History Music / TheLambLiesDownOnBroadway

Around release of the album, Genesis played on a supporting tour in North America and Europe, playing the entire album and only doing a couple old material songs as an encore. It wasn't all rosy however, since the equipment and effects had been faulty from time to time, including the infamous Slipperman costume where Pete Gabriel found it hard to breathe or insert the microphone. Also, he informed the rest of the band that he was planning to leave at the conclusion of the tour[[note]]at the time, he was heavily disillusioned with the music industry and wished to be back with his family[[/note]], which was 22 May 1975 in Besançon, France. The departure led to a drive to get a new frontman, with Music/PhilCollins happy to just have the group be an instrumental band before being persuaded to take the reins for ''Music/ATrickOfTheTail''.

And the lamb... lies down... on broadway!"''

''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'' is the sixth studio album by Music/{{Genesis}}, released through Creator/CharismaRecords on 22 November 1974. It is their last album with founding member Music/PeterGabriel, who left to start his solo career shortly after the tour supporting this album.

The story follows a young half-Puerto Rican street kid from UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity named Rael as he embarks on a fantastical journey to find his brother John. [[MindScrew Or something like that.]] Seriously, there's [[https://www.routledge.com/Genesis-and-The-Lamb-Lies-Down-on-Broadway/Holm-Hudson/p/book/9780754661474 an entire book]] that contains various interpretations of the story.

!! The Grand Parade of Lifeless Troping:

It's mine! It's'' [[TomatoInTheMirror mine]]!
** See also: TwistEnding and ItWasHisSled.

** The Lamb [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory might be a metaphor for]] Rael, though...

The story follows a young half-Puerto Rican street kid from UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity named Rael as he embarks on a fantastical journey to find his brother John. [[MindScrew Or something like that]]. Seriously, there's [[https://www.routledge.com/Genesis-and-The-Lamb-Lies-Down-on-Broadway/Holm-Hudson/p/book/9780754661474 an entire book]] that contains various interpretations of the story.

* AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:The fate of John/Rael at the end.]]

** "''it.''" ends with the repeated line, "[[Music/TheRollingStones It's only knock and know-all, but I like it]]". The song also refers to [[Music/AreYouExperienced purple haze]].
* SiameseTwinSongs: Most of Side 1 (the songs that aren't examples of this generally use FadingIntoTheNextSong instead), the first three songs on Side 2, "Lilywhite Lilith" into "The Waiting Room", "Anyway" into "Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist", "The Light Dies Down on Broadway" into "Riding the Scree", and "In the Rapids" into "''it.''". (So, roughly half the album, then).

* TheWalrusWasPaul: Gabriel's liner notes do little to clear the MindScrew.

And the lamb... lies down... on broadwqay!"''

-->--"[[TitleTrack The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway"

[[caption-width-right:302:''"And the laaaaaaaaaamb...\\
Lies dooooooown...\\
On '''BROOOOOADWAY!'''"'']]

->''"Wonder women, you can draw your blind!\\
Don't look at me! I'm not your kind,\\
I'm RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEL!"''
-->--'''"[[TitleTrack The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway]]"'''

'''''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway''''' is the sixth studio album by Music/{{Genesis}}, released in 1974. It is their last album with founding member Music/PeterGabriel, who left to start his solo career shortly after the tour supporting this album.

''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'' is the sixth studio album by Music/{{Genesis}}, released in 1974. It is their last album with founding member Music/PeterGabriel, who left to start his solo career shortly after the tour supporting this album.

On '''BROOOOOADWAY!"''''']]

-->I could have been exploded in space
-->Different orbits for my bones

* RearrangeTheSong: "The Carpet Crawlers" was rerecorded for ''Turn It On Again: The Hits'' as "The Carpet Crawlers 1999" in... well... 1999. Notable for being the last time to date all five members who worked on this album -- Gabriel, Hackett, Rutherford, Banks, and Collins -- have performed together. Due to Collins' retirement for health reasons, it is likely to remain that way.

* AllThereInTheManual: The story Gabriel wrote for the liner notes.

