it, but not listening - the rest of the album is all of a high quality. I think the second half edges it, but the whole package is wildly impressive.
1.65
Not a Genesis fan
Idk, it’s Genesis
5/10
Cool vintage vibes
It's fine, not really super interesting to me though
First of all it was waaay too long (maybe it seemed like it because it's not the type of music I usually listen to. Songs were hit or miss, even though I can appreciate the talent and work behind a more progressive work of art like this. All in all, I think I can see some objectively good things, like interesting composition, themes, and lyrics, it's just not fit for me.
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is very musical- and narrative-driven in its approach. There are clear musical highlights, especially The Carpet Crawlers, but as a whole the album fails to fully engage me. The atmosphere becomes too uniform, and the length works against the experience rather than enhancing it. Ambitious and artistic, yes, but it never truly grabs me. 3/5
Yeah, this is nice.
I am a huge fan of the Phil Collins led era of Genesis, but have never really dug into the Peter Gabriel stuff. Excited for this one! Unfortunately... I don't love it. It's not bad, but I honestly didn't make it all the way through. This is a miss.
Wow, this is a lot of music and a lot of words, none of which seems to stick with just one listen. I think I’ve listened to this only once before in my life and am unsure if I’ll ever do so again. Which might be too bad for me because there seems to be some good stuff to be found here if you can get past the imposing runtime and get several listens in to let it absorb. Ya I’m definitely finding it hard to remember any of these riffs and melodies. Maybe too clever for its own good? I think a good way to experience this would be with visuals, say a full length feature film with this album as the soundtrack. Can’t deny the talent here though and also cool to see where they came from on their way to pop songwriters extraordinaire! And I do enjoy their later pop songs immensely so hopefully some of those albums are on the list.
Know the band of course. Never listened to the album. Track one could be a who song. Great bass sound on this track. Considering how unenthused i’ve ever been anout Phil Collins’ work, this isn’t horrible. Didnt realise Peter Gabrielle was in Genesis. The music os a bit the who, but the lyrics are a bit rush. I’ve heard people say Phil is the best drummer/singer out there and i’ve never understood it but get it on this album. He’s probably the best thing about the album. Actually, maybe the main singer is Peter Gabriel. He aounds lile Phil. The rest is a bit rock opera-ish, the lyrics annoyingly impenetrable. Not sure im going to get through this whole album. I have only given this a half arsed listen. I might revisit later but then again is more prog rock what i am missing in my life?
What a weird ass concept album.
2 because I don't hate prog rock. -1 for the sheer overwhelming quantity, dear god. +1 for Phil Collin's khakis iykyk
prog rock is already generally too winky and proud of itself to possibly sustain the swagless smugness of phil collins, and the audacity for it to be a double album. no thanks.
There was so much of this. A lot was, like, ignorable coffee shop kind of music but then a line would cut through into my consciousness and the line would be something weird as hell like EROGENOUS ZONES and I did not enjoy that. 1.5 rounding up
Noch ein Album, das ich zuerst bei einem Freund und Schulkameraden gehört habe. Eines der Alben die ich damals sofort haben musste und heute leicht ramponiert bei mir im Regal steht. Ich habe später Genesis/Phil Collins nicht mehr gemocht... aber dieses Album ist für mich immer noch der Höhepunkt in Genesis Werk.
#788. This could do with some editing. It's fine overall, I'd say, but it would be finer if it was a fair bit shorter. 3/5: acceptable
it's genesis, good listening :)
It's bloated and not just because of the runtime, but because it overindulges and the wankery is off the charts. It's slightly more tolerable when it settles into a groove but that doesn't happen often enough. I'm not a prog guy so take this with a grain of salt.
This is the craziest, most ambitious music I have heard that actually kind of succeeds. Then I read the plot and it's absolutely stupid. Probably why no one has ever picked it up and tried to interpret it for the stage (or maybe someone has?). The music and songs are all really interesting and flow nicely--it's too bad Gabriel quit right after it, but I think he and the rest of Genesis profited.
Look, its technically great. but it just sounds like Pink Floyd. But with some weird ass lyrics like "erogenous zones, I love you"
This album didn't do a ton for me, but unlike the others where I've said the same, this was still a ton of fun to go through and I was head bopping from start to finish. Imperfect, but still quite good.
