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"The Carpet Crawlers" | ||||
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Single by Genesis | ||||
from the album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | ||||
B-side | "The Waiting Room (Evil Jam)" (live) | |||
Released | 18 April 1975 | |||
Recorded | August–October 1974 | |||
Genre | Progressive rock, [1] soul [2] | |||
Length | 5:15 | |||
Label | Charisma/Phonogram (UK) Atco/Atlantic (US) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford | |||
Producer(s) | John Burns and Genesis | |||
Genesis singles chronology | ||||
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"The Carpet Crawlers 1999" | ||||
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Single by Genesis | ||||
from the album Turn It On Again: The Hits | ||||
B-side | ||||
Released | 2 November 1999 | |||
Genre | Progressive rock, pop rock | |||
Length | 5:39 | |||
Label | Virgin/Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford | |||
Producer(s) | Trevor Horn | |||
Genesis singles chronology | ||||
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"The Carpet Crawlers" is a song written and performed by the English progressive rock band Genesis, recorded for their sixth studio album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway . The song tells the section of the album's story where Rael, the lead character, finds himself in a red carpeted corridor surrounded by kneeling people crawling towards a wooden door. Rael dashes by them towards the door and goes through it. Behind the door is a table with a candlelit feast on it, and behind that, a spiral staircase that leads upwards out of sight.
The complex symbolism of Peter Gabriel's lyrics has been interpreted as referring to the fertilisation journey or as describing a scene inspired by Gnosticism in which humanity is misled by the 'callers': instead of the promise of heaven, the carpet crawlers find death and rebirth to a hellish environment. [3]
The song was released in April 1975 as the album's second single under the title "The Carpet Crawlers". The song has alternately been titled "Carpet Crawlers", "The Carpet Crawl", and "Carpet Crawl". [lower-alpha 1] In 1999, Genesis re-recorded the song with producer Trevor Horn. Featuring Gabriel and Collins sharing lead vocals, this recording was released as "The Carpet Crawlers 1999". This marked the last time both singers recorded with Genesis.
Genesis lead singer Peter Gabriel wrote the lyrics for "The Carpet Crawlers" first; bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks then wrote a chord sequence for it. [4] Gabriel said he spent "hours and hours" on an out-of-tune piano in the house of his wife Jill's parents in Kensington to develop the melody for the song. [4]
The introduction reprises the album's opening song, "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway". Banks remarked, "I don't know why, but I think the bit I'd written in the middle of the title track needed hearing again." [4]
The song has been described as progressive rock by Pop Matters, [5] and soul by Far Out magazine, with them calling it a genre that tied together this song and subsequent Peter Gabriel solo songs such as "Sledgehammer". [6]
"The Carpet Crawlers" reappears on the 1976 Genesis: In Concert film with Bill Bruford on drums, and on Seconds Out , Genesis' 1977 live album, with Chester Thompson on drums. It was also played on tours in 1980, 1981/82, 1983/84, 1998, 2007, 2021/22 and the Six of the Best reunion concert with Peter Gabriel in 1982. It was also performed once during the 1992 tour.
A re-recorded version, called "The Carpet Crawlers 1999", was released on the compilation album Turn It On Again: The Hits ; this is the last recording to date by the 5-man line-up of Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Tony Banks, Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford, and the last studio recording by any configuration of Genesis to date. Gabriel and Collins share the role of lead vocals, ultimately harmonizing toward the end of the song. Collins contributes percussion programming as well. [7] The song's final verse was to be sung by Genesis' third singer Ray Wilson, but he left the band so the plan was dropped and the final verse was left out. [8]
The B-sides of the 1999 single were "Turn It On Again" and "Follow You Follow Me". The song is also included as the final track of the 2007 live album Live Over Europe 2007 and on the live DVD When in Rome 2007 .
On the 1974 studio version, Peter Gabriel sang the introductory verse beginning with "There is lambs' wool under my naked feet...", while from 1976 onwards Phil Collins omitted the introduction, and started the song with "The crawlers cover the floor...". This later live version omitting the introductory verse is on Seconds Out . The song as sung by Collins was a fixture through the 1981/82 tour, and was played as the final encore for each date of the 2007 Turn It On Again Tour (except the first show at the Hollywood Bowl because of rain) and the 2021/22 The Last Domino? Tour.
Genesis were an English rock band formed at Charterhouse School, Godalming, Surrey, in 1967. The band's longest-existing and most commercially successful line-up consisted of keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford and drummer/singer Phil Collins. In the 1970s, during which the band also included singer Peter Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett, Genesis were among the pioneers of progressive rock.
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is the sixth studio album by the English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released as a double album on 22 November 1974 by Charisma Records and is their last to feature original lead vocalist Peter Gabriel. It peaked at No. 10 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 41 on the Billboard 200 in the US.
Stephen Richard Hackett is an English guitarist who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis studio albums, three live albums, seven singles and one EP before he left to pursue a solo career. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.
Nursery Cryme is the third studio album by the English rock band Genesis, released on 12 November 1971 on Charisma Records. It was their first to feature drummer/vocalist Phil Collins and guitarist Steve Hackett. The album received a mixed response from critics and was not initially a commercial success; it did not enter the UK chart until 1974, when it reached its peak at No. 39. However, the album was successful in continental Europe, particularly Italy.
