Musical Snapshots: Genesis' album "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" was released today - One of their most ambitious and lyrically enigmatic works

"The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" , the last Genesis album with their original lineup that included singer Peter Gabriel , was released on November 22, 1974 .

Only the tension between the band members at that time could have created such an adventurous project. For the first time, the band was allowed to expand beyond the 40-45 minute limits of a single LP, and the result is nothing short of genius.

"The Lamb" is an ambitious undertaking, a four-sided concept album, full of memorable melodies, mystery, and a huge variety of emotions and soundscapes. Genesis uses the format of their debut album "From Genesis to Revelation" here, namely a concept album that mixes songs centered on Gabriel's vocals with short orchestral interludes, which most of the time are not listed as separate tracks.

Gabriel, the main lyricist here, unfolds a very strange story in which a young Puerto Rican is sucked into an alternate reality through some portal in Times Square, New York, his senses are pulled and stretched to their limits and he begins a very strange journey of self-discovery. The album is more like a rock opera that really needs to be heard as a complete work.

Gabriel's lyrics, deeply influenced by Freudian psychoanalysis, span a vast field that includes themes of spirituality, personal transformation and sexuality, as well as social and cultural ones. They speak to the subconscious more than the listener realizes. The lyrics are existential, following a pattern begun on previous albums with "Supper's Ready" and "The Battle of Epping Forest".

The imagery and wordplay that Gabriel uses throughout this epic is unique. They move from the delicate "Cuckoo Cocoon" to the dizzying "In the Cage" with surprising ease. The humor of "Counting out Time" keeps the mood light when needed, and then moves on to the provocative "Carpet Crawlers". And just when you think you've got the plot of the story, you're confronted with the theological underpinnings of "It". The overall package may be the most conceptually challenging concept album in all of modern music history.

There are some great orchestral passages, but the band is more restrained here than on any previous Genesis release. The music is not limited to progressive rock but includes many elements of rock, pop, punk and electronica, the latter with significant contributions from Brian Eno. From the sparkling piano intro to the title track, the menacing "Fly On A Windshield" , the aggressive pre-punk of "Back In NYC" , the romantic "Carpet Crawlers" and the wonderful build-up to "Anyway" to the funny "The Colony Of Slippermen" and the joyful "It", Genesis manage to make captivating prog rock, so unique for the era.

All the musicians deliver a huge variety of moods and rhythms, from the epic, terrifying "In The Cage" to the strange and innovative "The Waiting Room" and "Here Comes The Supernatural Anaesthetist" . It's as if they know this is the end of a very special era and are doing everything they can to leave with the most deafening bang.

The sound of "The Lamb..." is awesome, a natural progression from the previous album "Selling England By The Pound". Tony Banks really shines here with his playing, delivering some amazing solos on tracks like "In The Cage" , "The Colony Of Slippermen" and "Riding The Scree" . He also plays some wonderful mellotron and piano parts on the quieter tracks, and is rivaled on the album only by Steve Hackett and his wonderful guitar sounds.

Phil Collins on drums is a rock that the entire band rests on, helping to produce that unique Genesis sound, while Mike Rutherford adds some wonderful 12-string guitars to the mix, along with his always beautiful bass lines.

Some of the tracks that stand out, although it's hard to isolate them from the whole, are "The Waiting Room" (a wonderful, slowly building jam that leads to a terrible wall of sound), "Hairless Heart" (a beautiful instrumental, with nice acoustic guitar and excellent keyboard work), "Colony Of Slippermen" (catchy, lyrically clever, with dazzling keyboards), the atmospheric "Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats" (an almost church-like instrumental, with choral voices that come and go in the most haunting way) and the excellent "Fly On A Windshield" with its majestic, mellotron-driven atmosphere, and Hackett's wonderful guitar work.

"The Lamb..." initially received mixed reviews from critics and was the first Genesis album to fail to outsell its predecessors, but it has gained recognition in the years since and has developed a devoted following. A Rolling Stone poll of readers' favorite progressive rock albums ranked "The Lamb..." fifth on the list. The magazine described it as "one of rock's most elaborate, charming, and bizarre concept albums".

"The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" is one of the most ambitious, lyrically enigmatic and grandiose works by one of the genre's leading bands, at the height of their powers with their best line-up. It's extremely demanding and elusive, and it takes many listens to really sink into your soul. But once it does, it's hard not to admit that this is the pinnacle of the genre.