# See 12 Incarnations of Genesis Perform ‘The Carpet Crawlers’ Across Five Decades

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/see-12-incarnations-of-genesis-perform-the-carpet-crawlers-across-five-decades/
- Published: 2026-07-30T13:19:45+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-30T14:20:28+00:00
- Original publisher: Rolling Stone
- Original article: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/genesis-carpet-crawlers-best-weirdest-versions-1235599633/
- Topics: Business, Entertainment, Markets, Music

## Key points

- A deep cut became Genesis’s enduring live finale.
- It bridged Gabriel, Collins and Wilson eras.
- The article compares 12 versions across five decades.

## Summary

Rolling Stone traces the long live history of Genesis’s “The Carpet Crawlers” through 12 performances and recordings spanning five decades. Although it was not a hit on release, the song became a durable part of the band’s repertoire and a notable link between its different line-ups.

- Originally released on Genesis’s 1975 concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.
- Written largely by Peter Gabriel and tied to the album’s surreal story of Rael.
- The 1974–75 tour performed the album in full across 104 shows.
- No complete filmed performance from that tour exists, though concert recordings have surfaced.
- Phil Collins continued singing the song after replacing Gabriel as frontman.
- Genesis reportedly played it 411 times after Gabriel’s departure.
- Ray Wilson’s short-lived 1997–98 line-up also retained it in the set.
- It closed both Genesis’s presumed final concert in 2007 and its final show in 2022.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.