Peter Gabriel's Early Solo Career
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=101738
Printed Date: March 12 2025 at 22:52
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Topic: Peter Gabriel's Early Solo Career
Posted By: Xonty
Subject: Peter Gabriel's Early Solo Career
Date Posted: March 22 2015 at 15:13
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I've been obsessed with Peter Gabriel's string of self-titled albums recently, and having just played along on guitar to his debut ("Car"), I've noticed how incredibly well-written his music is. If like me, you know about theory and love it when people break the rules but manage to keep it sounding great/even better, I guarantee you'll be surprised by looking at the chords and effortless modulations on his debut in particular. Anyway, his early career on the whole is often overlooked and there's lots of variety and fantastic songs in there to be found/revisited. Even his weaker sophomore release ("Scratch") has some killer tracks and should get more appreciation on PA. Of course, most of us love his 3rd album ("Melt"), for whatever reasons. However, I rarely hear about tunes like "I Don't Remember" and "Not One Of Us" which I'd consider up there with the others. "Security" is also overloaded with some very intricate and hypnotic patterns, plus catchy songs like "Shock The Monkey" and more lyrical moments e.g. "Wallflower". Basically what I'm asking is how highly do you rank his 70s/early 80s solo output (in comparison with what Genesis were doing at the time)? Why? And what were your favourite tracks from this period? Thanks for any feedback
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Replies:
Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: March 22 2015 at 15:24
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I am one of those "heretics" who think that Gabriel's solo output is vastly superior to his career with Genesis - especially starting from his third album ("Melt"). However, I think his masterpiece is his fourth album ("Security"), which contains my all-time favourite PG song (and possibly his best performance as a singer), the stunning "San Jacinto", as well as the mesmerizing "The Family and the Fishing Net". I was lucky to see him live in London after the album was released, and it was one of those experience that cannot be easily forgotten. As to comparing these two albums with Genesis, there is simply no comparison from my point of view. |
Posted By: LearsFool
Date Posted: March 22 2015 at 15:42
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Those first four solo albums - heck, add So and Passion to the equation, too - really outstripped what Genesis was doing at the time. Genesis did well, but Gabriel was flying over the moon. And I've mentioned it once, I'll mention it again: Collins, after drumming on [Melt], remarked that it felt like Gabriel had been saving all his best material and ideas for his solo albums. -------------  
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Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: March 22 2015 at 23:02
| I'm among the minority here that rather dislikes Gabriel's singing... as well as his lyrics, on Genesis (though I really love the music from many of their songs), so I have not been particularly excited about checking out his solo stuff. However, I do have heard some of his songs, including some from his first album, as well as some shared on face book. However, I was not particularly impressed by them either and dindn't encourage me to change my mind. However, I also heard some songs from his 3rd album, and I believe that is one I might like... so whenever I'm ready to get a bit from him I shall start with that album. I'm also interested in getting his first live album, as well as Passion. |
Posted By: richardh
Date Posted: March 23 2015 at 02:41
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I believe Gabriel's first album is underappreciated. Every track is different and the lyrics are as caustic as ever. Where else are you going to find 'Barber Shop' on a prog album? ( someone will tell me no doubt). Gabriel didn't completely abandon symphonic prog with Down The Dolce Vita showing he could write a bombastic loud tune better than anything Genesis ever did. Slowburn is the most underrated Gabriel track. Much of the album has a Spectorish fuzzy quality because of the production. I guess that alienates a few and might be some of the cause of negativity. I would happily though put this up against any Genesis album post 1975. After that Gabriel was searching for his 'voice' to some extent. Perhaps he found that with Melt adopting a harsh post punk approach and not letting Collins use his symbols! Yep it has some great tracks but the icey coldness is a bit off putting for me. I don't know if I will ever love that album.Some of the later stuff is okay especially Us and recently I purchased Up ( what is with these 2 letter titles .. so bloody confusing!!) . Those are way better than anything Genesis were doing at the time ( The Way We Walk and Calling All Stations don't offer much competition though) |
Posted By: Svetonio
Date Posted: March 23 2015 at 04:09
| One and Four are the very best of his solo output. Magnificent LPs, imo. Also, there are his two stunning soundracks for Birdy andThe Last Temptation of Chirst the movies. |
Posted By: Kazza3
Date Posted: March 23 2015 at 04:14
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I'm not a great fan of Car, it's very over produced and schmultzy to me. The best song on it- Here Comes The Flood- is done better on Fripp's Exposure, and aside from that Solsbury Hill is the remaining highlight. Melt is very clever and has a unique, cold atmosphere, but in the end I still reach for So, pop perfection.