Not for me, but there were good proggy synch chunks I appreciated.
Too long
Some of the music is actually not bad and goes a little bit, but I've got no idea what the fuck is going on with the plot. Makes Tommy seems sensible. Also does Peter Gabriel sound like Phil Collins or vice versa?
Outstanding album. Complex yet accessible. Intense. This is high art. 4.75
I’ve tried many times to like Genesis, listened to their their albums and I just don’t get it.
The start was OK but it just went downhill from there.
Sometimes less is more.
This prog rock album is trying to tell a story that seems to be a Dickens novel, and with occasional exception, the music just doesn't support an effort to follow the story itself.
Musically well produced and complex, not my usual taste, a little too long, but ok.
Me and my mom’s review: Good production, songs felt a little boring as we listened through. Instrumental in the first song didn’t disappoint though.
Will be giving this another listen. Not super familiar with anything other than their pop hits. Listened to it while I was working, so did not feel I got the full feeling of the album. Could see their influence in Trey and phish.
This will be the moment, from now, from this moment on, this’ll be the moment, starting now, of the genesis of McGillicutty. The elegant prose of the third generation, and unfortunately named Michael McGillicutty on an episode of NXT from 2010. 15 years after this poetic masterpiece emanated from an Albany arena, shockwaves remain rippling through the literary and wrestling worlds, as we all come to terms with what began that day. From the longest running Royal Rumble run (still active today), to a lacklustre tag tenure with Ryback, we’re still paying the price that was set on that warm August eve. I hope to get an update via this record. God bless MM. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - I’m pretty sure this isn’t Michael McGillicutty. Much like a hard time getting through this song, I’ve been had. Fly on a Windshield - Are we really doing a celebrity lyrics song? How many times can one “start the fire?” Cuckoo Cocoon - Whoa there pally, this album is bonkers!! It’s actually way less conventional than I expected. In the Cage - This song is about that time I did hard time in bird jail. Do NOT mess with the budgie’s supply line of suet. Cost me an eye and fresh newspapers in my cell for a week. The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging - Phil, you’d love modern day. The packaging is full of life. It’s the products that are no longer any good, due to the fact that, well, we eat what we’re sold and don’t really have alternate recourse. But packaging is full of life! Back in N.Y.C - Hi there. I have now discovered that this record is 94 minutes long. Cue the late night New York Saxophone. Or the prog bass? Hairless Heart - Finally got that cleared up. Good for you. Counting Out Time - Me too, guys, me too. The Carpet Crawlers - Yeah those buggers are gonna set you back at least a few days soaking up the fumes under the big ol’ circus tent. The Chamber of 32 Doors - It’s 36 chambers, idiot. Lilywhite Lilith - I mean this whole thing is pretty weird. I’m liking most of that. The Waiting Room - More off the wall psychedelia. I can’t believe that’s what this is. Anyway - We’ve got big bombastic, almost metallic riffs? Briefly. Anyway… Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist - Again? I’ve already been out to sleep… hey-oh! The Lamia - This sucks. I mean it’s about being eaten by weird, humanoid butterflies in another dimension? And when they consume the blood they feel the pain of the mortal realm? I think? Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats - Change out “boats” for “comedy clubs” and you have a pretty good title for an open-mic odyssey. The Colony of Slippermen - Amazingly cool intro, until, well, the vocals. It was a nice reprieve for a while. Ravine - Maritime psychic tribute. The Light Dies Down on Broadway - What about the lamb? Where did that lil jokester go? We’re talking about heart wrenching decisions now? What the hell is going on here? Riding the Scree - My second favourite river in made up Genesis land. Only the real Gen-Heads know the other rivers. It’s not my job to educate you. In the Rapids - I don’t care about this anymore. It - Stephen Ling did it better. Then! Stephen KING did it even better than that guy. This whole thing feels like if Lord of the rings was re-written for homeschooled Christian kids. Besides the mention of New York. Shield your ears, youth of Christ. This is like if Rush were neutered and American. Are they British? I don’t care. This was fine. Way too long, and every cool prog moment was cancelled out by some dumbass pop moment. This surprised me though, as I expected 94 minutes of “in the air tonight,” which sounds like it’s on the menu at Guantanamo. I won’t return to the land where the Scree flows through the fuckin’ uhh sorrowcean or whatever. Get this away from me. Especially the stinky parts. 2-2.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Fly on a Windshield, Back in N.Y.C, Prog weird stuff
Listened to this, then Dark Side of the Moon. Dark Side did it better in half the time. Sometimes too many drugs and stop Amy themes isn’t the right move.
