PETER GABRIEL

Once, I wrote an anecdotal article about ten legendary live albums. Somehow, Peter Gabriel's "Plays Live" was not included in that list, which is actually strange. The double album "Plays Live" with its distinctive cover featuring a close- up of Gabriel with his face painted like a monkey is as legendary as it gets. Gabriel and his albums were, to say the least, trending topics in my environment in the 80s. It was a missed opportunity that I overlooked the album in my article. With this review, I am taking revenge on myself, so to speak.

First some facts. "Plays Live" consists of sixteen songs recorded during a tour of the United States and Canada in 1982. The selection on the album comes from four locations in the Midwest of America. The first twelve songs were recorded during three different concerts in the state of Illinois, while the last four songs were recorded in Kansas City. The album was released on June 6, 1983, as a double LP and oh, how impressive LP covers are. In 1985, a slimmed- down version called "Plays Live Highlights" was released, featuring only twelve songs, some of which were also shortened. Finally, in 1987, the complete album was released on a double CD and it wasn't until 2019 that it became available as a digital stream on various platforms.

The liner notes state the following: Some additional recording took place not a thousand miles away from the home of the artist. The generic term for this process is cheating. Care has been taken to keep the essence of the gigs intact, including human imperfection.

I don't care about all that. I firmly believe in the band's integrity. What spontaneous and passionate music the gentlemen bring and how skilled they are. Listen to how drummer Jerry Marotta manifests himself and how he collaborates with the incomparable Tony Levin on bass guitar and Chapman Stick. Listen to how guitarist David Rhodes and keyboardist Larry Fast fill the music in their own unique way and above all, do not overlook Gabriel's amazing voice. I often use the word amorous to describe vocals in my reviews, but Gabriel elevates the word to the fourth power. Sometimes it seems like there are multiple vocal cords in his throat. No, I'm not talking about harmony singing or anything like that. Just his powerful voice.

The album comes at a great point in his career. He has four solo albums to draw from at that time and he does so abundantly. Only one song is an odd one out. It's the David Bowie-esque I Go Swimming, a song originally intended for his third album. It's a catchy uptempo number, in my opinion, truly something meant for the stage. Gabriel's music deserves to be released live and realize that it is happening for the first time on "Plays Live". From the scorching opening track The Rhythm Of The Heat with its angular tom rhythm and thunderous climax to the impressive closing piece Biko, it's a stronghold of intensity and energy you hear. Of course, everything is well balanced, with a pleasant variety. The contemplative San Jacinto passes by and time and time again, I am floored by the powerful guitar chords and Gabriel threatening to sing the world to pieces. There are also a few lively songs like On The Air and D.I.Y., contrasting with a couple of calm songs like Humdrum and Family Snapshot, but the majority is devoted to the regular Gabriel songs. I'm talking about tracks like I Have The Touch, Not One Of Us, No Self Control, I Don't Remember and Shock The Monkey. The hit Solsbury Hill is also in attendance and believe me, back in 1983, it wasn't as catchy as it is now. I always thought it was a nice song.

"Plays Live" was my most played LP at the time. I don't know that for sure, of course, but my feeling tells me it's true. I hardly ever listen to this magnificent album anymore. I can't. It hangs neatly framed on the wall. Out of respect.

