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| Rewiring Genesis - A tribute to The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway |
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Artist: Rewiring Genesis
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Type: Audio CD [ View other products of this type ]
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Out of Print
Still available as a digital download at Mindawn
A Nashville-based recording engineer/producer and a Los Angeles-based performer have teamed up to create a unique twist on a classic Genesis album. This fall, Nick D'Virgilio of Spock's Beard fame and engineer/producer Mark Hornsby are re-recording the Genesis classic: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, in it's entirety. Produced at Java Jive Studio in Nashville, the album features some of Music City’s best musicians, taking the songs in a whole new direction.
"We wanted to see what would happen if we exposed the songs to a different climate of musicians," says D'Virgilio, "The early Genesis recordings are so musical and very bluesy when you get right down to it. They really lend themselves to some different interpretations."
Although all of the original elements of the songs are still included such as drums, bass, guitar and piano, the recordings now take on a more "theatrical" vibe. This, coupled with orchestra, rock guitars, and some fantastic horn arrangements, the songs now enter an entirely different place.
"We had talked about doing something like this for awhile," says Hornsby, "With the recent attention our version of The Colony of Slippermen received, and the re-release of the original album in 5.1, the time seemed right to see what we could come up with."
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Audio samples:
 The Colony of Slippermen (full track)
01. CD1-The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
02. CD1-Fly on a Windshield
03. CD1-Broadway Melody of 1974
04. CD1-Cuckoo Cocoon
05. CD1-In The Cage
06. CD1-The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging
07. CD1-Back in N.Y.C.
08. CD1-Hairless Heart
09. CD1-Counting Out Time
10. CD1-The Carpet Crawlers
11. CD1-The Chamber of 32 Doors
01. CD2-Liliywhite Lilith
02. CD2-The Waiting Room
03. CD2-Anyway
04. CD2-Here Comes The Supernatural Anaesthetist
05. CD2-The Lamia
06. CD2-Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats
07. CD2-The Colony Of Slippermen
08. CD2-Ravine
09. CD2-The Light Dies Down on Broadway
10. CD2-Riding The Scree
11. CD2-In The Rapids
12. CD2-It
Album reviews:
...One of the strongest features of this re-working is its immense respect for the original. Structurally, it could hardly get much closer without being a straight copy. Even many original drum fills remain intact, and the artists never treat riffs as a base to improvise over, but regard the original construction of the songs as sacrosanct. (If anything, there are one or two places here where their re-construction would work even better if a little improvisation came into play, such as the jazz club approach to “Hairless Heart”). The guitar on “Anyway” out-Hacketts Steve Hackett, as the solo is now a guitar duet that rips off his most typical guitar tones.
With that respect established, the team is free to have some fun – and they certainly play this album in both senses of the word. With tongue-in cheek, they replace some of Tony Banks’ keyboard lines with accordion and clarinet, even on the synth solo in “Riding the Scree”! “Counting Out Time” has a New Orleans feel that exaggerates the spirit that lay behind the Genesis version; and “Grand Parade” has an à capella backing throughout.
Fun is part of the new, looser approach, but never at the expense of what is best for the track. Feel the extra oomph of “In the Cage” now that brass and strings have been added, or try the power on moments like the guitar burst after the line, “I’m hovering like a fly / Waiting for the windshield on a freeway,” which have even more impact now. This is one of the benefits of this project being a joint artist-studio collaboration. Hornsby has achieved a sound clarity that hugely improves on the original (try the crisp harmonies on “Cuckoo Cocoon). It may, however, conversely be true that such a clean sound takes away some of the Genesis album’s warmth...
Read full story at http://www.tollbooth.org/2009/reviews/rwg.html
...The band they've put together to recreate in a different manner the magic of Genesis's fourth studio effort has put the bluesy side in the background, consequently making it sound more Rock and theatrical than the original version, also unfortunately hindered by a muddy sound that doesn't disappear in the vinyl nor in the remastered version.
A plus to the tribute decidedly goes to the wind instruments and horn section, which make it diverse and updated from the primal version yet not undistinguishable. Everything really works fine here: take "In the Cage", where the wind instruments are symphonic and involving but never excessively bright and simplified the way it occurs in very bad and overvalued bands like Earth, Wind & Fire. The collaboration between these two professionals has allowed them to achieve sublime levels devoid of quality drops that unexperienced or not yet refined enough musicians cannot afford at the moment.
