Peter Gabriel
"Spine against spine, yours against mine"
REVIEWS
- PETER GABRIEL (II,, "SCRATCH")
- PETER GABRIEL (IIII, "MELT")
- SECURITY (PPETER GABRIEL IV)
- BIRDY
- SO
- PASSION
- US
- OVO
After leaving Genesis in 1975 Peter Gabriel went solo.
Sounds great,isn’t it? The famous creatively force of our favourite prog band
could do everything he wanted with his companions from Genesis! He wasn’t bothered
by anything at all – no need to fit in the law of prog (if this law exists,
actually)! Do what you want and do what you need! Pure thrill, isn’t it?
No, sadly, but it is not. Peter wanted to create a record that would not be
progressive at all and started to write song in as much genres as he can. But
he was not too experienced in making pop music (though there is quite many pop
songs on The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and I can’t deny that “I Know
What I Like” is a pop song and nothing more) or anything – in that times he
could do only good solid mystical prog with overblown melodies and fantastic
lyrics and stories, using lots of intonations from many sides of life and culture.
He just wasn’t able to write anything but that. Surely, most lyrics on his first
solo album are pure Genesis (with the exception of “Here Comes The Flood” and
“Excuse Me”), but melodies are certainly different – they are new. And the result
is bad actually – there one bad and two awful songs on the album and the whole
production is quite sucks anyway - lotots of broing use of instrumentas and
melodies quite not feel comfortable in the songs.
But the opener of the record is great. It is called “Moribund The Burgermeister”
and it is maybe last Peter’s try to write a progressive rock song. Though it
is not really prog itself, but it is the most complex and clever arranged on
the whole album. Lyrics rules too and the song is so atmospheric – I can close
my eyes and imagine myself in medieval city somewhere in Austria or Germany
in the middle of 13th or 14th centuries. While not the best song on the album,
it deserves your attention.
Everybody knows the famous hit-single of the record – “Solsbury Hill”, the song
where Peter tries to tell us why and how he left Genesis. Honestly, this way
to express his feelings SUCKS. Sure, lyrics are gloomy and everything, but I
can’t understand anything. But fuck that lyrics and go and listen to the song
– it rules! Catchy little folksy tune with gentle guitar lines and catchy verses
and great strange “paranoya”-like part at the end. Great song – it is not overated
at all. Every second of it.
“Morden Love” is almost disco-rocker. Funny enough, but it is strange to hear
such songs from Peter after you listened the whole his era-Genesis catalog (this
was my first Peter’s album – in that time I was completely into 70’s Genesis
and after listening to I, I though it is a full and completely shit),
but the song is funny. Maybe it is not really great, but funny and interesting
in the question of musical knowledge.
“Humdrum” seems to be good after first listening but then the song bores me
more and more and more... And puts me to sleep after all. Melody is slow and
uncatchy, lyrics are meaningless (kinda “I saw the man at J.F.K./ He took your
ticket yesterday/ At the humdrum”) and Peter’s singing really sucks – it does
nothing for me at all. And it’s actually seems to be a fan favourite – imagine
that!
Can’t remember anything about “Slowburn”, except the fact it is boring and moody,
but I remember a lot of things about “Excuse Me” – great Peter’s traval into
the 50’s, into the world of ragtime music. It is not Queen’s “Seasd\ide Rendevous”
or Led Zeppelin’s “Hot Dog” for sure, but it is the amazing tune. Especially
the first part with all of those a-copella vocals.
“Waiting For The Big One” is completely shitty piece of twisted jazz which lasts
for seven minutes and just bores me more and more. This song has no melody,
no hooks, no progressivnes or complectivety. What’s the hell? Seven minutes
of terrible, terrible music! No, thank you, Mr. Gabriel, I will pass one of
the worst song you have ever written.
“Down The Dolce Vita” has a really great riff and good old pop-rocking melody
and Pete’s singing is really good. But the next song makes the previous roll
in the grave – it is famous “Here Comes The Flood”. Great touchful ballad with
great chours and amazing Robert Fripp solo inthe middle. By the way, Robert
placed his version of it on his solo album Exposure.
After all, I really was close to give the album a nine for too boring production,
but I gave a ten. Why? Just because it IS Peter Gabriel.
