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Trollheart · 07-11-2011, 11:40 AM

Us --- Peter Gabriel --- 1992 (Real World)

In my humble opinion the best Peter Gabriel album (and I loved “So”, but this is better!), this is one on which he really stretched his wings, bringing in no less than thirty-seven additional musicians, including the likes of producer Daniel Lanois, ex-Van der Graaf Generator frontman Peter Hamill, Brian Eno and Led Zep's John Paul Jones, and Sinead O'Connor, who duets with him on one of the tracks. Written in somewhat the same frame of mind that Phil Collins was in when he penned his debut solo, “Face value”, the album explores the breakup of Gabriel's first marriage, and his relationship with his daughter, and continues his interest in experimenting with non-standard instrumentation on his songs, with the likes of sabar drums, doudouks and tabla and surdu, giving the album a quasi-African feel. Gabriel's Real World label has long pushed to introduce, represent and give chances to unknown or unsigned African bands, and here he certainly includes a lot of new names who help out.

“Come talk to me” is a slow-paced opener, a simple plea in the lyric, with the odd instruments making their presence felt in the jungle-type beat, and a choir singing native chants in the background. “Love to love you” is a ballad, very understated and sung almost sotto voce by Gabriel, but it's his duet with Sinead O'Connor on “Blood of Eden” that really stands out. As she does on “Kingdom of rain” on The The's “Mind bomb”, reviewed here earlier, O'Connor shows that she is at her best when working with a compatible male vocal, and whereas Kate Bush paired up with Gabriel on “Don't give up”, the interaction between he and O'Connor here seems much more personal, and raises the song to the level of a true classic.

It's carried on a low, intense, almost muted melody as Gabriel sings ”I saw the signs of my undoing/ They had been there from the start.” O'Connor only gets to sing in harmony with him on the chorus, which is a pity, as there are verses she could really have done justice to. Nevertheless, it's a powerful yet understated ballad, with some very dark lyrics: ”Is that a dagger or a crucifix I see/ Held so tightly in your hand?” It's generally a low-key approach so far, but things spring to life with “Steam”, released as a single from the album, and quite successful too. It's a bouncy number that gives Gabriel the chance to really cut loose, as he does, having great fun with the track.

It's back to the sombre mood then for “Only us”, which I guess is as close to a title track as this album has. A little repetitive, it's carried on the one melody through, and again Gabriel almost mutters the lyric, but it's a good song for all that. Far better though is another single, the infectious “Digging in the dirt”, where we get to hear the close-to-unhinged Peter Gabriel we know and love from the likes of “DIY”, “White shadow”, or indeed “No self control”. It's this sometimes manic persona that often characterises Gabriel's best work, both in Genesis and solo, and to some degree it's largely missing here, but he reinvents himself and presents another, more restrained side to his music that totally works.

There's time for fun too, though, A lot of dark songs need a little light to break them up, and “Kiss that frog” is great, silly fun, recalling the old fairytale of the princess and the frog, with lines like ”Let me sit beside you/ Eat right off your plate/ Don't have to be afraid/ There's nothing here to hate/ Princess, you might like it/ If you lower your defence/ Kiss that frog/ And you may meet your prince!” David Rhodes is clearly enjoying himself on guitar, and somone's playing a harmonica, and doing a great job too, but they're not credited: maybe it's a synth?

The album closes almost as it began, with a slow, majestic melody which starts almost imperceptibly then comes to life, as Gabriel recalls his life and loves from his youth. ”In this house of make believe/ Divided in two, like Adam and Eve/ You put out and I receive.” It's very much a retrospective piece, and ends the album really well, fading out like the dying echo of a memory. And it's a good memory too. ”Down by the railway siding/ In a secret world we were colliding/ In all the places we were hiding love...” Ah, to be young again!