It's interesting to notice that several genres are touched in these over 98 minutes: it's the case of Jazz in "Hairless Heart" and Soul/Funky rock followed by a bit of Zappian madness in "Counting out Time". To balance the platter here come violins and a viola but less keyboards, contributing to make the record more appetizing to those who aren't very accustomed to Prog rock sonorities.
Weren't that enough to convince you, just shoot the refrain of "Back in New York City" in your crania; such vocal lines suffice to justify the buying of the whole double CD even in these times of crisis (emirs excluded of course).
Finally, another pearl to mention in the first CD, is the purifying and positively-vibed "The Chamber of 32 Doors"...
Read full story at http://www.rockmetalbands.com/Rewiring-Genesis-review.htm
..."The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" is a classic release in rock history, an album that over time has come to be regarded as one of the classic releases of the ‘70s. A re-recording of this release will bring in quite a few automatic sales, and one may question the motives of any artist that chooses to do so. In this case an effort has been made to explore this album and its compositions in a different light though, which is a daring move, and that effort does add artistic and creative value to this release. The songs are proven quality compositions, the musicians participating are skilled, production and mix are of high quality as well, and overall this is a project that deserves some amount of praise instead of scorn. One may ask if there was a great need for this production though, and furthermore how interesting a purchase this creation really is. Personally I'd recommend this album to people familiar with the original who find the thought of an alternate take on these songs interesting, and those who didn't enjoy the original but would like to give it a second chance might also find this release to be of interest. Others should seek out Genesis' 1974 creation prior to this one.
Read full story at http://www.progressor.net/review/rewiring_genesis_2008.html
...The copious use of horns was a great touch, almost giving the songs a classic Chicago vibe. Songs like the title track really transport you back to the ‘70s, while songs like “Counting Out Time” fuse Stevie Wonder with Frank Zappa and throw in a great funk vibe. Dave Martin’s bass playing and Don Carr’s electric guitar work are top notch, as is the piano playing courtesy of Jeff Taylor.
We particularly liked “The Grand Parade,” which relied on vocal scatting and doo-wop-esque arranging. Throughout the recording, Nick’s vocal style delivers a classic rock performance that is ideally suited to the production. In fact, the spectacular production values imparted by Mark Hornsby really make this double-CD sound like the cast recording from a major Broadway production! I suspect that all it would take is for the right producer (theater) to hear this and the next thing you know, this could become the soundtrack for the next Tommy or Jesus Christ Superstar!..
Read full story at http://www.musicplayers.com/reviews/CD_DVDs/2009/0209_ListeningTo.php
...Yes, it will leave some die hard Genesis fans in troubled water, but it does achieve its aims by bringing this remarkable album into the now. If anything some of the scale of the original is oddly enhanced by orchestration, modern day engineering, additional horns, some unexpected twists, and some decidedly contemporary guitar work. It's still a little uncomfortable to write that though, after all this was a Genesis masterpiece, full stop.
It does however take it to a different level leaving it sitting nicely posed somewhere between the tribute and a fresh interpretation. For example listen to “Cuckoo Cocoon”.
If the above leaves you cold, like an ill judged remake of a classic film, all is not lost. It’s worth the trip for the musicianship and to hear such an album lovingly re-visited with all due respect. But whether it is 'selling Genesis by the pound', is a matter for the individual...
Read full story at http://blogcritics.org/archives/2009/02/03/1929254.php
...The instrumentation makes clear that this is no literal interpretation of Rael's oblique journey from the streets of New York to the Colony of Slippermen and more. It's odd enough to find a string quartet and horn section in the personnel listing, but it's even more unsettling to find none of the keyboards that so defined the original: organ, mellotron and synthesizer. Greater emphasis on vocal harmonies and the substitution of accordion, trumpets, saxophones and strings for synthesizers and keys may make this a far more acoustic experience, but reverence for Genesis' arrangements remains intact, even as D'Virgilio, Hornsby and horn/string arranger John Hinchey take considerable and imaginative liberties with the original material.
