Peter Gabriel Radio Show

Original Airdate: Circa 2011

Intro

      Welcome to “Andy See’s History of an Artist” in which I try to give a through overview of an artist’s career within an hour.  Today’s artist is one you probably know for only one album, but most of his library is pretty good.  I never did do a show on early Genesis, but I will do a show on Peter Gabriel’s solo career.  Even after he found mainstream success with “So”, he decided to go down a less marketable path, jettisoning his popularity.  Even with that in mind, I think you’ll enjoy today’s show

Solsbury Hill

      A lot of Progressive-Rock songs are about subjects that may be difficult to determine.  However, the meaning of this song is pretty clear.  It details the reasons why Gabriel had to leave Genesis.  The song is called Solsbury Hill.
      Other great songs from Gabriel’s self-titled debut album include Moribund the Bugermeister and Here comes the Flood. The album was pretty successful, going gold in the UK and making it to #38 in the USA.

Family Snapshot

      Unfortunately, I don’t have access to the second Peter Gabriel album - you should listen to On the Air, D.I.Y., and Indigo, if you get the chance. The second album didn’t sell as well as the first, so Atlantic Records wanted him to make a “more commercial” third album. Like Rush did with "2112", Gabriel responded by making an album totally from the heart, that fully expressed his artistic vision. The songs were bleak and powerful, and full of sounds that were totally new for 1980. Of course, Atlantic Records hated it and refused to distribute it. Fortunately for all music fans, Mercury Records (coincidentally, the company that employed Rush until 1987) picked it up, and it went to #1 in the UK and was also gold in the USA.
      This next song was inspired after Gabriel read “An Assassin’s Diary” written by Arthur Bremer who attempted to assassinate pro-segregationist governor George Wallace in 1972.  It’s also been associated with the JFK assassination.  Prepare yourselves for Family Snapshot.
      According to what Gabriel said at a Seattle concert in 1983, it’s probably about the assassinations of both Kennedy and Wallace. Music critic George Starosin said that somebody ought to write a thesis on this song.

Games without Frontiers

      This next song may seem innocent, but it is actually a critique of war which the song portrays as childish and silly.  Speaking of which, the song title is the English name of a long running European game show where children from other countries would dress in elaborate costumes and play hilarious games.  It’s called Games without Frontiers.
      At some point, Gabriel would have a Top 40 hit in the states.  Unfortunately, this wasn’t the day as Games without Frontiers only made it to 48th.  Here’s a silly little fact, did you know that when I heard this song as a kid, I thought the woman’s voice was saying “she saw front-feeling”.  What’s that you say, that didn’t make any sense?  Yeah, you’re right – actually it’s French for the song title.

Biko

      Younger people may not know about this, but there was once something called Apartheid in South Africa.  Lasting for 42 painful years, it not only took away many rights from black people that our Jim Crow laws also did, it made it so blacks couldn’t even live with whites. Steve Biko, an anti-apartheid protester was essentially murdered by the South African government in the summer of 1977. This song is called Biko.
      Apartheid wasn’t removed until 1991.  I’ll bet even today, there’s still a lot hatred of black people there.  I know there still is in this country, as well. By the way, this was the first song by a rock artist to feature South African singers, well before Paul Simon’s “Graceland.”

The Rhythm of the Heat

      Gabriel had been getting more interested in world music and traditional cultures.  On his fourth album (called Security here in the USA and Canada, but it’s his fourth self-titled album everywhere else in the world) several songs, like San Jacinto and The Family and the Fishing Net are about the clash between traditional and modern cultures.  Based on the experiences of Carl Jung in Africa, let’s hear The Rhythm of the Heat.
      The influence of world beat music is in many of Gabriel’s songs. He was a pioneer in this type of music, and he has stayed involved, starting the WOMAD (world of music and dance) festivals.

