The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

Losendos wrote: BaldJean wrote: I'll repeat what I said in the "Lamb vs. Wall" thread: interesing that many people seem to think the 2nd part of TLLDOB is "weak". I much prefer it to the first part. it is definitely the more experimental part. but when looking at the story it is quite fitting the album develops like this, because the adventures of Rael just get weirder and weirder, so I don't really complain. by far the best album of Genesis.  Excellent post. I think ths story is mainly a vehicle for doing a variety of emotions through the music.It seems to start as a social commentary but ends up in the realm of the totally absurd. So you can find what you want in it, one interpretation is as good as another. You may listen to a record hundreds of times but you would hardly read something hundreds of times. So I think what Gabriel did with his lyrics is make something that was meaningful yet not totally discernable without taking itself too seriously and having a comic edge .  Therefore i find Gabriel to be amongst the best prog lyricists if not the best

I see it as going from the real to the surreal.  Whether of not the lamb lying down on Broadway indicates that it is a dream I am not sure. But it is in the tradition of the epic, in which a hero goes through a series of adventures or mishaps to arrive at a destination. This destination seems to be the discovery of his true self, which of course is a very sixities concept. This story would seem to involve a descent into hell and a purification at the end through Gabriel's water imagery.

I think if you knew the mythological context that he is drawing from, the piece would be a lot clearer than it seems now. The surreal part of the second phase would seem to be an indication of some kind of trip that reveals the basis of mytholgical realities through which Rael lives his life. He must purge those realities to come to a deeper understanding of who he is. Thus, Rael becomes Real. I think Gabriel chooses NY because it is the most decadent, least romantic place on earth. It is the modern city that holds all those mythologies.

BaldJean wrote: I'll repeat what I said in the "Lamb vs. Wall" thread: interesing that many people seem to think the 2nd part of TLLDOB is "weak". I much prefer it to the first part. it is definitely the more experimental part. but when looking at the story it is quite fitting the album develops like this, because the adventures of Rael just get weirder and weirder, so I don't really complain. by far the best album of Genesis.

 Excellent post. I think ths story is mainly a vehicle for doing a variety of emotions through the music.It seems to start as a social commentary but ends up in the realm of the totally absurd. So you can find what you want in it, one interpretation is as good as another. You may listen to a record hundreds of times but you would hardly read something hundreds of times. So I think what Gabriel did with his lyrics is make something that was meaningful yet not totally discernable without taking itself too seriously and having a comic edge .

 Therefore i find Gabriel to be amongst the best prog lyricists if not the best

 **Warning , Warning **

The lunatics have escaped from the asylum , some are yelling "The Lamb is crap ", some are yelling " Gabriels vocals are poor  ! " , " some are even saying Genesis are crap "............after Wind and Withering  they were ! but don't worry these people will be caught and dealt with ...please remain calm!

This is a message from Rael

** Do not adjust your moniters **

gentletull wrote: I only really like half the songs alot, but there is some real cool stuff. But I gotta say Gabriels vocals are pretty mediocre on this album

Gentletull when do you get out of the asylum you are currently frequenting you have dissed the fabulous Porcupine Tree and now you are deserving the guillotine Gabriel's voice is outrageously brilliant on the Lamb, my fave Genesis album.I fear the magic boomerang has whacked you on the head.Still, you like half of it. I'll make sure your change over nurse is pretty.

newWorld wrote: I'm sure this topic has come up before.  Or maybe I'm wrong and it belongs on a literary arts forum.   Anyhow, I've been listening to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis lately.  I want to know what this album is about; it seems very thick with symbolism.  I've looked over the internet and have not been able to find in depth coverage of this album.  Does anybody have any idea what this album is really about?  I get lost after "Grand Parade."  Any input would be much appreciated.

The Lamb is a tough cookie to crack.  Unlike the Beatles who could pull off something abstract like Yellow Submarine and get away with it 'cause they're The Beatles, Genesis did not have that clout so we don't have a film.

Genesis had a problem with trying to popularize their abstract, very artsy, music and I would say that the Lamb is an attempt towards that end although the second side is very surreal.  The lyrics and idea are still very abstract but Gabriel uses a lot of rhyme schemes and familiar everyday (very real) images. The problem is that there is no narrative to follow and without a film to give us that narrative, we are left on our own.

The Lamb is an epic, an adventure story taken by Rael. Usually a writer will give a a clue to the meaning of a work in the names of people in the work.  Rael might look like another word, for example.  The Slipperman is another.  Don't let the language fool you just enjoy it.  If it sounds funny it is supposed to be funny.  "Dock the dick" is just what you may think. 

I would say that the underlying idea that you should think of is in the most popular chorus "we've got to get in to get out." There's a reason why that is the most unforgettble chorus.  If it sounds important it is important. Seeing the movie Quadraphenia may also help because I hear a lot of  the soundtrack and the story as well in The Lamb.

Genesis had toured supporting Lou Reed in 1973. NY was bankrupt and all the images that conjure your mind when you think of NY are in the lyrics. Prog from 1968-1973 is pretty comfortable with its romantic, escapist notions.  After 1973 it becomes less comfortable with that aspect of the music.  Its listeners are growing up after all. If you were 18 in '68 you are now 25 in 1975.

I hope that helps a little.

I think the lamb is Johnny Rotten. He was a Gabriel's creation anyway.