THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY

A brilliant first half cannot save a contrived second half in the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Genesis' concept extravaganza. The final album to have Peter Gabriel as an active member of Genesis, he leaves with the proverbial bang and captivates the listener throughout the entirety of Rael's incredible journey of the mind and the depths of New York City. Hackett, whose appearances are short and far between, is excellent. Rutherford is at his best playing cohesively and creatively with Collins, who carries the band throughout the story musically. What this album really is musically is a Tony Banks bonanza, with Banks taking the melody duties, most of the lead duties, etc. But Gabriel is what makes this album so strong. Emotive and captivating vocal performances take the listener to another level.

I would rate the first half a 4/5. The Lamb Dies Down on Broadway opens with anxious synths that fade in with the rest of the band. This is where Rael, a Puerto Rican street kid, begins his journey. Instrumental breaks (not spectacular, but good)lead us to Cuckoo Cocoon, which has some awesome riffing from Hackett. Then the story progresses to In the Cage, which has some nice organ work from Banks and a strong vocal performance from Gabriel. Throughout the rest of the first half, the quality of the songs only gets better, with stand outs like Back in NYC, The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging, Counting Out Time, etc.

The second half is nothing short of uninspired and contrived. Musical ideas are there, but aren't really expressed 100%. The story takes bizarre twists at this point, when Rael goes to the Colony of Slippermen and has to be castrated. The strongest song in this half is In The Rapids/It, which concludes the album.

Overall, one half genious and one half bizarre, this album is often revered as a masterpiece. While it is quite good, there are better Genesis albums. 3.5/5