Their signature song is Gorecki, from their eponymous debut album and it was inspired by Henryk Górecki's Third Symphony, the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. Other essential songs are Cotton Wool, God Bless, B Line, Gabriel, Sweet, and Wonder.
To date, the band has released six studio albums: Lamb (1996), Fear of Fours (1999), What Sound (2001), Between Darkness And Wonder (2003), 5 (2011) and Backspace Unwind (2014). In 2003 they also issued a compilation entitled Best Kept Secrets.
In February 2005, Lamb announced that they would pursue their own solo projects, ending their collaboration for now. Their last concerts were in Paradiso, Amsterdam, and these shows appear in the DVD 'Lamb Live at the Paradiso' which was released in 2011.
Lou Rhodes released her first solo album Beloved One (2006) which received a Mercury nomination. This was followed by Bloom (2007), and One Good Thing (2010). Lou also branched out and became an author, with children's books The Phlunk (2013) and The Phlunk's Worldwide Symphony (2014 Strata Books).
Producer Andy Barlow focused on his band Hoof and a project called Luna Seeds with vocalist–songwriter Carrie Tree, and produced the Fink album Distance and Time. In 2013 Barlow's debut solo album as LOWB, Leap and the Net Will Appear was re-released on a new label, Distiller Records. Andy continued to work as a producer, working with Bristol band The Ramona Flowers on their album Dismantle and Rebuild (2014) which he also co-wrote. Most recently, he produced and mixed David Gray's new album Mutineers (2014).
The hiatus ended in 2009 when Lamb reunited and started performing again. Lamb returned to the studio the following year to record their fifth studio album 5 which was released in 2011. They also released their first live album in 2011 Live at Koko and the long-awaited DVD Lamb Lamb Live at the Paradiso.
In October 2014, the band released a new album Backspace Unwind, followed by a single 'We Fall in Love' (subsequently voted "Best Chillout/Lounge Track" at the International Dance Music Awards 2015). They began a tour in 2014 which included the UK and Europe. The tour continued into 2015 with shows and festivals in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
There are other artists with the same name:
(2) A group formed by Barbara Mauritz and Bob Swanson in San Francisco in the late 1960s. This group disbanded in 1972. The minor San Francisco group Lamb tend to be remembered only for their appearance on the Fillmore: The Last Days concert album, where they were one of several non-star artists on a set dominated by bigger names like the Grateful Dead, Santana, and Boz Scaggs. The band did actually put out three albums in the early '70s, however, and were quite an interesting group. Not only were they not readily comparable to other acts on the San Francisco rock circuit, but it's debatable whether they could be fairly categorized as a rock band at all. Their music blended jazz, folk, singer/songwriter pop, gospel, and even some classical and avant-garde influences. Certainly the dominant figure was singer Barbara Mauritz, whose bluesy and earthy vocals had considerable resonance, but which could also traverse the band's frequently mystical, poetic lyrics with much delicacy and nuance. Reminiscent in spots of such varied artists as Tim Buckley, Judy Collins (in her art-song phase), David Ackles, and Savage Rose (in that band's most gospel-soaked period), their records were ultimately idiosyncratic enough to defy ready comparison to anyone. And they were, too, ultimately too inaccessible to make much commercial impact, despite plenty of tracks of considerable power, beauty, and enigma.
Lamb were formed by the duo of Texan singer Mauritz and multi-instrumentalist (though primarily guitarist) Bob Swanson. The two (writing both separately and together) was responsible for the band's material. They attracted attention in San Francisco when they opened for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young for a few nights at Winterland in November 1969. Impresario Bill Graham became their manager, and producer David Rubinson, who had worked with notable groups such as Santana and Moby Grape, acted in that capacity for their first record. Their debut album on the Fillmore label, A Sign of Change, was perhaps their most uncompromising and experimental, relying largely on jazz-folk acoustic arrangements and spotlighting Mauritz's impressive voice on impressionistic, dream-like lyrics. They moved over to Warner Bros (while retaining Rubinson as executive producer) for the follow-up, Cross Between, which moved toward slightly more mainstream rock arrangements and a more pronounced gospel feel on several tracks. Yet others were throwbacks to the first album in their obscure but enchanting poesy, sometimes owing more to a classical-influenced art song tradition than conventional pop music.
Lamb went yet further toward gospel-rockish material on their third and final album, Bring Out the Sun, which was their most mainstream outing, though hardly mainstream overall, with a couple of tracks again giving vent to their more experimental jazz-folk-classical side. The LP was co-billed to Lamb and Barbara Mauritz, though Swanson was still involved as a composer and instrumentalist on much of the material. Whether or not this co-billing was intended as a transition from Lamb to a solo career, Mauritz was soon recording as a solo, putting out Music Box for Columbia. Her solo career didn't take off, however, although she continued to perform and write (composing the music for many commercials). In the mid-'80s, Bob Swanson returned full-time to photography. The Lamb founded by Swanson and Mauritz, incidentally, had no relation to either the Christian rock band Lamb that began to record later in the '70s, or the drum'n'bass duo Lamb that began recording in the late '90s.
(3) A demoscene musician, active from early 1990s till early 2000s, known for composing many chiptunes, as well as themed collection-album called Autumn Leaf.