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
After tryings to find direction in I, Peter picked
up his famous friend Robert Fripp (by the way, Peter seems to have strange prog-orinted
friends. There are already mentioned Robert Fripp, greatbassist Tony Levin (who
played n bass on previous Peter album, by the way) and ... Peter Hammill! Yeah,
this guy layed keyboards on one or two tracks on Security and Us...
Moreover, it is he who recorded backing vocals to “Diggoing In The Dirt”!) to
record a new album. The album definetly is Fripp – orinted, even if Peter wrote
all the songs on here, except for “Mother Of Violence”, which was co-written
with his ex-wife and “Exposure”, which was co-written with Fripp himself and,
moreover, appeared on his first solo album which is called... Exposure!
The album seems to has a style now – it somekind of weird pop-rock – the thing
which heavily influnced on Fripp and made him to direct King Crimson in Discipline
– Beat – Three Of A Perfect Pair period. The songs became shorter
– there are not 7-minute songs anymore and two does not even reach three minutes!
Most of the songs are “standart” three or four minutes songs, but what a songs
they are! Even if they belong to one musical genre, they are different anyway!
Take, for example, “Exposure” and ‘Indigo”. The first one is a groovy Fripp-composition
with Gabriel singing strange lyrics using Vecoder while Fripp and others make
the song rules! Great keyboard and guitar work – probably, the best on the whole
album. On the other hand, “Indigo” is a lovely ballad with touchful and philosophycal
way (I love when he sings “It’s too late this model’s out of date” in the very
beginning) and almost have no melody – some minimalistic repeating, but the
song is hardly boring or anything like that.
The album seems to be very historicaly important in using new technologies in
music – it is maybe the first record where drum-machines are using in most of
the songs. OK, not in the most, but such tracks as “D.I.Y.” or ‘Perspective”
and some others certainly have drum-machine-driving sound. Of course, drum-machines
using will be fully created on the next Peter’s album, but this is the album
that strated drum-machines revolution and started it on a very high not – compare
“D.I.Y.” with some mindless dumbass techno rythms and you will get it.
The album starts with one of the most angry songs Peter had ever written – “On
The Air”. Wild singing, angry somewhat depressive melody and absolutely amazing
Peter’s shouting in the chours made very many people to say there is “Eat a
dick” line instead of ‘original’ “On the air” line. Don’t know – I can’t hear
nor “Eat a dick”, neither “On the air”, but I can hear “Eat a carrot” very cleary.
“D.I.Y.” is the my personal favourite on here – short, piano, guitar and drum-driving
rocker with one of the dumbest chours ever recorded (feauture Peter singing
“D.I.Y., D.I.Y” to the end of the times). Great song and great hit-single –
not the best Peter ever penned, but comes close.
“Mother Of Violence” is, despite its title, is a kind calm ballad, driven by
piano and acoustic guitar. Plus, it has one of the best examples of Peter’s
poetry (“Mouth all dry, eyes bloodshot/ Data stored on a microdot/ Kicking the
cloud with my moccasin shoes/ TV dinner, TV news” – it’s really hard to dig,
but my twisted mind likes it). What do you need else from Peter’s song?
“A Wonderful Day In A One Way World” is an unmemorable throaway, which seems
to be one of the worst songs on here, but the next song – “White Shadow” is
the hell great number! Amzing vocal parts turned into a simple, but beautiful
guitar jamming is the thing I want to hear again. Fripp does rule on here, for
sure.
“Animal Magic” is another unmemorable pop song, but it is very enjoyable if
you want to hear it and the lyrics are probably the best on the album. Small
ballad “Flotsam And Jetsam” (the title taken from Tolkien’s “Hobbit”, in case
if you didn’t know) is unmemorable too, but lyrics are completey meaningless
and the melody itself equals to the worst examples of my cat’s shit.
Oh, and I love “Perspective” – it so driving! And I love the stupid backing
vocals singing “I need perspective” too. And even more I enjoy to closing “Home
Sweet Home” – great a-little but Beatlesque pop-song with lyrics that are gorgeous.
It is the story of the man called Bill who met the girl called Josephine...
Well, they had a little fun and Josephine borned a child called Sam. But somehow
they were got oput of the city to live in a big strange home. But relationships
were broken, ‘cos Josephine didn’t want to live there. So, she commited her
and Sam’s suicide wih jumping out the window. Bill got money from insurance
company, went to casino and won! After it, he had bought house in the countryside
and llived there to the end of his live. Great song, both lyricaly and musicaly.
