peter gabriel

After taking time off with his new family, Peter Gabriel made his triumphant solo debut with the first of four eponymous albums. Gabriel decided to leave Genesis before the tour for 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'; but didn't tell the rest of the band until the tour was over. He felt that he needed to stay at home with his new daughter Anna and his wife Jill rather than go back into the studio or on the road.

In July of 1975 Gabriel released this letter to fans explaining why he had left Genesis:

"I had a dream, eye's dream. Then I had another dream with the body and soul of a rock star. When it didn't feel good I packed it in. Looking back for the musical and non-musical reasons, this is what I came up with: OUT, ANGELS OUT - an investigation.

The vehicle we had built as a co-op to serve our songwriting became our master and had cooped us up inside the success we had wanted. It affected the attitudes and the spirit of the whole band. the music had not dried up and I still respect the other musicians, but our roles had set in hard. To get an idea through "Genesis the Big" meant shifting a lot more concrete than before. For any band, transferring the heart from idealistic enthusiasm to professionalism is a difficult operation. I believe the use of sound and visual images can be developed to do much more than we have done. But on a large scale it needs one clear and coherent direction, which our pseudo-democratic committee system could not provide. As an artist, I need to absorb a wide variety of experiences. It is difficult to respond to intuition and impulse within the long-term planning that the band needed. I felt I should look at/learn about/develop myself, my creative bits and pieces and pick up on a lot of work going on outside music. Even the hidden delights of vegetable growing and community living are beginning to reveal their secrets. I could not expect the band to tie in their schedules with my bondage to cabbages. The increase in money and power, if I had stayed, would have anchored me to the spotlights. It was important to me to give space to my family, which I wanted to hold together, and to liberate the daddy in me. Although I have seen and learnt a great deal in the last seven years, I found I had begun to look at things as the famous Gabriel, despite hiding my occupation whenever possible, hitching lifts, etc. I had begun to think in business terms; very useful for an often bitten once shy musician, but treating records and audiences as money was taking me away from them. When performing, there were less shivers up and down the spine. I believe the world has soon to go through a difficult period of changes. I'm excited by some of the areas coming through to the surface which seem to have been hidden away in people's minds. I want to explore and be prepared to be open and flexible enough to respond, not tied in to the old hierarchy. Much of my psyche's ambitions as "Gabriel archetypal rock star" have been fulfilled - a lot of the ego-gratification and the need to attract young ladies, perhaps the result of frequent rejection as "Gabriel acne-struck public school boy". However, I can still get off playing the star game once in a while. My future within music, if it exists, will be in as many situations as possible. It's good to see a growing number of artists breaking down the pigeonholes. This is the difference between the profitable, compartmentalized, battery chicken and the free-range. Why did the chicken cross the road anyway? There is no animosity between myself and the band or management. The decision had been made some time ago and we have talked about our new direction. The reason why my leaving was not announced earlier was because I had been asked to delay until they had found a replacement to plug up the hole. It is not impossible that some of them might work with me on other projects. The following guesswork has little in common with truth: Gabriel left Genesis. 1) To work in theatre. 2) To make more money as a solo artist. 3) To do a "Bowie". 4) To do a "Ferry". 5) To do a "Furry Boa round my neck and hang myself with it". 6) To go see an institution. 7) To go senile in the sticks. I do not express myself adequately in interviews and I felt I owed it to the people who have put a lot of love and energy supporting the band to give an accurate picture of my reasons."

Genesis decided to continue without him. Gabriel took a year off after the tour and then began work on a solo project with producer Bob Ezrin. 'Peter Gabriel' was recorded at the Soundstage in Toronto, Canada with additional sessions at Morgan Studios, and Olympic Studios in London with guitarist Robert Fripp, bass player Tony Levin, drummer Allan Schwartzberg, percussionist Jimmy Maelen, guitarist Steve Hunter, keyboardist Jozef Chirowski, and Larry Fast on synthesizers and programming. Michael Gibbs did the arrangements for the London Symphony Orchestra on 'Down the Dolce Vita' and 'Here Comes the Flood'. 'Peter Gabriel' reached number thirty-eight in the US; thirty in Canada; number thirteen in Sweden; number nine in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands; number eight in Norway; number seven in the UK; and peaked at number five in France. Due to the album cover by Peter Christopherson, the album is often referred to as 'Car' or 'Rain'.








http://petergabriel.com/

'Moribund the Burgermeister' tells an allegorical story of an epidemic of madness.