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Posted By: tamijo
Date Posted: March 23 2015 at 05:20
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I love his solo's. From PG1 - US. All equally relevant to me, although very diffrent. Car possibly the weakest but with many lovely tracks. I wont compare to Genesis, I find that irrelevant, to the quality of PG's albums. ------------- Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours |
Posted By: Gerinski
Date Posted: March 23 2015 at 07:42
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I love the four of them although like most people it seems, I find Scratch the weakest by a good margin. Melt and Security being my favourite, but Car is also great. It can not be compared to Genesis, neither pre nor post Peter's departure. It must have been one of the sharpest sudden shifts of style by a successful Prog musician, and while completely different to the music which brought him to fame, he managed to make some very interesting and Progressive music, in a way which was novel. I do not know how good a musician-instrumentalist was he at the time, sure enough he had always played flute but, perhaps mistakenly, at the time of his departure I thought he would have it hard writing solo music as I thought he was probably not very good at playing piano, guitar or other main rock instruments, but somehow he managed to do it. The 'Plays Live' album was a great way of closing that 4-album cycle, The Rhythm Of The Heat and San Jacinto are killer performances.
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Posted By: tamijo
Date Posted: March 23 2015 at 08:19
Saw them live at the tour, was one of the best live shows i'we ever seen. ------------- Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours |
Gerinski wrote:Posted By: The Sloth
Date Posted: March 23 2015 at 16:04
| I think his first album is his best. I don't care for the Hugh Padgham production of his later stuff. I know people think the first one is over-produced, but the 70's warmth is there, and the material is the most varied. |
Posted By: ghost_of_morphy
Date Posted: March 23 2015 at 16:41
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The first album definitely showcases PG's vocal talents best. The best album of them is undoubtedly 3. 2 is sadly substandard. In comparison with genesis, 1, 3 and 4 compare favorably with what genesis was doing at the time without being better. ------------- 
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Posted By: brainstormer
Date Posted: March 23 2015 at 23:39
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I like his first three solo albums the best....I had the 2nd and 3rd when they came out and they were very exciting musically at the time. ------------- -- Robert Pearson Regenerative Music http://www.regenerativemusic.net Telical Books http://www.telicalbooks.com ParaMind Brainstorming Software http://www.paramind.net |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: March 24 2015 at 07:24
I wasn't mad keen on PG2 when it first came out but over the last few years it's grown on me quite a bit, although the production on it isn't great. Overall, PG4 is probably my favourite, particularly "Wallflower".
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Posted By: geekfreak
Date Posted: March 24 2015 at 07:27
I`m with you chopper on this topic... ------------- Friedrich Nietzsche: "Without music, life would be a mistake." Music Is Live Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. Keep Calm And Listen To The Music… < |
Posted By: HackettFan
Date Posted: March 25 2015 at 01:18
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Security is his best. Family and the Fishing Net is the best track on that. There're no weak tracks on the album. I can't figure out why I Have the Touch was not a big huge hit - strange. I love Passion, but I only listen to side 1. Put that that together with Family and the Fishing Net and you have PG's unique twist on old Genesis style arrangements. I like Melt too, like most people. I also like parts of Scratch. I agree it's weak, but I find it endearing for whatever reason. Mother of Violence was especially nice. |
Posted By: Barbu
Date Posted: March 25 2015 at 19:37
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Melt and Security is pretty strong stuff and, yes, the best was yet to come. ------------- |
Posted By: BrufordFreak
Date Posted: March 25 2015 at 21:13