So what else can I say? Buy this album now!
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
Wow. That’s all I can say about the album. Peter learned all
is best lessons from small collaboration with Fripp, threw away all bad lessons
and even add something new, original and very Peter’s own. And its in 1980,
imagine that! And how the hell could Mr.Gabriel released such album as III,
which have no filler (well... It has filler and unforgivable filler, but that’s
another story I’ll tell you a little bit later) at the beginning of the most
crappy musical decade ever appeared in musical world I don’t know.
Peter forgot almost everything from the lessons of rock and went into pop –
wounderful, technologicaly perfect and ideal in songwriting. Yeah, this record
is fully pop with some rocking stuff and, moreover, some new age stuff (which
certainly sucks in there – Peter wasn’t be the same Peter who could wrote Passion),
but the whole record is pop – powerful poppy catchy and gloomy melodies, with
great accurate using of drum-machines, hugely improved from the legacy of II
and sometimes even touch of the most poppy sides of new-wave!
The album is the darkest one in the whole Peter’s entire career – every song
on here sounds gloomy, hopeless and dark with the possible exception of “And
Through The Wire” and “Games Without Frontiers”, where lyrics are quite dark
too. And with those darky travels into his own nightmares and fears, Peter has
reached his point of lyrical career. Not, his main lyrical masterpieces belong
to Genesis period – almost no-one except very few dudes could reached “Supper’s
Ready” or The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway in the middle of 70’s, but on
here Peter finally shows himself as not the master of the word and poetry, but
the master of psychological influence on the listener with using colourful ideas.
Here, Peter comes to express the whole meaning of fear; the full coming of paranoia;
the way of living in the hopeless and dangerous world and other things that
even such darky and gloomy lyricswriters as Peter Hammill and Ian Anderson could
ever hope. Absolutely peak.
The album begins with “Intruder” – very dark song where Peter imagines himself
as the buglar – one of the most popular images of fear ever. Great drum-machine
riff, programmed by Phil Collins, strange sounds of opening iron doors on the
background, guitar blasts, soldier-like “Hey! Hey! Hey!” shouts and Peter’s
gentle whisper which sudenlly turns into falsetto screams at the chours (kinda
“Intruders happy in the daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark”) and even more gentle, but
more than dangerous whisper. A masterpiece.
“No Self Control” starts the paranoia theme on the album. It is unforgetable
pop song with Peter’s singing about how he can’t stop to make something awful
or to stop the awful things at all. Fully chaotic and atmospheric arrangement
makes the song rules.
“Start” is the small, but atmosheric instrumental with a great use of saxophone,
while another paranoia and amnesia anthem called “I Don’t Remember” – from the
shout at the beginning and to great repeating of the chours the song is perfect.
Especially the chours – love the way when Peter shouts “ANYTHING AT ALL!!!”.
Also, a very good clip was made for this song – the pure thrill of mystycal
images of amnesia and Peter who runs for somestrange people wanting to kill
his indentity, like they have done with a lots of people who became absoluetely
mad. Great wrok. The only thing I can’t understand why they used a version from
Plays Live in there?
Finally, there is “Family Snapshot” – one of the most depressive songs Peter
have ever written. And it is also one of this few songs that pays more attention
to lyrics than to music, but do you need music in such song? Gentle piano chords
and sax-driven middle part is more than you need. By the way, something about
lyrics – one of the best Peter have ever written. They are based around “An
Assassins Dairy” written by Arthur Bremmer (from whose name Peter sings a song),
who killed Governor George Wallace of Alabama – not very famous person in both
USA and Europe. He was obsessed with the idea of fame and killed the Governor
in the time, which ideally fit in the time of morning news in the USA and evening
news in Europe. So here, he killed the Governor, using him just as “man of the
hour” to become famous. Arthur thought that the mania oto be famous came from
his strange sad childhood. Finally,the song ideally makes the listener to think
about some famous killing acts, like the death of Kennedy. Perfect and amazing
song.
“And Through The Wire” seems to be a song about sexual maniac – once again,
Peter even here made the song reminded to everyone about his weird sexual complexes.
The music oin the song is great enough – great verses changing with even more
great and catchy chourses.
