Peter Gabrial "Up"

[~Quixote Chapter]

I just picked up my copy of ...umm"Up," and I'd just like to share with all of you how awesome this album is! It's at once classic Peter Gabriel yet still very fresh and different. Lush and intimate, and beautiful, and catchy, and strange, and powerfully emotional, and everything else you would expect for this wonderfull genius of an artist! It's electronic and organic at the same time, something many of us synthpop producers could take a lesson on. Gabriae seamlessly incorporates so many elements into his pop music. I invite all of the producers who read this to put down their midi controllers and pick up a can of rice, or a pot to bang on, or anything that's not meant to be played, and play it!,in front of their mics in honor of making electronic music different and interesting like our brother Peter!

Inspiring!

-Kevin

[test]

I have been looking forward to this album for a long time and I hope to grab a copy tonight after work. Thanks for giving me more incentive to go pick it up!

[~MGun]

What more incentive is there than it being Peter Gabriel, the man has wowed us with his solo career for 25 years. (Yes, it's been one quarter of a century since Solsbury Hill.) "Up" is a masterpiece right alongside with "So" and "Us". (If you don't have these either than go pick them up immediately). Definitely among the top albums of the year, if not the finest.

[~cliffwalk]

I haven't picked the album up yet, will probably this weekend...

However, I've heard the two singles.

He's uncompromising.

It's so nice to have musicians like him to breath life into music in general. Especially Pop music. I wish the other 99.99% of pop music would stare at the same overwhelming bar and ask to have it raised an extra inch before jumping.

Why does Peter Gabriel sell? Because he's guaranteed to satisfy his audience. How someone can be so abstract and accessible at the same time without coming off pretentious... wow.

Dave

[~matrix]

I am gonna grap my copy tonight as well. Thanks for the heads up!

[~Mike Gjennestad]

i got it this morning, it is absolutely fabulous. and yes mr. gabriel satisfies his audience, his only problem he doesn't satisfy them often enough. hahahha, this is a definite for anyone that is a music connesiuer (don't think i spelled that right) but it is just freakin' awesome


gjennmike

[~cliffwalk]

Originally posted by Mike Gjennestad
i got it this morning, it is absolutely fabulous. and yes mr. gabriel satisfies his audience, his only problem he doesn't satisfy them often enough. hahahha, this is a definite for anyone that is a music connesiuer (don't think i spelled that right) but it is just freakin' awesome


gjennmike

to be honest i think too many artists don't work long enough on their stuff.... kate bush is one of my favorite examples... she refuses to release a piece of music until she's excited about it.

that takes years to find the music to do... some are able to be more prolific than others however with 3 albums (minus his singles, soundtracks, and work with genesis) Peter Gabriel is considered a giant and commands a level of respect very rare...

i admire the hell out of that.

dave

[~Quixote Chapter]

Originally posted by cliffwalk


to be honest i think too many artists don't work long enough on their stuff.... kate bush is one of my favorite examples... she refuses to release a piece of music until she's excited about it.

that takes years to find the music to do... some are able to be more prolific than others however with 3 albums (minus his singles, soundtracks, and work with genesis) Peter Gabriel is considered a giant and commands a level of respect very rare...

i admire the hell out of that.

dave

I definitly agree with you here. I get the feeling Peter Gabriel veiws musicianship as a fine and complex art. Which strangely is missing from a lot of music that is released today. Maybe music has become too accessable with modern technology, so much so that some of us have stopped appreciating it for what it can be, how wonderful and beautiful it can be. It takes an album like "UP" to snap us free from the grasp of the ordinary. All of this is sociosonic conjecture of course. I guess an album like this gets my mind tapping as well as my feet.

-Kevin

[~Mike Gjennestad]

yeah i agree with you cliff, i really appreciate the effort he puts into his music, and it is well worth the wait. but peter gabriel does have more than 3 albums not counting singles soundtracks and genesis work. he has i think 7 if i am counting off the top of my head correctly.

gjennmike

[~cliffwalk]

Two points:

(a) I, II, III, Security, So, Us, Up (Seven). You are correct and I'm staring at them all. (He's actually a bit of a hero) I had a brain fart while typing that message or something.

