The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway - Genesis (1974)
This is a double-album follow-up to a highly successful record, a familiar trope of 70s rock narrative.
Gabriel was inspired by a variety of sources for the story including West Side Story, “a kind of punk” twist to the Christian allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, the works of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, and the surreal Western film El Topo (1971) by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
This wouldn’t surprise anyone who followed Gabriel’s solo work, but must have seemed like it was beamed in from Mars in 1974.
But despite intra-band tensions and high expectations, Genesis delivered what I think is the best album of their classic lineup.
There’s a ton of great Genesis music but it’s also shot through with glam rock and American pop (not for nothing that it opens on Broadway).
It’s a fantastic and interesting listen all the way through.