I/O

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 fuck'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