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See 12 Incarnations of Genesis Perform ‘The Carpet Crawlers’ Across Five Decades
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.
In short
- A deep cut became Genesis’s enduring live finale.
- It bridged Gabriel, Collins and Wilson eras.
- The article compares 12 versions across five decades.
Explained simply
"The Carpet Crawlers" is a song by British rock band Genesis, written largely by frontman Peter Gabriel and released on the 1975 concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The band performed the album in full during a 104-show tour in 1974-75, with the song tied to the album's surreal narrative, though no complete filmed performance from that era survives.
When Peter Gabriel left Genesis, Phil Collins took over as frontman and the band continued performing "The Carpet Crawlers" as a regular part of their set, reportedly playing it 411 times after Gabriel's departure. Later line-ups, including one fronted by Ray Wilson from 1997 to 1998, also retained the song. The song's presence across these different eras underscores its importance to the band's identity.
The song's enduring significance was underscored in Genesis's recent history: it closed what the band presumed would be their final concert in 2007 and again closed their actual final show in 2022. Its journey across decades and multiple frontmen illustrates how certain songs can remain meaningful to a band and its audience despite substantial personnel changes.
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