[[caption-width-right:302:And the laaaaaaaaaamb...\\

On '''BROOOOOADWAY!''']]

* ShiftingPOV: The narration in the songs constantly switches back and forth from first person to third person.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Peter Gabriel designed the costumes without considering how to position the microphone to be heard in live performances.

* SpookyPainting: The album cover shows a man who jumped out of his painting to look at the other paintings next to him.

* TheEndingChangesEverything

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Rael had previously been incarcerated at "Twenty-Second Street". There is no mental hospital at that location, nor was there ever one there.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: In the synopsis of the album included in the liner notes, Rael tells readers to "Keep your fingers out of my eye."

* DarkReprise: "The Light Dies Down on Broadway" is sort of a twisted reprise of the theme from the first song, mixed with part of The Lamia's melody.

-->''The Movie Palace is now undone,''
-->''The all-night watchmen have had their fun.''
-->''Sleeping cheaply on the midnight show,''
-->''It's the same old ending. Time to go.''
-->''Get out!''

* MindScrewdriver: the story that Gabriel wrote for the liner notes. It still doesn't explain everything, though. For that, [[http://www.bloovis.com/music/lamb.html this site]] might help...probably.

* RearrangeTheSong: "The Carpet Crawlers" was rerecorded for ''Turn It On Again: The Hits'' as "The Carpet Crawlers 1999" in... well... 1999. Notable for being the last time to date all five members who worked on this album – Gabriel, Hackett, Rutherford, Banks, and Collins – have performed together. Due to Collins' retirement from music, it is likely to remain that way.

--> ''Hang on, [[spoiler: John]]! We're out of this at last''
--> ''Something's changed, it's not your face''
--> It's mine! It's ''[[TomatoInTheMirror mine]]!''

The story follows a young half-Puerto Rican street kid from UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity named Rael as he embarks on a fantastical journey to find his brother John. [[MindScrew Or something like that]]. Seriously, there's [[http://ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=637&calcTitle=1&isbn=9780754661474&lang=cy-GB an entire book]] that contains various interpretations of the story.

* ShoutOut: Plenty of the songs' lyrics shout out or paraphrase popular standards or rock oldies of [[TheFifties the '50's]] and [[TheSixties '60's]] ("On Broadway", "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head", "Needles and Pins", etc.). "The Colony of Slippermen" 's first line is also, "[[Creator/RobertBurns I wandered lonely as a cloud]]".

* UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan: According to the "Broadway Melody of 1974", they "serve hot soul food, and the band plays '[[Music/GlennMiller In the Mood]]'".

** "''it.''" ends with the repeated line, "[[Music/TheRollingStones It's only knock and know-all, but I like it]]".

The story follows a young half-Puerto Rican street kid from New York City named Rael as he embarks on a fantastical journey to find his brother John. [[MindScrew Or something like that]]. Seriously, there's [[http://ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=637&calcTitle=1&isbn=9780754661474&lang=cy-GB an entire book]] that contains various interpretations of the story.

* GainaxEnding: "''it.''" doesn't seem to be about anything clearly related to the story, but the end of the story in the liner notes is pure crazy. [[spoiler: Rael saves his brother John's life only to discover that he and John are actually the same person, they have an out-of-both-bodies experience, they are "outlined in yellow," and ''they and the scenery melt into purple haze.'']] Figure ''that'' one out.
** One YouTube comment remarks the ending is about "having to destroy yourself in order to find a new [self][[labelnote:*]]hence the out-of-both-bodies experience[[/labelnote]] and the joy that radiates afterward[[labelnote:*]]hence the yellow outlining and the purple haze[[/labelnote]]. Almost like the Phoenix rising out of ashes".

* KuKluxKlan: According to the '"Broadway Melody of 1974'", they "serve hot soul food, and the band plays '[[Music/GlennMiller In the Mood]]'".

'''''The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway''''' is the sixth studio album by Music/{{Genesis}}, released in 1974. It is their last album with founding member Music/PeterGabriel, who left to start his solo career shortly after the tour supporting this album.