Wednesday, April 27, 2005
THE LAMB
Once upon a time there was a great band called Genesis. Then the singer left, then the guitar player left, and then they became utter crap. Before those events transpired, however, they made their opus, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. It was Gabriel's swan song with the band, and certainly their creative highpoint. The album is flawed, though it contains the best material they have to offer - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, The Cage, The Carpet Crawlers, and of course Back In New York City - it also contains a goodly amount of filler. I just can't get into Cukoo Cocoon or Lilywhite Lilth. According to Gabriel:
"In fact there are parts of it which are almost indecipherable and very difficult which I don't think are very successful."
It seems to be another one of those double records that should have been culled down to one. During the making of the record Gabriel actually quit, ostensibly to make a film, but he was brought back into the fold to complete the album. The impending spectre of his departure did not leave, and thusly the album feels a bit rushed, as if they needed to get it out before he quit again, which he did.
Gabriel: "The vehicle we had built as a co-op to serve our songwriting became our master and had cooped us up inside the success we had wanted. It affected the attitudes and the spirit of the whole band. To get an idea through "Genesis the Big" meant shifting a lot more concrete than before. For any band, transferring the heart from idealistic enthusiasm to professionalism is a difficult operation. On a large scale it needs one clear and coherent direction, which our pseudo-democratic committee system could not provide."
The band would go on to make three good records (Trick Of The Tail, Wind And Wuthering, ...And Then There Were Three) But then came Duke and 'Misunderstanding' and a load of crap followed (read 'the eighties'). What the fuck is Paperlate anyway? Abacab - I get it , the chord structure, wow that's witty! Then there's Phil solo, let me just say Susudio and leave it at that.
Gabriel on the other hand went on to make four outstanding records, Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel, and Peter Gabriel (subtitled Security), followed by two massive hit's (So, and Us). He spent some time in Georgia making music with monkeys, and he put out a new record last year which I haven't heard, so I won't comment.
Anyway, with the newfangled computer gizmos, you can download the good stuff, leave the crap, and be happy.
"You gotta get in to get out"
UPDATE:
I must add that I do like Trick of The Tail quite a bit, which reminds me of an amusing story about Princess Dianna. When Genesis (the lame eighties band, not the cool seventies one) played one of the Prince's Trust concerts in the late eighties, after the show upon meeting Phil, she (Di) asked him why they didn't play any numbers off Trick of The Tail. Indeed Di, indeed.
Once upon a time there was a great band called Genesis. Then the singer left, then the guitar player left, and then they became utter crap. Before those events transpired, however, they made their opus, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. It was Gabriel's swan song with the band, and certainly their creative highpoint. The album is flawed, though it contains the best material they have to offer - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, The Cage, The Carpet Crawlers, and of course Back In New York City - it also contains a goodly amount of filler. I just can't get into Cukoo Cocoon or Lilywhite Lilth. According to Gabriel:
"In fact there are parts of it which are almost indecipherable and very difficult which I don't think are very successful."
It seems to be another one of those double records that should have been culled down to one. During the making of the record Gabriel actually quit, ostensibly to make a film, but he was brought back into the fold to complete the album. The impending spectre of his departure did not leave, and thusly the album feels a bit rushed, as if they needed to get it out before he quit again, which he did.
Gabriel: "The vehicle we had built as a co-op to serve our songwriting became our master and had cooped us up inside the success we had wanted. It affected the attitudes and the spirit of the whole band. To get an idea through "Genesis the Big" meant shifting a lot more concrete than before. For any band, transferring the heart from idealistic enthusiasm to professionalism is a difficult operation. On a large scale it needs one clear and coherent direction, which our pseudo-democratic committee system could not provide."
The band would go on to make three good records (Trick Of The Tail, Wind And Wuthering, ...And Then There Were Three) But then came Duke and 'Misunderstanding' and a load of crap followed (read 'the eighties'). What the fuck is Paperlate anyway? Abacab - I get it , the chord structure, wow that's witty! Then there's Phil solo, let me just say Susudio and leave it at that.
Gabriel on the other hand went on to make four outstanding records, Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel, and Peter Gabriel (subtitled Security), followed by two massive hit's (So, and Us). He spent some time in Georgia making music with monkeys, and he put out a new record last year which I haven't heard, so I won't comment.
Anyway, with the newfangled computer gizmos, you can download the good stuff, leave the crap, and be happy.
"You gotta get in to get out"
UPDATE:
I must add that I do like Trick of The Tail quite a bit, which reminds me of an amusing story about Princess Dianna. When Genesis (the lame eighties band, not the cool seventies one) played one of the Prince's Trust concerts in the late eighties, after the show upon meeting Phil, she (Di) asked him why they didn't play any numbers off Trick of The Tail. Indeed Di, indeed.
Comments:
You are right on target (although I like a few songs off of Duke, Misunderstanding excluded). I've always loved the pre-Duke stuff. I attended an ABACAB concert in the 80's, not knowing the album at all. When an ABACAB song was played, the crowd was dead. But, they played for 3 hours and did alot of Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (alas, not much of Trick of the Tail). The crowd went wild on every old song. In truth, it was a great show, which would have been truly excellent if they had ditched the ABACAB crap. Of course, the record company wouldn't have liked that and neither would their wallets.
And that is the real issue, right? They started to get rich with ABACAB. It's a shame that a band has to pump out crap in order to make money. Abandon creativity and energy, and you can make some big cash from the masses!
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And that is the real issue, right? They started to get rich with ABACAB. It's a shame that a band has to pump out crap in order to make money. Abandon creativity and energy, and you can make some big cash from the masses!
# posted by 
: 9:06 AM
: 9:06 AM
