Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway(1974)

Biography
Genesis started life as a progressive rock band, in the manner of Yes and King Crimson, before a series of membership changes brought about a transformation in their sound, into one of the most successful pop/rock bands of the 1980s and 1990s. In addition, the group has provided a launching pad for the superstardom of members Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, and star solo careers for members Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford, and Steve Hackett. Their roots go back to 1965 and a pair of rival groups, the Garden Wall and the Anon, formed by students at the Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey. They merged, with the result that 15-year-olds Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, and Michael Rutherford joined with 14-year-old Anthony Phillips, calling themselves the New Anon and recording a six-song demo featuring songs primarily written by Rutherford and Phillips. Charterhouse alumnus, recording artist, and producer Jonathan King heard the tape and arranged for the group to continue working in the studio, and it was also King who renamed the band Genesis.  Genesis then lost two members. Mayhew left over the unhappiness with aspects of his playing, and was replaced by Phil Collins, a former child actor turned drummer who had previously played with Flaming Youth — he also added an occasional additional lead vocal to their sound. Much more unsettling was the departure of guitarist Anthony Phillips, who had developed crippling stage fright. For some time afterward, Genesis worked as a four-piece with the guitar parts covered by Banks’ keyboards. Finally, just prior to Genesis beginning work on their next album, their lineup was completed with the addition of guitarist Steve Hackett, a former member of Quiet World.

Album & Cover
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Genesis, released as a double album on 18 November 1974 on Charisma Records. It is their last album recorded with Peter Gabriel as the lead singer before his departure from the group in May 1975. Its concept centres around a Puerto Rican youth in New York City named Rael and his spiritual journey of self-discovery and the characters he meets on the way. Recording was met with several incidents, including Gabriel’s temporary absences and his insistence on writing its lyrics, which put strains on the group. It was released to initial mixed critical reception, though it has since been met with critical acclaim. It peaked at No. 10 on the UK Album Chart and No. 41 on the US Billboard 200. Two singles were released, “Counting Out Time” and “The Carpet Crawlers”. Genesis toured the album in North America and Europe, playing the album in its entirety across 102 dates. The album continued to sell, and reached Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales over 500,000 copies in 1990. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lamb_Lies_Down_on_Broadway

Richard Manning explains the making of the cover: I dry mounted a piece of double weight photographic paper 20×30 inches and made a positional trace and taped it onto the photographic paper. Put that to one side and then worked on each print before mounting them onto the large print. I drew two or three extra pieces of glass in the scene as well as removing the string that was holding some pieces of broken glass positioned prior to the shot being taken. The next shot in the cloisters I shall come to later. In the next shot the faces in the background were all cut out and the edges sanded down to just the emulsion and the edges darkened with Winsor and Newton Lamp Black. They were mounted onto black, single weight photographic paper and a light spray of Lamp black over to knock them back. The main picture of Abdul was a separate print. I bleached the darker parts of his mouth almost to white and then with a Sable brush retouched in the tone and print grain to match the rest of his face with Photo dye. I then mounted this pic onto the heads montage. The shot of Abdul in the water I worked on once mounted in position. In the fifth shot I bleached to white the back of his head and redrew the wall to give the appearance his head was sinking into the wall. The sixth shot I traced Abdul in position,placed some transpaseal over and cut the shape with a scalpel. Removed the film shape and bleached it to white. See more at  http://www.richardmanning.co.uk/hipgnosis-album-cover-art/genesis–lamb-lies-down-on-broadway—1974/12

The photography used for this album cover was created in the studio for the ‘shattering glass’, a set build for the ‘head thrown back’, locations for a ‘waterfall’, spaces beneath London’s roundhouse fro ‘passages’ collage for ‘chattering voices’ and St Pancras Station’s Midland Grand Hotel for the ‘corridor’ where the character steps out.

Cover Location: Hipgnosis Studio, London’s Roundhouse, and St Pancras Station’s Midland Hotel.
Who Did What: Photography – A. Powell/S. Thorgerson.Graphics – George Hardie. Liner Notes – Peter Gabriel. Retouching – R. Manning.
Label: ATCO SD2–401(US), Charisma CGS101(UK)
Source: Vinyl. Album. Cover. Art, The Complete Hipgnosis Catalogue: Aubrey Powell
Tracklist

Credits
Arranged By – Genesis
Artwork [Retouching By] – Richard Manning
Bass, Twelve-String Guitar – Michael
Engineer – David Hutchins
Featuring [Enossification] – Eno
Guitar – Steve
Keyboards – Tony
Other [Rael] – Omar
Percussion, Vibraphone [Vibing], Vocals [Voicing] – Phil
Producer – Genesis, John Burns
Vocals [Voices], Flute – Peter
Written-By – Genesis