“The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway...Again!” - TWR takes a look at the newly released Lamb … Box Set.

I admit this is going to be a tough assignment for me for several reasons... First of all, what can I possibly say about an album that has had so many words written about it, including several thousand by me! How can I possibly say something about an album I have already reviewed at least five times before? And, most important of all; how can I write something new about an album which I am not the biggest fan of? Well, we shall see, shan't we...?

This project has had a very long gestation period, I first became aware of the plans to reissue The Lamb...back in 2017 – yes, it really was THAT long ago! Since then, the idea has emerged and been submerged as other, more achievable projects ...and the band's final tour, took precedence. Since then, it has appeared and disappeared with more tentative release dates than even a Peter Gabriel album. Several have come and gone with no reason given for the delay and the final delay blamed on technical problems with the new Atmos Mix. The more cynical among the fan base have pointed the finger at the omnipresent Peter Gabriel,after all, The Lamb... was very much his baby! The album finally appeared on 26th September this year (2025) .

Now that it finally is here, what do we have to peruse that makes this one different from any others that have preceded it? Well, the most obvious thing is the much touted Atmos Mix. Now, I am not technically enough minded to comment on that too much especially when I don't have access to an Atmos system nor a Blu Ray player – I admit it, I am a Luddite when it comes to technology – and proud of it! So, my comments about that will have to be restricted to what I can remember of the “Playback” of that mix which I was fortunate to attend in London the week before the album's release. If I am brutally honest, the new mix didn't add substantially to its predecessor, and like any such remix it is a compromise between trying to improve elements which may have been obscured by production values at the time. Let's just say there is nothing on this mix which wasn't present on the original mix but which was hiding in the detail. Some of the more effects driven sections such as The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging and The Waiting Room definitely benefit from this process. All the sound effects are here in a cacophony of sound and on the latter the band's desire to scare the shit out of each other in the studio almost comes true for us, the audience as this is a genuinely frightening performance! Other details are cleaner, and Mike's bass work in particular throughout the album is revealed to be both inventive and physically impressive.

The one thing that shines through on both the stereo mix and the Atmos mix above everything else is the sheer dynamism of Steve Hackett's guitar playing especially on tracks such as Hairless Heart where his acoustic work is tasteful and delicate whilst on The Colony of Slippermen, his koto is definitely working! On other tracks the combination of Hackett and Tony Banks really brings their creative parthership to light and on Hairless Heart their playing reaches one of those peaks which they seldom scaled again during Steve's time with the band.

Elsewhere it is Phil that shines, and in fact his playing is the glue which holds it all together and prevents it from flying off into a million shards. By turns powerful and understated Phil obviously relished the opportunity to stretch out and be creative here.

Despite Tony Banks' expressed antipathy towards the album, he nonetheless puts in some of his finest work. Moments which for fans are among the defining moments of the band's story. The opening arpeggio of The Lamb... itself, the paranoia of In The Cage and who can forget the spine tingling Carpet Crawlers? Whilst Back In NYC rates for me among the finest Banksian moments in the Genesis oeuvre.

And then there is Peter Gabriel; this is his flawed masterpiece and his strength in terms of both vocal prowess and lyrical inventiveness is here for all to see. Wordplays abound, the cod send up of Keats's “Daffodils” on The Colony Of Slippermen is matched for inventiveness on the savage indictment of the work life conveyor belt that is The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging – one of the few songs on the album that actualy makes any sense lyrically. There are still Classical references here too although they are buried deeper in the story. The reference to a salamander which “scurries into flame to be destroyed” will be familiar to anyone with a knowledge of medieval Bestiaries. And of course, Lilith – the first woman of the Bible gets her very own cameo. The references to everyday life and characters is what makes The Lamb... different to what has gone before it. What also marks it out is the devilish wordplay throughout, it isn't the meaning of the words that matters but how they are delivered, in many respects similar to that other Progressive wordsmith; Jon Anderson where the voice truly becomes another instrument in the band's armoury.

The end result is an album which defied categorisation at the time of its release and which still does so today. Is it Prog? Is it Rock? Is it Punk Rock? I don't know but... I like it!

That took you all by surprise didn't it? Yes, this jaded old cynic has finally warmed to The Lamb... we've finally become friends rather than sparring partners. The relationship remains rocky at times but that's the same with all healthy friendships. I won't always “get” what the album is trying to tell me but that's what makes listening to it...and I have LISTENED to it on more occasions than I care to think about over the years... such a joy. Like so many great albums, repeated listening brings benefits, and an album of this magnitude cannot be digested in a single sitting without risk of serious indigestion! So let's just say that after forty nine years, I have finally digested this most challenging of creations without getting aural heartburn!

Now then, let's take a look at the rest of the not insubstantial package that is contained within this set. The most obvious is the reissue of the famous Shrine Auditorium show from 24th January 1975. This time with the encores restored! Now, most diehard fans will already have this recording in their collections from either the previous release on the Genesis Archive 1967-75 box set or indeed from the radio broadcast itself, so the level of excitement for this one isn't really that great. The selling point is the restoration of the encores. Well, sorry to say, these have been available for many years so they aren't anything special – sorry but there it is! Then we have the recording itself. Now we all know that this was “tarted up” back in 1998 with various elements being patched in, not least vocals on several sections. Nick Davis explained the reasoning behind this to TWR at the time and grudgingly I will say it made sense. However, it did – and does – detract from the essential “live” quality of the recording - “Live Not Memorex” as the advertising slogan once read.

Speaking of live not Memorex, the recording has evidently had further restorative work done on it if what my ears are hearing is anything to go by, with several vocal sections sounding radically different. This is heightened on the encores where, if the observations of the more technically minded among the fan cognoscenti are to be believed, the entire vocals are actually “lifted” from the studio versions of the songs! If this is the case, it begs the fundamental question: WHY? I have the full recording of this gig and there is absolutely nothing wrong wth the vocals on either track. This really is a step too far and cannot be justified in any meaningful way and completely spoils the recording.

Re- releasing this recording rather defeats the object of giving the fans something previously unavailable. OK fan expectations are unrealistic at the best of times but even so, this is a disappointment especially when at least one other multi track live recording from the tour is in the band's archive (according to Tony Banks). Why oh why not release this instead giving the fans something they would really relish? The obvious answer of course is: COST. The recording would have had to be cleaned up, tapes baked, de – bugged, no noised etc all of which takes time... and money! Then of course, how much of it would have had to be “tarted up” again like its predecessor? With the object being maximising “profit potential” (pardon me using an album reference there) that is most likely the reason.

The other extras in the package are quite nice. The book contains some previously unseen images from the tour and the behind the scenes making of it but the vast majority will have been seen before – just how many imagesof a Slipperman does any fan really need? The text by Alexis Patridis is informative but hardly revelatory and it is amazing that even after all these years the band members still manage to sing from the same hymn sheet with their comments about it. The poster and programme reproduction are very nice...In fact I can see there being issues in distinguishing the latter from REAL tour programmes which will give collectors a headache! Then we have the Headley Grange demos... all three of them. I can't comment on these directly as I don't “do” downloads but I am sure they will be similar to the various collections of demos and outtakes from the album which collectors have had for years.

So, does the package justify the hype...and cost? Musically, the answer has to be a definite yes, the new mixes bring substantial detail to the table which is what it is all about really, isn't it? The issue of the live recording will remain vexatious to fans as will the lack of anything visual from the period but you can't please everyone no matter how hard you try.