Originally posted on www.progenrock.com

Having been a PG fan for decades, I have to say this album infuriates me. Not because of the music, which is excellent, but because of the formatting. Many people have criticized progressive rock as being pretentious - the songs are too long or too complicated. That has never been a problem with me. I prefer my music intelligent. On i/o, PG has achieved a new level of pretention in giving us two different mixes plus a Blue Ray Audio file that will not play on older systems such as mine. Having two different mixes signifies either that the artist is not sure what he wants his album to sound like or that he is trying to cover all bases for commercial reasons. The artistic reasons given I declare spurious. PG has always included visuals with his music, first with his costuming and performances in early Genesis and beyond, then creating interesting videos. His live shows remain legendary. The Blue Ray included in this package is his way of including visual artists with his music production. All good and fine, no problem. But to put it on a such a format that is incompatible with older systems is too much for me. I understand this format sounds better than older formats, which should be expected. If only I could experience it without buying a new system. Innovation is a good thing, but not in itself, which is what is going on here. Having listened to both mixes I can honestly say I prefer the Dark Side mix to the Bright Side mix and would have preferred the artist had the integrity to release an album worthy of his legacy, a single album. I now have three versions of the same album, an absurdity in itself, one I prefer over the other, and a third I cannot listen to. This nonsense I do not need. Even if I could play the Blue Ray, I would probably only do it once. If I want to watch music I will watch a live performance because, you know, music. I have long disliked having multiple mixes of the same song on a single CD, or even worse, a live version of a song I had just listened to. No, not happy with this album. I repeat that the music is excellent even if it constantly reminds me of music he has released in the past. The album is a culmination of all he has done before. But I won't recommend it because of the pretentions involved. I realize I am likely in the minority on this issue, but that has never bothered me. I will maintain my position even if I am the only one to do so. I hope that Mr. Gabriel will put out another album soon, and not makes us wait twenty years for new music, one that is an album, and not an exercise in pretention.

So (pun intended), here we have it. This is Peter Gabriel releasing his inner Phil Collins in this magnificent double vinyl disc (single cd) album. It was after his parting from Rosanna Arquette that PG released this, one of his finest albums, with several oblique references to the breakup (break down?) of his relationship with the said RA. While certainly not as explicitly painful as PC's expressions on the same subject, Gabriel does get his point across in some of his compositions here, "Come Talk To Me", "Love to be Loved", "Blood of Eden", "Only Us" and "Secret World". That's nearly half the album. But whereas his old mucker PC gets his own point on the subject across very clearly and in simple terms, Gabriel broadcasts the same message here, in utterly compelling complexity. Did I say, "complexity"? Simply put, once this album goes onto the turntable (or into the cd player), the listener can't stop listening, to everything, and again listening to everything, until the end of song number twelve. And then listening again, just to try to take it all in. The musical quality here is just so good that its great. Yes, it does have to be said that like all great albums, US requires more than just a couple of spins for the listener to appreciate all that it has to offer (reference The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway as an example). But if the listener can invest a little more time that would be required by, say, something akin to a Take That offering, then the rewards will be exponentially more. A Big Five Stars Here for this magnificent album.

The third Peter Gabriel album was a milestone for multiple reasons: It is considered his artistically best album. It features first world music inspiration, be it in the experimental "Biko" or in a more restrained way "Lead a normal life". On a less significant note, the supporting cast is stellar - including the former band mate Collins (the first album track could have been linked to the Duke's-Abacab Genesis sound") and I admire his subdued but distinct beat on "Biko". Kate Bush provides memorable background vocals.

The album does not follow any concept, it is rather a collection of unrelated tracks.

Gabriel fully embraces unconventional song structures, creative rhythms, voice colours and various trends (world music, Bowie's Berlin era on "Start", punk/new wave ("I don't remember" and "Not one of us"). No doubt this is the album that so many other artists revered to.

The second PB album is not as bad as the rating says and its author dismisses it. The album may have been a bit rushed and that led to fewer interesting music ideas. I like the fact that the album is less flamboyant than PB's first album. In fact, it is now closer to pop than progressive rock. Peter Gabriel 1 had numerous instrumental sections that referenced Genesis as opposed to the more sparse Peter Gabriel 2. That's not to say that Gabriel became less ambitious; he still has the ability to create music that sounds like nothing he did before - "White shadow" has great synth structure, pedal-steel-guitar flavour and a semi-classical synth motive followed by a decent subdued guitar rock solo. "Indigo" returns back to the melancholy of "Slowburn".

While Peter Gabriel 2 was a bit of retreat from Gabriel's mighty music statements, it's far from being subject to dismissal.

