Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Atlantic
SD 19181
(1978)
Rock/Pop
LP, 11
Tracks, 41:29
Length
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01 |
On The Air |
Peter Gabriel |
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05:30 |
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Recording Date
1978
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02 |
D.I.Y. |
Peter Gabriel |
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02:37 |
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Recording Date
1978
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03 |
Mother Of Violence |
Peter Gabriel; Jill Gabriel |
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03:10 |
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Recording Date
1978
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04 |
A Wonderful Day In A One-Way World |
Peter Gabriel |
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03:33 |
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Recording Date
1978
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05 |
White Shadow |
Peter Gabriel |
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05:14 |
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Recording Date
1978
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06 |
Indigo |
Peter Gabriel |
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03:30 |
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Recording Date
1978
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07 |
Animal Magic |
Peter Gabriel |
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03:26 |
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Recording Date
1978
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08 |
Exposure |
Peter Gabriel; Robert Fripp |
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04:12 |
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Recording Date
1978
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09 |
Flotsam And Jetsam |
Peter Gabriel |
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02:17 |
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Recording Date
1978
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10 |
Perspective |
Peter Gabriel |
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03:23 |
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Recording Date
1978
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11 |
Home Sweet Home |
Peter Gabriel |
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04:37 |
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Recording Date
1978
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Packaging |
Standard LP sleeve |
Sound |
Stereo |
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Vocals |
Peter Gabriel |
Synthesizer |
Larry Fast |
Guitar |
Robert Fripp |
Bass |
Tony Levin |
Drums |
Jerry Marotta |
Producer |
Robert Fripp |
Cover by |
Hipgnosis |
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Index |
#
1234 |
Owner |
Dave |
Tags |
Alternative Rock, Art Rock, Prog Rock |
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The pairing sounds ideal -- the former front man of Genesis, as produced by the leading light of King Crimson. Unfortunately, Peter Gabriel's second album (like his first, eponymous) fails to meet those grandiose expectations, even though it seems to at first. "On the Air" and "D.I.Y." are stunning slices of modern rock circa 1978, bubbling with synths, insistent rhythms, and polished processed guitars, all enclosed in a streamlined production that nevertheless sounds as large as a stadium. Then, things begin to drift, at first in a pleasant way ("A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World" is surprisingly nimble), but by the end, it all seems a little formless. It's not that the music is overly challenging -- it's that the record is unfocused. There are great moments scattered throughout the record, yet it never captivates, either through intoxicating, messy creativity (as he did on his debut) or through cohesion (the way the third Peter Gabriel album, two years later, would). Certain songs work well on their own -- not just the opening numbers, but the mini-epic "White Shadow," the tight "Animal Magic," the tense yet catchy "Perspective," the reflective closer "Home Sweet Home" -- yet for all the tracks that work, they never work well together. Ironically, it holds together a bit better than its predecessor, yet it never reaches the brilliant heights of that record. In short, it's a transitional effort that's well worth the time of serious listeners, even it's still somewhat unsatisfying. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)
One of those records that is diminished by the printed lyrics that are its reason for being. Musically, Gabriel combines with producer Robert Fripp for alert art-rock that gets down around atonality rather than jumping into the astral-noodle soup, with Roy Bittan's romantic flourishes as welcome as "D.I.Y.," a hard-rock landmark in a hard-rock year. But even though it makes you sit up when it comes on the radio, it's basically program music, designed to support words as elitist (and programmatic) as the social commentary Gabriel used to essay in his Genesis days. Remember the immortal words of Chuck Berry: beware of middlebrows bearing electric guitars. B- -- Robert Christgau