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Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel 2 [Aka: Scratch] CD (album) cover

PETER GABRIEL 2 [AKA: SCRATCH]

Peter Gabriel

 

Crossover Prog

3.03 | 639 ratings

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Warthur
Prog Reviewer
2 stars The production job Robert Fripp did on this album is often slammed, but I think this is misguided - it's exactly the sort of raw and visceral New Wave approach which would come up trumps on Gabriel's next album. No, the problem here is that Gabriel just doesn't bring his top- tier material to the table this time around. Prog afficionados may lament the muscular rock production given to the likes of On the Air, but how could Fripp have seriously been expected to do anything different with these attempts at muscular rock anthems?

It doesn't help that Gabriel seems conflicted as to which direction he wants to go in. Tracks like Mother of Violence or the majestic White Shadow feel at points like Gabriel harking back to the progressive stylings of Genesis, whilst others like Animal Magic point to a quirky art rock direction and the Fripp collaboration Exposure is a stab at Frippertronic avant-rock (which would get a better version on Fripp's Exposure album). The end result is an album which is half compelling (but rarely mroe than that), half forgettable.

Sure, maybe this album did get swept away in Fripp's big MOR trilogy idea, and maybe it isn't quite as interesting as the other parts of the trilogy (Fripp's Exposure and Daryl Hall's Sacred Songs). But the album wouldn't have been overpowered by Fripp's ideas if Gabriel had brought strong ideas of his own to the table. And he didn't.

Warthur | 2/5 |

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