Customer Reviews

A Tribute to The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just rec'd my copy of this last Satuday & it has not left my playlist since. I absolutely love it. I've always been a sucker for cover songs in general, but this may be the best I've ever heard. I know there are going to be purists who think it Sacrilege to redo "The Lamb..." but you need to get past that & give this a listen.

The instrumentation is definitely NOT what you'd expect. A lot of Strings & horns in place of Synths. In some places it almost sounds like Walter Murphy & the Big Apple Band or Barry' White's Love Unlimited Orchestra. From reading the liner notes, all the musicians on the record had little or no knowledge of the original, so they just played what they thought the sheet music needed. The result is a respectful tribute to a Masterpiece, that still manages to breathe new life into it. How Much ? Well, the first time I heard "In The Rapids" I was nearly moved to tears ! And as much as I love the original, I never had that reaction to it.

Bottom line, forget your prejudices & misconceptions regarding Cover treatments & BUY THIS DISC. It deserves to be heard !

This CD delivers in its slightly different take on "The Lamb". Spocks Beard drummer Nick D'Virgilio partners up with friend Mark Hornsby to make this classic come alive again. Violins, horns and accordians perform many of the classic Tony Banks keyboard parts along with cellos, violas, clarinets and flute. Nicks vocals portray the classic and intricate vocal work of Peter Gabriel, albeit a slight bit sterile - lacking the ballsyness of Gabriels, still comes very close. The guitar work of Don Carr also is excellent as he weaves many of the classic Steve Hackett riffs. Nick's drumming is spot on with all the Phil Collins drum parts. All in all, it really is worth owning a copy of this CD if you are a fan of Genesis. The only other interpretation of "The Lamb" that lives up to this level of excellence is the Kevin Gilbert version that is only available as a bootleg.

NDV's interpretation or rewiring of Lamb is incredible. Strings, winds, horns add to the mystique of Genesis' finest opus. NDV has enabled this listener to not just enjoy this rewiring but gain a whole new appreciation of the original. Every nook and cranny has been rewired. It's that good.
As a side note, NDV served as drummer on the much under appreciated " Calling All Stations"

As a Genesis fan and home recording enthusiast, I can absolutely understand why fellow fans and musicians would try to recreate a classic album in its entirety. It's a great challenge to do something like that.

However, it is wrong to assume that one's genuine love and respect for a great album, coupled with improvements in music technology in the 35 years since it was recorded, will necessarily result in a "fresh take" on the source material. There is simply nothing here that adds to or improves upon the original. The musicians play all the right parts, but there's not much "feel" to it, and the singer has none of Peter Gabriel's depth and character. And I'm sorry, just because you can easily embellish tracks with brass, strings and other instruments in Pro Tools doesn't mean you should.

An admirable and monumental effort, but since Genesis got it exactly right the first time, utterly unnecessary.

I fully appreciate everyone's generally positive reactions to this album, but I am not all that impressed. The music is actually quite good and for my money I think I would have preferred an instrumental version. I'm not familiar with the singer but it is in no way even close to the power and presence that Peter Gabriel conveys. Lilywhite Lilith, for example is just plain wrong. That isn't to say he isn't a good singer - he just doesn't bring much to the music and I find myself missing the original the more I listen to this. If you are not all that familiar with the original, then this may come across as a very good album. However, if you are inclined to compare it the original you will probably find it lacking. Some may be able to get beyond comparisons and appreciate this for what it is. Others, like myself, will play it once and then probably never listen to it again.

I decided to purchase this little gem after seeing some footage of Kevin Gilbert's 1994 ProgFest performance of LLDOB on YouTube. It had been years since I'd listened to "The Lamb" and between the original and Gilbert's versions I thought that this version had to be given a chance, after all the primary performer, Nick D'Virgilio, was the drummer in Gilbert's band for the performance, how bad could he mess it up now?!

My initial listen held many surprises; accordions and horn sections in the place of sythesizer, strings in the place of a mellotron, and even Nick sounding somewhat "Lounge Lizard-ish" in Counting Out Time. About 3 plays and I was hooked, the recording is exceptional, the musicians are tight, and all in all I thought this to be a tastefully done resurrection and redefinition of the original. I highly recommend this CD to any true Genesis or progressive music afficionado!

When I first started reading the reviews for this album I knew I had to get it and have a listen. It is a bit pricey but I went for it. I listened to it all the way straight through. Then proceeded to listen again. I NEVER do that these days (I am about 50).

I have always loved Lamb Lies Down and give it a listen a couple of times a year. It's a masterpiece of aural adventure and I really like what Peter Gabriel had to say to the critics claim when he says, "If you think that It's pretentious, you've been taken for a ride..."

Well, perhaps Lamb is a bit overambitious and pretentious but it is a wonderful piece of fantasy with incredible music and lyrics.

Now comes this fresh version. Using more traditional instrumentation such as horns and strings (and even accordion!) they give the Lamb a fresh new fleece and it really shines! I loved every moment of it and think any Lamb fan will too. It may even be, dare I say it, better than the original -- or at least on a par. Far better than a mere tribute.

I know that this may sacrilegious to the die-hard Genesis fans ... of which I'm one ... but I love Rewiring Genesis~A Tribute to the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, just as much as the Gabriel, Banks, Rutherford, Collins, Hackett, Genesis Masterpiece from 1974.
This isn't so much a tribute as a re-imaging of the original.
In the place of Tony Banks keyboards, which can't be approved upon, is the inclusion of a horn section and strings.
Nick D'Virgilio isn't as dramatic a performer or singer as Peter Gabriel, but he's a more technically better singer. I really enjoy his vocals, and I think that this disc works best because he didn't try to copy Gabriel's style, and remained true to his own singing style.
This won't replace your Genesis version of "The Lamb...", but adds a highly enjoyable alternative version.
If you love "The Lamb..." as much as I do, then you'll really dig this release.

One of the things that points to the "greatness" of a piece of music is how well it takes to being performed by others. Our era of the singer/songwriter has led us to forget that those used to be two very different jobs. Taking the work "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" away from the recorded performance by Genesis provides an excellent lens: how good a piece of music is this?

Fantastic. No surprise. I did love the original, but D'Virgilio's reimagining brings out the genuine joys of the music. Rather than synths -- which I would have said were essential before hearing this -- D'Virgilio (lead singer and multi-instrumentalist from Spock's Beard) arranges for a small clutch of orchestral instruments to go along with the bass/drum/guitar. Rather than playing everything straight and prog, he spins the rhythms and makes something different.

Whatever your relation to the original, this is a great recording of great music.

I was totally prepared to dislike this CD, even though I am a huge Spock's Beard Fan. The Lamb is one of my all time favorite albums and I really didn't see the need for a remake. Especially one with no synths, or bass pedals and using studio musicians with no prior experience with the music at all. But I have to say that I was impressed. Really impressed. Colony of Slippermen is worth the price by itself. Accordian and clarinet doing the synth lines - excellent! A shuffle beat and horns - cool! And it stays true to the original throughout - just putting a new face on it. Highly recommended. Bravo Nick!