I understand why it is good but it is not I am not into this style of music at the moment.
Not too bad of an album, it was alright having it in the background, and some may even say quite enjoyable, but definitely a bit meh overall. Given that this is quite old, I assume that it wasn't too bad back in the day.
Solid collection of songs. I think the length of this was a little too much.
I was tempted to rate this "listenable" but I really don't get on with Genesis and found it somewhat tedious.
it's good, decent, vibe-able
I mean, it was a good concept. It just feels like they didn't translate it to record. 2/5
Couple of listens, l can see why this is so highly regarded.
Today’s listen is The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis — a band I’ve tried to get into many times over the years but never quite managed. It’s a double album, and it’s rare that a double album truly wins me over. They often drift into vanity-project territory, packed with more filler than focus. Combine that with the fact that prog rock is very hit-and-miss for me with far more misses than hits and this was always going to be a tough one. That said, there are genuinely good moments here. In fact, Genesis could have carved a fantastic single album out of this material. Which brings me neatly back to my point: double albums often prove exactly why they shouldn’t be double albums. Favourite track: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is a great opener that gave me high hopes for the rest of the album. I also really enjoyed Broadway Melody of 1974. Least favourite track: There’s a fair amount of dross scattered across the record, The Carpet Crawlers being a prime example. Great title, very dull song. Album artwork: A cool, striking cover that suits the album’s surreal story.
Good and cinematic but too long!
All rock operas live and die by their premise. Does the story make sense in the context of an album? This one…kinda? I can see what they’re going for but at the same time I kind of lose the plot every few minutes and have to remember that might be the point. The other trouble is it’s just so long without that much variation. Occasionally a weird effect happens and it’s actually really welcome. I think I like this more than I don’t? But not by much.
Si vous êtes en train de lire ceci, c'est soit que vous avez survécu à l'écoute de "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway". Et je ne peux que vous féliciter, vous méritez une médaille ou une thérapie ou les deux. Soit vous souhaitez l'écouter et donc vous faire une première idée avant de passer à l'acte. Personnellement, on m'a demandé de réécouter ce truc, pardon on a exigé que je réécoute ce truc. On m'a collé ce double vinyle entre les mains en me disant : "Allez, c'est culte, c'est un opéra-rock, c'est l'histoire de Rael à New York". Bon, remettons les pendules à l'heure. On est en 74, le Punk n'est pas encore là pour nettoyer la merde. Du coup, les dinosaures comme Genesis se sentent tout permis et ils se disent : "Tiens, si on faisait un album conceptuel qui dure aussi longtemps qu'un vol transatlantique, avec des paroles incompréhensibles sur des colonies d'hommes-pantoufles (les Slippermen, je ne déconne même pas) et des castrats ?" C'est ça, ce disque, c'est l'apogée de la boursouflure. C'est du rock qui a trop mangé, qui a la goutte, et qui se regarde le nombril en se trouvant génial. C'est l'anti-sexe absolu, tu mets ça en soirée pour pécho, tu finis moine trappiste avant la fin de la face A. J'ai lancé le disque "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". Et là, le morceau titre, bon ok, le piano galope, Gabriel fait son show. Ça passe, c'est prétentieux, mais ça passe. Et puis... le néant. Pendant une heure et demie, mes oreilles ont été agressées par des nappes de synthétiseurs qui dégoulinent comme du fromage fondu bon marché. Tony Banks, le claviériste, il doit être payé à la note, c'est pas possible autrement. Il en met partout. Il bouche les trous. Il n'y a pas un millimètre carré de silence, pas une seconde pour respirer. C'est de la claustrophobie musicale. Et Steve Hackett à la guitare ? Le pauvre, il essaie d'exister, mais il est noyé sous des tonnes d'arrangements pompeux. C'est de la technique pure, froide, clinique. On dirait des étudiants en math sup qui essaient de résoudre une équation