Peter Gabriel (1980 album) explained

Peter Gabriel
Type:Studio album
Artist:Peter Gabriel
Cover:Peter Gabriel (self-titled album, 1980 - cover art).jpg
Released:[1]
Recorded:1979
Studio:
Genre:
Label:Charisma (UK)
Mercury (US 1980)
Geffen (US 1983)
Producer:Steve Lillywhite
Prev Title:Peter Gabriel
Prev Year:1978
Next Title:Peter Gabriel
Next Year:1982

Peter Gabriel is the third solo studio album by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel, released on 30 May 1980[5] by Charisma Records. The album, produced by Steve Lillywhite, has been acclaimed as Gabriel's artistic breakthrough as a solo artist. AllMusic wrote that it established him as "one of rock's most ambitious, innovative musicians".[6]

Building on the experimental sound of his previous self-titled studio album, it saw Gabriel embracing post-punk and new wave with an art rock sensibility. Gabriel also explored more overtly political material with the anti-war song "Games Without Frontiers" (which became a No. 4 hit and remains his joint highest-charting single in the UK) and the anti-apartheid protest song "Biko", which remembered the murdered activist Steve Biko.

The album is also often referred to as Melt, owing to its cover photograph by Hipgnosis.[4] Some music streaming services currently refer to it as Peter Gabriel 3: Melt.[7]

Recording and production

When writing the album, Gabriel developed a "rhythm first" approach when writing and demoing songs for the album on an 8-track system. Synthesizer player Larry Fast introduced him to the pAiA "Programmable Drum Set", which offered full programmability, allowing Gabriel to program his own drum rhythms to build songs around during the writing process.[8] He later bought a Roland CR-78 drum machine as well for use on the album: he felt the CR-78 sounded better but was less programmable than the pAiA drum machine.[8]

Peter Gabriel hired his former bandmate in Genesis drummer Phil Collins for the recording sessions along with another drummer, Jerry Marotta. He gave them one specific demand. "Artists given complete freedom die a horrible death", he explained to Mark Blake. "So, when you tell them what they can't do, they get creative and say, 'Oh yes I can,' which is why I banned cymbals. Phil was cool about it. [Marotta] did object and it took him a while to settle in. It's like being right-handed and having to learn to write with your left."[9]

Collins played on several of the album's tracks. "Intruder" has been cited as the first prominent use of a gated reverb sound. The distinctive sound was identified via experiments by producer Steve Lillywhite, Collins and staff engineer Hugh Padgham, in response to Gabriel's request that Collins and Marotta not use cymbals during the album's sessions.[10]

Lillywhite explained: Gabriel "didn't want to use cymbals and I had been really experimenting with this ambience thing which actually started with [drummer] Kenny Morris with the first [Siouxsie and the] Banshees' album. When you listen, you can hear elements of this gated room sound, big compressed room sound that I did on the Banshees". "Padgham was my engineer when we did the Peter Gabriel album [...] but I had been pushing and experimenting before with, like the Psychedelic Furs", on "Sister Europe", [...] "all done before the Peter Gabriel album".[11] So significant and influential was the sound that it has been claimed by Gabriel, Padgham, Collins, and Lillywhite. It was cited by Public Image Ltd as an influence on the sound of their third studio album The Flowers of Romance (1981),[12] whose engineer, Nick Launay, was in turn employed by Collins to assist with his debut studio album, Face Value (1981).[12] The album was also one of the first to use the Fairlight CMI sampling synthesizer: it provides subtle sampled sounds on the album, such as those audible on "Start".[13] [14]

"I Don't Remember" had been performed on Gabriel's 1978 tour for his second studio album.[15] An earlier studio version was to be the A-side of the first 7" single released in advance of the album by Charisma in Europe and Japan, but a Charisma executive thought Robert Fripp's guitar solos were not radio-friendly. This earlier version wound up as the B-side of the advance "Games Without Frontiers" single instead in those territories. It was included on the B-sides-and-rarities compilation Flotsam And Jetsam, released in 2019. The album version of this song appeared as the A-side of a 12" single in the United States and Canada. Paul Weller, who was recording with his band the Jam in a nearby studio, contributed guitar to "And Through the Wire". Gabriel had previously said of the Jam, "I like them a lot. They're one of the new groups who have written the best songs. They're really very good."[16] He believed Weller's intense guitar style was ideal for the track.