Peter Gabriel is one of the most representative legends of progressive rock, both for his contribution in Genesis and in his later successful solo career; his music, always avant-garde, with a constant willingness to experiment with textures and styles that transcend the rock spectrum, has been an indelible personal stamp. But after 2002's "Up", there was a long creative silence in which he devoted himself to recreating his music on tour, reissues, and adapting covers by other artists. Two interminable decades later, almost a lifetime, he returns to complete a work whose first sketches were conceived in 1995: "i/o".

Accompanied by his faithful squires of years, guitarist David Rhodes, the extraordinary Tony Levin on bass and percussionist Manú Katche, and a battalion of guest musicians including Brian Eno, Gabriel's deep, raspy voice sounds fresh and up to the task, and he borrows from himself similar formulas with which mainly "So" (1986), "Us" (1992) and to a lesser extent the aforementioned "Up", placed him at the top of the general consideration, and makes use of them and their inertia to complete a mix of pieces that could easily be part of those albums. For example, the heartfelt and emotional "Playing for Time" with its reminiscences of "Here Comes the Flood" (piano version 1990), the depth of the lilting "Four Kinds of Horses" (one of the best pieces on the album, if not the best), the funky "Road to Joy" and its airs of "Kiss that Frog", and the melancholy of the whispering "So Much" in the best style of "Father, Son" from the experimental OVO (2000). Everything is in its place, just as the Brit demanded, obsessive about details. But the moment for these songs was that one, and not this one. No more, no less. Despite the impeccable production work, the light of creativity appears dim on the album and fails to illuminate it as it should, and that is something that is missed, in my opinion.

"i/o" is certainly a good work, as true as it is that after so many years and Gabriel being who he is, a little more creative brilliance was to be expected.

3/3.5 stars

Having read some of the 2star reviews, I had to give my own opinion regarding the last (really probably the last album) album from Peter Gabriel. I'm a big Gabriel fan. Always have been, since the time I listened Solsbury Hill when I was eleven and my father was driving us our of the city, Gabriel has been in my mind. By then I didn't even know who he was, I just loved the music. i/o is a return to the more festive side of his music, back to sounds that echo his most popular and probably important album, So. It's no wonder that here at ProgArchives, that particular album has such bad reviews, it's full of Classic Prog Canon fans that cannot forgive musicians shift and evolve (think of last SW album). This short seeing way is what sometimes makes me question the genre itself and my own past as a strict and hermetic listener. Peter Gabriel has just delivered a testament for the future, probably a last effort in making music. The sound despite the fact of having notable links with older music from him, seems actually tremendously actual, the lyrics are probably at his peak, Gabriel has really a lot to say! I'm just grateful for the chance of hearing new material, that is not repetitive like much of the music nowadays DreamTheater, TFK, Neal Morse and others are making, engaging in formulas that make more of the same. I do not see this here. My only doubt is the fact of needing two mixes, I think one was enough and the second could be understood as a plus for people wanting to invest in it. While hearing it I couldn't but help to think that this is a goodbye, a farewell. I enjoyed it from the very beginning to the last song.

One of the major players in the music world starting out as the charismatic theatrical singer in Genesis in the 1970s and one of the most innovative art pop artists that took him all the way through the 1990s, PETER GABRIEL has had a very fruitful career with a series of classic albums and a propensity for non-existent or woefully inadequate album titles. Debuting in 1977 with his first eponymously titled album (followed by three more), GABRIEL could do no wrong with one magical mix of industrial prog pop hit after another including a propensity for some interesting soundtrack music.

Peaking in 2002 with "Up," his last album of all original material, GABRIEL pretty much sat the next two decades out with a series of weak half-assed orchestral and substandard cover albums that were as ennui inducing as his 80s output was captivating. Having gotten too comfy in his fame and fortune, GABRIEL like way too many rock stars fell out of touch with the music scene and in the process no longer found a connection to an ever changing musical world. It's hard to believe that GABRIEL and other artists of his era are now in their 70s but many are still going in 2023 finding not only GABRIEL releasing his first album in 12 years but a year the Rolling Stones are enduring yet another tour!

