PETER GABRIEL 3 [AKA: MELT]

Gabriel's third solo album, III or Melt, is among his best works. Once again, with the collaboration of a large number of renowned musicians, among whom his ex-companion from the Genesis era, Phil Collins, Robert Fripp of the King Crimson and Kate Bush, among others, stands out, he manages not only to be interested in the value of his compositions musically speaking, but also for his lyrics with deep messages that in many cases are statements committed to his beliefs, something that although it occurs frequently within the music scene, it is always remarkable, beyond points of view that may be divergent.

Undoubtedly Biko (in honor of Stephen Biko, who died during apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s) is one of Gabriel's best known and most representative songs, and one that demonstrates his activism for the defense of human rights.

In my opinion, a song that stands out and I consider as one of his best songs, to which I return every time I listen to Gabriel's discography, is Family Snapshot, inspired by the book 'An Assassin's Diary' by Arthur Bremmer, who he describes as shoot a public political figure not for ideals but above all for the fame that such a fact generates. The rhythm changes, the voice with that particular Gabriel style, in just over 4 minutes, makes the song not let you breathe until the end. Definitely the best of his repertoire, and rarely sung live, I suppose by how demanding his performance must be.

On a superlative level we can also find I Don't Remember, And Through The Wire, Lead A Normal Life, Not One Of Us and Games Without Frontiers, a song that he wrote in the days prior to the 1980 Olympic Games, and that gave account that many times political and nationalist interests motivated behaviors that affected the relationships of individuals and societies. For this song he had the collaboration of Kate Bush in the second voice

Both Intruder, No Self Control and Start, I consider that although they are within the overall idea of ​​the album, they do not shine like the previous ones.

With this work Gabriel established himself more and more as a composer and musician who tried (and succeeded) to transcend the borders of the progressive world, incorporating elements of different cultures around the world into his musical proposal.