There are albums that impact your life on such a level that it alters the course of your life. For drummer Nick D’Virgilio, Genesis’ classic double album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway took his life to the next level when he joined the legendary Kevin Gilbert in a live performance of The Lamb at 1994’s Progfest in California. That show turned out to be a catalyst for his future career in myriad ways, often intertwined with Genesis itself: D’Virgilio actually played drums on Genesis’ final studio album back in 1997, and he just finished a 2025 tour with guitarist Steve Hackett whose setlist featured much of…The Lamb.
In between those Genesis bookends, he’s been an integral member of Spock’s Beard and Big Big Train (both with their own Genesis influences), been touring drummer for Tears For Fears, Fates Warning, Mr. Big, and more, and played on countless albums by a wide range of artists, along with two solo albums and an EP of his own.
Now, 30 years after that live performance with Gilbert, and as The Lamb receives a deluxe 50th Anniversary Edition, it seemed fitting for D’Virgilio to re-release his own celebration of The Lamb, which was originally recorded over 17 years ago.
Titled Rewiring Genesis, this was a full-blown tribute album which originated from a bonkers idea to get some top Nashville musicians to re-arrange and record the enigmatic track “The Colony of Slippermen”. For some reason, D’Virgilio and his partner in crime, Mark Hornsby, thought that a bluegrass version of “Slippermen” would be a direction to explore. They were only partly successful: the resulting 8-minute track barely suggests a bluegrass vibe, but what did emerge was a fantastical blend of electric sitar, accordion, big band horns, and flutes that left the quirky song feeling refreshed, elevated, and even celebratory. It was enough to encourage the two to tackle the entire double-album. Just on a whim, eh?
When the dust settled, D’Virgilio and Hornsby had accomplished a small miracle – recording a must-have version of The Lamb that any life-long Genesis fan would adore. Not simply a faithful rendering of the original, this is a playful re-wiring whose arrangements sometimes run in fanciful directions with literally all the bells and whistles included. Unfortunately, after succeeding in pulling off this huge endeavor, the album itself fell by the wayside after its release and ended up being unavailable for a long time, falling out of memory and being enveloped by a dark cloud like a fly on a windshield.
Happily, the 50th Anniversary of The Lamb seemed a ripe time to bring Rewiring back to the public eye (or, ear), and several factors coalesced to make that a reality, including being released on BBT’s English Electric label.
To get The Lamb rolling, John Hinchey accomplished the essential work of charting and arranging the songs, along with contributing trombone to the album. Hinchey charted a wise course regarding how close to stay to the original form and where to stray. As the title track’s trademark intro is played on the piano, for example, the listener might have nary a clue that they’re not listening to the Genesis version. Until the accordion, strings, and horns enter the picture. It almost swings. Add some jazz guitar for good measure. Of course, D’Virgilio himself is most prominent, being right up front with his emotive, smooth vocals, and also commanding the background with his drum kit, doing what he does best and getting to pay homage to his favorite drummer in the process.
With almost two dozen songs spread over the course of 100 minutes, Rewiring is filled with delights, surprise turns, and occasional faithful recreations. Some of the most rewarding include:
- “Counting Out Time” goes in an all-out ragtime, big band joyous romp direction, highlighting D’Virgilio’s playful lead and countless backing vocals. This is perhaps where Rewiring shines strongest in originality.
- A brand new recording of Abbey Road’s orchestra was made for “In The Cage”, lending an epic depth to this classic as Tony Bank’s lead keyboard lines are replaced by a full string section.
- Also new to this 2025 version is a fresh Steve Hackett scathing guitar solo on “Fly On A Windshield”, elevating the entire piece and building the intensity until final release into D’Virgilio’s vocals on “Broadway Melody”.
- The gorgeous “Hairless Heart” gets a lounge piano approach to offset the jazz guitar sections, with a vibrant string section tying the two halves together. Brilliant and classy.
- The barbershop quartet vibe of “Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging” is a hoot.
- “Back In NYC” brings the edginess of Rael’s punk visage to new heights with orchestration and horn hits to punctuate his ferocity.
- “Riding The Scree” again makes supreme use of the horn section, a revelation in how the clarinet can reinvent Banks’ keyboard runs. The closing piece, “It,” also benefits from the energy the horn section brings.
Aside from those highlights, every song on here is lovingly tended to with innovation, bearing some new twist. The classics like “Carpet Crawlers” and “The Chamber of 32 Doors” are powerful as ever, boasting additional sheen and emotion. Even the second album retains the listener’s attention, from the lush yet hard-hitting “Lilywhite Lilith” to the emotive ballad of “In The Rapids”.
Although the original may be etched upon our brain synapses, when revisiting the album in this new century, I dare say that I’ll often be reaching for this Rewired version. Kudos to D’Virgilio, Hornsby, Hinchey, and their gang of musicians (including Don Carr on guitars and Dave Martin on bass) who breathed fresh new life into this masterpiece.
For even more Lamb Tribute fun, check out Dave Kerzner’s own take on “IT”, which also features D’Virgilio on drums and has Francis Dunnery at the mic along with Fernando Perdomo and many other special guests. With all of this activity last year, we can now say that 2025 went out like a Lamb – and that’s a good thing.
Release Date: November 28th, 2025
Record Label: English Electric Recordings
Genre: Progressive Rock
Musicians:
- Nick D’Virgilio / Lead vocals, drums, percussion
- Mark Hornsby / Engineering, mixing
- John Hinchey / Arrangements, trombone
- Don Carr / Guitars, sitar, banjo
- Jeff Taylor / Piano, accordion, whistle, keyboards
- Dave Martin / Bass
- Doug Moffet, Sam Levine, Leigh Levine / Saxophone, clarinet, flute
- Anthony Lamarchina / Cello
- Prentis Hobbs / Trombone
- Jeff Bailey, Steve Patrick / Trumpet
- Kristin Wilkinson / Viola
- David Angel, David Davidson, Pam Sixfin / Violins
Order the album: Burning Shed | The BandWagon USA | Bandcamp