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I must admit that I loved each and every one of these four albums in discussion--each in their own peculiar way. The first for the diversity and power. (Kiss Producer Bob Ezrin! Come on!) For "Moribund the Burgemeister." For "Excuse Me." For "Humdrum." For "La Dolce Vita." For "Slowburn." For "Waiting for the Big One." Today, this is my favorite of the four. The second album I loved for coming out in the middle of the peak of my obsession with Robert Fripp (though I had quite errantly assumed the AMAZING pedal steel guitar solo on "White Shadow" was Sir Robert's. It wasn't. It was Sid McGinnis--now 30 year vet of Paul Schaffer's Late Nite Band on David Letterman. I know. I sat 15 feet away from him performing it live [on his lap] in November of 1978 in Nancy, France.) For "Mother of Violence." For "Perspective." For one of the versions of "Exposure." For "White Shadow." For Tony Levin's Chapman Stick. The third album I loved more intellectually--for the amazingly unusual choice of restraining his drummers (mostly Phil Collins) from using their cymbals. For the Fairlight CMI. For the Linn Drum Machine. For the invention of the "gated Drum" phenomenon. For the presence of Kate Bush. For "Biko." For "I Don't Remember." For "Intruder." I was obsessed with "Security" for about a year after it came out--attended concerts on the tour on three separate occasions. I was so into the W.O.M.A.D. album and movement. The amazing opener, "The Rhythm of the Heat"--The amazing presence of the Ghanaian Ekome Dance Company drummers. The amazing tribute to Lech Walesa (who was released from prison within weeks of the album's release.) For the sad story behind "Shock the Monkey" (his wife's informing him that she wanted a divorce.) The incredible evolution and presence of Stickman Tony Levin. For "Lay Your Hands on Me." For "I Have the Touch." For the joyful "Kiss of Life." For the beautiful tribute to Native Americans on "San Jacinto." Somehow this album has waned in my esteem over time. Perhaps I over obsessed in 1982. (I even owned the Deutsches Album). As for my comparison with same era Genesis--I cannot. The two were occupying two different universes for me. Voyage of the Acolyte, A Trick of the Tail, Wind and Wuthering, Seconds Out, Naminanu, Brand X, were all fantastic . Even Duke and ABACAB were well loved by me. (And Then There Were Three... took years for me to give a chance and appreciate. I loved them all as they came out. BUT only A Trick of the Tail gets any attention from me today. A Trick of the Tail, "Car" and a few other individual songs from the others are all I go back to now. ------------- Drew Fisher https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/ |
Posted By: AreYouHuman
Date Posted: June 03 2015 at 19:46
Pretty much everything BrufordFreak said. I guess I still like “Car” the best, mainly because I found it the easiest and fastest to warm up to.A bit of seemingly-forgotten
trivia: the first thing credited to PG solo wasn’t “Car” but his cover of
Strawberry Fields Forever, on the “All This and World War II” soundtrack.
------------- Caption: We tend to take ourselves a little too seriously. Silly human race! Yes is for everybody! |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: June 03 2015 at 19:57
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Car and Melt are his best, followed by So and Security. And like Raff, I also believe Gabriel's solo material outstrips his work with Genesis. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: GKR
Date Posted: June 03 2015 at 19:59
Peter Gabriel is kinda my muse  So, I totally agree: the beggning of the solo carer is fantastic. "Car" is a great album; from "Melt", "And through the wire" and "Biko" give me goosebumps; and the live album is just great to hear when you want something more ethereal and a compilation from the fisrt four. ------------- - From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: June 03 2015 at 22:45
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The first 4 are all very good but I have always had a soft spot for 'Car'.....such a unique selection of songs and Here Comes The Flood is worth it alone...imo. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Kirillov
Date Posted: June 04 2015 at 05:48
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'Car' has always been my favourite but I have also have a soft spot for 'Us' - Come Talk To Me, Digging In the Dirt, Washing of the Water - great stuff. |
Posted By: the lighthouse keepe
Date Posted: June 04 2015 at 06:23
 Gabriel's first four albums are excellent,and contain some outstanding songs.Would love it if PG would release the b-sides of the singles at some point.Across the River,Soft Dog,Shosholoza,the extended version of Perspective,and Jetzt Kommt die Flut(German version of Here Comes the Flood)are all worth hearing.The Plays Live cd is also good,and contains the brilliant I Go Swimming.By the way is there a German lyric version of the Melt album ? I'm sure this was released after the English version and is titled The Deutsche Album!------------- "Hello sun.Hello bird. Hello my lady. Hello breakfast.May I buy you again tomorrow?" |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: June 04 2015 at 06:39
Yes, at least there certainly was. For some inexplicable reason I bought it many years ago on vinyl. Whether it's ever been on CD or not I couldn't say.
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Posted By: Rando
Date Posted: June 08 2015 at 17:00
Peter Gabriel - Yeah that "unique voice & unique style" went on to create his own world finally detaching himself and diving off the mother ship Genesis-I felt it sort of ping-ponged the hardcore Genesis fans to wait and listen to what was to come-And when it did it didn't disappoint-I think his first album (Car) was a great statement and a fantastic start of his solo career, with "Moribund..." "Solsbury Hill," "Humdrum," and "Here Comes The Flood." And it got better with "Melt," and "Security," all the way to the commercial success of "Sledgehammer." I don't think you could compare to what Genesis were doing simultaneously. Gabriel had created his own sound and even his voice style was different, with World music influences and complex rhythms. There were singles, one of my favorites, "Walk Through The Fire," and even a cover of The Beatles "Strawberry Fields Forever." ------------- - Music is Life, that's why our hearts have beats - |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: June 09 2015 at 07:38
The cover of Strawberry Fields is definitely worth checking out.
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Posted By: lostrom
Date Posted: June 29 2015 at 22:22
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His first is his best! ------------- lostrom |
Posted By: Chris S
Date Posted: June 29 2015 at 22:50
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The first four are his best. " San Jacinto" the absolute masterpiece from " Security". I think " Scratch" gets a bum rap, especially listening to Exposure, Mother of Violence, In The Air all excellent. PG 1 is mindboggling it is so good. It sounds better today. For me his work risked sounding a bit bland in parts from " So" onwards. I still love his later works albeit highly infrequent releases, just not as solid and unique as the first four. I personally believe Genesis at the same time were just as creative and brilliant well up until the " shapes' album anyway. ------------- ...As I venture through the slipstream, between the viaducts in your dreams...[/COLOR] |
Posted By: Komandant Shamal
Date Posted: June 29 2015 at 23:53
| He did do some nice stuff in 80s but he never again released some songs that could be in comparision with that sublime stuff of his earliest solo output - THE songs as "Solsbury Hill," "Humdrum", "Here Comes The Flood", "Down The Dolce Vita", "Indigo"..... |
Posted By: t d wombat
Date Posted: June 30 2015 at 00:34
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Like most Genesis nutters of the time I was gutted when he walked. Then along came Trick and all was well with the world followed by Gabriel I. Through that period though I was never overly rapt in Follow You Follow Me, Genesis produced what were for me some of there best work while Gabriel rumbled on with PGII, PG 111 and PGIV. I can understand the complaints re some of the production but overall they were fabulous albums and when you throw in Plays Live I'm a happy wee marsupial though I do miss the saxophone on the live versions of Family Snapshot. The thing I find my intriguing is this .... does anything think that PGI was the album Gabriel would have made after the Lamb ? ------------- Andrew B “Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” ― Julius Henry Marx |
Posted By: PrognosticMind
Date Posted: June 30 2015 at 05:33
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All of Gabriel's solo stuff is just as amazing for me as his work with Genesis. The dude just shines regardless of the situation! Great post, OP. ------------- "A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous. Got me?" |
Posted By: Sunflower
Date Posted: July 02 2015 at 13:46
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Hello, I didn't listen to the 'Car' lp a lot 'till got it on cd, and i think its his best. from getting to hear a range of his catalog from the "> Play" dvd. ------------- Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward. Victor Kiam |
Posted By: RockHound
Date Posted: July 02 2015 at 23:00
| I find the entire PG solo discography to be exceptional. Car, melt, security, and up are my favorites. Scratch found him searching for the identity he found on melt. So is a top quality album, but just a bit too commercial for my taste. Us seemed a bit uninspired, but Up was well worth the wait. |
Posted By: Sunflower
Date Posted: July 03 2015 at 08:07
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I'll have to check out some tunes on Up. ------------- Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward. Victor Kiam |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: July 03 2015 at 08:40
The opening track is a killer track
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Posted By: docall27
Date Posted: July 03 2015 at 12:04
| I am a bigger fan of Gabriel the solo artist than I am Genesis. I loved the early albums as well as "So" which is a brilliant piece of 80s pop. |
Posted By: TGM: Orb
Date Posted: July 06 2015 at 09:05
Car is kind of slapdash overall. Songs are individually OK but way too shiny and big for me nowadays. Gorgeous version of Here Comes The Flood on Fripp's Exposure blows the one here out of the water. Second album sounds like it was recorded in a sock. Third is brilliant though I'm kind of iffy on Biko these days. Fourth is about 2/3s masterpiece then a couple of rather limp pieces.
After that I think the consistency goes up but the quality goes down. Us is probably my favourite of his albums. |