The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is one of the most iconic albums in the history of progressive rock. Genesis released in 1974 a true masterpiece with this album. Last year saw the 50th anniversary of the album. However the band did not manage to release the 50th anniversary edition of the album in time. One year later the fans of the band could finally buy it. Also Dave Kerzner & Sonic Elements came this year with a tribute to this album. They named IT (Highlights From A Celebration Of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway). But they were not the only musicians that paid tribute to this amazing double album. Also the Italian musician Francesco Gazzara came with an excellent tribute if I may say so! Under the moniker of Gazzara Plays Genesis he released his instrumental version, simply titled The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. People who read reviews on our website on a regular basis probably know that this isn't the first release of Gazzara. In the past he paid tribute to Genesis as Gazzara Plays Genesis with the albums Play Me My Song (2014, see review), Here It Comes Again (2020, see review), Foxtrot (2022, see review) and Selling England By The Pound (2023, see review). On those albums the Genesis composition all received excellent instrumental versions. For this new double album Francesco Gazzara had the following to say; "Gazzara Plays Genesis latest piano and orchestral tribute double album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway comes in a lovely gatefold digifile CD card case, with artwork by designer Giulio Fermetti. Gazzara plays Genesis tribute album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is released as a Limited Edition double CD (gatefold digifile format) on September 19th 2025, nearly 51 years after the original Genesis masterpiece release. The first 150 copies of the album are available only through the artist's Bandcamp page. The 'Story of Rael', as introduced by Peter Gabriel during the Lamb Tour in 1974-75, is both a turning point in Genesis discography and a masterpiece of 20th century music. Prog, rock opera or a pre-punk record, perhaps all three at once: the impressive music of The Lamb brings together many lyrical references - The Pilgrim's Progress, Alejandro Jodorowsky, West Side Story, Carl Jung - creating a wall of sound comparable to a symphonic soundtrack from another era. This tribute album is orchestrated with a focus on the exclusively instrumental part of the masterpiece, looking for ingenious details sometimes hidden in the original, enhancing above all its cinematic component. The Lamb begins as a dream, turns into a nightmare and ends with an attempt at redemption: the ideal path to let oneself be carried away by the piano/orchestral transcription of the magnificent music written by Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford. Perhaps by imagining, remembering or re-reading the brilliant original verses of the songs that make up the work." For those who are interested in the instruments used on the album by Francesco Gazzara: Bösendorfer and Bechstein 1878 Grand Pianos, Kawai and Hartmann Berlin 1926 upright pianos, Hammond b3 and m100 organs with leslie 122, electra-piano RMI Rhodes piano, Mellotron d4000, ARP pro dgx, Korg MS20, Vocoder vc340, bass, bass pedals, electric, acoustic and 12 string guitars, marimba. For this new album he got help from Dario Cecchini (flutes, saxes, bass clarinet (4, 11 CD1, 5, 9 CD2), Fabrizio Paoletti on violin violin (1, 8, 11 CD1, 5 CD2), Giulia Nuti on viola (1, 8, 11 CD1, 5 CD2) and Giorgia Pancaldi on cello cello (1, 8, 11 CD1, 5 CD2) and David Giacomini on electric guitar (10, CD1). It's certainly again a real pleasure to hear the 23 different Genesis tracks get the Gazzara treatment. This means you still can hear which songs were done but they sound different compared to the original versions. Furthermore, all of the pieces of music don't feature any vocals and therefore the vocal lines are done by other instruments. Most of the time it's the piano which replaces the vocal parts originally done by Peter Gabriel. The Gazzara treatment also means no rhythm section was used during the recordings of the tracks so no drums and bass which provided a strong beat or groove. Missing the vocals and rhythms in the music of Genesis might mean it's difficult to enjoy the bands complex music. Well that's certainly not the case. Once again you can hear how much Tony Banks' keyboard parts are very well copied by Francesco. Also this time around it is even more notable how much the original album was composed on the acoustic piano. Because a lot of original main parts are played on the piano. I will not go through all the tracks separately but tell you about the most important parts on several mentioned tracks. Mentioning not some of the other tracks doesn't mean they aren't well done. Not at all! Everything just sounds top notch! CD1: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. The piano parts sound here like the original version. Fly On A Windshield. Most important the Mellotron parts sound like the original parts. In The Cage. The typical organ sound and synthesizer solos sound again like the originalBack In NYC. On this tune electric piano does the vocal parts. Hairless Heart. Electric piano does the vocal parts, Mellotron and synthesizer like original. Carpet Crawlers. Electric piano does the vocal parts again. The Chamber Of 32 Doors. With the typical piano parts accompanied by some strong cello, violin and viola parts. CD2: The Waiting Room. The most difficult track to copy. Because it sounds a lot like a jam session on the original album. But he managed to get the same vibe as the band did in 1974. Like the crying synthesizer sound and other weird sounds. Anyway. Electric piano does the vocal parts again. With typical piano and synthesizer parts. The Lamia. With beautiful parts played on the flute, cello, violin and viola The Colony Of Slippermen. With the the same kind of organ and synthesizer parts. The Light Dies Down On Broadway. With same kind of synthesizer sounds. Riding The Scree. Enjoy the great synthesizer solos like you can hear on the original version. In The Rapids. The organ does do the vocal parts on this track. It. The synthesizer solo again sounds like the original version. My final words on my reviews of his previous Genesis tribute albums were: "Anybody who wants to hear the music of Genesis made during their best period in a different way, just can't afford to avoid this release. I had the same kind of musical pleasure listening to the songs as when I heard all of the original versions many years ago. So bravo to Francesco Gazzara for entertaining me with his interpretations of all those famous Genesis tunes!". Well for this new release I can just copy the text to end this review. Sometimes it is that simple! Even though the music is far from simple in many ways. I guess another album that deserves a place next to all of my Genesis CDs! My pile is getting bigger and bigger! Thanks Francesco you did it again! **** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