(b) Yes. Music CAN be high art (frankly, I love it like that, its endless possibilities). But high art very rarely makes it onto contemporary radio. I've said in other posts. People don't listen to music as intentely as they used to. Once again, returning to a fine arts charged area, very healthy for my mind... it's explaining to me WHY my job made me want to kill small animals sometimes... we live in a world where the lowest common denominator appears to rule... but... there's other ways to lead your life... Peter Gabriel is one of those rare bridges... I love that.

Dave

[~MGun]

I've never listened to the albums I, II, or III. Can you tell us if they would be worth buying, consider that Security didn't impress me excepting for I Have The Touch and Shock The Monkey. I've heard and liked Solsbury Hill, I Don't Remember, Biko, Family Snapshot, and Games Without Frontiers. Are the first three albums all sounding like that, or are those songs really the only gems on them?

[~cliffwalk]

Well that's totally subjective. I LOVE I, II, III, and Security because that particular time (IN MUSIC, more Avante gard music, to be exact) had very specific session players that I truly love (Tony Levin and Robert Fripp being the two biggest names that come to mind but there's a bunch). I think PG did a great job of filling the shoes for his arrangements...

Judge for yourself, frankly... I think it's all good... I'm yet to hear one of his songs that doesn't floor me. I take that back. Big Time, brilliant, but I'm about ready to toss that particular chunk of data out the window because I used to play it in a band and it was on the radio so much (thus, I'm sick to death of it) In Your Eyes is sort of the same way... I've performed it, I've heard it a million times... it's still brilliant but I'm starting to lose my love for it out of sheer repetition.

Dave

Dave

[~MGun]

Thanks Dave, so I am assuming that your answer to my question would be Yes....not too clear as to how I was being subjective though. Maybe someday I will give I, II, and III a try. Especially III.

[~cliffwalk]

You weren't being subjective, you were asking a question that has only a subjective answer..

If you like the songs you listed then there's a good chance you'll like the rest of 1, II, and III however one thing to keep in mind is that on his first few solo Albums Gabriel was releasing a few years of artistic frustration (Solsbury Hill ... the line "Step out of the machinery".... has some irony to it whether it was intentional or not)

Anyways, there's quite a bit of diversity... maybe a bit less artistically refined than his earlier stuff because he was still learning how to be experimental AND still keep a song together.

dave

[~cliffwalk]

Another appendix, just to add honesty...

Gabriel is a lot like David Sylvian and I REALLY DIG THIS ABOUT HIM BECAUSE IT'S THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE:

His newer stuff is better than his older stuff.

Pure and simple. You can hear his growth from album to album.

Dave

[~MGun]

I've never heard any songs from II, don't know why there wasn't anything on Shaking The Tree, but I do love the songs from III, so I am assuming that would be the best place to start.

[~spi]

"Up" is ranked #1 on Amazon.com Top 100 at the moment. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/538588/ref=m_mh_mn_ct/002-2194544-1280005

I have to admit I don't remember hearing any Peter Gabriel ever before. Maybe I will go pick up the CD soon. ;)

Okay I lied. I have heard some Peter Gabriel songs before I just didn't recognize them as such. In Your Eyes for example. Now I will have to go get some of his CDs
-steve

[~MGun]

spi, pick up UP, SO, and US. All are masterpieces that please nearly all audiences, though they are several years apart they still cary the same soothing charm, along with the upbeat songs (Steam, Sledgehammer, Big Time, and The Barry Williams Show) that made him so popular and famous.

Oh Yeah, also pick up Shaking The Tree, in fact if you've never heard anything from him before and are absolutely new to him then this would be the best place to start. It has his best hits all the way up to 1990. For some reason though he didn't include the song In Your Eyes. So those four albums should pretty much do it for a general PG collection.

[7red7]

I couldn't agree with you more Luke, So and Us are easily up there for me I can say that much...I had completely forgotten the new album dropped yesterday, I gotta get it tonight, oooh yeah an ecuse to do a little music shopping and hit up the local Starbucks!!!