It took 20 long years in the making but finally in 2023 GABRIEL has released "i/o," a sprawling double album that demands an ever shortened attention span to endure basically two versions of the same album. Strike one for yours truly. I hate albums that do this. Release it as two albums for [%*!#]'s sake. Not to mention each version is 68 minutes long. OMG! GABRIEL is so out of touch with the 2020s! But it gets worse. Not only do both versions of the same album not really differ significantly from one another but neither do the tracks making this one of the most monotonous and uninspired albums of GABRIEL's career. Only the snooze fest combo bombs of "Scratch My Back" and "New Blood" make this seem like a masterpiece in comparison.

I slogged through this monotonous "comeback" album twice and can't believe how unbelievable dull it is. Sure GABRIEL has held up well as a singer and the material is a throwback to some of his 80s styles however it's all set to sap mode highlighting GABRIEL's abilities to craft easy listening ballads with only moments of deviation. Gone is the industrial grime that contrasted so perfectly with the intelligently designed melodies and grooves. Gone are the compelling themes that evoked myriad emotional responses. What we have here is what sounds like a bunch of leftover tracks from the "So" era minus the upbeat tracks like "Sledgehammer" or "Big Time." Yeah there are some okay-ish tunes but too few and far between for a master of the trade like PETER GABRIEL.

Twenty years in the making? Really? That only adds insult to injury. If this is the best ole PETEY can conjure up in two decades i'd say it's a fair bet that his best days are SO UP. No NEW BLOOD here but mere SNOWFLAKE music that makes some of US want to take a snoozer. This is not music that will SHOCK THE MONKEY nor will make me wanna be your SLEDGEHAMMER. He's lost it. BIG TIME. Like his PASSION has lost all its STEAM on SOLSBURY HILL. Basically this album plays it waaaaay too safe and fails to impress me on any level really. Not totally unlistenable but for a figure of GABRIEL's stature, a huge disappointment. Oh MORIBUND THE BURGERMEISTER you've gone DOWN THE DOLCE VITA to the SLOWBURN to DIGGING IN THE DIRT and despite all that no treasures to be found. Yawn.

2.5 rounded down, average at best

I'm surprised by the current success of this album on progarchives (4.24 after 74 ratings), as after listening to it three times I find it a collection of mostly forgettable songs that would work well as background music of a shoes shop but surely not as an album wrapping what should be the result of 20 years of song-making written during the maturity years by a revered artist.

Admittedly I'm not a fan of the modern Peter Gabriel, whose records I've found mostly disappointing ever since "Us", but I am particularly unexcited by this kind of plain songwriting, that to me seems to lack any light of actual inspiration (except for the intense "playing for time", that resonates with the best character of Gabriel's voice) and is mostly supported by the obviously excellent production (although over time I grew restless towards Tony Levin's recognizable style and I find records where he plays somewhat annoying).

I also don't understand the point of providing two mixes, dubbed "light" and "dark". To me that just doubled the pain of listening to a disappointing record twice, once through what sounds like a weird-feeling, glum and dry filter.

Just my two cents, of course, and I might as well have missed something essential. I was tempted to give it another listen to make a song-by-song analysis but ended up deciding that life is too short and the musical landscape too vast to try and validate a record that didn't convince me after multiple listens, despite the respect (and love) I have for the musician.