différentielle avec des instruments de musique. Où est l'âme ? Où est la sueur ? Où est le sang ? Pas ici. Car ici, tout est propre, tout est calculé, tout est chiant à mourir. De quoi ça parle ? Alors là, accrochez-vous, parce que c'est du grand n'importe quoi sous acide frelaté. C'est un "opéra rock" (rien que ces deux mots accolés me donnent de l'urticaire) conceptuel racontant l'histoire de Rael, un jeune portoricain de New York, mi-graffeur, mi-voyou, qui se fait aspirer dans un monde souterrain surréaliste pour sauver son frère John, ou son âme, ou je ne sais quelle connerie métaphysique pondue par un Peter Gabriel en plein délire mystico-théâtral. Il y a des passages narratifs, des interludes bizarres, des bruits de fond... C'est un bordel sans nom qui se veut "arty" et "profond". Spoiler alert : c'est juste confus et soporifique. Je me souviens, quand je bossais chez le disquaire indé dans les années 90, on avait parfois des clients égarés qui venaient nous demander du Genesis période Gabriel. Ils avaient des queues de cheval grisonnantes, des vestes en velours et ils me disaient : "Ah, le progressif, ça c'était de la vraie recherche musicale, pas comme ta musique de sauvage". Je leur rendais leur monnaie avec un sourire crispé, en me retenant de leur dire que leur "recherche musicale" avait la même valeur artistique qu'un napperon en macramé. 1/5, pourquoi j'ai mis 1/5 ? Parce que je suis un seigneur, qui sait reconnaitre qu'ils savent jouer. Techniquement, ce sont des brutes, mais bordel, à quoi ça sert d'avoir une Ferrari si c'est pour rouler à 20 km/h dans un parking souterrain en écoutant France Culture ? Il y a un morceau, UN SEUL, qui sauve le naufrage : "The Carpet Crawlers". Là, pendant 5 minutes, il se passe un truc. Une mélodie, une émotion, quelque chose d'humain qui émerge de la mélasse. C'est beau, c'est hypnotique. Et puis bam, c'est fini, et on repart pour 45 minutes de délire onaniste sur des claviers Yamaha. Conclusion, ce disque est une insulte à la concision, c'est une insulte à l'énergie du rock. C'est le symbole de tout ce qu'il fallait détruire pour que la musique avance. Heureusement que les Ramones répétaient déjà dans un garage crasseux pendant que Genesis enregistrait cette torture. Heureusement que Joy Division allait bientôt arriver pour nous rappeler que la beauté peut être froide et minimale, pas juste une accumulation de couches de chantilly périmée. Si vous aimez les solos de 12 minutes, les histoires de nains surnaturels et les chanteurs déguisés en fleur géante, foncez. C'est votre Graal. Pour les autres, les gens normaux, les gens qui ont une vie, les gens qui aiment quand ça vibre dans le bide : FUYEZ. Brûlez ce disque ou utilisez le comme frisbee. Mais ne l'écoutez pas.
I feel like once I know progressive rock better I might appreciate this more, but as it stands it wasn't noteworthy to me.
Proggy and weird
Interesting. A bit long-winded for me but some solid tunes
This feels a little self-indulgent. Just goes on and on and on. Frankly i just lost interest. Certainly some interesting experimentation (although not as much as early Genesis) and a couple of tracks I thought hit. Understand this is a concept album, but didn’t really know what the concept was. Ha! Also always love Peter Gabriel’s voice. Probably being generous with the rating here due to my Peter Gabriel bias. Could’ve easily given this a 2.
I don’t mind long albums, but I don’t particularly enjoy albums with a lot of songs. However, there’s so much variety in this album that it doesn’t feel long at all. I like Peter Gabriel’s voice, and like how Genesis harmonize his vocals (in general, not just on this album). There’s some story in this album, but didn’t really pay attention. It’s sounds good, and that’s what matters most to me. There are a couple of stand out tracks on this album, and they’re surprisingly evenly spaced out. I’m not saying that the songs between them are bad—they’re just not that impressive. No part of this album feels like it overstays its welcome because in the middle of the songs that are just great, there are a couple of even better ones all throughout the record. Yeah, very enjoyable album. I love Genesis. They’re not one of my favorite bands, but their albums are almost guaranteed to have some seriously impressive stuff. Definitely one of the best “synthesizer prog” bands.
