PETER GABRIEL 2 [AKA: SCRATCH]

The second solo album of Peter Gabriel, universally known as 'Scratch', was released shortly after the ex-Genesis vocalist's debut LP, and introduced little to no significant innovations or variations compared to its predecessor; a more transitional, exploratory release, the second studio effort of Gabriel also sees Robert Fripp handling all the production duties, which ultimately results in a somewhat dry but organic sound, that hardly provides for that liveliness one might look for on an art rock album. And unlike 'Peter Gabriel' from 1977, this 1978 album feels more monotonous and lacking a strong musical direction, despite Gabriel experimenting with funk, glam and post-rock, the overall feel is a bit underwhelming as this album is not as eventful as the rest of the Englishman's excellent catalogue.

Of course, having Fripp as the producer allows Gabriel to examine his writing more freely, which had not been the case with his debut album, produced by Bob Ezrin, yet despite this circumstance, 'Scratch' is lackluster in terms of brilliant ideas - most of it works well and the listener will necessarily latch onto the more interesting fragments ('On the Air', 'Mother of Violence', 'White Shadow' and 'Exposure') but the album lacks the quirky intricacies of the best works of Gabriel, and with its overall lack of direction and stylistic unity, it fails to offer anything radical or inherently memorable. Joined by a large cast of guest musicians, including Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta, and Sid McGinnis, Peter Gabriel expands his art rock credentials to a moderate degree, making his second solo effort more derivative and less exciting than the debut album - one of the main problems on 'Scratch' is the fact that the production is not great and some of the songs are really boring, and this overshadows the few excellent pieces of music on the album.

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