PETER GABRIEL

The fourth eponymous Peter Gabriel album is the most percussion-heavy and the starkest of them - or any of his albums (and it seems to be the most respected here). It has some fantastic tracks in it, but somehow the LP that I have has never been much played. It may be the way it is produced that makes it a bit difficult for me to digest, plus the fact that there are two songs I can't stand. Those are 'I Have the Touch' and 'Kiss of Life'. The latter attempts to be joyful with some Caribbean style rhythm, but its sharp and hollow synth sounds sink it down fast. Hmm, "hollow synth sounds", to some extent these words describe in general the sound of this album. It is slightly sinister and depressing, evoking images of empty and cold cement rooms. Of course the video of 'Shock the Monkey' affects to these images too. The heavy, almost tribal-like percussion on many tracks effectively adds to the cold atmosphere.

I probably have said this same thing with #3, but here it is even more true: I strongly prefer live versions in Plays Live. That superb live album consists mostly of tracks from the 3rd and 4th albums. For example 'San Jacinto' is absolutely great song live but here it misses something. This album is full of exciting material but it's not produced in the best possible way, I think (some reviewers praise its production - well, in the end these are matters of taste!). That material was very much used also in the sountrack of the Alan Parker film Birdy, to a great effect. Speaking of Birdy, it's quite a coincidence that the emotional ballad 'Wallflower' almost could have been included in the film as a song too, with lyrics dealing of a troubled mind locked in a hospital. Instead it was included as a brief instrumental theme.

Unarguably this is a strong classic among Gabriel's discography, but I punish the stark and hollow sound by giving it only three stars. (That's unfairly two stars less than I gave to peter gabriel #3... OK, let us say this is 3,5 and #3 is 4,5 stars. The other is rounded down and the other up, but blame it on my feelings.)

Just what the title says

Released one year after Gabriel's fourth studio solo album, his first live solo album could probably not have come at a better time - particularly as his next studio album was still three years away at this point. The 1986 album So would also constitute a change of musical direction for Gabriel, so this double live album thus makes up a fitting conclusion of the first part of his solo career. He does, however, sadly forgo the opportunity to include anything from his Genesis days in the set list. Given the inclusions of some less-than-great songs here, there would have been ample room for one or two Genesis classics. But you can't have everything can you?

While Gabriel's studio albums were often uneven and inconsistent, a live album was the perfect opportunity to pick out some of the strongest tracks from each studio album and present them together thus creating a kind of "best of" album in a live setting. Is this what he did here? Well, to a degree. In my opinion, there are some songs that I would have liked in place of some others (but that is often the case with live albums, isn't it?). Particularly Here Comes The Flood from the solo debut is a glaring omission. Indeed, only two tracks here are taken from that first album. But we do get the catchy Solsbury Hill from that same album which is great.

The weak Peter Gabriel 2 is equally represented with two songs, while Peter Gabriel 3 and 4 are represented with as many as six and five tracks respectively. The focus is thus on more recent (at the time) material. A highlight for me is the Genesis-like Family Snapshot from the third album. I Go Swimming is a non-album track that offers something new for those who already have all the studio albums.

It is unclear to me to what degree the running order here accurately represents the actual set list of the tour. It is evident that the songs here were recorded at different locations and it would surely have been better to have single show. The production is not perfect and it often very hard to hear what Gabriel is telling the audience between songs. Still, this is a nice live album that will make a good addition both to committed fans and to beginners.

He needs perspective!

This second solo album by Peter Gabriel is usually considered to be weaker than his first, and possibly his weakest ever. Like the debut, this album too lacks direction and Gabriel seems unsure of exactly what he wanted to do at the time. But unlike the debut, this album lacks standout tracks like Solsbury Hill or Here Comes The Flood. The song writing is distinctively average throughout and even the best songs are not really memorable even if they are moderately enjoyable. It is therefore the weakest tracks that stand out from the crowd here, and that is obviously never a good thing. However, I would not say that this is bad music. Just a bit uninspired and quite forgettable in the end.

There are some nice touches of synthesizer (some of which are played by Larry Fast who also contributed to Nektar) but these are outweighed by the presence of saxophone that adds to the jazzy Pop-feeling of the worst songs. The best moments are generally the slow ones that feature only piano and/or acoustic guitars and Gabriel's distinctive vocals. Only here are there any remote resemblances to his old band. Speaking of which, the albums released by Genesis around this time (1976-1980) are extremely much better and more interesting than this or anything else Peter Gabriel did during the period (and ever, I would say). Given albums such as the present one, it is rather funny that Gabriel is often praised around there parts, while post-Gabriel Genesis are often criticized.

I'm not a fan of Peter Gabriel's solo output, but he surely has his moments. But sadly none of those moments occur on the present album. If you intend to investigate Gabriel's solo career, this album is not the recommended point of entry.

