Your favorite PETER GABRIEL solo albums

I haven't voted, as I don't really feel I'm a big enough fan of PG for it to matter, but my favourites are 1 (Car), and 2 (Scratch). my third would be 4 (Security) purely for the 2 outstanding songs on it, Wallflower and Lay your hands on me, and despite Shock the Monkey, PG's "Whodunnit"!

Quote from foxfeeder

I haven't voted, as I don't really feel I'm a big enough fan of PG for it to matter, but my favourites are 1 (Car), and 2 (Scratch). my third would be 4 (Security) purely for the 2 outstanding songs on it, Wallflower and Lay your hands on me, and despite Shock the Monkey, PG's "Whodunnit"!

Shock The Monkey being PG`s Whodunnit?

I could not disagree more.

I am surprised to see, that quite a few people like Scratch, which I find completely unacessable even though I saw PG during that tour (on television, WDR Rockpalast Night that was...)

Quote from slowdancer

Shock The Monkey being PG`s Whodunnit?

I could not disagree more.

I am surprised to see, that quite a few people like Scratch, which I find completely unacessable even though I saw PG during that tour (on television, WDR Rockpalast Night that was...)

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Why do you find it inaccessible? It contains Games Without Frontiers & Biko! Phil's on it! There is not a bad track. Shock The Monkey on the other hand I don't like much either.

Quote from FeelItComing

Why do you find it inaccessible? It contains Games Without Frontiers & Biko! Phil's on it! There is not a bad track. Shock The Monkey on the other hand I don't like much either.

Scratch is 2, and has On The Air and DIY. Melt (3) is the one with Games and Biko.

Quote from A Whorish Ant

Scratch is 2, and has On The Air and DIY. Melt (3) is the one with Games and Biko.

Good grief. (Hangs head in shame). Sorry.

Quote from FeelItComing

Good grief. (Hangs head in shame). Sorry.

No problem. I have learned a new word: inaccessible not unacessable.

I have a lot of affection for 2/Scratch. It has a slightly odd feel, which I like. It feels like an artist in transition, and interesting things can happen in that scenario. It has one of my absolute favourite PG tracks, White Shadow. Mother of Violence is another favourite.

Really tough choices but I think overall Scratch is my favorite followed by Car and Passion. Melt and Security are great but I have to be in the mood for them. So is awesome but there’s a few songs on there I’m not into.

My favorite song by Gabriel is the live version of San Jacinto from Secret World Live. Unbelievable.

^

Really good call on the live San Jacinto. It's my favourite PG track anyway but that and the Growing Up live versions are excellent.

It's good to see someone go for 2, it seems a bit overlooked a lot of the time.

Passion is his masterpiece. A 67min slice of perfection. Tender, driving, moving, contemplative, soothing, sinuous - but above all unified, a complete, whole work. My 3rd favourite album of all time. Genius.

I was listening to SO the other day and I must say, in time it has decreased considerably in my list. I remember it had a huge impact on me, when it was released. It was Peter returning to a more traditional song structure but it hasn't aged well with me, although I still love Red Rain and I believe it is one of his best vocal performances, the other songs suffer of that infamous mid 80s flaws that spoiled a lot of music for me back then.

I think it's a major part of the point of that song; the oniric, hypnotic effect prompted by the repetition of Red Rain. It's OK not to like it but personally, I think it's the song that aged the best and again he sings it in an incredible way, although he was in top form vocally, throughout that whole record. Other songs are nice but proved to be a bit too lightweight for my money.

So is flawless and no less.

Red Rain is my second favourite track from So after Sledgehammer although I do understand the point about the repettion. It's meant to be hypnotic.

Quote from FeelItComing

Red Rain is my second favourite track from So after Sledgehammer although I do understand the point about the repettion. It's meant to be hypnotic.

Sledgehammer is a classic but it's been so overplayed I can hardly enjoy it anymore. I prefer his songs when they make me work a bit for them. It took me years for instance to appreciate stuff like Us, the title track , or Lay your hands on me or the family and fishing net but it was definitely worth it. I can go back to these songs, after decades and they still sound fresh to me,

Quote from StillCan'tDance

There's not much on there that I like

I am with you on this one, apart from the obvious Solsbury Hill and then Humdrum and Here comes the flood there's not much there which imo stands out or stands the test of time. Considering how he left the band, being basically considered as the main man and the anticipation surrounding its release, personally I believe the album was a bit of a let down. Things improved only slightly with PGII.

I think the consensus on 1 and 2 is of a new solo artist finding his way. He really hit his stride on 3 and 4, but had to make his way through the inconsistent 1 and 2 to get there. You could probably get a decent composite album out of the best bits of 1 and 2. Humdrum is the standout track for me on 1, while I find 2 generally quite a bit more interesting as a whole - DIY, Mother Of Violence, White Shadow, Indigo and Exposure are all strong tracks for me.

So has never really done it for me. I find that Red Rain, repetition and all, and Milgram's are the only ones that really hit home. I also agree with the earlier comment that while Sledgehammer is a good song, it became over-familiar through the years to the point it became dull. I'm not too keen on Us either, and thought that with Up he had gone back to some of the things that appealed to me in his older work, but in an up-to-date way.