I first heard this when I was about 11 or 12, an older brother of a friend had it and I became obsessed with it! The weird story in the cover the unusual lyrics and strange sounding instruments. Everytime I went to my friends I would ask him to play it or sit and read the story and lyrics while we listened to Blondie. My favorite Genesis album for many years.
The Chamber of 32 Doors and the Waiting room caught me off guard, otherwise, a really standard album for it’s time.
Cute but again, not my cup of tea
I wanted to like this more, but not all that memorable for me.
Thoughts before listening: Man I just don't love Genesis. I want to love Genesis. I feel like I should love Genesis. But it just doesn't do it for me. I own this album and I've probably listened 2 or 3 times. The refrain of the title gets stuck in my head, but it's just too much for me as a whole. Review: Look there are some cool songs on here, but there just so much unnecessary weirdness as well. I don't hate this, and I will be glad to add the better songs to my playlist. However, when trying to listen as a full album I just keep hitting parts that are more annoying than enjoyable. Maybe I'm just not a prog guy 🤷 Anyway, this gets 3-stars.
drei bis vier – noch mal anhören
To those for whom the concept album isn't self-indulgent enough, may I present: the Rock Opera! Far too long, there is a lot of nonsense on here. Basically its only redeeming feature is that it's better than Tommy.
Thankful for the opportunity to explore more Genisis, but the album didn’t resonate with me the first listen through. Will have to revisit when I have more time.
Pretty good
This was too long to finish in one day but it was interesting and good in the right mood. Lots of it felt like it was from a movie score.
Lots of great moments here. I have a hard time with long albums/double albums, especially on the first several listens. I'm impressed with how well this held my attention throughout. I shouldn't be that surprised that I like classic prog rock, since I love new prog rock, and I can hear so much influence. I'll definitely listen to this again, although I'll probably do one half at a time. Phil Collins's drumming has some really standout moments, and the 2007 stereo mix on Apple Music sounds great and modern, which helps the ease of listening a lot. Even listening to the original mix on youtube, it sounds very modern and forward-thinking. Also I love how goofy prog rock is. So much synth!
Too big for its prog rock boots in my humble opinion. I think there's a good chance my gen z proclivities are preventing me from taking this as seriously as it seems to require. There are some spots that I really enjoyed, and some spots I couldn't really stand
Not my thing. Counting Out Time is a stand out track for me.
A bit too prog/conceptual for me. I can absolutely appreciate the talent and vision, but listening felt like a slog by the end.
Un classique qui ne vieillit pas!
I still think of Genesis as the Phil Collins led synth pop(ish) band that they would later become. I know they were first known as a prog rock band but I was exposed to a lot of the Collins stuff as a kid and it's sheered into my memory. Because of this, I never quite appreciated what an interesting band they were in their previous incarnation. But there's loads going on here. It's an experimental rock opera filled with jams, twisted ambient structures and darkly surreal imagery. The story is nightmarish and violent with flashes of anatomical mutilation as well as innocence (the lamb from the title inspired images of calm in the middle of the hectic New York City setting). It's a difficult album to process in one go, only partly due to its length. But you can easily understand that there's a complex layered story along with a wide variety of music. Definitely an interesting album that I could listen to again one day.
Found it boring while also being too much... Didn't finish (have decided that's allowed lol)
There is a pretty excellent album squished between a lot of uninteresting filler. A 40-45 minute record of the best parts of Sides B & C would be much better and more properly curated. The rock opera piece is largely uninteresting and bloats an album that should have left more on the cutting room floor. Top tracks: Back in N.Y.C., Counting Out Time, The Carpet Crawlers
Some theatrical music for your ass. You tend to get lost in the sauce a bit during an hour and a half of listening to an album but there was enough stand outs in this one for me to deem it a decent listen. I loved the last few songs and the way they tied the bow on the whole thing. Solid listen
Genesis are unfortunately one of those bands that - in my opinion - are only good for their radio hits. I just can't get into their albums. There wasn't a single track on this collection that I connected with. Meh.
