Peter Gabriel (1978)

Scratching at greatness, this is a study in light and dark featuring modern rock songs and achingly sad songs too.

Kronomyth 2.0: Stepping one beyond your show.

The first Peter Gabriel album was an airing out of ideas, a changing of costumes and, surprisingly, a right bore about half the time. It still stands as one of the biggest disappointments to me, especially given the participation of Bob Ezrin, the reigning king of concept albums. The followup, known as Peter Gabriel II, was a modern rock record produced by Robert Fripp that was a tastier box of chocolates in every way. You had achingingly sad songs (Mother of Violence, Home Sweet Home), edgy rock songs (D.I.Y., On the Air, Perspective, Animal Magic), and avant-garde experiments (Exposure) without a sour quince log in the lot. (I’m looking at you, “Waiting for the Big One.”) For reasons that I can’t readily explain, I return to this album more often than any other Peter Gabriel album. It’s not because it’s his best album; his third album and So would get the nod there. It’s not because it’s his most accessible album because, here again, So is very accessible. I suspect it has something to do with the range of emotions on Peter Gabriel II. By turns, he’s sad, angry, smart, and silly on this album, and that checks off a lot of boxes for me. I wouldn’t say Gabriel found his voice on this album, since he’s never made another like it. He did find a sympathetic producer in Fripp (just listen to his remake of “Here Comes the Flood.”) Maybe it has to do with the fact that Gabriel wasn’t a musician and Fripp was a musician’s musician (or a magician’s musician.) Around the same time, Fripp was also working with Daryl Hall (yes, of Hall & Oates), Peter Hammill (of Van Der Graaf Generator) and David Bowie, adding a kind of avant-garde credibility to their ideas. Which isn’t to say that Gabriel wasn’t pursuing his own avant-garde vision, as his next album clearly proves. But Fripp provided the gilding to Gabriel’s good ideas, and it’s that combination that set the golden age of Peter Gabriel into motion.

Original elpee version

A1. On The Air (5:30)
A2. D.I.Y. (2:37)
A3. Mother of Violence (Peter and Jill Gabriel) (3:10)
A4. A Wonderful Day In A One-Way World (3:33)
A5. White Shadow (5:14)
B1. Indigo (3:30)
B2. Animal Magic (3:26)
B3. Exposure (Peter Gabriel/Robert Fripp) (4:12)
B4. Flotsam And Jetsam (2:17)
B5. Perspective (3:23)
B6. Home Sweet Home (4:37)

All songs written by Peter Gabriel unless noted.

The Players

Peter Gabriel (lead vocals, background vocals, synthesizer, piano), Bayete (keyboards), Roy Bittan (keyboards), Larry Fast (synthesizer & treatments), Robert Fripp (electric guitar, Frippertronics), Tony Levin (bass, background vocals, string bass, recorder arrangements, Chapman stick), Jerry Marotta (drums, background vocals), Sidney McGinnis (electric guitar, steel guitar, background vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin) with Timmy Capello (saxophone), George Marge (recorders). Produced by Robert Fripp.

The Plastic

Released on elpee on June 22, 1978 in the UK (Charisma, CDS 4013), the US (Atlantic, SD 19181), France (Charisma, 9103 123), Germany, Italy and the Netherlands (Charisma, 9124 025) and Japan (Charisma, 20S-101) with lyric inner sleeve or insert. Reached #10 on the UK charts and #45 on the US charts.

1. Re-packaged with Peter Gabriel 1 on 2-for-1 cassette in March 1983 in the UK (Charisma, 102).
2. Re-issued on elpee in March 1984 in the UK (Charisma, CHC24) and in 1984 in Japan (Charisma, 25VB-1121).
3. Re-issued on compact disc in May 1987 in the UK and the Netherlands (Charisma, PGCD 2) and in the US (Atlantic, 19181-2).
4. Re-issued on elpee in 1988 in Japan (Charisma, VJL-145).
5. Re-released on remastered compact disc on April 29, 2003 in the US (Geffen, 493300), in 2003 in the UK (EMI/Virgin, SAPGCD2), in 2003 in Germany (EMI/Virgin, 811676) and in Japan (EMI/Virgin, VJCP-68522).