Another two letter word album

It has always astonished me to find people dismissing post-Peter Gabriel Genesis as commercial crap while at the same time embracing Gabriel's solo career. It is one thing to prefer the one over the other as a matter of personal taste, but it is quite another to claim "commerciality" and lack of Prog contents as the reason. Albums like So and Us are, to my ears at least, every bit as commercial as 80's and 90's Genesis. Indeed, as I pointed out in my review of So, listening to Peter Gabriel's music of this period one can simply conclude that had Gabriel stayed in Genesis, those much reviled Genesis albums might not have turned out all that different. The hits Gabriel had at the time are not very different in style from Genesis songs like Land Of Confusion and I Can't Dance. Thus, blaming Genesis for "selling out", while at the same time holding Peter Gabriel up as a hero for never abandoning Prog is a bit hypocritical as far as I'm concerned. After all, Gabriel never produced anything as progressive as Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea or Fading Lights.

Us was the follow up to So from 1986. It thus took Gabriel six years to produce this album even though he worked on other musical projects in the meantime. Us builds heavily on the formula set up with So, why change a successful formula? Steam, in particular, is virtually a carbon copy of Sledgehammer from the previous album and again it became a hit. Kiss That Frog is the same type of song as Shock The Monkey from another previous album.

Like So's Red Rain, the opener here too is a good song; Come Talk To Me features some very appealing bagpipes. Other good moments for me are Blood Of Eden and the ballad Washing Of The Water. This latter song, based as it is on piano and a strong vocal, sounds more "timeless" in comparison with most of the other songs, which have a heavy 80's Pop/Rock sound. Towards the end of the album it tends to sound like just more of the same.

For me Peter Gabriel's solo career is not particularly interesting from a Prog perspective. Us is not a bad album by any means, but I fail to bring up any enthusiasm over it. If you are a fan of Gabriel and you liked his previous albums, you will most probably like this one too. But like with So, I cannot recommend this to anyone but such fans.

Peter Gabriel is maybe old when talking about age, but not when talking about performance. Cover indeed, but done in quite original way (you won't recognize them anymore). String arrangements and only occasionally adventurous singing (most of the times he's quietly speaking/singing). No other instruments makes this even more difficult (from Rock point of view) to approach, but it's decent album.

3(-), not great, not revolutionary, no breakthroughs here, but good anyway. Even from Prog point of view it's nothing special. Album cover is appalling (really), album name is similarly bad for me (and not so connected to album content at all), but even these are covers, they are different. Still covers, but some good is in them.

I couldn't bring myself to give this less than 4 stars, despite a few weaker tracks. I like Peter Gabriel because he is so open minded. When the rest of the (prog) world seems obsessed with the sound of Genesis and classic, 70's prog, the least 70's sounding member of the prog community was a founding member of that sound .

On 'Up', Peter Gabriel touches genres, like Hip Hop and Techno, that no other 70's musicians dare even to look at. But at least Gabriel knows what 'progressive' really means. It means moving forward and keep innovating, and he certainly does that. Actually this album is a splattering of experimental drum rhythms, world-music, groove, tension building, songs that take time to develop and have climaxes, and very importantly characteristically emotionally rich vocals. Most of these songs transcend usual genre classification, although 'Growing up' is a catchy piece of progressive techno, 'Sky Blue' is progressive gospel. These are both highlights of the album.

Other interesting songs include the groovy 'I grieve' and the hip-hoppy 'Barry Williams Show' which actually sounds a bit like ZZ Top. But my favourite on all the album is the dark, dramatic 'Signal to Noise'. I mean what an innovative guy, dramatic middle Eastern vocals, haunting, horror-movie style strings, dramatic drumming, suspense and originality! Such an original song, and so effective. It'll leave you sweating!

Unfortunately there are weaker tracks, notably the barely audible 'The Drop' and 'My head sounds like that' but the high points kind of make up for it. Peter Gabriel is constantly striving for originality and on 'Up' he leaves the 70's-imitating kids of today far behind.

As soon as I started playing 'Down to Earth' and watching a film clip put to it from the "Wall-e" movie I was suddenly surrounded by my three children who were wide eyed and delighted. "Dad, I know this song!" Of course they did. It was the one we hear at the end of "Wall-e" and I must have had my head in the sand as I had no idea at the time it was Peter Gabriel. It is in fact a very recognisable song, kids adore it, and it is so well written with a beautiful melody, it is a tragedy it failed to bring in the Oscar for best song. However, this is one of Gabriel's best compositions, full of meaning and spirit and a theme that takes up the type of themes explored on "Ovo"; save the planet or face extinction.

The film explored these themes so well and it was a very moving expose of how we treat the planet and I guess Gabriel was equally moved to write such potent lyrics; "We're coming down to the ground, There's no better place to go, We've got snow up on the mountains, We've got rivers down below, We're coming down to the ground, We hear the birds sing in the trees, And the land will be looked after, We send the seeds out in the breeze..." The music is very uplifting rising to a crescendo and bringing up the sound to tap into the emotions. The nuances created are typical of Gabriel, majestic, soaring and intricate.

The song was played at the end of "Wall-e" and has ingrained itself upon children's hearts and their families who have been mesmirised by this beautiful, heartwarming movie. It is a shame there is no B side to this but the song stands the test of time as being one of the best Pixar/ Disney songs in history.