Column on the bright face for info: "Panopticom" direct attack, its festive rock to make you pale, well given the list of guests it's almost normal; the direct panopticon to remind us that we have surpassed Big Brother's negative predictions? Good mention to drums, bass and keyboard; so Peter always sings with a very beautiful voice, one that rises high in the musical spheres; so yes, is it still prog, the question leads to my answer: but it's simply Peter GABRIEL, unclassifiable; a warm, world, invigorating, melodic and catchy, progressive sound. "The Court" and the enjoyable regressive side of its musical imprint, not carbon; pads, tribal rhythm, fresh chorus to break up this rhythm; a verse with classic sound, listen carefully in Atmos for those who have it, yes this horn which really rises above your head, no you are not dreaming, Brian's piano surrounds the guy well, in short melodic, choppy and progressive in the soul of this piece until the airy finale. "Playing for Time" intimate atmosphere, counter jazz, a piano, Peter and a horn, I suddenly think of 'Here Comes The Flood' I can't help it; the violins enhance the souvenir side, yes Peter does not invent anything more than what he has already done very well; he extends his musical experience with this warm, languorous ballad, be careful not to play too much, the spleen will ooze from your speakers; well the chorus doesn't come in the end, a new title with a slow and long crescend which sends us to paradise and makes those who have attended his concerts revise, a unique experience. "i/o" for the eponymous radio edit, between 'Wallflower' and 'In Your Eyes', a title which is worth for its catchy chorus and its multitude of musicians, a real sound slap. "Four Kinds of Horses" follows, darkly, on a boosted 'San Jacinto', reworked after almost 40 years; a tune where snippets of notes take me back to FLEETWOOD MAC, ROXY MUSIC, TOTO not the EAGLES 'of course'; an invasive sound again, it hits hard in the speakers and it's nice to have it in this overrated world, this deep sound which protects you from the surrounding world; a crescendo, choirs, a rich orchestration which fills every cm³ of ambient air; much more prog this track with this break and this surge of violins; the instrumental latency resembles a mantra in formation, we move, we listen, we scrutinize, we remain silent. "Road to Joy" begins with invasive, metronomic keyboards; bam the rhythm starts, well that reminds me, good the Gabrielesque sound where you imagine him engaging in a dance step like on one of the many tracks of 'So' with Brian who uses his samples and ukulele; the basic verse with a violent bass that punctuates your sway, watch out for the femoral necks; it rises, it swells, it deflates.

"So Much" piano and voice for a moving, solemn title, ah his voice holds up well and takes us back to his escapades of the 80's, 70's, astonishing; a gospel choir or almost, a slow intimate melody, he whispers. "Olive Tree" ah you would think? from the album? bam trapped a dark air which denotes; well the chorus with brass refers well to its radio edit period which disturbed so many prog people wanting prog and the recognition of prog without the media; 4 minutes of military drums and synth sounds that drown, tangle, a GABRIEL-style musical break before the return of the brassy chorus; hold Phil in his chair must like this title I think. "Love Can Heal" yes 'San Jacinto' comes back to me I can't help it; Peter suspects it, so Linnea's cello is there to soothe my brain, not sure with her fingers and her voice; resume your neutrality Alain to write seriously; captivating and contemplative title, latency of flowing prog blood; just immense in bright, even more in dark. "This Is Home" with a commanding bass, a tune once again extending into his expanded discography; a tune perfectly combining his child's voice with the world, progressive orchestration; piece that takes me back to my memories by adding a little current touch; very good sound with violins in the distance which warm up and round out the sounds, the trademark tribal percussion and an air reminiscent of the 80s. "And Still" on a spleen, monolithic and metronomic crescendic variation, bass and violin before another break more melancholic; the latent air which scratches a few notes of the repetitive ambiences of Philip GLASS for a recurring air, a contemplative moment; there is no prog strictly speaking, just sounds that are similar to it, creating a unique, sensual and melodic climate. "Live and Let Live" no, it's not WINGS but a title of hope about our life to be savored until the end; the finale gives way to Manu's clear drums, then neo-classical sounds are added, yes from a distance we could think of the tune of 'Biko' but with more cheerfulness; the backing vocals of the Soweto gospel choir only reinforce this moment. For the dark-side those who will see a stronger, emotional, dark mix will perhaps be right, they will have 25" more duration with the last title and its stretching choruses; otherwise I'll let you listen to the difference yourselves.