30 replies to this topic

[Josh Hurst]

Jason Panella, on 02 March 2011 - 11:41 AM, said:

Having heard some of his studio albums, though, I think my favorite is either III (aka Melt) or So. Yeah yeah, the latter is more mainstream, but I consider "Red Rain" to pretty much be a perfect song. More perfect, though? "Here Comes the Flood."

I love So precisely because it is-- in my mind-- a pretty perfect balance of mainstream pop and art-rock. It's totally hooky and totally weird, and proof that "mainstream" and "commercial" don't have to be bad things!

[Darren H]

Yeah, you'd be hard-pressed to name another great pop record with two songs as alienating and strange as "We Do What We're Told" and "This Is the Picture." Maybe "Mother" on Synchronicity?

[morgan1098]

Josh Hurst, on 02 March 2011 - 11:45 AM, said:

Jason Panella, on 02 March 2011 - 11:41 AM, said:

Having heard some of his studio albums, though, I think my favorite is either III (aka Melt) or So. Yeah yeah, the latter is more mainstream, but I consider "Red Rain" to pretty much be a perfect song. More perfect, though? "Here Comes the Flood."

I love So precisely because it is-- in my mind-- a pretty perfect balance of mainstream pop and art-rock. It's totally hooky and totally weird, and proof that "mainstream" and "commercial" don't have to be bad things!

I remember in 86 when Genesis' Invisible Touch album was knocked off the top of the US album charts by Peter Gabriel's So. There was lots of talk about "Genesis rivalry." I'm ashamed to admit that, at the time, I thought Invisible Touch was the better album. Yeah, I was in 9th grade. Cut me some slack.

And I have to agree that "Red Rain" and "Here Comes the Flood" are both "perfect song" contenders.

[Andrew]

morgan1098, on 02 March 2011 - 12:32 PM, said:

Josh Hurst, on 02 March 2011 - 11:45 AM, said:

Jason Panella, on 02 March 2011 - 11:41 AM, said:

Having heard some of his studio albums, though, I think my favorite is either III (aka Melt) or So. Yeah yeah, the latter is more mainstream, but I consider "Red Rain" to pretty much be a perfect song. More perfect, though? "Here Comes the Flood."

I love So precisely because it is-- in my mind-- a pretty perfect balance of mainstream pop and art-rock. It's totally hooky and totally weird, and proof that "mainstream" and "commercial" don't have to be bad things!

I remember in 86 when Genesis' Invisible Touch album was knocked off the top of the US album charts by Peter Gabriel's So. There was lots of talk about "Genesis rivalry." I'm ashamed to admit that, at the time, I thought Invisible Touch was the better album. Yeah, I was in 9th grade. Cut me some slack.

And I have to agree that "Red Rain" and "Here Comes the Flood" are both "perfect song" contenders.

That's OK, Morgan - I remember hearing 'Big Time' in the late 80's and disapproving of it because I thought it was disrespectful of church and God. There wasn't much room for musical satire in my worldview, beyond Steve Taylor anyway, at that point in my life. At least I'm undoing some of this with the next generation - my 10 year old son's two favorite musical artists at present are Springsteen and Peter Gabriel. After several days of repeated plays of So, the little guy did a gleeful fist-pump when I surprised him with my new-used copy of Us - a wonderful father-son moment for both of us to hear these songs for the first time together.

Edited by Andrew, 02 March 2011 - 12:44 PM.

[Phill Lytle]

Josh Hurst, on 02 March 2011 - 11:45 AM, said:

Jason Panella, on 02 March 2011 - 11:41 AM, said:

Having heard some of his studio albums, though, I think my favorite is either III (aka Melt) or So. Yeah yeah, the latter is more mainstream, but I consider "Red Rain" to pretty much be a perfect song. More perfect, though? "Here Comes the Flood."

I love So precisely because it is-- in my mind-- a pretty perfect balance of mainstream pop and art-rock. It's totally hooky and totally weird, and proof that "mainstream" and "commercial" don't have to be bad things!

Well said. I don't have much to add to the conversation other than to say I too love Peter Gabriel's music. To me, his stand-out albums are So, Passion, and Up. I know I am in the minority on that one though. Thing is, I wasn't really exposed to most of Gabriel's stuff until after most of it had already been released - up through Up. So, the fact that many of the melodies and some of the songs on Up are recycled or repeats didn't bother me at all. I know the album is a bit aimless and it does have a bit too much noise throughout, but the emotion found in songs like I Grieve, Sky Blue, and More Than This really speaks to me.

To my death, I will maintain that In Your Eyes is one of the great mainstream pop songs of all time.

[Andrew]

The song that I can't get out of my head at the moment is Growing Up. Right now, anyway, it epitomizes the primal, sensuous qualities of PG's work. The lyrics are so evocative and fundamental in relating the cycle of birth, connection, and death:

one dot, that's on or off, defines what is and what is not, one dot
two dot, a pair of eyes, a voice, a touch, complete surprise, two dot
three dot, a trinity, a way to map the universe,
four dot, is what will make a square, a bed to build on, it's all there

on the floor there's a long wooden table
on the table there's an open book
on the page there's a detailed drawing
and on the drawing is the name i took

And the video complements and underscores wonderfully.

Edited by Andrew, 20 March 2011 - 04:20 PM.

[Andrew]

Is anyone else here familiar with Big Blue Ball? It only took 16 years to bring to fruition, but it's a nifty Real World Studio project with Gabriel, Joseph Arthur, Karl Wallinger, Sinead O'Connor, Iarla O Lionaird, and other musicians from all over the world. Fun, catchy stuff...

Edit: Oops, I don't know how I missed the dedicated thread to it - I guess a couple of you have discovered it

Edited by Andrew, 19 August 2011 - 10:27 PM.

[Andrew]

Some tour news, celebrating the 25th anniversary of So: http://petergabriel.com/livedates/

I just bought tickets to the Philly show for my kids and me. To say I'm very excited about going to my first Peter Gabriel concert would be an understatement.

[morgan1098]

Very excited about the tour. He's bringing the full band back to Red Rocks after appearing there last year on the New Blood tour.

In related news, So is getting the deluxe re-release treatment including a 3-disc set that is sure to include lots of demos and mixes, and the excellent PoV concert video is getting an upgrade as well. Sure, it would be nice if PG put out a new album, but So is a record I'll happily double-dip for.

[Overstreet]

It was bound to happen: Lloyd Dobler showed up at a Peter Gabriel concert with a boom box.

[Justin Hanvey]

yeah I read about that on Cusack's twitter. He wants everyone to "twitterbomb" Cameron Crowe and say "Work with John Cusack again!"