PETER GABRIEL 3 [AKA: MELT]

Intruder is a strong opening with menacing drum work from Phil Collins that influenced a whole new generation of rock drummers.

No Self Control was a great single, and the first Kate Bush & PG collaboration. The live version was, for me, a little too slow, but fascinating with the menacing towers threatening Gabriel on stage. The original studio version, though, is far better with a rich cacaphony of sound.

Start is a nice keyboard solo which leads onto I Don't Remember, a rocking pop song which should be played after each & every drunken bender!

Family Snapshot, for me, is one of the finest songs ever written, by Gabriel or anyone else. A mournful ballad about an assassin, it does have a twist when the plaintive vocals at the end revert to a deeply sad child mourning the loss of his parents marriage. My parents divorced at about this time, and the song still has a deep resonance. It is backed by very strong woodwind and guitar samples.

And Through the Wire could be compared to a Northern Ireland scenario, or Gaza in modern times, and is the most rock orientated track on the LP with fine guitar backing, but also a lovely synth sample backing Gabriel in the middle section.

Games without Frontiers needs no deep analysis - it was the single which, I think, brought Gabriel to the attention of a new audience previously sceptical about his prog roots. The video was fun, and it is simply a class pop single. For those of you unfamiliar with Kate Bushs' referral to Jeux Sans Frontiers, look it up on YouTube (under It's a Knockout in English).

Not One of Us is probably the weakest track on the LP, but it is still a fine rock track that has you tapping your toes in appreciation.

Lead a Normal Life is the only really experimental track, and Gabriel evokes images of a political institution under a dictatorship with soulful vocals and plaintive synth and percussion backing.

And so.. to Biko. Quite simply the finest political song ever recorded and the reason why Gabriel was top of the UK National Union of Students polls for many years afterwards. This track starts stunningly with the actual recording of tribesmen at Biko's funeral - it also ends the track before a crashing drum rattle. The chorus has had me shouting myself horse every time I have seen him do it live, the drums by Collins are again incredible. This track really has it all, including a very simple, but effective, guitar chord by David Rhodes.

This is an essential purchase for all prog music fans - no hesitation in giving it top marks. A work of genius from the genius!

Share this PETER GABRIEL review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to lazland
• Report this review (#200721)
• Buy PETER GABRIEL music online with PA partners
• Show all PETER GABRIEL MP3/Stream
• Go to PETER GABRIEL page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Peter Gabriel 3 [Aka: Melt] page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for PETER GABRIEL related discussions