(4) A messianic Jewish pop music group formed in 1972 by Joel Chernoff and Rick "Levi" Coghill. This group has recorded as recently as 2005 (with Ted Pearce replacing Rick Coghill).
(5) A Japanese duo from Tokyo, formed in 1999. Kudo sings, Nakamura does everything else. They make pretty, light-hearted, chilled-out pop.
(6) A Japanese rockband who regularly do shows in Tokyo, Japan. They're known for their melodic, emotional, and exciting sound with twin guitars, and bass and drums. Lamb's music has taken on elements from post-rock, math-rock, and pop.
Their first EP, MEME, was released in April of 2020.
Fly
Lamb Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So far away
I'm tired of looking over my shoulder
The things I've done
Weigh heavily
They tie me down
Won't let me go free
On silver wings
Carry me up to the sky
Angels, come free me
From earthly things
And I'll fly
I'll fly
I'll fly
If I could go back
To where I began, I would
Yeah, if only I could
I'd never do
No one no harm
Wear a halo
So heavenly I'd grow
Angels, come and take me
On silver wings
Carry me up
To the sky
Angels, come free me
From ugly things
And I'll fly
I'll fly
I'll fly
Angels come and take me
On silver wings
Carry me up
To the sky
Angels come free me
From ugly things
And I'll fly
I'll fly
I'll fly
I'll fly
I'll fly
I'll fly
I'll fly
The song "Fly" by Lamb is a deeply emotional and introspective piece that touches on themes of regret, redemption, and the desire for release from the burdens of the past. The opening lines set the tone for the song, with the singer yearning to be taken away to a place far from the past that haunts them. They express fatigue at constantly looking over their shoulder, burdened by the weight of the things they've done. These actions tie them down and prevent them from moving freely, thus they seek the help of angels to uplift them and carry them to a better place.
The use of angels in the song is poignant because they traditionally represent purity, beauty, and goodness. By calling upon them, the singer is expressing a longing for something pure and freeing. They want to be carried away by the angels' silver wings and be liberated from their earthly anchor that is weighing them down.
The chorus of the song is an anthem of hope and freedom, repeating "I'll fly" three times. This is a declaration of the singer's resolve to break free from their past and look towards a brighter future. The song also features a hypothetical reflection on the singer's past actions, with them wishing they could go back to where they began and avoid doing harm to others.
Overall, "Fly" is a powerful and moving song that beautifully captures the human desire for redemption and release from the weight of past wrongs.
Line by Line Meaning
Take me away
The singer wants to leave their current situation.
So far away
The singer wants to be completely removed from their current situation.
I'm tired of looking over my shoulder
The singer is burdened by their past actions and wants to move on.
The things I've done
The artist has done things they regret.
Weigh heavily
These actions are a burden on the artist's mind and emotions.
They tie me down
The singer's past actions are preventing them from moving forward.
Won't let me go free
The singer feels trapped by their past and unable to escape it.
Angels, come and take me
The artist is requesting help from a higher power to free them from their past.
On silver wings
The artist wants to be uplifted and taken to a better place.
Carry me up to the sky
The artist wants to be transported to a place of freedom and happiness.
Angels, come free me
The singer wants to be released from the burden of their past.
From earthly things
The artist wants to be removed from the negative aspects of their current life.
And I'll fly
The singer will experience freedom and happiness once they are released from their past.
If I could go back
The singer regrets their past actions and wishes they could change them.
To where I began, I would
The singer would change their past actions if they could go back in time.
Yeah, if only I could
The artist laments their inability to change their past actions.
I'd never do
The artist regrets their past actions and wants to avoid repeating them.
No one no harm
The singer wants to live a life free from hurting others.
Wear a halo
The singer wants to be seen as pure and good by others.
So heavenly I'd grow
The artist wants to improve themselves and become a better person.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GARY BARLOW, ELIOT KENNEDY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Samuel Ritter
Back in '96, i was living in this efficiency near the CSU campus in Ft. Collins, CO and there was this great record store called The Finest. I spent most of my paychecks there. Anyway, I was in there one day, contemplating the purchase of a Mike Patton solo disc, when "Cotton Wool" began playing over the store speakers. Dropping everything I was doing, I nearly sprinted up to the counter to ask who was playing. I still have the disc, and I will never part with it.
SharksInTheGenePool
I normally listen to things like Pig Destroyer and Cannibal Corpse, but Lamb is amazing. Her voice just stops me in my tracks every time. Beautiful voice.
charlie z
this was one of their best live songs! they should damn start playing it again :)
jsmyth024
Falling in love with this band! Falling slow and hard.
OpiateToTheDrains
simply raw talent...by far favorite band
Tomas Infinyty
perfektný song - delikátny . perfect song - ...
rainmaker690
Wondered what happened to this group---loved this song back in the day---the lead singer had a great voice,which made their songs even more compelling.
Karen Lukert
Cancer
Levyluola
Backspace unwind was released a couple years ago.
hypercatjohn
+rainmaker690 Released an album last year after splitting up in 2004 (or there abouts). Just finished another tour, unsure if there's more to come, but I reckon so!