Us, Peter Gabriel

While it's fairly galling to give what's quite possibly my favourite Peter Gabriel album less than a confident five stars, I have to admit that the overwhelming emotional power and quality of the whole isn't quite matched by a slightly trundling Sledgehammer-lite song in the shape of Steam. Otherwise, however, we have Gabriel at his most heartfelt, with his raw voice and honest lyrics never buried under effects and a sort of electronic world/pop orchestra approach to every song that doesn't really crowd proceedings but rather produces a wonderful, flexible background against which the ideas, vocals and soloists stand out.

The first three songs are various shades of heartbreak, with a special emphasis on the power of the lyrics... this is not the sort of teenage angst that can be wonderful if written preciously enough but a much more mature look back at failed relationships with sentiments that really should make an impression. Come Talk To Me is the most colourful song Gabriel's ever written, in my opinion, just listen to that violin-solo-followed-by-Eno's(I think)-keyboards towards the end or the way the central theme is reprised very quietly in the softer, hopeful but unsuccessful, breakthrough section.

Love To Be Loved is equally powerful from a lyrical perspective, has a great rhythm section and the unsuccessful escape at the end (a recurring theme of this album) has a crushing emotional power, some of Gabriel's best personal dramatic vocals and a touching musical contrast. Blood Of Eden is a slower, calmer piece but no less emotionally charged ? the vocals shared with Sinead O Connor have a wonderful liquid power contrasted with Gabriel's grittier, more defined leads.

I've already touched on Steam but I suppose it's worth saying that it's more how out of place this chugging guitar/horns song is and how lacking in dynamics (well, they're there but more in the minutiae of the construction than the whole piece) it is compared to its obvious model. It's a good song; I enjoy it, but I'm not sure it should be here. While we're here, I suppose we may as well touch on the other two upbeat 'pop' songs of the album ? Kiss That Frog is in the same vein, though I really like it for some incomprehensible reason. Maybe it's the less unitary nature of the second half the album or the hilarious harmonica or the disarming tricksy intro but I think it fits in pretty well.

Digging In The Dirt should certainly not be placed with those two; it's fast-paced but it's also an aggressive, angry piece full of contrasts both emotional and musical and listen to that gorgeous break at around 2.20. In short, it's serious and it really is very good. Probably the piece from the album that's most grown on me.

Only Us is a very powerful piece of dark, murmuring atmospheric music directed mostly through the rhythm parts. The electronics are draped over the duduk and Gabriel's vocals and Levin's breakthroughs into the upper register. I suppose you could trim a couple of minutes and keep the general thrust of the 'song' more or less the same but then you'd lose the album's best guitar part. Washing Of The Water is easily the best of the occasional simple pieces Gabriel's given us in dribs and drabs since Peter Gabriel 1, aside from the powerful central image ('let your waters reach me, like she reached me tonight') and the heart-melting vocals, the choices of instrument (piano, organ, cello) are all pretty much perfect.

Fourteen Black Paintings is a very simple concept executed brilliantly and professionally. Showcases one of Gabriel's best features: while in the details he incorporates a lot of world music and pop elements, he usually retains a sense of overall structure and energy that allows him to mould these into something really powerful, unitary and unique.

Secret World sees at last the escapism so often unsuccessful in the previous songs, breaking free from the constraints of failed relationships. The image is incredible, the lyrics and vocals heart-rending and the bass part is particularly good.

Us is probably my favourite Peter Gabriel album, a bit more consistent than 4, a bit more mature than 3 (which I've rated higher), rather deeper than So and much more vivacious than Up. I'd recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who thinks that experimental 'pop' music has some possibilities for expressing ideas in a serious way (and if you're on this site, you probably should) or simply more or less anyone. A very good album, get it immediately.

Favourite Track: Secret World Rating: Four Stars (13/15)

The more elaborate things start sounding, the more shallow they become. I don't know how much general truth is in that statement but it's a principle that certainly goes for this album.

This album is so crammed with studio tricks and layers of bouncy instrumentation that it distracts from the essence of the songs. And none of the songs deserve to be longer then 4 minutes anyway, but unfortunately most of them go over the 6 minute mark. Only Come Talk To Me and Blood Of Eden make a lasting impression, that last one has a beautifully sad mood and a memorable melody. Still, it's no Red Rain

Apart from a few good tracks this sounds like humdrum self-indulgence from a tired artist who has nothing left to prove. I would advise to skip this album and flash forward another 10 years to the more satisfying Up. Hardly 2 stars I'm afraid.

By far the worst album from Peter Gabriel. Boring, not progressive, with lack of inspiration. Nothing to do with his predecessor Peter Gabriel I (Car), for me one of his best works. Maybe Robert Fripp in the production is one of the reasons. But obviously Peter was really uninspired at this time. The album has a good cover, agressive, but is not coherent with you can find inside. There is some good songs but with a bad sound or mixing. For example DIY and On the air, both too recreated in Plays live sound much much better in this album than in Scratch. The live version of On the air (Plays live album) is one of the strongest moments of Peter Gabriel all time for me. But the original version in PG II is just a mediocre track. Thanks God in his next works Peter found the way again. Only for collectors. 2 STARS.