Genesis - Genesis and the Lamb Lies down on Broadway

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is an album with a good story behind it. I dont mean the story of Rael, although that too is very good, if maddeningly obscure at times. The Lambs other story is one of great creativity and personal turmoil within the band, of rapid change in the music industry at the time, and of the great economic and political stresses in the US and the UK during the time The Lamb was composed, recorded and performed on tour. In these respects The Lamb, like the Beatles Sgt. Pepper, Pink Floyds The Wall, Nirvanas Nevermind, Radioheads OK Computer, and Green Days American Idiot, marks a pivotal point in a bands trajectory and it both illustrates and resonates with its time.

For this story to be told, however, it required many contributors along the way. I would like to thank Heidi May, commissioning editor at Ashgate, and Derek B. Scott, editor for Ashgates Folk and Popular Music series, for graciously answering questions, providing feedback, and in general making the entire editorial process very smooth. I am grateful for their professionalism. The University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts graciously awarded me with a sabbatical that provided needed time for writing. I am grateful to my colleagues for their congeniality and encouragement. My graduate students in my Progressive Rock seminars at the University of Kentucky have been an enthusiastic sounding board for my ideas over the years, and a rich source of new perspectives and suggestions for new directions of inquiry.

For academics searching printed word (as Gabriel would memorably describe my line of work in The Chamber of 32 Doors), or searching web sites, serendipitous avenues of research can pop up. I would like to thank two anonymous file-sharing bloggers who provided me with valuable material, at just the right time, without even knowing it. The first posted the entire Shrine Auditorium show in its rough pre-Archive form to a music blog. When a concert-streaming web site threatened litigation, the blogger hastily withdrew the files, but then subsequently posted the seven-CD bootleg In the Beginning, which contains a number of key Lamb demos; at almost exactly the same time, a second collector, who had managed to download the Shrine show in the brief time it was up, re-posted it on a mirror site. My thanks go out to both. Even if they never read this, their generosity significantly furthered my research; my comparative discussion of the Shrine Auditorium recordings, for example, would not have been possible.

It was my high-school friend and college roommate Mike Bowman who introduced me to Gabriel-era Genesis in general, and The Lamb in particular. Thanks, Mike; you were often in my thoughts as I wrote this book. Another longtime friend, Gary Zenker, has been a constant source of unconditional encouragement.

Finally, my wonderful familymy wife Karen, and our kids, Miranda and Tobywere a constant source of love, patience and support at all times, quiet and solitude when needed, and smoothies and caramels without my asking. Miranda and Toby, I pray that your careers, whatever they turn out to be, will be as motivating and rewarding for you as they are for your Mom and Dad. Thanks, Mom, for making me stick with those music lessons, and thanks as well to anyone whom I have neglected to mention here.

All musical examples in this book are the result of my own transcription efforts and analysis directly from the recordings; any errors are my own. All songs were written by Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, and Phil Collins, published by Genesis Music Ltd. / Hit & Run Music (Publishing) Ltd.

Its quite a barrage of words and there should be an award for people who go through it!

Peter Gabriel (Welch, 1975)