Peter Gabriel
	Produced by Robert Fripp
	Released on June 22, 1978
	UK CHART POSITION #10 . . . US CHART POSITION #45
	Find it at GEMM
SD 19181 cover [high resolution photo]

P eter Gabriel cultivated a reputation as something of a crank with his second album, choosing a cover that traded in self-obscurity for self-mutilation and again refusing to give the album a proper title (which must have given folks at the label fits). But the crankiness is most evident in the music, from “A Wonderful Day In A One-Way World” to “Animal Magic.” Unlike his debut, which tried its hand at all sorts of things, this album focuses on modern rock, delivered by producer Robert Fripp with all the rough edges intact (a style he would replicate on his own Exposure). There are some quieter moments, achingly sad in the case of “Mother of Violence” and “Home Sweet Home,” but Gabriel’s perturbation is still tangible even in these settings. Since it’s something of an itchy sweater as albums go, this record rarely comes out of the closet, but I’ve always had a soft spot for it. Songs like “Flotsam and Jetsam” and “Indigo” generate genuine pathos, while the slicker tracks (“Perspective,” “D.I.Y.”) make a better case for Gabriel as a “new” rock artist than “Modern Love” ever could. Yeah, his voice isn’t the commodity here that it once was (and would become again) and the arrangements are stuck in an awkward halfway point between plain old rock & roll and the darker, dire arrangements of the future, but the songs are clearly cut from the stuff of genius. Gabriel hadn’t quite locked into the “vision” thing yet, but Peter Gabriel version 2 was at least promising. There are some very good ideas here, packaged into confining conventional parcels out of habit, which would explode from their containers and take a more fantastic shape on his next album. Or next installment, depending on how you see these things.

The above led to the below from Gary Lain, nearly a year to the day. Gary can be reached at garylain@olypen.com.

Just a few comments on the second Peter Gabriel album: Fripp's production flourishes, such as the synth drone intro to the opening track, the processed drums on "Exposure" and the very nice instrumental fade into a loop on "White Shadow" are all quite innovative and impeccably handled. Fripp's solo on "White Shadow" is one of his most generous efforts, and is a truly exciting moment in arty pop music. Fripp also is savvy and careful enough not to overshadow a rather unfocused Peter Gabriel, doing the heavy lifting as producer to capture some truly delicate and stunning timbres such as the piano/acoustic guitar interplay on the main riff to "D.I.Y." Where Gabriel does "find his voice" in such places as the hoarse shouts punctuating the chorus to "D.I.Y.," the sense of immediacy is compelling, and foreshadows the supreme confidence of his later efforts.

SD 19181 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. ON THE AIR    5:30
2. D.I.Y.    2:37
3. MOTHER OF VIOLENCE    (Peter and Jill Gabriel)    3:10
4. A WONDERFUL DAY IN A ONE-WAY WORLD    3:33
5. WHITE SHADOW    5:14
6. INDIGO    3:30
7. ANIMAL MAGIC    3:26
8. EXPOSURE    (Peter Gabriel/Robert Fripp)    4:12
9. FLOTSAM AND JETSAM    2:17
10. PERSPECTIVE    3:23
11. HOME SWEET HOME    4:37
    
    All songs written by Peter Gabriel unless noted

CREDITS

PETER GABRIEL -- lead vocals, background vocals, synthesizer, piano
BAYETE -- keyboards
ROY BITTAN -- keyboards
LARRY FAST -- synthesizer & treatments
ROBERT FRIPP -- electric guitar, Frippertronics
TONY LEVIN -- bass, background vocals, string bass, recorder arrangements, Chapman stick
JERRY MAROTTA -- drums, background vocals
SIDNEY McGINNIS -- electric guitar, steel guitar, background vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin
Timmy Capello -- saxophone
George Marge -- recorders

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