PETER GABRIEL 1 [AKA: CAR]

Unlike may reviewers in this website, I discovered Genesis "backwards", i.e the first album I heard was "And then there were three", when it was just issued in 1979 or 80. I found it great, and then started to explore the Genesis related artists/groups.

I bought Gabriel 1 in 1980 (the same day I bought "Duke"), and I found it much more interesting than the then Genesis production. I made my mind straight away with the idea that Genesis was inferior to Gabriel (I had not listened carefully to Hackett's solo work at that time).

What attracted me in Gabriel's first opus was the versatility of that guy. While I was listening to this album, I kept admiring Gabriel's ability to produce great music in many various styles and tones:

- Moribund the burgermeister, Humdrum, and Here comes the flood are excellent progressive tracks. For sure they could have been more developed but it's well balanced, well sung, well "crafted" music. Here comes the flood strongly reminds me of the end of "Supper's ready" (which means to me Genesis at its best)

- Solsbury hill and Excuse me are very good ballads, very catchy, the kind you'll never forget after you've heard them once.

- Modern love and Slowburn are rock tracks, very classical. Gabriel's voice is pretty good on these tunes.

- Waiting for the big one is bluesy-rock, à la Tom Waits. It's the longest track of the record, and the coolest one: it's jazzy, very relaxed. I like the lyrics too.

- Down the dolce vita. To be honest, I don't like this track: its sounds is realy typical of how heavy some productions were around 1980. It reminds me of Survivor's Eye of the tiger (remember the "Rocky" OST?): bombastic, over-produced, useless.

To sum it up: a demo of Gabriel's ability to succeed in any musical style, joyfully. 4 stars (because of the heavy production).