“Games Without Frontiers” may be the best song Peter have ever written – wounderful
verses mixing with whistling parts and parts when Kate Bush sings “Jeux sans
frontieres” (but, in fact, she sings “She’s so funky, yeah” – another hint of
Peter’s sexual complexes who wanted to see Kate Bush having sex with his wife
and mastrubate watching this lesbian sex... Oh, I’d better stop now). Great
song.
“Not One Of Us” is pretty enjoyable rocker with the lyrics about racism and
strange disliking of foreign people in some countries. But the next “Lead A
Normal Life” is a completely piece of shit – imnimalistic synth noodling with
some bunch of meaningless lyrics –who on Earth needs this shit?
However, the closing 8-minutes anti-rasism number called “Biko” is fucking brilliant
– starts as some Africa’s tribe song, it goes into atmospheric and fantastic
ballad. Great song. It is somekind of new world music style of Peter – the one
which will later develop on Security.
Uh.... Mmm.... So I really need to sy some final words? Well, the album rules,
as you understood it. Get it. The worst sing the good lover of music can feel
is not to have III at the home. And if you are not the oen who is offended
with Peter Gabriel, you will be absolutely happy. Uh, and if you perfectly know
German (or Deutch), you can pick up the German version of this album - long
live to herr Peter Gabriel und his music!
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
I must immideatly say that I don’t know what is one the front
cover and I don’t give and damn. I also must say that I can’t remember anything
from last three songs on the album – “Lay Your Hands On Me”, “Wallflower” and
“Kiss Of Life”... But, hey, wait, wait, wait, I DO remember something from “Kiss
Of Life” – it is awfully happy drum-machine-driven hit-orinted synth-dumbassing
pop hit, whoich automatically makes it the worst song not only on Security,
but in the whole entire Peter’s career.
Som know I’m going to tal about Security (by the way, the album with
such title was sold only in USA – at British copy you can’t see no name at all).
You know, every artist or a band in this world makes at least one self-indulgence
or very self-indulgence album in their career. Rush made Hemispheres,
Jethro Tull made A Passion Play, The Rolling Stones made Black And
Blue. Peter made Security – the album with a lot of Peter Gabriel
everywhere and the album with Peter doing things which, in theory, only he can
likes. Check out “Family And The Fishing Net” – the idea of the song lies only
inside Peter’s mind – no-one but him must enjoy the song. But there are A LOT
of people who dig it (including the reviewer) and also many people who think
that this song is the best in Peter’s career or the best in the world.
In the beginning of 80’s Peter stgarted to interest in world, african and south
american music and rhythms and even tried to mix them with his ordinary stuff,
with a lot (A LOT!) electronic stuff around it. Imagine, say, “Games Without
Frontiers” with even more synth and some twisted rhythm, and you got it. Security
is almost fully consists of such things. With one exception – grat hit-single
called “Shock The Monkey”. It is your typical synth stuff – the pop song in
III’s vein with a lot of heavy electronica. Cool, isn’t it? Oh, an it
is catchy, too – everyone remember that “Shock the monkey to live” line in the
chours? No need to say the song is lyrically very interesting, too – check out
the lyrics by yourself.
Oh, and I almost forgot about “I Have The Touch” – some bunch of heavy synth
all the way that screams something like: “DANCE! DANCE, YOU, MOTHERFUCKERS!
DANCE NOW!”. And, seriously, even such weird person as me always wants to dance
while listening this. Those songs are maybe the only ones in early Gabriel stuff
which glady invite listener to get up from a chair and move ass.
Apart from those dancy pop numbers, there are three songs almost every prog
or world music fan I have ever meet like – above mentioneed “Family And The
Fishing Net”, “The Rhythm Of The Heat” and “San Jacinto” – all three are twisted,
complicated and long suites. They are somewhat monotonious, but, anyway, they
are still good and all of them seems to be fan-favourites – a good thing, since
almost all Gabriel fans are very gentle and good people.
“The Rhythm Of The Heat” opens album with dark rhythm and atmoshere, sending
us deep into Africa – to some tribal’s ritual dance with Peter’s emotional singing
(I can imagine Peter Hammill singing the song with even more emotion, especially
in the chours – why didn’t Peter invite him to sing on here?). At the end, Pete
really goes crazy with a LOUD scream and huge wall of drums. The song is also
the closest one in touch to III – Peter could easily put it instead of
“Lead A Normal Life” and I would give a 15 to that album... But it’s only dreams...
