So much has been said over the last five decades about GENESIS‘ six studio album that there nothing seem to remain open to discussion: neither its unbridled ambition not its divisive nature. Apparently, the ensemble feel the same, which is why the 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway” which will see the light of day on March 28th – thus, rather typically for such reissues, missing the actual semicentennial mark – should offer no special treats for aficionados. Well, almost.
Even a surround-sound mix – which is to appear on Blu-ray as part of the aforementioned edition, as an addition to four CDs or five LPs, and on a standalone disc, whose $120 pre-order price looks a bit too high and is likely to get corrected later on, Atmos or no Atmos – can’t be deemed something out of the ordinary, as it was included in the “1970–1975” collection in 2008, although now everything, stereo versions too, has the “2004 remaster” tag on it. The same treatment has been applied to the Shrine Auditorium recordings from 1975 that take up the rest of CDs and LPs, the concert document which officially debuted on “Archive 1967–75” box set back in 1998 and saw quite a few Peter Gabriel vocals and Steve Hackett guitar parts overdubbed a year earlier – and are said to be stripped back, as the multitrack tapes were finally found – but the two encore cuts appear for the first time here. And while GENESIS never really opened their vaults for demos or raw cuts, three of those, outtakes from Headley Grange, will be made available on a digital download card alongside the rest of audio from the box – but not on physical medium, always a despicable practice. Sure enough, there are also a coffee-table book and a 1975 Tour programme reproduction. Nice to have yet hardly essential.
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway:
50th Anniversary
Super Deluxe Edition
CD 1-2 – The Album:
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. Back In N.Y.C.
8. Hairless Heart
9. Counting Out Time
10. The Carpet Crawlers
11. The Chamber Of 32 Doors
12. Lilywhite Lilith
13. The Waiting Room
14. Anyway
15. Here Comes The Supernatural Aneasthetist
16. The Lamia
17. Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats
18. The Colony Of Slippermen (The Arrival / A Visit To The Doktor / Raven)
19. Ravine
20. The Light Dies Down On Broadway
21. Riding The Scree
22. In The Rapids
23. It.
CD 3-4 – Live At The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA, January 24th, 1975
1-23 – as above
24. Watcher Of The Skies
25. The Musical Box
Blu-ray:
1-23 – as above – Atmos mix / hi-res stereo mix