I was never a big prog rock fan… concept albums… rock operas not my thing! BUT this album is great… Genesis with Peter Gabriel at their height! The music composition and lyrics to the individual songs are great… Gabriel’s voice is in top form …. 3.75 stars
This is an hour and a half long. I would say I enjoyed the music a lot, but it was an hour and a half long.
i find i am becoming a mild fan of genesis' work, and i had never listened to this one. it was a fun listen, but i felt it was a bit overly long and bloated for my taste. i still liked it at parts, and it still has that nice genesis charm, and all the great musicianship associated. just felt like it was less satisfying to listen to than their other albums. maybe something i will enjoy more down the line. still, i liked it enough!
Fine.
Not a fan, Gabriel and Collins together
hell yeah peter gabriel 2nd best rock opera
Interesting. I've been meaning to go into Genesis for a while now, so I will listen to this one again
No comment
How do I fully digest a 90-minute concept album I’ve never heard a single note of before that also happens to be Peter Gabriel’s Genesis’ magnum opus in one day? Answer: I don’t.
The only way I could possibly enjoy this album is if I had a friend who just loved Genesis. We would have general respect for each others' musical tastes, but Genesis would always be a point of contention. My friend would be an out-of-character superfan of the band, someone with punk roots who somehow formed this powerful connection with Peter and Phil. Our disagreements would be good natured of course, late night drinking sessions, ranting about the state of things, going song for song on the stereo. Often these sessions would end with Genesis - and I'd try, I'd really try, to get into it, but deep down I knew that this wasn't for me. Time would pass, the drinking would get less frequent and so would our catchups. I would move away to a different city. We would still talk music over whatsapp occasionally, and eventually that relationship would die too. Years later, I would find myself wandering aimlessly through the supermarket aisle - sent to pick up nappies - my head swimming from sleep deprivation caused by two children under three and a stressful career. I would look down and see my finger tapping on the shopping trolley. I look, I really look at my hand, drumming long on the sticky handle under the garish light. What’s this song? Some memory from long ago re-emerges and I recognise that “The Carpet Crawlers" is playing softly over the supermarket sound system. Then I realise, this moment, this trivial moment of daily life, is the first time I've truly been present in a long while. It brings about a revelation in me. I drive home at pace with the windows down, nappies forgotten, fingers snapping along to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway blasting from my mid-range European station wagon out into the night air. I think of my old friend and days gone by. Though teary eyes, I regret all those wasted years, all that time spent worrying over nothing. All that time gone forever - time I could’ve spent listening to Genesis. Until that day comes, one star.
I wasn't a fan
Wow, can I get some of what they had, they don't make musical albums like this anymore (thankfully!!). Ok as background music but it didn't love this. Best: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway Worst: In the Rapids
This was a bit exhausting to get through. I initially opened the "Deluxe" version, which was almost 4 hours and was like hell no. But the original at about 1.5 hours was doable. There are some gorgeous songs here that exhibit prog rock well, with experimental and ambient songs in the mix with long guitar solos. My fave was "The Colony of Slippermen"
Given that this was a 90min album, I actually didn't get as tired as expected listening to it. That being said, it's probably a 2.5 rounded down, probably deserving of a 3 if I understood the concept behind the rock opera but won't be investigating that much rn
Way too much filler and not enough killer in this double album. There were one or two songs that grabbed me early on and at the end (like "Counting out Time"). But that middle just drones on and could be cut without any real loss of the quality of the album.
Ovo je meni možda najbolji album s gabrielom njihov. Je jako je ambiciozan i lelujav ali ono to je pomalo i poanta
Não gostei
Crazy. Rock-opera type. Similar to Bat Out of Hell. I still don’t know what to think of it. Two songs stand out: the opening track and The Carpet Crawlers. Others were very good as well, but maybe not great out of context. A full album listen.
After this, Genesis started to suck.
About what I would expect from an hour and a half album on this list. Some good, some bad, and some that should've been cut out.
