West Palm Beach Convention Hall,
January 10, 1975
Soundboard
SAB 06
Overall:
A good clean recording from the Lamb tour. The band seems loose and uninspired in the early songs, but pulls it together about a third of the way in, beginning with "Hairless Heart". The sound is stark and clear, but raw. The mix could have used a tad of reverb, but it's well-balanced between the instruments. The Mellotron is quite loud through most of the recording, so if the listener is a fan of Banks playing, they might want to give this one a listen. Also, one can hear the infamous Slipperman costume making it hard for Peter to sing into the mike. There is occasional feedback and Peter struggles with the lyrics in places, but overall a worthy listen.
Sound: * * * *
Crisp, stark soundboard recording. Could use some reverb for ambiance.
Mix: * * * *
Well-balanced. Mellotron slightly loud in places.
Performance: * * *
Starts out somewhat uninspired, but redeems itself about a third of the way through.
Raw Notes
1. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway - Fades in during the opening notes of the song. Very dry keys and vocals. Feels a bit slow. Good mix balance, but no ambiance whatsoever. Peter a bit flat. Surprisingly uninspired performance. Tony flubs some notes during "The lamb seems right out of place".
2. Fly On A Windshield - Crowd responds. The Mellotron choir is distinct and a little loud. Leaves a noticable hole when Tony stops playing. Better performance, if still a tad slow. Nice intensity.
3. Broadway Melody 1974 - This is the boot for Mellotron fans. Distinct and loud. Peter seems to be waking up here.
4. Cuckoo Cucoon - Pete's mic malfunctions. Strange vocal effect. Flanger? Tempo finally feels better.
5. In the Cage - Thump-thump, thump-thump. Crowd responds. Peter on tambourine? Straining on some of the high notes. Interesting to hear background vocals on this which aren't there once Phil takes over lead. Tony nails the keyboard solo. Tempo picks up. Peter completely loses the lyrics in the last verse. Growls the "round...round.." part. I love the untitled instr passage at the end.
6. Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging - Another effect on the vocals. Works better here. Another lyric flub. ..and another. Not Peter's night. Wow, Mellotron choir buries everything! Good audience response. Rael's story part 2. "Erogenous Zones and Where to Find Them".
7. Back in NYC - A bit slow again. Feels lazy, like LLDOB above. Peter avoids the high note at "filled up high with gasoline", but mostly, he's hitting them. "Off we go" section sounds clunky at this tempo. Bass pedals rattle the walls. Microphone feedback.
8. Hairless Heart - Steve's showcase. Is that Phil on xylophone? Nice somber performance. Nailed!
9. Counting Out Time - Good fun performance. Bands seems to be enjoying themselves. Peter and Phil having some trouble syncing up on the vocals.
10. Carpet Crawlers - Interesting to hear the full intro, which I miss on later performances of this song. Nice to have the background harmonies. Again, these would disappear after this tour. Nice performance. Instruments drop out while Peter and Phil continue singing the last chorus.
11. The Chamber of 32 Doors - Nice intensity in the intro. Band seems to have hit their stride since Hairless Heart. Good balance of instruments. Mike's 12-string sounds clear. Nice smooth performance. Nailed.
Disc 2
1. Story of Rael Part 3 - Meeting with Death. "One snuff and you puff it" oops! Slippermen have lumps and bumps, like Phil!
2. Lilywhite Lillith - Tight. Phil tears loose on the drum fills. You can hear him over the Mellotron! Nice.
3. The Waiting Room (Evil Jam) - Hmm, how to judge this? The band does a good job making scary noises. Crazy stereo effects on Steve's guitar. Tony tortures the Mellotron choir. The synthesizer meows. Strangely similar to the album version. Mike starts the guitar riff to slowly carry us into the instrumental section. Tony uses the "meowing" sound on the solo. Good performance.
4. Anyway - Applause probably meant for Waiting Room. "Time to meet the fish?" Peter has some more lyric trouble during "enrich the soil". Nice somber peroformance, though. Good intensity when other instruments kick in. Last verse just a bit slow.
5. The Supernatural Anesthetist - Phil does the high part "He's such a fine dancer" like on the album. Great job on the guitar solo. Extended eerie instrumental at the end, probably for Peter's Lamia costume.
6. The Lamia - Peter seems out of breath while he sings first verse. Operating that costume was probably taxing. Nice vibraphone. Microphone feedback. Nice emotional performance.
7. Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats - One of my fave Genesis instrumentals. Mellotron choir is loud again... but passes through like a breeze. Gorgeous. Nailed it!
8. The Colony of Slippermen - The band doesn't pause to update us on Rael; it's right into the strange instrumental passage that opens side four of the original album. I have to imagine Peter's theatrics during this. Phil counts 1,2,3,4.... into the main part of the song. More mike problems. You can hear where Peter was having trouble getting the mike close to his mouth. Tony nails his famous Raven keyboard solo. Peter is singing in a lower range than on the album. Really hard to hear him during some parts, but a good performance.
9. Ravine - Another great instrumental. Comes across a bit clunky. Mike's fade-in/fade out 12-string strumming on the guitar is not as smooth as the album.
10. The Light Dies Down On Broadway - Starts abruptly. May have had a tape edit going into this. Peter sings "Hey John!" in the first verse instead of "My Home!". Decent performance.
11. Riding the Scree - Nice transition into this. Tony nails his solo again, I think, but unfortunately he's buried in the mix. Very good performance. Sounds like a phaser on the drums after "Here I go!".
12. In the Rapids - Mike's 12-string is nice here. Good performance.
13. It - Nice, smooth transition into the last Lamb song. Steve's guitar stands out nicely here. Even more mike feedback. Lot of that on this recording. Peter sounds a bit winded again as the lyrics come fast and furious. Has some trouble with the high notes "It is shaken, not stirred". Return of the Mellotron strings toward the end. Nice, energetic performance.
14. Musical Box - Phil talks to the crowd. "We're going to play an older song." Crowd is thrilled to hear something they know. Intro is played very slowly. Some reverb trouble on the vocals in the first verse. This is the last tour where we'll hear this entire song. Some shows featured "Watcher of Skies" also for the last time in their entirety. A bit slow and meandering during the quiet section, but picks up nicely once the drums kick in. Good intensity during the guitar solo. Hard to hear Tony's organ. Peter has fun during the "She's a lady" section. Peter holds nothing back at the end! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW! Very good performance.
