Peter Gabriel
- Thread starter STN
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Benny Bunter
Well-known member
Know fuck all about him either but I can say I've got a soft spot for "Don't give up" with Kate Bush. More to do with Kate though obviously...
I was quite obsessed with his music as a teenager, but can't really tolerate it now. Seems pretty "worthy" and dull, generally. But if you have any specific questions, sadly I can probably answer them. 
Outside his pop albums he got some (justified, IMO) praise in certain circles for 'Passion', the expanded soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ. It's probably not exactly appropriate for the settings of that movie, with all kinds of weird amalgams of West African music, North African / Moorish type stuff, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan doing Qawalli singing over massive surging drones, etc.
Gabriel gets a lot of shit for being big into "world music" (in the least charitable sense) but he at least attempted what sounds like genuine synthesis of a whole lot of influences into his own music, rather than just doing 'Graceland'.
He's certainly done nothing worth looking into since 'Passion', which, from memory, was 1991.
Outside his pop albums he got some (justified, IMO) praise in certain circles for 'Passion', the expanded soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ. It's probably not exactly appropriate for the settings of that movie, with all kinds of weird amalgams of West African music, North African / Moorish type stuff, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan doing Qawalli singing over massive surging drones, etc.
Gabriel gets a lot of shit for being big into "world music" (in the least charitable sense) but he at least attempted what sounds like genuine synthesis of a whole lot of influences into his own music, rather than just doing 'Graceland'.
He's certainly done nothing worth looking into since 'Passion', which, from memory, was 1991.
Grievous Angel
Beast of Burden
Yup, I'm with you.
I quote like 'em when Chester Thompson takes over the drumming too.
Paul, if you haven't heard Genesis' Seconds Out, which is a late period live LP, you really should.
Well, Carpet Crawlers at least - mentally good prog.
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Solo Gabriel - start with the Bomb Squad remix of Sledgehammer and work out from there. Lots of self indulgent wank but plenty of choooooons.
Grievous Angel
Beast of Burden
Oooh, that sounds fabulous! And very sample-able...
Ness Rowlah
Norwegian Wood
First few solo albums are OK, although the first one is a bit overproduced. Bob Ezrin was using the same tricks he had used on Lou Reed's "Berlin" and Alice Cooper's early '70s albums; but what worked for Alice and Lou did not work out that well for PG I think.
Compare the version of "Here Comes the Flood" of Robert Fripp's "Exposure" album versus the one on PG's first solo to get the idea.
The second one (aka "Scratch") is my favourite, probably because it was the first one I got.
wasnt it gabes who introduced kate to the synclavier, thus resulting in a ( great fking ) record ( hounds of luv ) with no cymbals or hi-hats ?
if true , this is more than enough to save him ! hounds of love ! the dreaming ! i mean ... !
sledgehammer was pretty hot for rock radio back in teh day , too , gotta admit
in his histroical context , gabriel was vry solid , and he pushed fwd in his own way
early solo records were good , for sure (jenks!) , hv no idea if they aged well tho ... been ages
he did good things for traditional musicians too , this is documnted
if true , this is more than enough to save him ! hounds of love ! the dreaming ! i mean ... !
sledgehammer was pretty hot for rock radio back in teh day , too , gotta admit
in his histroical context , gabriel was vry solid , and he pushed fwd in his own way
early solo records were good , for sure (jenks!) , hv no idea if they aged well tho ... been ages
he did good things for traditional musicians too , this is documnted
Grievous Angel
Beast of Burden
Yeah I totally agree. I believe he did intro KB to synclavier, reputedly while having an affair with her.
empty mirror
remember the jackalope
yes this. those first three nameless solo records are good.
and yeah bush + gabriel is good: games without frontiers comes to mind
and of course, gabriel era genesis is good stuff though it has taken an effort, to be honest, to get into it
lamb lays down on broadway!
Yep yep, actually a Fairlight if you care about such things. It's all over PG's third and fourth records too along with the omnipresent Linn Drum drum machine - very weird-sounding productions indeed. Accounts of zillions of metres of tape being churned through as he mixed and remixed those albums to death.
KB sings backing on two songs off the third album, as well as Don't Give Up off 'So', mentioned above. (According to some biography I read, PG actually wanted a country singer to duet on that one... can't remember who... Bush was his second choice, anyway)
There's also some (weird) dispute over whether Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins developed the effect "gated reverb". I think the first recording using that effect on drums (c.f. that drum break off In The Air Tonight) is Phil drumming on Gabriel's Intruder.
craner
Beast of Burden
Having recoverd suffeciantly, thanks to some fine and underpaid local nurses, I'd like to direct you all to this recent destruction of Genesis by none other than Taylor Parkes:
http://taylor-parkes.livejournal.com/23562.html
http://taylor-parkes.livejournal.com/23562.html
u call that a 'destruction' ? hahaha that's funny u must have gradduated frum the school of reel gud argumentaiotion
cute but meaningless prattle is more like it , no ? the guy says notthing about the music ( wuld it be 2 much to ask for a uk music dude to talk about actual musics for once ? ) , only they're funny=looking english public school boys in costumes they're CUNTS, there is an AIR OF TWATTISNESS , etc ,
ppl, plz, u know i am jus playin )
cute but meaningless prattle is more like it , no ? the guy says notthing about the music ( wuld it be 2 much to ask for a uk music dude to talk about actual musics for once ? ) , only they're funny=looking english public school boys in costumes they're CUNTS, there is an AIR OF TWATTISNESS , etc ,
ppl, plz, u know i am jus playin )