It starts from the very beginning: the piano intro to the title track is literal enough, but as the band enters with horns and strings playing the signature riff originally driven by fuzz-toned guitar and bass, the album takes off in a different, but somehow parallel direction. D'Virgilio's lead vocals combine perfect respect for Gabriel's key idiosyncrasies while injecting an earthy quality all his own, as he completely sidesteps the tendency to be either overly literal or over-sing and lose the meaning of the lyrics...
Read full story at http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=31651
...The story to this band/project is one of producer/engineer Mark Hornsby and Spock's Beard drummer/vocalist Nick D Virgilio. Both great fans of Genesis and Nick has been a member of Genesis during the Calling All Stations album and tour in 1997/1998.
So Mark and Nick got together in their hometown Nashville and started to record the full album of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. And what an album this became!!!
Off course, you would say..... The album is an epic, a classic. An album that is after allmost 35 years still a document and an insperation to any music fan.
The reason i'm so enthousiastic is that i began to wonder witch performence is better. A question that is not to be asked or to be answered. The original is always better because of the artistic appreciation.
Recorded at Java Jive Studio and The Garage by Mark Hornsby, Jon Craig, and Nick D'Virgilio the compliments go out the these men. Excellent recorded, played, mixed (Mark Hornsby) and mastered by Bob Katz...
Read full story at http://www.proggnosis.com/PGRelease.asp?RID=27119
...The first relates to the fact that I had almost forgotten how good and how important is and has been the original recording. Listening to this new release has made me urge to go back to the original recording and listening to it from start to end perhaps more times than I had listened to it in the last, lets say, 20 years. And it happened like this not only because the Nick D’Virgilio & Friends version is a spectacular one, but because the original is a real mark in musical history in general and prog rock history in particular.
So this release has reborn my love for the original album and its brilliance.
On the other hand I find that I really love this new version because it is not only complimentary to the original but also because, contrary to the crushing majority of version albums, it really brings pleasurable added value to the original.
Nick & Friends had the ability to recreate the album in its full bloom and undisputable brilliancy, being faithful to its form and content while adding it with thoughtful orchestral manoeuvres and wind parts that compliment and complement the already gorgeous and experimental sonic scenery, dressing it with some extra colors...
Read full story at http://www.proggnosis.com/PGRelease.asp?RID=27119
...What a fantastic CD, for it s true to the vibe and feel of Genesis as they were heard some 30 years ago. While on the original recording it was the synthesizers and keyboards of the talented Tony Banks that made such sounds, a read of the insert shows that during the recordings the musicians used were unaware that they were playing a tribute CD, much less one as complex as A Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, and were only told to play the sheet music in front of them. So the horns, clarinets, violas, flutes, cellos, violins, accordion and strings were played are real, giving Rewiring Genesis an almost big band feel. And in doing so, breathes new life into a timeless tour de force in the prog rock world.
Read full story at http://www.hardrockhaven.net/reviews2009/jan09/Rewiring%20Genesis%20-%20A%20Tribute%20to%20The%20Lamb%20Lies%20Down%20on%20Broadway.php
I am not really sure what the point of these type of releases are unless you are going to take a completely new take on the classic record. Otherwise, I will want to hear the original. So, what does this band do, you say? Ok... first a bit about the band. This project is driven by Spock’s Beard vocalist Nick D’Virgillio and producer Mark Hornsby. The rest of the band is Dave Martin on the bass, Jeff Taylor on keyboards and Don Carr on Guitars. Great musicians and great voices and Nick does not try to be Peter. He does it his own way. I think people will be quite impressed with the depth of the sound production as well. Experimental pieces like the Waiting Room on the second CD sound amazing. What more to say?? If you are a fan of Genesis and have open ears, this is well worth taking a stab at. Quality stuff.
Read full story at http://aural-innovations.com/2009/january/rewiringgenesis.htm
...Probably because I’ve always enjoyed the longish composition, “The Colony Of Slipperman” gets my vote for overall highlight. In order to avoid a hasty veto, D’Virgilio’s enunciation and alliteration in addition to brass section and flutes is spot on. Secondarily, the energy in the last song is crushingly bittersweet because “It” marks the album’s end.
