PETER GABRIEL 1 [AKA: CAR]

The allure of the solo album is undeniable and the stellar catalogue of Peter Gabriel is beyond exciting, at least for the ones willing to explore his unusual sonic world; After fronting Genesis in the first half of the 70s and leading his band successfully through their most glorious years [musically, certainly], he left after 'The Lamb' and went on to release a string of severely engaging and innovative art rock albums, where he shifted styles and crossed boundaries, never disposing of that precious progressive aura that is, of course, bound to 'haunt' him, regardless of what he puts out to the listeners to embrace. And his very first studio album as a solo artist provides some strong evidence to back all of this up - the self-titled 1977 album, also known as 'Car', after the famous Hipgnosis cover artwork, is a bold collection of nine completely unrelated songs that seem to go from one extreme to another, stylistically, providing a fine glimpse into Gabriel's musical vocabulary. To make it all even more exciting, one has to mention the presence of Robert Fripp and Tony Levin (who would later go on to play together in King Crimson in the 80s), as the main contributors to the music on 'Peter Gabriel 1'.

Significant and rich are certainly the words that best describe this record, the elegance that accompanies each composition is also valuable, as well as the fact that the album is completely different from everything one might expect from Peter Gabriel, given his previous releases with Genesis. The opening track 'Moribund the Burgermeister' is arguably the weirdest song on the album, and this one resembles some of the material on 'The Lamb' just remotely, making it the only plausible Genesis comparison one could make; Then there are the two fantastic and successful singles 'Solsbury Hill', a song that needs no introduction, and 'Modern Love', with its artsy, wacky music video. The softer 'Humdrum' has to be another highlight, and so is the 7-minute Americana 'Waiting for the Big One'. We have producer Bob Ezrin's influence on these more American-sounding tracks, while Gabriel has been credited for the more 'European sounds' on the record. The rest of the album is also excellent in the face of 'Down the Dolce Vita' and the emotional rollercoaster that is 'Here Comes the Flood'. It is interesting how Peter Gabriel's very first solo album is simultaneously so diverse, so warm, and so hard to predict, yet it is far from perfect, while there are no weak moments on it. His progressive leanings are evident, though not so strongly, as he incorporates a more approachable way of composing songs, in comparison to all releases behind his back up until 1977. All in all, this is a great album that needs to be given some time, in order to be fully appreciated, as the subtlety of it reveals itself gently and gradually before the patient listener.