Peter Gabriel – SW Live EP – review

Along with the release of the album Secret World Live, Gabriel also released an EP on 15 August 1994 called SW Live EP. It contained four tracks – although the compilation was a little unusual.

At first, it seemed like a kind of preview of the album that was released two weeks later, a kind of advance single. But on closer inspection, it turned out that only two tracks were actually from the live album. The third was not included, and the fourth was not even from the Secret World Tour.

Reason enough to take a closer look

Red Rain and Come Talk To Me are the first two tracks and also the ones included on the album. They are exactly the same as the versions on the album, just with slightly different mastering. It is perhaps interesting to note that Come Talk To Me, which opened both the album and the concerts, has been moved to second place (the track is missing on the UK CD version of this release). The fact that Red Rain was given precedence is perhaps due to the fact that it is a little less well known and that an up-tempo number in first place might have been considered a better opener.

It is also noteworthy that although the track is included on the album, Red Rain did not appear in the standard set list for the tour and is not included in the concert film, which was also released at the same time. It was not until later, when the film was released the scond time on DVD (2012), that a clip of the track appeared for the first time in the bonus material.

The third track on the EP is somewhat the reverse. San Jacinto was included on the concert film, but not on the live album. So the EP was the only place to get an audio version of the song. On the one hand, it’s nice to be able to get it after all, but on the other hand, it’s surprising, because it’s certainly one of the central moments in the film and the musical performance on this tour is also very remarkable in some details. It’s strange that it was left off the live album.

Finally, the fourth track is Mercy Street. This certainly surprised many people at the time. The song was not part of the tour setlist at the time and was not included in the film. So what kind of special thing is it? Only when reading the small print did it become clear that the recording was not actually from the Secret World Tour. It had been made six years earlier during the tour for the So album. It is basically the same version that is included on the concert film PoV. Only the delicate synthesizer intro has been shortened a little.

This brings also the only difference in personnel from the album, as the recording and mix are by David Bottrill and Kevin Killen, with Gabriel as sole producer.

Otherwise, it’s really nice to have this live version of the song included. It’s truly impressive, developing great intensity, especially in the extended finale. In addition, the mix differs slightly from the version later released on Live in Athens. There, unfortunately, Tony Levin’s bass, which is impressively central here, was toned down. In this respect, too, it is an interesting bonus track. The idea itself remains a curiosity.

We have no information as to why this rather idiosyncratic release policy was chosen at the time. Was it simply to create an incentive to buy with exclusive material? Were there technical (length) restrictions on the album and this was chosen as a way to still release something worthwhile? Was there a special love for the track from the So tour that led to its inclusion? Questions that will probably remain unanswered.

Author: Thomas Schrage, August 2025

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Tracklist

1 Red Rain 6:15
2 Come Talk To Me 6:13 *
3 San Jacinto 8:27
4 Mercy Street 9:17
total 30:12

* missing on the UK CD