Genesis Live is the first live album from the English rock band Genesis, released on 20 July 1973 on Charisma Records. Initially recorded for radio broadcast on the American rock program King Biscuit Flower Hour, the album is formed from the recordings of shows at Free Trade Hall, Manchester and De Montfort Hall, Leicester in February 1973 during the band's tour supporting their fourth studio album Foxtrot (1972).
Seconds Out is the second live album by English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released as a double album on 14 October 1977 on Charisma Records, and was their first with touring drummer Chester Thompson and their last with guitarist Steve Hackett. The majority was recorded in June 1977 at the Palais des Sports in Paris during the Wind & Wuthering Tour. One track, "The Cinema Show", was recorded in 1976 at the Apollo in Glasgow during their A Trick of the Tail Tour.
A Trick of the Tail is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released on 13 February 1976 on Charisma Records and was the first album to feature drummer Phil Collins as lead vocalist following the departure of Peter Gabriel. It was a critical and commercial success in the UK and U.S., reaching No. 3 and No. 31 respectively.
Six of the Best was a reunion concert between the English rock band Genesis and their original frontman Peter Gabriel, with former guitarist Steve Hackett joining the band for the two encores. The one-off event took place on 2 October 1982 at the Milton Keynes Bowl, England, and staged as a benefit to raise funds for Gabriel who faced considerable financial debts after the first WOMAD festival. It was the only time Gabriel and Hackett have performed with the band since their departures in 1975 and 1977, respectively.
Genesis Archive 1967–75 is a box set by the English progressive rock band Genesis, released on 22 June 1998 on Virgin Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. After the release of their studio album Calling All Stations in 1997, the band assembled recordings from their history for release which involved the participation of former members Peter Gabriel, Anthony Phillips, Steve Hackett, Phil Collins, John Mayhew, and John Silver. The set includes previously unreleased studio, live, and demo tracks, some of which include re-recorded vocal and guitar parts from Gabriel and Hackett, respectively.
Turn It On Again: The Hits is a greatest hits album by British progressive rock/pop-rock band Genesis. The album was originally released as a single album on 25 October 1999 by Virgin Records in the UK and on 26 October 1999 by Atlantic Records in the US.
The Musical Box are a Canadian tribute band formed in Montreal, Quebec in 1993 who recreate performances by the English rock band Genesis during the 1970s. The current line-up is formed of singer and performer Denis Gagné, guitarist François Gagnon, bassist Sébastien Lamothe, keyboardist Ian Benhamou, and drummer Marc Laflamme.
"Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" is a song by the progressive rock band Genesis. It was released on their 1973 album Selling England by the Pound. The song was originally going to be titled "Disney".
Turn It On Again: The Tour was a 2007 concert tour of Europe and North America by the English rock band Genesis. The tour was notable for the return of drummer and vocalist Phil Collins, who had fronted the band during their most commercially successful period before leaving in 1996, rejoining founder members Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, with their traditional on-stage musicians, Chester Thompson on drums and Daryl Stuermer on guitar/bass.
Genesis: In Concert is a 1977 concert film directed and produced by Tony Maylam for the English progressive rock band Genesis. The recording of the film took place during concerts in Glasgow, Scotland and Stafford, England in 1976.
"Watcher of the Skies" is the first track on English progressive rock Genesis' 1972 album Foxtrot. It was also released as the album's only single. The song was re-recorded in 1972 in a radically altered and shortened single version. This version was re-released in 1998 as part of the Genesis Archive 1967–75 box set.
"The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" is the first song from Genesis's 1974 album of the same name. The song was released as a single in the U.S. Although it did not chart, it was frequently played on American FM radio stations.
"The Musical Box" is a song by English progressive rock band Genesis, which was originally released on their third studio album Nursery Cryme in 1971. The song is written in the key of F# major. This song is the longest song on the album at ten and a half minutes.
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour was a North American and European concert tour by English rock band Genesis. It began on 20 November 1974 in Chicago, ended on 22 May 1975 in Besançon, France, and promoted their 1974 album of the same name. At each show, the album was played in its entirety, with one or two older songs as encores. The group's final tour with singer Peter Gabriel, it was marked by extensive theatricality, with multiple costumes worn by Gabriel, three backdrop screens that displayed 1,450 slides from eight projectors, laser lighting, and practical effects.
The A Trick of the Tail Tour was a concert tour of the United States, Canada and European countries by English rock band Genesis. This was the first tour after Peter Gabriel left the band, and the only one with Bill Bruford on drums.
The Last Domino? – The Hits is a greatest hits album by the English rock band Genesis, released on 17 September 2021 by Virgin Records. The set coincides with The Last Domino? Tour, staged following the announcement of their reunion after a 13-year hiatus. It features songs originally released between Selling England by the Pound (1973) and We Can't Dance (1991).
it also features one of the all-time examples of prog rock perfection: 'The Carpet Crawlers'.
it also features one of the all-time examples of prog rock perfection: 'The Carpet Crawlers'.