THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY

let me just say that this album has really grown on me. I got it awhile back ago. At first, I was intimidated by the massive amount of content and the complex storyline, but eventually I grew captivated by it. You really have to give this one several listens before you start to get it at all. It is the story of a young man named rael who lives in new york. Somehow, he ends up in an alternate realm and travels through several strange places. Eventually, he becomes selfless as he saves his brother john from the rapids. In saving john, he finds out that john is actually himself. Complicated I know. Somehow or another, this makes him complete and he becomes a new person. The story, once understood is quite moving. John never helps rael when he's in trouble, but at the end when john is drowning, rael trades his opportunity to slip back through the portal to his own dimension for a chance to save john. Oh yes, and the music is good too! I must admit, there is some of what could be considered 'filler' here, but much of that I think is vital to the story and creating the appropriate atmosphere. This requires the listener to use a bit of their own imagination. there are too many songs here to go over in detail, so i'll just go over the highlights. fly on a windshield is a brooding track, quite mysterious. Gabriel also does some interesting theatrical singing. In the cage is a classic. Awesome organ parts! The lyrics will appeal to just about anyone who has ever felt trapped in some way. Hairless heart is a short, but majestic instrumental. It contains everything that is genesis, well accept gabriel's voice anyway. Carpet crawlers is a very surreal song. A personal favourite of mine. The piano is just gorgeous! Gabriel sings in a low voice on this one, which adds to the mystique of it all. Now for side two! Lillywhite lilith is a short, but awesome rocker. It's the heaviest song on the album, and a solid intro to disk two. The waiting room is another favourite of mine. It's a totally bizarre instrumental. It consists mostly of noises at first, but it turns into a jam halfway through. Play this one loud and scare the neighbours! It's the most experimental song on the album. Anyway is another one of my favourites. It starts with some fast piano and turns into what sounds like it should be the soundtrack to a horror movie! Hackett also gets to show off a bit here. A good solid track. The lamia, this is my downright favourite song on this album, one of my favourite genesis songs period. It's very mysterious, melancholic, and disturbing all at the same time. It is also quite beautiful and contains some of my favourite genesis lyrics "the bitter harvest of a dying bloom"...I love it! Colony of slippermen is the most progressive track, containing 3 movements. It starts with some noises, similar to waiting room and progresses into the main tune. Gabriel does a wierd slipperman voice here that will totally creep you out, really. By the way, the song is about getting castrated, and a giant bird flying away with the goods. Yep, it's a wierd song all right, even by genesis standards. The remaining few songs wrap up the story, bringing the album to a joyful, epic conclusion. This album has one of the most compelling musical stories i've ever heard. It's more than an album, it's a journey, which is what we progressive rock fans crave. You have to give this album much of your time, but the reward is worth it. This is simply a conceptual masterpiece! 4/5 for the music itself and one more for such an ambitious concept and such a dense amount of musical greatness! This album really won me over with its dramatic story and curious music. five out of five!!!