GENESIS : THE LAMB LIES IN ROCHESTER

 

Disc One (64:02)

  1. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
  2. Fly On A Windshield
  3. Broadway Melody Of 1974
  4. Cuckoo Cocoon
  5. In The Cage
  6. The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging
  7. Story Of Rael (Part 1)
  8. Back In N.Y.C.
  9. Hairless Heart
  10. Counting Out Time
  11. The Carpet Crawlers
  12. The Chamber Of 32 Doors
  13. Story Of Rael (Part 2)
  14. Lilywhite Lilith
  15. The Waiting Room

Disc Two (54:28)

  1. Anyway
  2. Here Comes The Supernatural Anaesthetist
  3. The Lamia
  4. Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats
  5. The Colony Of Slippermen
  6. Ravine
  7. The Light Dies Down On Broadway
  8. Riding The Scree
  9. In The Rapids
  10. It
  11. The Musical Box

Label : Leftfield Media

Venue : Auditorium Theatre, Rochester, New York, USA

Recording Date : December 17, 1974

Quality : FM broadcast recording (A+)

Review : Excellent bootleg from a live FM broadcast recorded at Auditorium Theater Rochester, New York, December 17th 1974. The classic line-up for this show : Mike Rutherford (Bass Guitar), Phil Collins (Drums, Vocals), Steve Hackett (Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals), Tony Banks (Keyboards) and Peter Gabriel (Vocals, Flute).

Review (Past Daily) : Genesis, during their last few months with Peter Gabriel. The release of their 2-disc magnum opus The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway brought a mixed reaction from press and audiences alike. Hailed by many as the penultimate Genesis album, it was slammed by others as being bloated, not-well-thought-out and tedious. At almost 2 hours, this concert, made up of the entire album, does require some patience. Not only because it’s musically drawn out, but because this particular recording isn’t what it needs to be in order to grab and sustain attention. For one thing, Peter Gabriel’s vocals are mixed curiously distant, suggesting his mic channel just wasn’t brought up enough. Second, the band don’t sound all that enthusiastic. It could be the knowledge the others had that Peter Gabriel would be leaving and this was pretty much it for Genesis as most people knew it cast a pall over the proceedings. Whatever the reasons or circumstances, this isn’t a stunning recording. And there are a lot of hums, crackles and grounding problems from the instruments. So why am I posting it? Because this is one of the rare concert recordings by the band during this pivotal time – when Peter Gabriel would leave and pursue a solo career and Genesis would continue on and take a decidedly commercial road as a result. It’s significant in that it’s one of the rare concert recordings featuring The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway in its entirety, and it’s also one where the sound is decent enough and not compliments of someone with a cassette recorder and microphone hunched over a nearby monitor, or on a balcony, sitting next to a consumptive. Genesis early on had their diehard fans and their hard core retractors. Genesis were, above everything else, an extremely influential band and one of the keystones of the Prog-Rock movement. When Gabriel left and the band regrouped, with drummer Phil Collins taking the vocals, something was lost to many. And now with Genesis officially a remnant of the past with no hope of anything resembling a reunion, hearing what they were doing in 1974 conjures up memories of pivotal moments, and for people who have never heard this incarnation of the band, an interesting glimpse into a brilliant and inventive world. Recorded on December 17, 1974, a little under two hours.