“San Jacinto” is a best song on here – great pseudo-Chinise synth-driven rhythm
and powerful melody with Peter screaming “I hold the line!!!” here and there.
And it lasts for six and a half minutes! What do you need else, eh? And “Family
And The Fishing Net” is even more longer – in lasts for seven minutes and it
is one of the most monotonious Peter songs ever – not boring, though – just
slow, marching-like tune with dark gloomy meaningless apocalyptic tunes. Or
even post-apocalyptic. Great song.
So, this album is good. If we don’t count last three songs – it is a great album.
Heck, really stupid ending of a review. I’d probably better say something wise
and interesting... Oh, OK, I’m listening to White Album now and I find
“Wild Honey Pie” stupid. Eat it, The Beatles!
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
Everyone have gone live sometime. Jefersson Airplane did,
The Beatles did, Creedence Clearwater Revival did and even Graetful Dead and
Pearl Jam did (yeah, it is very hard to believe). Moreover, even my humble person
did – I perfomed Jethro Tull’s “Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A new Day” along
with some another guys from my school. It was pretty weird you now – misplaced
that accordian and great xylophone with some crappy synth, but we honestly had
a real drums and, what is even more exciting – a real drummer! But I thought
everyone in audience just claped because they needed to clap – they were much
more excing numbers at that evening like some bunch of girls from high school
dressed in challenging costumes and dancing around one big teddy bear sitting
on a crappy chair, while Backstreet Boys or N’Sync or some another boy band
sung at the background. But that were my mistake – I needed to do “Helter Skelter”
or “Look At Yourself” or something else – instead of it, I have done some half-acoustic
song with a long and unmemorable melody.
Uh, enough autobiography, I am not Mark Prindle and I don’t want to (better
to be Oleg Sobolev), so I’m going to describe this record. In short – it kicks
ass. In lenth... Well...
Peter’s on the top form – his voice never sounded like that before or after
– though he is much more powerfull singer in studio, live singing on Plays
Live is darn good or even great – check out “Intruder” – Peter’s gone completely
crazy on there and his voice makes the song sounds far better than the original
version, even though famous drum-machine riff is, actually misplaced with some
really fucked-up real drums. But that’s only one example of Peter Gabriel song
that sounds better in concert than in studio... Uh, wait – there is also “Steam”
on Secret World Live, but that’s another story and I am certainly not
Joel Larsson to tell you about that album now – wait for my review, and you
will read all about it.
So what else? Well, the band. The band rules – David Rhodes is a generic guitarist
who’d probably better play some raggae and jamming with Bob Marley, but here
he does his and Fripp work perfectly. Tony Levin rules too, as always – check
out “Solsbury Hill”... Or “Shock The Monkey” or... Oh, I don’t know – just go
and buy King Crimson’s Three Of A Perfect Pair and check out “Sleepless”.
As for others... Well, they rule too – as one Pete’s fan once said: “Magic touch
of Peter’s saint hand may bless everything and everyone around him”. Hm, I’m
not going nuts (at least yet, my pretty haters), but I must say it’s kinda truthful,
you know.
Oh, there is a full “Family And The Fishing Net”! I don’t know if someone died
in audience while listening to it, but when I heard it for the first time I
was, well, almost dead – sudenlly, the song became absolutely unlistenable because
of its’ boring music. Oh yeah, oring music – “Family” was not boring at studio,
but Peter had done it boring on scene. It is not s boring as “Humdrum”, which,
for some reason, also appears on here and it is not that bad – I just don’t
mind it. Ignore it for a while.
But that’s only bad things I can tell about the record. It is Pete and at that
days he was on a top form – never was concetrated too much on his penis and
sexual complexes. And it has good cover – I love the Pete’s face on there. What
do you need to do? Well, it may be guessed, but you must buy it and buy Jefferson
Airplane’s After Bathing At Baxter’s, ‘cos I’m listeting to it at the
moment and it’s fucking good album. “Rejoyce” makes me think. Really. And write
this review. So, go and buy it, if you can.
Be sure to grab III, too.
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
WARNING!!!
This is going to be the most pretentious review I have ever
written, so get THIS!
This is is pretty silly, boring and uninteresting soundtrack for Vietnam-related
movie with instrumental cuts from older songs. That’s all I want to say.
Ah, no, not all – I leave the honour to tell you information about the movie
and soundtrack to Peter Gabriel’s official site or to allmusic.com or something
like that.
