Peter Gabriel (III)
Encyclopedia
Peter Gabriel is Peter Gabriel
's third album. The album contains two of Gabriel's most famous songs, the U.K. Top 10 hit "Games Without Frontiers
" and the political song "Biko
", about the late anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko
. The album was remastered, along with most of Gabriel's catalogue, in 2002.
This album is often referred to as Melt due to its cover photograph by Hipgnosis
. The photo was taken with a Polaroid SX-70
instant camera, and subsequently modified by Storm Thorgerson
or Gabriel. (Thorgerson does not recall whether he or Gabriel manipulated the image.)
, who succeeded Gabriel as Genesis' lead vocalist, plays drums and provides backing vocals on several of the album's tracks. In particular, Collins played drums on "Intruder", which has been cited as the first use of Collins' "gated drum
" sound. This effect, as created by Lillywhite, Collins and Hugh Padgham
, was featured on Collins' and Genesis's recordings throughout the 1980s. The distinctive sound was identified via experiments by Lillywhite, Collins and Padgham, in response to Gabriel's request that Collins and Jerry Marotta
not use cymbals on the album's sessions. The sound was significant enough and influential enough that it has been claimed by Gabriel, Padgham, Collins, and Lillywhite. The drum sound on this album has been noted by Public Image Ltd as influencing the sound on their album Flowers of Romance
, whose engineer, Nick Launay
, was in turn employed by Collins to assist him with his first solo album, Face Value. Paul Weller
, who was recording with his band The Jam
in a nearby studio, was asked to contribute guitar to "And Through The Wire". Gabriel believed Weller's intense guitar style was ideal for the track.
The album, produced by Gabriel and Steve Lillywhite, was Gabriel's first and only release for Mercury Records
in the U.S., after being rejected by Atlantic Records
, who handled U.S. distribution for Gabriel's first two solo albums and his last two albums with Genesis
. Upon hearing mixes of the album's session tapes in early 1980, Atlantic A&R
executive John Kalodner
deemed the album not commercial enough for release, and recommended that Atlantic drop Gabriel from their artist roster. By the time the album was released by Mercury several months later, Kalodner, now working for the newly-formed Geffen Records
label and having realized his mistake, arranged for Geffen to pursue Gabriel as one of their first artist signings. Geffen (at the time distributed by Atlantic sister label Warner Bros. Records
) re-issued the album in 1983 after Mercury's distribution rights to the album lapsed, and has marketed it in the U.S. since (coincidentally, Mercury is now sister label to Geffen after Mercury's parent PolyGram
merged with Geffen's parent Universal Music Group
in 1999).
.
Side one
Side two
magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Albums of the 80's".
In 2000, Q magazine placed the album at #53 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
In 2006, Q placed the album at #29 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s", the only Gabriel album to make the top 40.
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
's third album. The album contains two of Gabriel's most famous songs, the U.K. Top 10 hit "Games Without Frontiers
Games Without Frontiers (song)
"Games Without Frontiers" is a hit 1980 single by Peter Gabriel, released on his third self-titled solo album. It features Kate Bush on backing vocals and became his first UK Top 10 hit, peaking at #4. It ties with 1986's Sledgehammer as his highest-charting song in the UK. It peaked at #48 in the...
" and the political song "Biko
Biko (song)
"Biko" is a protest song by British rock musician Peter Gabriel. The song was included on Gabriel's third album, Peter Gabriel . It is about Steve Biko, a noted black South African anti-apartheid activist. Biko had been arrested by the South African police in late August 1977...
", about the late anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko
Steve Biko
Stephen Biko was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the...
. The album was remastered, along with most of Gabriel's catalogue, in 2002.
This album is often referred to as Melt due to its cover photograph by Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis was a British art design group that specialized in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands, most notably Pink Floyd, T.Rex, The Pretty Things, UFO, 10cc, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Scorpions, Yes, The Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, ELO and XTC...