"This thing's really outrageous, I tell you on the level

It's really so contagious must be the work of the devil

You better go now, pick up the pipers, tell them to play

Seems the music keeps them quiet, there is no other way.

Ah, close the doors!

"We've tried potions and waxen dolls,

But none of us could find any cures,"

Mother please, is it just a disease,

That has them breaking all my laws,

Check if you can disconnect the effect

And I'll go after the cause

No-one will tell what this is all about

But I will find out"

'Solsbury Hill' was written about his break with Genesis. It is named for a location near Bath, England where Gabriel would walk. According to legend, there was a temple to Apollo there. Gabriel says, "That 7/4 rhythm works well because it feels like a normal rhythm but isn't quite right. It's not like a clever rhythm, just a bit odd. It'll be interesting to see how people dance to it." The single went to number sixty-eight in the US and peaked at number thirteen in the Netherlands and the UK.

Climbing up on Solsbury Hill

I could see the city light

Wind was blowing, time stood still

Eagle flew out of the night

He was something to observe

Came in close, I heard a voice

Standing stretching every nerve

Had to listen had no choice

I did not believe the information

I just had to trust imagination

My heart going boom boom boom

"Son," he said "Grab your things,

I've come to take you home."

To keep in silence I resigned

My friends would think I was a nut

Turning water into wine

Open doors would soon be shut

So I went from day to day

Tho' my life was in a rut

"Till I thought of what I'd say

Which connection I should cut

I was feeling part of the scenery

I walked right out of the machinery

My heart going boom boom boom

"Hey" he said "Grab your things

I've come to take you home."

When illusion spin her net

I'm never where I want to be

And liberty she pirouette

When I think that I am free

Watched by empty silhouettes

Who close their eyes but still can see

No one taught them etiquette

I will show another me

Today I don't need a replacement

I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant

My heart going boom boom boom

"Hey" I said "You can keep my things,

They've come to take me home."

'Modern Love' was released as a single; but never charted. According to Bob Ezrin: "We gaffer-taped Peter Gabriel ten feet up a pillar to get a vocal take for the song 'Modern Love'. The chorus went, 'Oh, the pain. Modern love can be a strain.' I just wasn't believing him, so I said, 'Look, if you don't make it believable, you're going up the pillar!' We gave him three or four takes to try it, and then up he went. I turned to the engineer and said, 'Mic him!' And that's how we got the performance."

'Excuse Me' features Tony Levin on tuba and as leader of the Barbershop Quartet.

'Slowburn'

'Here Comes the Flood' is about the subconscious mind that takes over in sleep.

When the flood calls

You have no home, you have no walls

In the thunder crash

You're a thousand minds, within a flash

Don't be afraid to cry at what you see

The actors gone, there's only you and me

And if we break before the dawn, they'll

Use up what we used to be.

Lord, here comes the flood

We'll say goodbye to flesh and blood

If again the seas are silent

In any still alive

It'll be those who gave their island to survive

Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry.

'Peter Gabriel' 
full album:




All songs written by Peter Gabriel, except where indicated.

Side One
1. "Moribund the Burgermeister" 4:20
2. "Solsbury Hill" 4:21
3. "Modern Love" 3:38
4. "Excuse Me" (Gabriel, Martin Hall) 3:20
5. "Humdrum" 3:25
Side Two
6. "Slowburn" 4:36
7. "Waiting for the Big One" 7:15
8. "Down the Dolce Vita" 5:05
9. "Here Comes the Flood" 5:38