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WALK THROUGH THE FIRE

Peter Gabriel

Crossover Prog


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Peter Gabriel Walk Through The Fire album cover
2.34 | 15 ratings | 2 reviews | 20% 5 stars

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Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, released in 1984

Songs / Tracks Listing

7" single:
1. Walk Through The Fire
2. The Race

12" maxi:
1. Walk Through The Fire
2. The Race
3. I Have The Touch

Line-up / Musicians



Releases information

7" single:
Record Label: Virgin
Catalogue No: VS689
Country of Origin: UK

12" maxi:
Record Label: Virgin
Catalogue No: VS689-12
Country of Origin: UK

Taken from the motion picture 'Against All Odds', also includes The Race by Larry Carlton

Thanks to mogorva for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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PETER GABRIEL Walk Through The Fire ratings distribution


2.34
(15 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(20%)
20%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(13%)
13%
Good, but non-essential (33%)
33%
Collectors/fans only (33%)
33%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

PETER GABRIEL Walk Through The Fire reviews


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Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Guillermo
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars In late 1984 I bought the LP from the Original Soundtrack of the film "Against All Odds". Being then a fan of Genesis, as a group and of some of them as soloists, this album had the "marketing trick" of having three songs recorded by three members or former members of the band: the great ballad and Phil Collins` Number One Hit Single "Against All Odds (Take a Look at me Now)", Mike Rutherford`s "Making a Big Mistake" (a song recorded in the same recording sessions for his second solo album "Acting Very Strange" from 1982), and "Walk Throught the Fire", by Peter Gabriel. The album also had songs by other soloists or bands like Stevie Nicks, Big Country, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, plus Side Two, with the music score by Michel Colombier and / or Larry Carlton. To be honest, I have not listened to this album for a lot of years, but I still can remember some of the songs.

"Walk Through the Fire" is a more Pop Rock oriented song by Peter Gabriel, which has good bass, drums and synthesizers, plus Gabriel`s very good vocals. It is not very related to his style from his previous albums, and maybe it is more related to his "So" album period. It is not a bad song, but also it is not very interesting. I don`t know if this song has been included in Peter Gabrielīs compilations.

The B- side, "The Race", by Larry Carlton, is a good instrumental piece of typical soundtrack music.

The film: it was broadcasted several times on Mexican TV in the late eighties. I didn`t like it.

Review by patrickq
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars Peter Gabriel's 'Walk Through the Fire' was a soundtrack-only single released in mid-1984. It appeared on the album Against All Odds: Music from the Original Motion Picture and as a 7" 45 RPM single in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. In most territories, the b-side was 'The Race' by Larry Carlton; in North America, Mike Rutherford's 'Making a Big Mistake' was on the flip side (both of these were also from the Against All Odds soundtrack). 'Walk Through the Fire' was a minor chart hit in the UK, but, it seems, nowhere else. It was not included on any of Gabriel's studio albums.

Gabriel wrote and produced the soundtrack version of 'Walk Through the Fire,' although the single version (sometimes listed as 'remix') was produced by Nile Rodgers. The versions are pretty different, especially considering that the same source material is used for both. Rodgers's mix is slightly superior, in my view, although I prefer the opening section of the original. The title of the song pretty much summarizes its lyrical theme: namely, to proceed without caution. A sampling of the lyrics: 'walk through the fire, through the dust and ashes / while the building crashes ' no trace of indecision.'

'Walk Through the Fire' is a period piece, sounding pretty much like a 1984 pop-rock song, this being the point in time when Rodgers's remix of Duran Duran's 'The Reflex' topped the US pop charts and the Fixx's 'Are We Ourselves?' was a #1 rock song. It is unmistakably a Peter Gabriel song, but doesn't even hint at the sophistication of his next pop album, the multiplatinum So.

As for the b-sides, 'The Race' is run-of the mill AOR with some 1970s southern-rock flavor. It's fast-paced, but otherwise doesn't especially evoke racing. I'm sure it worked well in the movie if there was a race or a chase. Rutherford's synth- and-sequencer driven 'Making a Big Mistake' is similarly unremarkable; it's a one-minute song whose parts are repeated sufficiently to get to 3:49. I was impressed with his vocals, though. According to an Atlantic Records press release, all of the music on the soundtrack (i.e., including 'Walk Through the Fire,' 'The Race,' and 'Making a Big Mistake') was new, although it's unclear how much was written specifically for the movie.

As of this year, 'Walk Through the Fire' is finally available on two Peter Gabriel compilation albums: the single mix on Flotsam and Jetsam and the album version on Rated PG. In the past, this single might've been an essential purchase for fans of Peter Gabriel, that's no longer the case. Neither of the b-sides, however, is easy to find; the Against All Odds soundtrack was released on CD in 1990 and again in 1998, but as far as I can tell it's been out of print since then except for a 2014 Japanese 'limited edition.''

'Walk Through the Fire' is a decent mid-1980s song, though it pales in comparison to his other work from that decade. The North American issue of the single (with Mike Rutherford's 'Making a Big Mistake' on the flip side) is an interesting curio, especially to Genesis fans and collectors.

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