Risking backlash from a receptive cult, I cannot tell a lie; some aspects of this new version are superior. Instrumentally it’s vivid and lyrics are even clearer than the latest re-master. You know exactly what words are being recited to the nearest syllable. Likewise, the musicians strictly add intelligent embellishments here and there...
Read full story at http://www.ytsejam.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=1489
...Maybe unintended, the end of the title track seems to get an infusion of the live version done by Genesis (in Seconds Out, The Way We Walk). The horn/string section, arranged by John Hinchey, is amazing on “In the Cage”. The treatment at the song’s end sounds almost like John …Cage/Philip Glass. “The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging” would be a cappella if there were no drums. I was a bit skeptical when I first read of such a rendition but the result is stunning. The “porcupine cuddle” chorus in “Back in the N.Y.C.” is really sweet. The “off we go” bit sounds as if added to John Philip Sousa music. “Hairless Heart” is almost like Tchaikovsky ballet brought into café concert. “Counting out Time” goes Dixieland in the middle. A string part on “Anyway” has the finesse of female vocals on a National Health or Hatfield and the North album. For a bit in “Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist”, Don Carr, on guitar, sounds like Brian May. Female vocals are used for “The Lamia”. This could have also been done for the opening lyric of “The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging”. Navajo music meets church choir in “Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats”, respectively Brahms string quartet in “Ravine”...
Read full story at http://usaprogmusic.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_simple_review&Itemid=28&review=223-Rewiring-Genesis-A-Tribute-to-The-Lamb-Lies-Dow
...It would pointless providing a blow by blow account of this album but there are a number of highlights worth mentioning. On disc one these range from the stirring strings that open the title song and the album, the superb vocal arrangement in The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging featuring a multi tracked D'Virgilio, a suitably brassy Back In NYC and the romantic violins that accompany The Carpet Crawlers. A funky Counting Out Time incorporates a trad-jazz jam partway through which is one of the few occasions when this album takes liberties with the original. Disc two includes a stunning call and response guitar solo in The Supernatural Anaesthetist, sumptuous female vocals in The Lamia and lush strings in the melancholic The Light Dies Down On Broadway. The heavenly choir voices in Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats put Banks’ Mellotron samples in the shade and the horns during the climatic It are, if you excuse the pun, a real blast...
Read full story at http://www.dprp.net/reviews/200854.php#rwg
Interview with Nick
Read full story at http://usaprogmusic.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=215&Itemid=45
...Fundamentally everything that is familiar about these 23 compositions is here. There is a core sincerity in reproducing these very well known pieces and yet, fans will notice many subtle differences, especially in the use of those other instruments. Where we’re all used to hearing Tony Bank’s keyboards, instead we hear real strings performing runs and horns creating the staccato musical stabs. This becomes really obvious as one listens to the very familiar “In the Cage” [8:35] where the strings and horns are everywhere. In a very subtle way, what this does is change the general feel of the song, taking it from a straight-forward complex progressive rock number and turning it into a piece that sounds more like musical theatre. It sounds like the Lamb re-done for Broadway or the West End. Now this isn’t a bad thing. The Lamb is nothing if not musical theatre set in the prog-rock idiom. The proof of the strength of these compositions is that they translate themselves so well into another musical style. But it’s jarring none-the-less to take a piece which is so familiar and change it up in this way. And I think the project might have generated more negative reaction if the core intent hadn’t been so faithful. These guys love the original and are simply looking to ‘re-wire’ the project. Changing up the music in this fashion makes certain musical elements stand out more than on the original and brings to light other subtle motifs that were buried in the mix. I’m amazed at the vocal variety employed by D’Virgillio. While not sounding at all like Peter Gabriel he manages to infuse an amazing tonal range to this varied character-landscape...