Commenting on his lyrics, Gabriel jokingly summarised the album's themes as "the history of a decaying mind". He added: "State of mind was definitely an area of interest at the time of writing it, but I never really set out with a concept. It was merely different songs, which perhaps have fitted into one particular slant." Of "No Self Control", he said: "That's something which I've observed in myself and in other people… In a state of depression, you have to turn on the radio, or switch on the television, go to the fridge and eat, and sleeping is difficult."[17]

Upon hearing mixes of session tapes in early 1980, Atlantic Records A&R executive John Kalodner deemed the album not commercial enough for release, and recommended Atlantic drop Gabriel from its roster. "Atlantic Records didn't want to put it out at all", Gabriel told Mark Blake. "Ahmet Ertegun said, 'What do people in America care about this guy in South Africa?' and 'Has Peter been in a mental hospital?' because there was this very weird track called 'Lead a Normal Life'. They thought I'd had a breakdown and recorded a piece of crap ... I thought I'd really found myself on that record, and then someone just squashes it. I went through some primordial rejection issues."[9] As a result of the rejection, the release was pushed back from its original intended February 1980 release date so a new US deal could be secured with Mercury Records before releasing the album worldwide.[18]

Artwork

The album cover, inspired by the work of photographer Les Krims, shows an image of Gabriel in which the left side of his face appears to be melting. The effect was achieved by repeatedly taking his picture with a Polaroid SX-70 instant camera, then using various objects to smear and distort the pictures as they developed. These photos were taken in color, and the final distorted image was re-shot in black and white. Designer Storm Thorgerson said, "Peter himself joined with us at Hipgnosis in disfiguring himself by manipulating Polaroids as they 'developed' ... Peter impressed us greatly with his ability to appear in an unflattering way, preferring the theatrical or artistic to the cosmetic."[19] [20]

Release

The album was Gabriel's first and only release for Mercury Records in the United States, having been rejected by Atlantic Records, which had handled US distribution for Gabriel's first two solo studio albums and his last two studio albums with Genesis.

By the time the album was released by Mercury several months later, Kalodner – now working for the newly formed Geffen Records label and having realised his mistake – arranged for Geffen to pursue Gabriel as one of its first artist signings.[21] Geffen (at the time distributed by Atlantic sister label Warner Bros. Records) reissued the album in 1983, after Mercury's rights to it lapsed, and marketed it in the United States until 2010, when Gabriel's back catalogue was reissued independently by Real World Records. Coincidentally, Mercury is now a sister label to Geffen after Mercury's parent PolyGram merged with Geffen's parent Universal Music Group in 1999.The studio album came out as a self-titled album in the UK on 30 May 1980 on Charisma Records. A German-language version of the album, titled Ein deutsches Album (A German Album), was released simultaneously.

The album was remastered, along with most of Gabriel's catalogue, in 2002.

Critical reception

In his review for Rolling Stone, Dave Marsh described Peter Gabriel as "a tremendous record" that "sticks in the mind like the haunted heroes of the best film noirs".

In 1989, Peter Gabriel was ranked at No. 46 on Rolling Stones list of the 100 best albums of the 1980s.[22] In 2000, Q placed the album at No. 53 on its list of the "100 Greatest British Albums Ever";[23] six years later, the magazine placed it at No. 29 on its list of the 40 best albums of the 1980s.[24] In 2018, Pitchfork ranked Peter Gabriel at No. 125 on its revised and expanded list of the 200 best albums of the 1980s.[25] In 2020, Rolling Stone included this record in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising Gabriel "for a haunting LP that touches on political assassinations (“Family Snapshot”), the futility of war (“Games Without Frontiers”), and the brutal murder of South African activist Steve Biko (“Biko”). He made more popular albums after this one, but never better ones."[26]

Ein deutsches Album

Ein deutsches Album (English: A German Album), released in June 1980, is a German-language version of Peter Gabriel. Gabriel sang German vocals on top of completely new recorded instrumental and backing vocal tracks. The German lyrics are translations from the English. Two years later, Gabriel released Deutsches Album (1982), a significantly altered version of his fourth studio album Peter Gabriel (1982; known as Security in the United States and Canada). In February 1980, German-language versions of "Games Without Frontiers" and "Here Comes the Flood" were released as a single in Germany. German adaptation was done by Horst Königstein.[27]

All songs written by Peter Gabriel. "Texte" (lyrics) by Peter Gabriel translated by Horst Königstein.