Shock the Monkey

      According to the back of the Security album that I have at home, this next song is Gabriel’s interpretation of the compulsive mid-1960’s Motown Rhythms.  It also had a “Relentlessly repeated Hook” that “Sounded nothing like else on radio at the time” (according to Allmusic). You may already know that this song is Shock the Monkey.
      A lot of people think this is an animal rights song, but Gabriel himself said that this was something of a love song, about how jealously can release one’s most primal instincts. This song also had a sensational music video, which one critic said was “scarier than most horror movies.” Whatever it was about, it finally gave Gabriel his first Top 40 hit (29th).  Other great songs on "Security" include I have the Touch and Wallflower.

Sledgehammer

      Despite having exactly five Top 40 hits in his entire career, Gabriel actually had a #1 hit.  It was on "So", his blockbuster album. This song was #1 on July 26, 1986.  Sounding like a 1960’s soul song, here’s Sledgehammer.
      Why did it get to number one?  Well, I think it has something to do with the lyrics.  There are some meanings in there that the children just aren’t going to get (thankfully).  I know I didn’t get it when I was a child, and I listened to this song over and over again. Also, the music video was one of the most memorable ever, using colorful and creative claymation to illustrate the song’s lyrics.

In Your Eyes

      If you’re the type of person who enjoys love songs (although I doubt that there are that many of you out there since you’re listening to this) then this is definitely the song for you.  Of course, this is more like an African Love Song, so here’s In Your Eyes.
      This was used in the 1989 movie Say Anything… where the heartbroken character Lloyd Dobler serenaded his ex-girlfriend Diane Court outside her bedroom by holding a boombox above his head and playing the song for her.  It’s often called one of the most romantic scenes in movie history.  If you tried that today though, you’d be arrested for playing 80’s music in public.  The music video had a woman in it that MST3Kies will immediately recognize as Nuveena from the GM short Design for Dreaming.

Big Time

      The 1980’s was the start of our current spell of greed.  Ronald Regan pretty much deregulated Wall Street, creating a new class of super rich that will not stop raking in obsene amounts of money, whether the Republicans or Democrats are in power.  Gabriel wrote a song criticizing that.  It’s called Big Time.
      Unsurprisingly, this was also a very danceable song.  The music video, was another showcase of the power of colorful claymation. It was Gabriel’s second and final Top Ten hit making it to eighth.  Other great songs on So include Red Rain and Don’t Give up.  "So" went five times platinum in the USA, possibly selling better than all of his other albums combined.

Steam

      It took a full six years for Gabriel to come up with a follow-up.  The album was called Us and Gabriel said it was “about relationships”.  If you can’t figure out what this song is about, it’s something that is hot, steamy and…well, use your imagination. Here’s “Steam”.
      Editing Note: The first video is the actual music video.  However, that video may very well be NSFW.  If you are afraid (or are too young for the material in the music video) the second video is just the song.
      Okay, if you thought Sledgehammer had some things in it that made it so maybe the children shouldn’t listen to it, then Steam is pretty much porn.  There is a lo-fi take on this song called Quiet Steam on the B-side of our next song.

Digging in the Dirt

      If you listen to the lyrics, you can hear someone who’s trying to find the love that he originally had in their relationship. His lover has obviously betrayed him, and he is MAD. Not surprisingly, his marriage to his long-time wife, Jill, ended not long before he recorded this song. This song is called Digging in the Dirt.
      After "Us", Gabriel waited ten years to put out another album, the post 9-11 "Up".  This was another complex album, but since every song (except for The Drop, but it’s certainly inaccessible to most people) is over six minutes long I can’t put any of them on this show for capacity reasons.  Gabriel is still active as an artist, and in fact was nominated for an Academy Award for the song “Down to Earth” from the movie WALL-E. Recently, he made a cover album called Scratch my Back where he would cover songs from six modern artists and six older ones, and they would all cover one of his songs.  Unfortunately, the latter part of that deal is running into some problems.  Still, no matter what Peter Gabriel album you get, you’re getting at least a good album, and probably some creative and original ideas.