Read full story at http://www.jerrylucky.com/reviews%20p-t_034.htm
Interview with Nick
Read full story at http://classicrockmusicblog.com/category/interviews/
German review
Read full story at http://www.ragazzi-music.de/rewiringgenesis.html
German review
Read full story at http://www.rocktimes.de/gesamt/r/rewiring_genesis/a_tribute_to_the_lamb.html
Italian review
Read full story at http://www.babylonmagazine.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4369&Itemid=0
French review
Read full story at http://www.progressia.net/index.php4?rub=chroniques&idchronik=1741
This CD delivers in its slightly different take on "The Lamb". Spocks Beard drummer Nick D'Virgilio partners up with friend Mark Hornsby to make this classic come alive again. Violins, horns and accordians perform many of the classic Tony Banks keyboard parts along with cellos, violas, clarinets and flute. Nicks vocals portray the classic and intricate vocal work of Peter Gabriel, albeit a slight bit sterile - lacking the ballsyness of Gabriels, still comes very close. The guitar work of Don Carr also is excellent as he weaves many of the classic Steve Hackett riffs. Nick's drumming is spot on with all the Phil Collins drum parts. All in all, it really is worth owning a copy of this CD if you are a fan of Genesis. The only other interpretation of "The Lamb" that lives up to this level of excellence is the Kevin Gilbert version that is only available as a bootleg.
Read full story at http://dvdivas.net/ProgVoices/R/rewiringgenesis-DRH.html
German review
Read full story at http://www.musikansich.de/review.php?id=6098
German reviews
Read full story at http://www.babyblaue-seiten.de/album_9441.html
German review
Read full story at http://www.proggies.ch/magazine/index.php?name=Reviews&req=showcontent&id=388
Dutch review
Read full story at http://www.progwereld.org/cms/?page_id=20010032
French review
Read full story at http://www.magicfiremusic.net/chronique.php?id=2340
...It's a largely reverential piece, so it's when they take a few more chances that it really shines. The percussion and vocals only version of 'Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging'. The nods to Dixieland on 'Counting Out Time'. The fantastic guitar playing on 'Here Comes the Supernatural Anesthetist'. The horn section on 'Riding The Scree'. And let's not forget the accordion solo on 'The Colony of Slippermen'! It's those moments that bring a smile to the face and a skip to the heart.
Read full story at http://s14.zetaboards.com/Zeitgeist/topic/6527998/
Italian review
Read full story at http://www.hardsounds.it/public/recensione.php?id=4666
German review
Read full story at http://schallplattenmann.de/newsletter-html.html#topic117539
German review
Read full story at http://www.soundbase-online.com/rewiring-genesis-a-tribute-to-the-lamb-lies-down-on-broadway
...So, what the h... am I talking about ?!! Well you see..herein lies the "problem"...this is a hommage, a true respectful nod to one of the greatest (godfathers of progressive music) ...can anyone really (and honestly) do a remake (Genesis if you will pardon the pun) of this IMHO landmark-album?! My answer is: YES!! My advice to you is....forget the original album (how can you?) and listen to this new rendition, with fresh ears (and an open mind) ..eventually you will get the idea, the feel of the new angle, the meaning of that great task it must have been, to re-create this superb album in its entirety!!
I have to state this again, this is "The lamb Lies Down On broadway" in a West coast / Art rock edition...bottom line, I love it!! Hats off to NDV, the band...all involved, but also to Progrock Records, (thanx Paige for including booklet & cover ;-)), for believing in this great project!!..
Read full story at http://www.progplanet.com/index.php?categoryid=44&p2_articleid=724
Portuguese review
Read full story at http://fenixwebzine.blogspot.com/2008/10/rewiring-genesis-tribute-to-lamb-lies.html
German review
Read full story at http://www.progrock-dt.de/rezensionen/rewired-genesis-a-tribute-to-the-lamb-lies-down-on-broadway
Italian review
Read full story at http://www.movimentiprog.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Recensioni&file=view&id=2847
...Rewiring Genesis might not be for the hard core Genesis fan, but I suspect that it will be a highly successful project. This is a delightful reworking of a very classic album. This album is well worth seeking out. Nick D’Virgilio of Spock’s Beard fame and engineer/producer Mark Hornsby are to be congratulated for making a very innovative version of an early Genesis album, one that maybe did not get the credit it deserved when it was first released...
Read full story at http://www.bloggernews.net/118307
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To make purchasing even easier, we've implemented a method of discounting to save you even more money.
The discounts are based on number of products purchased in a single purchasing session.
The discounts break down as shown in the table below.
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| Items |
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| 10 or more |
20% |
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