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
First of all, I must say the very important thing to people
who already know my opinion about So. Yeah, I have finally understood
that “Don’t Give Up” sucks – it somehow grew off me and from my favourite song
on the album became one of my least favourite songs on here. Yeah, it is stupid
and absolutely cheesy number with Kate Bush strange vocals making the song even
more strange and silly. I HATE the line “Don’t give up...” with this girl’s
singing like she just had recived a good penis to suck from some big sexually
abused mutant. However, it does not challange to “In Your Eyes” – even more
stupid and dorky number with Peter who sings in the same way as Kate Bush did
on “Don’t Give Up” (described two lines above, if you are interested in it)
and he even invites some even more dorky-sounding black people who are dancing
around pseudo-groovy synth beat and singing some words I can’t hear about, ‘cos
anytime I’m listening to the song I always hear the sound my breakfast (dinner,
supper, lunch – insert your favourite meal here, if you want) coming from my
stomache back to my mouth and almost coming out of it – thank God the song just
lasts for five and a half minutes!.. Ah, just for five and a half minutes? Well
here, I have just found another reason to ignor the song and get it back to
suck shit.
Now some words about the rest of the album.
Just after Birdy Peter decided to sell-out. He went, wrote a song called
“Sledgehammer”, released it as a hit-single and crashed Top-10 lists with it.
After it, he understood there is no way back to world music stuff and released
a highly commercial album. Yeah, it is commercial – music became much more poppy
that you could even excpect from Pete, synth-loaded and had a lot of dumb drum-machine
sound, which I like for some twisted reason. And look at the cover! Even it
became commercial – you can see Pete himself (looking like a 25-old pop star
rather than a 36-old former prog veteran of music) and a title! And it is so
simple! Simple! Simple! Simple to the core, I must say. Get a letter “S” and
get a letter “O” together and you’ll get it! So! The commercial little
name! Seriously now, it is one of the worst album titles I have ever known.
However, the album is truly commercial music – it has amazing number of Top-10
highlights – six. Yeah, six: “Sledgehammer”, “Big Time”, “Mercy Street”, “Red
Rain” and above mentioned “In Your Eyes” and “Don’t Give Up”. Apart from two
last songs, others do rule. And do rule in the great way. “Sledgehammer” is
a great funky pop song with strong horns section and even some soul (black women
black vocals are here) section at the end. I don’t even need to mention that
the clip of this song started new computer-driven musical video industry. Moreover,
teh song’s video is even one of the best clips ever! I especially love that
chiken meat dancing on the stage while some noodling of horn at the background.
Great stuff.
“Big Time” is the best song on here – funny lyrics about success of some singer
(“My house is getting bigger/My car is getting bigger/And my bank account” or
“And my Heaven will be a big Heaven” lines), some great music and a “Sledgehammer”-tradition
clip. Nothing ordinary to Pete, by the way.
“Mercy Street” could easily be on III with its’ strange rythms, thinking
lyrics and gloomy atmosphere, while “Red Rain” can be only on So and
nothing else. Good pop song with some apocaliptyc lyrics. Oh, those are good
songs, if you like me and they are bad songs if you like the album in the whole.
I like it, so you must like me or why you are reading the review? (The last
sentence was written when I have been smoking, by the way)
ther songs? Well, “That Voice Again” is a song that IQ could be proud of (it
means the song sucks, if you have not understood) and reminds me of Yes’ “Owner
Of A Shopping Cart”. “We Do What We’re Told” is interesting and fascinating,
but boring just like that football match from Russian football championship
I am watching at the moment. And “This Is The Picture (Excellent Birds)” is
excellent.
And now some pointless words – I have just invented groovy imaginary album title.
Born Under A Yellow Flag. Don’t know what it means, but it surely does
not related to Peter Gabriel – he was born under a lucky star. A bummer!
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
New age man! Peter have done new age! Classy new age! New age soundtrack, if
you ask me! And it is a new age soundtrack to a n ultra-pretentious classic
movie! Martin Scorsese’s “Last Temptation of Christ” – no less! Sorry, but I
haven’t seen it yet, ‘cos ochurch in Russia really stands against it. FOOLS!
IDIOTS! I want to see it! Moreover, I am going to become an ateist! HAHAHAHA!
If you are Russian church priest – go out! There is no God! HAHAHAHA!