TRACKLISTING

1. Come talk to me
2. Love to be loved
3. Blood of Eden
4. Steam
5. Only us
6. Washing of the water
7. Digging in the dirt
8. Fourteen black paintings
9. Kiss that frog
10. Secret world

Suggested further listening: The first four Peter Gabriel albums, all called “Peter Gabriel”, “So”, “Ovo”, also Genesis albums “Nursery cryme”, “Trespass”, “Foxtrot”, “The Lamb lies down on Broadway” and “Selling England by the pound”

07-11-2011, 11:40 AM	#75 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Us --- Peter Gabriel --- 1992 (Real World) In my humble opinion the best Peter Gabriel album (and I loved “So”, but this is better!), this is one on which he really stretched his wings, bringing in no less than thirty-seven additional musicians, including the likes of producer Daniel Lanois, ex-Van der Graaf Generator frontman Peter Hamill, Brian Eno and Led Zep's John Paul Jones, and Sinead O'Connor, who duets with him on one of the tracks. Written in somewhat the same frame of mind that Phil Collins was in when he penned his debut solo, “Face value”, the album explores the breakup of Gabriel's first marriage, and his relationship with his daughter, and continues his interest in experimenting with non-standard instrumentation on his songs, with the likes of sabar drums, doudouks and tabla and surdu, giving the album a quasi-African feel. Gabriel's Real World label has long pushed to introduce, represent and give chances to unknown or unsigned African bands, and here he certainly includes a lot of new names who help out. “Come talk to me” is a slow-paced opener, a simple plea in the lyric, with the odd instruments making their presence felt in the jungle-type beat, and a choir singing native chants in the background. “Love to love you” is a ballad, very understated and sung almost sotto voce by Gabriel, but it's his duet with Sinead O'Connor on “Blood of Eden” that really stands out. As she does on “Kingdom of rain” on The The's “Mind bomb”, reviewed here earlier, O'Connor shows that she is at her best when working with a compatible male vocal, and whereas Kate Bush paired up with Gabriel on “Don't give up”, the interaction between he and O'Connor here seems much more personal, and raises the song to the level of a true classic. It's carried on a low, intense, almost muted melody as Gabriel sings ”I saw the signs of my undoing/ They had been there from the start.” O'Connor only gets to sing in harmony with him on the chorus, which is a pity, as there are verses she could really have done justice to. Nevertheless, it's a powerful yet understated ballad, with some very dark lyrics: ”Is that a dagger or a crucifix I see/ Held so tightly in your hand?” It's generally a low-key approach so far, but things spring to life with “Steam”, released as a single from the album, and quite successful too. It's a bouncy number that gives Gabriel the chance to really cut loose, as he does, having great fun with the track. It's back to the sombre mood then for “Only us”, which I guess is as close to a title track as this album has. A little repetitive, it's carried on the one melody through, and again Gabriel almost mutters the lyric, but it's a good song for all that. Far better though is another single, the infectious “Digging in the dirt”, where we get to hear the close-to-unhinged Peter Gabriel we know and love from the likes of “DIY”, “White shadow”, or indeed “No self control”. It's this sometimes manic persona that often characterises Gabriel's best work, both in Genesis and solo, and to some degree it's largely missing here, but he reinvents himself and presents another, more restrained side to his music that totally works. There's time for fun too, though, A lot of dark songs need a little light to break them up, and “Kiss that frog” is great, silly fun, recalling the old fairytale of the princess and the frog, with lines like ”Let me sit beside you/ Eat right off your plate/ Don't have to be afraid/ There's nothing here to hate/ Princess, you might like it/ If you lower your defence/ Kiss that frog/ And you may meet your prince!” David Rhodes is clearly enjoying himself on guitar, and somone's playing a harmonica, and doing a great job too, but they're not credited: maybe it's a synth? The album closes almost as it began, with a slow, majestic melody which starts almost imperceptibly then comes to life, as Gabriel recalls his life and loves from his youth. ”In this house of make believe/ Divided in two, like Adam and Eve/ You put out and I receive.” It's very much a retrospective piece, and ends the album really well, fading out like the dying echo of a memory. And it's a good memory too. ”Down by the railway siding/ In a secret world we were colliding/ In all the places we were hiding love...” Ah, to be young again! TRACKLISTING 1. Come talk to me 2. Love to be loved 3. Blood of Eden 4. Steam 5. Only us 6. Washing of the water 7. Digging in the dirt 8. Fourteen black paintings 9. Kiss that frog 10. Secret world Suggested further listening: The first four Peter Gabriel albums, all called “Peter Gabriel”, “So”, “Ovo”, also Genesis albums “Nursery cryme”, “Trespass”, “Foxtrot”, “The Lamb lies down on Broadway” and “Selling England by the pound” __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 11-04-2011 at 12:03 PM.