Yes my life is that exciting...Music and Starbucks, what could be better :D

[~Mike Gjennestad]

yeah his first 3 albums are really a different feel than the last 3. at lest the mood that they create. now don't think that that makse them less good. because they are all excellent. and just like dave said, they are real masterpieces from their time period. which is 20-25 years ago.


gjennmike

[~cliffwalk]

Gabriel really works in spurts which is smart... he never lets himself burn out ... I'm just so inspired by how fresh he remains... After finally listening to the new album I am starting to wonder if he's not my new hero ... (he's always been "A HERO".. he may now be "THE HERO") I mean, wow... I can't think of a "POP" artist that has moved me more... ¤¤¤¤ing brilliant.

Dave

[~pop]

I am buying this cd. I downloaded darkness. Wow... This old man still rocks... He gives me motivation to achieve higher level.

[7red7]

Exactly, it's like I said before, there aren't many people who'm I'd consider to be genius's when it comes to music, but Gabriel is easily up there with them I can honestly say that :)

[~cliffwalk]

Originally posted by pop
I am buying this cd. I downloaded darkness. Wow... This old man still rocks... He gives me motivation to achieve higher level.

Ditto, my same exact take away... he reminds me that I need to put about a million times more depth into what I write... take the time to make every note, sound, effect, etc have a reason for being in the track... a good reason.

He has a rather LIMITED voice and he does more with it than any other artist (it's still a great sounding voice but his range, strength, etc. isn't exactly striking, he's just incredible at using what he has)

I'm erect.

Dave

[~MGun]

Very well said Cliffwalk, who knows how long he'll be at it? Maybe even until he's the richest man on Earth, we all know he deserves to be. You can tell he does tend to perfect his albums, which is maybe why they are several years inbetween. They have to be just the way he likes it. And the way we like it too.

[~Mike Gjennestad]

i have listened to this album art least 4 times each day since i bought it on tuesday. can't seem to take it out of the player. more than worth the wait. i sure hope he has started his next one.


gjennmike

[~MGun]

Here's a semi-humorous link I found explaining why it took a decade for the new album to come out.

http://homepages.tesco.net/~david.pye/up.htm

[7red7]

So thats where he's been, he's been taking care of all of his kids...Pregnant every album, man his family must be huge by now :laugh:

[~platformone]

My exbandmate Dan once said " I believe Peter Gabriel has moved so far ahead he is actually part of music now. He is like a chord, a intricate part of the music itself."

It's true. Peter Gabriel is just so completely amazing. This album, this piece of art is just more proof that there is no limit to how good and how long a person can create.

Also - If you're interested David Sylvians " dead bees on a cake" is wonderfully brilliant, and Bob Geldofs " sex, age and death" is also good...a bit painful and honest. But really good.

I hope I have the creative freedom they do - when I reach those ages. Three cheers to them and to anyone else who survives the test of time and fickle fans.

[~cliffwalk]

Also - If you're interested David Sylvians " dead bees on a cake" is wonderfully brilliant, and Bob Geldofs " sex, age and death" is also good...a bit painful and honest. But really good.

I hope I have the creative freedom they do - when I reach those ages. Three cheers to them and to anyone else who survives the test of time and fickle fans.[/b]

DBOC is brilliant. "Darkrest Dreaming" has to be the most incredible modern "Torch Song" I've ever heard.

I agree, these musicians blend in as part of the artistic landscape but they really define where music should be going. Sylvian got as personally as anyone would want to get on his albums... He goes straight for his own spiritual evolution... I wore that CD out but I sure as hell knew the guy when I was done. I'm glad he took about 10 years to make it, the life he wrote about took about 10 years to mature into what it is/was.

Dave

[~fen]

http://www.livedaily.citysearch.com/news/4451.html
(new tour for UP....GrowingUpLive)
http://www.livedaily.citysearch.com/artist/1438.html
(a decent concise bio)

the man IS brilliant, as previously stated.
anyone know anything about the purple aluminum in his studio for conductivity?
one of the best lines from US/BloodOfEden:
Is that a dagger or a crucifix I see, You hold so tightly in your hand. And all the while the distance grows between you and me
I do not understand.

(DavidSylvian also. and yes, DarkestDreaming is one of my faves ever.)

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