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The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Genesis 1974-1975): History of the Enigmatic Cult Album
The new book on the Genesis cult album "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". Ideal for all fans of Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Steve Hackett and Phil Collins who finally want to understand the mysterious masterpiece and its background. Perfect for preparing (or as follow-up to) the "The Lamb" Shows by Canadian Tribute Band "The Musical Box" in 2023.
Summer 1974: After "Selling England by the Pound", Genesis are a widely respected band, but heavily in debt and gripped by severe inner tensions. The next album must absolutely bring the breakthrough! At the beginning of the fruitful work, no one suspects that they will soon face a crucial test. Peter Gabriel remembers everything becoming "sort of dark, tormented". Phil Collins speaks of a very strange phase. Steve Hackett meanwhile compares the making of the album with the maiden voyage of the Titanic, which everyone somehow tried to survive despite various iceberg collisions. Finally, Tony Banks even experiences it as downright "hell". With their last ounces of strength, the musicians wrestle an enigmatic masterpiece from themselves with "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". However, this masterpiece was to cost them their charismatic frontman Peter Gabriel.
In his new book, historian and cultural scientist Mark Bell not only reconstructs the highly exciting history of the album's creation, but also explains its mysterious content piece by piece in the core chapter on approx. 160 pages. Other chapters deal with, among other things, the revolutionary multimedia tour from November 1974 to May 1975, Peter Gabriel's departure and, finally, the afterlife and continuation of the enigmatic Lamb to the present day. All the answers (and much more) in Mark Bell's new book!
Summer 1974: After "Selling England by the Pound", Genesis are a widely respected band, but heavily in debt and gripped by severe inner tensions. The next album must absolutely bring the breakthrough! At the beginning of the fruitful work, no one suspects that they will soon face a crucial test. Peter Gabriel remembers everything becoming "sort of dark, tormented". Phil Collins speaks of a very strange phase. Steve Hackett meanwhile compares the making of the album with the maiden voyage of the Titanic, which everyone somehow tried to survive despite various iceberg collisions. Finally, Tony Banks even experiences it as downright "hell". With their last ounces of strength, the musicians wrestle an enigmatic masterpiece from themselves with "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". However, this masterpiece was to cost them their charismatic frontman Peter Gabriel.
In his new book, historian and cultural scientist Mark Bell not only reconstructs the highly exciting history of the album's creation, but also explains its mysterious content piece by piece in the core chapter on approx. 160 pages. Other chapters deal with, among other things, the revolutionary multimedia tour from November 1974 to May 1975, Peter Gabriel's departure and, finally, the afterlife and continuation of the enigmatic Lamb to the present day. All the answers (and much more) in Mark Bell's new book!
- GenresMusic
458 pages, Paperback
Published January 29, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 4, 2023
At 430 pages and almost 1200 citations, there has never been such a thoroughly researched book about a single album in the Genesis catalog, so I give a lot of credit to the author for the amount of time and effort he must have put into this. Even the most devoted Genesis fan will learn something from this book that they didn't know before, which is good because I doubt this book would hold the interest of anyone but the most dedicated fan.
However, the text leaves little room for any emotional connection to the band members and their personal situations in 1974/75. The translation to English (this book was originally written in German) occasionally makes for some cumbersome reading,as does the somewhat academic approach the author takes to the album.
All in all, a good book for the fan who has read everything else, but definitely a pass for any other.
However, the text leaves little room for any emotional connection to the band members and their personal situations in 1974/75. The translation to English (this book was originally written in German) occasionally makes for some cumbersome reading,as does the somewhat academic approach the author takes to the album.
All in all, a good book for the fan who has read everything else, but definitely a pass for any other.
June 1, 2025
As a life long Genesis fan and The Lamb being my favourite Genesis album, I had to buy this book, and I'm so pleased that I did. Dr Mark Bell has written an amazing book regarding The Lamb. There were things that I knew about the band during the 74/75 period that was in the book, but there was also a lot of information that I didn't know. It's amazing to think that at the time The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway was slated buy most of the critics, and the fact that four members of the band didn't really like it either. But now the album as a fan favourite and regarded as the best prog rock/concept album ever made. A brilliant book indeed. Well done Dr Mark Bell. 10/10
October 7, 2025
This book probably includes everything you might want to know about "The lamb lies down on Broadway" (plus quite a few things that you're not interested in). There's some things that I don't agree with but that doesn't take away from how detailed and well-researched the book is!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews