Peter Brian Gabriel (13 February 1950) is known as one of the creative minds behind the rock group Genesis, as a solo artist, and as the originator and driving force behind many major projects. He is regarded as one of the most innovative progressive rock artists of recent decades. A well-known quote from him is: "My name is Peter Gabriel and primarily I make noises - and ideas." Genesis was a fusion of the school bands Anon and The Garden Wall, initially playing covers of artists such as The Yardbirds, Otis Redding, and The Rolling Stones. Soon, the members of Genesis discovered their talent for writing their own songs. Tensions between Gabriel and the rest of the group during the recording of the concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) eventually led to Gabriel's departure in 1975.
Gabriel's first solo album was recorded in Toronto in 1976 and released in February 1977. The name of this album, like the next three albums, was simply Peter Gabriel. The work quickly earned the nickname "Car", after the LP cover. Gabriel had no intention of giving his albums any other name than "Peter Gabriel". The idea behind this was to create a brand and a product with its own identity. The album cover is a photo of a Lancia car with raindrops on the windows, through which Gabriel is looking out. The single "Solsbury Hill" became a hit and grew into one of Gabriel's most played songs, both on stage and on the radio. With the release of his third solo album in May 1980, Gabriel developed his own unique sound and style. On 3 October 1982, a one-off reunion concert took place featuring the then members of Genesis (Collins, Rutherford, Banks, Stuermer, and Thompson) with Peter Gabriel, called Six of the Best Reunion Concert. Gabriel definitively reached superstar status in 1986 with his fifth solo album So. The album went double platinum and won more than fifty awards.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of his most successful solo album So, Peter Gabriel undertook a North American tour in the autumn of 2012, followed by a European tour in autumn 2013 and spring 2014. In this concert series, called "Back to Front", Gabriel was accompanied by many members of the original band and performed the songs from So after the interval. On 30 September 2013, he performed at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam and a day later at Vorst Nationaal in Brussels. The recordings of these concerts were released on CD (per location). Two years later, in the summer of 2016, Peter Gabriel was live again. Together with another pop icon of yesteryear, Sting, he toured North America. Together they played songs from each other's repertoire.
Top 2000
Peter Gabriel appears five times in total in the 23rd edition of the Top 2000. 'Don't Give Up' together with Kate Bush is the highest ranking at 308.
Sunday Morning Classic: Us
On 30 August 2020, Peter was our star during the Sunday Morning Classics.
An album that no one should miss due to its relaxing melodies and dark emotional character. After the incredible success of the release of “So” in 1986, the world had high expectations of him with the release of “Us”.
The album kicks off with Come Talk To Me, a song about the distance between Peter and his daughter, and his struggle to reach her.
Next is Love To Be Loved, a very moody song about needing someone to be there for you when you feel completely alone, as Peter felt during his divorce.
Blood of Eden has no big standout feature, but is appreciated for the overall feeling of the song.
The only real pop and cheerful song, Steam is an example of musical perfection.
Only Us has quite a lyric, but an endless repetition of strange 'sounds'.
Washing Of The Water is another very emotional song that is also strong lyrically.
Digging in the Dirt is a very dark song, but very easy to engage with. Every part of this song is beautiful and it always has meaning, the favourite being the chorus.
Fourteen Black Paintings has a very African intro with various chord schemes reminiscent of Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight.
Kiss That Frog is clearly a radio-friendly song. I feel the lyrics are rather weak. Great melodies in the song.
Secret World is wonderful just to listen to and reflect upon. A lovely song while lying in bed.
A very solid album from Peter Gabriel.
Source: Jan Liebregts and Wikipedia Photo: Skoll World Forum, editing by W.carter and Urmelbeauftragter