I haven’t listened to this full through in maybe a decade. Since then, I’ve learned to appreciate Genesis - their five album run in the early/mid 70s is five of the finest musicians to ever live locking into the most ridiculous prog opuses imaginable. Gabriel Genesis is the rare prog group that knows how silly the genre is and just leans into it with incredible showmanship - Tony Banks may be the greatest keyboardist of all time, and he runs this god damn thing. I’ll forgive them of their 80s mistakes. God damn do I love Peter Gabriel - he’s the soul here. I have zero idea what the concept behind this concept album is, and I couldn’t give a single shit, it’s perfect. All that said, this is still ONLY my fourth favorite Genesis - check out Foxtrot!
Simultaneously objectively good while being a thing I cannot be bothered to care about.
Not a fan of rock opera albums
Old school new age rock
Masterpiece of an album. Granted, I can't say I understand the surrealist plot, I'm not sure anyone does really. This is a sprawling double album, and like many of those, not every track is memorable, but here they all contribute something to the overall experience. After this album, Peter Gabriel probably didn't think he could take Genesis any further, and so left the band to pursue one of the most fantastic solo careers of all time. The band, contrary to many a snobs' opinion, did not immediately start to suck afterwards, nor did they instantly became a pop group under Phil Collins leadership. There were a couple of prog rock albums and they slowly evolved into one of the most commercially successful acts of the 80s. I even think most of that is pretty great too, don't listen to naysayers. Key tracks: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Cuckoo Cocoon The Carpet Crawlers It
Having to listen to a concept album is bad. Having to listen to a concept album from Genesis is fucking tortuous.
I found out in the 90's that actually Genesis started off as a progressive rock band and as i really love progressive rock by now i really wanted to hear all of their albums,so thank you list for this one.I also most of my life i'm an electronic music lover so the synth sounds in this album was really a bonus treat.This was the last album featuring Peter Gabriel who basically had the concept idea of a Puortorican man i'm guessing named John and his inner self adventures.I have to say here that except few songs i never felt that concept.Although tracks are strongly glued with one element or another,i felt more like there were triads of songs with same theme.I liked the whole album(yes even the most peculiar ones)but the following really got me.I have to also highlight the virtuosity of the guitar playing,Phill Collins drumming and Peter Gabriel's delivery throughout the album. Favourites: Fly On A Windshield,the synths here gives depth and cosmic quality,the burst in 1:19 is amazing,great guitars as well, Broadway Melody Of 1974 has such a beautiful ending, Cuckoo Cocoon is dreamy,magic flute playing, In The Cage,so weirdly strange and beautiful,Gabriel's delivery is awesome,space synth takes you to another dimension,change of tempo gives it tension,i love how it ends as well, Back In NYC,i'm a synth lover and it totally worked for me as the arp stucked in my head but i know most people will get annoyed by it here, Hairless Heart is an instrumental spaced out piece,one of my favourites,took me to another galaxies, Counting Out Time,some sillyness involved but as it is said when you do music you basically stretch time and that's what i received, Carpet Crawlers,great singing here,great atmosphere,the lyrics just amazing(the carpet crawlers keep their colours),one of my favourites as well, The Chamber Of 32 Doors,great song,i can feel the despair in Gabriel's voice, in cohision with the Chamber,Lilywhite Lilith feels like it continues the story,at both songs you get a Hotel California sort of vibe, Eerie and otherworldly intro of instrumental The Waiting Room maybe completes the story of the two previous ones,progresses in almost creepy and cosmic vibes, The Lamia starts off with melodramatic piano but switches as a medieval storytelling piece,i really loved this one as well, Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats,eerie instrumental piece with epic choir,creates a landscape,could have been used easily in a movie, The Colony Of Slippermen has a a lot of sonic obscurity especially in the first 2 minutes or so but it progresses in an epic spaced out adventure, Obscurity continues with Ravine that has strong Theremin vibes, In The Rapids. What a ride this album was and i enjoyed every single minute! 5/5
Have had a few attempts to get into Genesis without much success. So this double album was a bit daunting. On the third listen some of it started to stick, in part due to Gabriel’s very recognisable vocals (big fan of his solo work). Standouts included In the Cage, Back in NYC and Lilywhite Lilith. So enjoyed this way more than I expected. But no idea what the concept is.