And now, here we are, nearly 16 years later.... I know he's a slow and meticulous worker, but as a fan I can't help feeling frustrated at the long drawn-out lack of new material. There have been mentions of things on the horizon over the years - references to new material being stockpiled, in one interview he said "30 new songs", at one point there was even a title - I/O. Then I heard talk of a stripped-down album and tour, a trio of him on vocals and piano, Danny Thompson on bass, Jed Lynch on drums, the idea being to produce simpler, more sparse music. I actually got excited about that! But have learned my lesson.

The Scratch My Back album and tour, and the So retrospective stuff, were very frustrating. It made me wonder if he'd dried up and had to fall back on re-treading old ground, and we'd never see a new album of original material again. But there have been new songs, some good ones too. That at least is encouraging. I saw him give a talk in London in 2016, and when asked when a new album might be out, he said "I'm going to play it safe and say September. But I'm not going to commit to which year."

Quote from Backdrifter

I think the consensus on 1 and 2 is of a new solo artist finding his way. He really hit his stride on 3 and 4, but had to make his way through the inconsistent 1 and 2 to get there. You could probably get a decent composite album out of the best bits of 1 and 2. Humdrum is the standout track for me on 1, while I find 2 generally quite a bit more interesting as a whole - DIY, Mother Of Violence, White Shadow, Indigo and Exposure are all strong tracks for me.

So has never really done it for me. I find that Red Rain, repetition and all, and Milgram's are the only ones that really hit home. I also agree with the earlier comment that while Sledgehammer is a good song, it became over-familiar through the years to the point it became dull. I'm not too keen on Us either, and thought that with Up he had gone back to some of the things that appealed to me in his older work, but in an up-to-date way.

And now, here we are, nearly 16 years later.... I know he's a slow and meticulous worker, but as a fan I can't help feeling frustrated at the long drawn-out lack of new material. There have been mentions of things on the horizon over the years - references to new material being stockpiled, in one interview he said "30 new songs", at one point there was even a title - I/O. Then I heard talk of a stripped-down album and tour, a trio of him on vocals and piano, Danny Thompson on bass, Jed Lynch on drums, the idea being to produce simpler, more sparse music. I actually got excited about that! But have learned my lesson.

The Scratch My Back album and tour, and the So retrospective stuff, were very frustrating. It made me wonder if he'd dried up and had to fall back on re-treading old ground, and we'd never see a new album of original material again. But there have been new songs, some good ones too. That at least is encouraging. I saw him give a talk in London in 2016, and when asked when a new album might be out, he said "I'm going to play it safe and say September. But I'm not going to commit to which year."

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Lots I agree with, some I don't. I am a huge PG fan but I truly don't get the appeal of 1&2, little of those albums seemed to have remained after these decades and I would agree with you that they very much sound like an artist scrambling, trying to sort out things for himself, after probably have been stifled in a band dynamic. I agree the first two albums were essential for him to find out what he really wanted to be and that happened with 3&4. SO, again is imo a good album but, I have a general dislike for the music made during those years, the spirit and the sound and that applies to many artists. It seems virtually everybody, no matter their resume released their more commercial albums around that time. Also, I seem to remember Peter himself, after some financial problems was pressed to be more...'accesible'. Still, I think he did so tastefully. US is imo a masterpiece and an album I regularly go back to, finding it always very fresh. UP, well UP is simply thin and overcooked imo. It was rumored he had over a 100 songs to chose from when he released, it is bizarre the material is so weak imho, compared to his former releases. What was released afterwards hints imo at a end of the road kind of sign. Covers albums, orchestral albums are common symptoms, I hope we are not getting a Christmas album or an American songbook album with classics by Gershwin or Porter. I personally stopped waiting for new releases long ago. He is probably one of the artists I admire the most but I doubt he still has something relevant to say, let alone the desire to do it.

Quote from Fabrizio

Lots I agree with, some I don't. I am a huge PG fan but I truly don't get the appeal of 1&2, little of those albums seemed to have remained after these decades and I would agree with you that they very much sound like an artist scrambling, trying to sort out things for himself, after probably have been stifled in a band dynamic. I agree the first two albums were essential for him to find out what he really wanted to be and that happened with 3&4. SO, again is imo a good album but, I have a general dislike for the music made during those years, the spirit and the sound and that applies to many artists. It seems virtually everybody, no matter their resume released their more commercial albums around that time. Also, I seem to remember Peter himself, after some financial problems was pressed to be more...'accesible'. Still, I think he did so tastefully. US is imo a masterpiece and an album I regularly go back to, finding it always very fresh. UP, well UP is simply thin and overcooked imo. It was rumored he had over a 100 songs to chose from when he released, it is bizarre the material is so weak imho, compared to his former releases. What was released afterwards hints imo at a end of the road kind of sign. Covers albums, orchestral albums are common symptoms, I hope we are not getting a Christmas album or an American songbook album with classics by Gershwin or Porter. I personally stopped waiting for new releases long ago. He is probably one of the artists I admire the most but I doubt he still has something relevant to say, let alone the desire to do it.

Some very interesting comments. I agree about mid-to-late 80s albums, there was a particular kind of sound and feel in the air then and while even So has some of that seeping into it, it emerged in a lot more of a palatable way.

That's a shame you're so down on Up - I couldn't resist that - but I do get that it's quite a divisive album and not high up on most fans' lists. But I found it slowly gave up its rewards with a bit of time; it certainly wasn't an instantly good listen but I don't find it thin at all, with the exception of Barry Williams.

Yes, the covers and as I said the time spent ploughing back over So made me all the more fearful that he no longer has an album of original material in him. But I'd rather there be nothing at all than the Christmas album or Gabriel Sings Gershwin!