Side one

  1. "Eindringling" – 5:00
  2. "Keine Selbstkontrolle" – 4:00
  3. "Frag mich nicht immer" – 6:04
    • Combines the instrumental "Start" with the German version of "I Don't Remember".
  4. "Schnappschuß (Ein Familienfoto)" – 4:26
  5. "Und durch den Draht" – 4:28

Side two

  1. "Spiel ohne Grenzen" – 4:07
  2. "Du bist nicht wie wir" – 5:32
  3. "Ein normales Leben" – 4:21
  4. "Biko" – 8:55

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Peter Gabriel liner notes.[28]

Production personnel

Charts

Chart (1980)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[29] 29
French Albums (SNEP)[30] 1

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Mic . Smith . Peter Gabriel . Peter Gabriel (1980 album) . . 2002 . 1 . booklet . . Box, Wiltshire, UK.
  2. Web site: Thomson . Graeme . Peter Gabriel – the first four solo albums remastered . . 30 October 2015 . 12 November 2020.
  3. Web site: Bahn . Christopher . Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel (a.k.a. III/Melt) . . 26 March 2007 . 12 November 2020.
  4. Web site: Peter Gabriel 3: Melt 40 Years On By Chris Roberts . . 11 October 2010 . 12 November 2020 . Roberts . Chris.
  5. Martin . Alf . Gabriel LP . Record Week . 31 May 1980 . 5 . 1 October 2023 . Morgan Grampian Ltd. . London, England, UK . English . 0144-5804 . 6459252 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210309030028/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/80s/80/Record-Mirror-1980-05-31.pdf . 9 March 2021 . Peter Gabriel's new album simply titled 'Peter Gabriel' is released on May 30..
  6. Web site: Erlewine . Stephen Thomas . Stephen Thomas Erlewine . Peter Gabriel . . 3 October 2015.
  7. Web site: Peter Gabriel 3: Melt. 23 May 1980. open.spotify.com.
  8. Blueprints For Activity. Richard. Elen. December 1979. Sound International. 23–31.
  9. Blake . Mark . Mark Blake (writer) . Cash for questions: Peter Gabriel . . 305 . 44–46 . December 2011.
  10. Flans . Robyn . Classic Tracks: Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" . dead . . 1 May 2005 . 12 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070317065230/http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_phil_collins_air/index.html . 17 March 2007.
  11. Web site: Steve Lillywhite : The John Robb interview. John Robb channel on YouTube. 2022-08-14. 2022-08-21. 30:24. I suppose the Peter Gabriel was that because he didn't want to use cymbals and I had been really experimenting with this ambience thing which actually started with Kenny Morris with the first [Siouxsie and the] Banshees' album. When you listen, you can hear elements of this gated room sound, big compressed room sound that I did on the Banshees. [...] Hugh Padgham was my engineer when we did the Peter Gabriel album which is where it first really showed its head in that form but I had been pushing and experimenting before with, like the Psychedelic Furs. You listen to "Sister Europe" by Psychedelic Furs [...], all done before the Peter Gabriel album. [...] At least, my claim has some roots from before it happened. Hugh Padgham was just a staff engineer. He could have done it any time before he worked with me but he didn't..
  12. Web site: M . Scott . Nick Launay interview . Fodderstompf . F&F Publishing . February 2003 . 24 February 2007.
  13. Synergy's "Games": Making The Moves. Larry. Fast. Larry Fast. January 1980. Polyphony. 17.
  14. https://www.outofphase.fr/en/audio-fairlight-en/ Fairlight Audio: Peter Gabriel
  15. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140630094502/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otiHcmbk01w . 2014-06-30. YouTube, a Google company . YouTube.
  16. Best magazine, May 1978; translated in Gabriel fanzine White Shadow (#1, pp 16) by editor Fred Tomsett
  17. [Capital London|Capital Radio]
  18. https://thegenesisarchive.co.uk/16/ Genesis Information Issue 16 (July 1980) page 7
  19. Classic Rock 2010 calendar
  20. Web site: Peter Gabriel 3 - Melt » Real World Galleries. realworldgalleries.com.
  21. Book: Wade . Dorothy . Picardie . Justine . Justine Picardie . Music Man: Ahmet Ertegun, Atlantic Records, and the Triumph of Rock 'n' Roll . . 1990 . 247–249 . 0-393-02635-3.
  22. 100 Best Albums of the Eighties . . 16 November 1989 . 12 November 2020.
  23. The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever! – Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel . . 165 . June 2000 . 70.
  24. 40 Best Albums of the '80s . . 241 . August 2006.
  25. Web site: The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s . . 10 September 2018 . 11 August 2020 . 4.
  26. Web site: The 80 Greatest Albums of 1980 What came out of all this was, arguably, the greatest year for great albums ever. Rolling Stone. 11 November 2020 . 12 November 2020.
  27. Web site: Peter Gabriel 45rpm Cat . 45cat.com.
  28. Peter Gabriel. Peter Gabriel. 1980. Charisma Records. CD booklet.
  29. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 120.
  30. Web site: Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – G . Infodisc.fr . fr . 9 June 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141022124902/http://infodisc.fr/Album_G.php . 22 October 2014 . Select Peter Gabriel from the menu, then press OK.