Enough said. So what about Passion? It is good. It is very good – very relaxing,
with 2000 or so tracks that does not really different to each other. They are
quite beautiful, though – it is a soundtrack to “Last Temptation of Christ”,
for Christ’s sake! Don’t know what is my favourite one – maybe a “hit” (yeah,
yeah, Peter, I know that you are weird dude, but releasing “hits” from instrumental
soundtrack albums? Eeek!) “Zaar” or a title track, which lasts for seven minutes,
but never gets boring... I don’t really know. Don’t bother me.
I won’t bother myself and you, dear readers with description of the songs –
I just say that you might go and buy it. Do not mistake it with Neil Young’s
Are You Passionate? and (even worse) with Jethro Tull’s A Passion Play. Now
that’s all.
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
Written by Oleg Sobolev
Another album – another unimaginative title. Now I really
can guess why Peter did not really do the titles to the albums before Security
– just because he knew the titles suck. Us... OK, Peter and... who? Not me,
though. Agree, Peter can sing about every sexual image he’s got in his twisted
mind, but, please, Mr.Gabriel... Don’t touch me, allright?
By the way, something about Peter’s sexual images. The album is devoted to them.
Yeah, the album is conceptual. And, as you may understand, the concept is worthy
of good piece of shit. Well, I surely know that the sexually theme is the only
one theme Pete really loves, but why to fit the whole album with mystical sexually
images in both of lyrics and music. The worst example of it is “Only Us” – dumb,
Eastern-influnced ballad about how Peter wants to have a girl being one-on-one
with her. Crazy? Why not? And ‘Love To Be Loved” (the one that has hillarious
line “And in the moment/ I need to be needed”. Mastrubate, Pete, just push your
pants down, put your penis in your hand and start to move it here and there...
Ah, forgot to say. If you are a little bit elder than 18, you probably better
not to read it. Ah, shit, that’s too late know) or “Fourteen Black Paintings”
(the one that is “mystically weird number” with Peter singing: “From the pain
come the dream/From the dream come the vision/From the vision come the people/From
the people come the power/From the power come change”... Rammstein, get another
work instead of writing neat lyrics – we have old-good Peter to do it) are pretty
dull and have absolutely zero level of adequacy... At least, for Peter.
Musically, Us is the same good old pop everyone could enjoy on So, but with
some more hooks and definetely better arranges. And each song sounds absolutely
different from each other! The most unique on here is, probably, “Washing On
The Water” – small piece of mixed country and morden 90’s pop. Speaking about
pop – the melody is poppy as Hell and speaking about country... Well, there
is some country influnces and Peter even sounds like absolutely drunk Neil Young
writing the tune like “A Man Needs A Maid” (thank God Peter never managed to
write the song with such terrible title).
Some highlights (read: top 10 hits) are here, too. “Steam” is, undoubtely, the
best of them all. Great melody, haunting guitar- and bass-lines and, of course,
unforgetable section, which parodying rap. Oh, it sounds cool. Those were the
holy days, I’m sure – too far from ‘”The Story Of OVO” from OVO. And, while
on OVO Peter invited some people to sing instead of himself, he sings on “Steam”
that cool rap section! Ah, and the song has a great video – almost fully created
on early 90’s computer technologies, it looks nothing like today’s computer-driven
video. It looks better than any Pink’s or Limp Bizkit’s crap. Everybody knows
it. Even you now know it.
Other hits? Well, “Come Talk To Me” is a long, thoughtfull tune with great chourses
and atmospheric African drum intro, which brings us right to the holy days of
Security. “Blood Of Eden” is a good ballad with Sarah O’Connor on back vocals
and I can’t say anything else about it at all. “Kiss That Frog” is amazing happy
pop and “Digging In The Dirt” is amazing dark pop (videos on these two songs
rule too). “Secret World” has the best lyrics on the album and atmospheric tune.
So, that’s all – one quite long album that worthy to get. You may hate it to
death due to overplaying on radio and TV, but let’s face the facts – the album
rules. Yes, it has filler; yes, it is somewhat boring; yes, it has uninteresting
concept, but the songs on here are great. Us rules even more than any album
from 1992, I must say! Really! Though Jethro Tull’s A Little Light Music comes
very close. But that album is a live one, so I loudly proclaim: “Us is the best
album of 1992” and write a small note: “Must have for everyone”.
Buy it now.
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This is a Peter Gabriel live album.
That’s all. In fact, I could say the sentence above and go and finish my review,
but I must explain why I gave to the album only an eight.
Well, the album suffers from two major problems. The first one is that the album
is very unbalanced. The first disk is absolutely classic, with a lot of great
songs. Great catchy hit-single called “Shacking The Tree” and Passion outtake
“Across The River” included, “Steam” has a good atmospheric intro with peter
saying something on Italian (ask Federico now) and “Red Rain” rules more than
anything else on here – though it is not that version of “Red Rain” perfomed
by Peter, Michael Stipe from R.E.M. and Natalie Merchant on Pete’s WOMAD festival
in the late 80’s, which is the probably best version of that song. The second
disk is a darn uninteresting, and that’s the problem. If ‘Digging In The Dirt”
and ‘Sledgehammer” are great songs and their live versions are great too, “Secret
World” is the song I don’t want to hear live – it simply does not fit in any
concert. And the second disk has “In Your Eyes” and “Don’t Give Up’ – two crappiest
songs from So! On Secret World Live they both last for a long, very long time.
A horror! Good that I can easily ignore ‘em.
And the second problem that the concert itself is, actually, a show tht you’d
better watch, not hear. I have the whole concert on video (without “Red Rain”,
though) and the video itself is much more worthy to buy than these two CD’s.
Buy the video – forget about CD’s.
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Yeah, true. Just look at the concept! As Peter wrote at the
liner notes to the album, he worked for three years to create musical and lyrical
concept for some Millennium Dome amazing show. So there. The concept is about
relationships between members of one family and concetrate on some character
called OVO (two eyes between nose – you got the plot? So don’t make me say that
this tile sucks – it has mega-super- effective concept behind it! Really! How
come you not to dig it?) – the child from Skyboy (from skypeople) and the human
mother. I may be mistaekn, ‘cause the concept is absolutely shit for me and
I don’t really care. But lyrics are still really good and almost everytime –
hopelss. And I don’t know what made Peter wrote such hopeless and sad lyrics
and music, but it seems that he felt a real pain that time.
Almost all of the songs are sung not by Peter himself – he had invited a lot
of guest vocalist various from some rapping dudes to (drum roll!) Richie Havens!
Plus, he shows us a huge abilites to write in many different styles – from New
Age and Celtic folk to piano pop and rap. By the way, something about rap. It
shows only at the first song on here – “The Story Of OVO”. It’s certainly funny,
but terrible and all of this modern tendencies make me sick – why to use such
crappy drum-machine and make the song last for frigging five minutes? Plus,
drum-machine has almost solo spot on here called “The Man Who Loved The Earth”
which is also an instrumental reprise of “The Story Of OVO” and gets in one
medley with “The Hand That Sold Shadows” which I can’t hear at all, ‘cause “The
Man...” occupies the whole track for me.But, anyway, those songs cut the rating
off for one or even two points. We also have something modern in “The Tower
That Ate People”, but it’s at least interesting and doesn’t make me sick. It’s
just good and nothing else.
As for New Age, we have extremley beautiful and touchful “Low Light” (maybe
somewhat overlong, but, as for me, great) and two strange little instrumental
tunes (well, almost instrumental tunes, but it doesn’t count) “Revenge” and
“White Ashes” I absolutely love. Plus, there is a Celtic folk mixed with New
Age in “The Weavers Reel” – one of the most amazing and enrgetic breaks on the
whole album. I can onlyguess what happens in the show while this track plays
and wish to see it on video, DVD or something else... But now the best and the
only chance I have is to see it live what is even more impressive and almost
impossible for me now. Ah, please, someone, give me a plane ticket and a ticket
to OVO show now! Argh....................... Dreams, dreams....
And, of course, there is a lot of Us and So-like pop. “The Time Of The Turning”
is great and atmospheric melody with Elizabeth Fraser and Richie Heavens sing
in absolutely perfect manner. Reprise is good too, though it soon turns into
“The Weavers Reel”. “Downside-Up” is an overlong and a boring tune, but beautiful
and catchy. Finally, ten-minute epic “Make Tomorrow” that ends the album gives
the chance to sing again to all vocalists on the album includin Peter himself
(his vocal part is the most hopeless and undoubetly the best on the whole piece)
and the whole melody is amazing.
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