. The photo was taken with a Polaroid SX-70
Polaroid SX-70
The SX-70 is a folding single lens reflex Land Camera which was produced by the Polaroid Corporation from 1972-1981.- History :Though Polaroid had considered a Henry Dreyfus-designed SLR for its Colorpack film, the SX-70 was the first instant SLR and the first camera to use Polaroid's new SX-70...
instant camera, and subsequently modified by Storm Thorgerson
Storm Thorgerson
Storm Thorgerson is an English graphic designer, known for his work for rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, 10cc, Dream Theater, The Mars Volta, Muse, The Cranberries, and Biffy Clyro.-Biography:...
or Gabriel. (Thorgerson does not recall whether he or Gabriel manipulated the image.)
Details
Gabriel's ex-Genesis band mate Phil CollinsPhil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
, who succeeded Gabriel as Genesis' lead vocalist, plays drums and provides backing vocals on several of the album's tracks. In particular, Collins played drums on "Intruder", which has been cited as the first use of Collins' "gated drum
Gated reverb
Gated reverb is an audio processing technique that is applied to recordings of drums to make the drums sound powerful and "punchy," while keeping the overall mix clean and transparent-sounding...
" sound. This effect, as created by Lillywhite, Collins and Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham
Hugh Padgham is a British record producer. He has won many awards, including four Grammys, with Producer of the Year and Engineer of the Year. A 1992 poll in Mix magazine voted him one of the world's Top Ten Most Influential Producers....
, was featured on Collins' and Genesis's recordings throughout the 1980s. The distinctive sound was identified via experiments by Lillywhite, Collins and Padgham, in response to Gabriel's request that Collins and Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta is a drummer currently residing in Woodstock, New York. He is the brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a well-known drummer and composer....
not use cymbals on the album's sessions. The sound was significant enough and influential enough that it has been claimed by Gabriel, Padgham, Collins, and Lillywhite. The drum sound on this album has been noted by Public Image Ltd as influencing the sound on their album Flowers of Romance
Flowers of Romance (album)
The Flowers of Romance is the third studio album by Public Image Ltd, released in the UK in April 1981 by Virgin Records.The title of the album makes reference to The Flowers of Romance, an early punk band of which Keith Levene was a member...
, whose engineer, Nick Launay
Nick Launay
Nick Launay is an English record producer and recording engineer. He is currently one of the most sought after producers in the world due to his current success with recent albums by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds...
, was in turn employed by Collins to assist him with his first solo album, Face Value. Paul Weller
Paul Weller
Paul Weller is an English singer-songwriter. Starting with the band The Jam , Weller then went on to branch out musically to a more soulful style with The Style Council...
, who was recording with his band The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
in a nearby studio, was asked to contribute guitar to "And Through The Wire". Gabriel believed Weller's intense guitar style was ideal for the track.
The album, produced by Gabriel and Steve Lillywhite, was Gabriel's first and only release for Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
in the U.S., after being rejected by Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, who handled U.S. distribution for Gabriel's first two solo albums and his last two albums with Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
. Upon hearing mixes of the album's session tapes in early 1980, Atlantic A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
executive John Kalodner
John Kalodner
John David Kalodner is a retired American A&R executive. His achievements included signing Foreigner, AC/DC, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins to Atlantic Records in the seventies....
deemed the album not commercial enough for release, and recommended that Atlantic drop Gabriel from their artist roster. By the time the album was released by Mercury several months later, Kalodner, now working for the newly-formed Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
label and having realized his mistake, arranged for Geffen to pursue Gabriel as one of their first artist signings. Geffen (at the time distributed by Atlantic sister label Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
) re-issued the album in 1983 after Mercury's distribution rights to the album lapsed, and has marketed it in the U.S. since (coincidentally, Mercury is now sister label to Geffen after Mercury's parent PolyGram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
merged with Geffen's parent Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
in 1999).
Track listing
All songs written by Peter GabrielPeter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
.
Side one
- "IntruderIntruder (song)"Intruder" is a song written and performed by English musician Peter Gabriel. It starts off his third eponymous album with the description of a break-in told through the eyes of the burglar, or "Intruder"...
" – 4:54 - "No Self ControlNo Self Control (Peter Gabriel song)"No Self Control" is a song written and performed by British musician Peter Gabriel. As with the other songs on the album, the lyrics are very dark, discussing what could be interpreted as either intense greed and lust or mental instability and decay of the psyche...
" – 3:55 - "Start" – 1:21
- "I Don't Remember" – 4:41
- "Family SnapshotFamily Snapshot"Family Snapshot" is a song written and performed by British musician Peter Gabriel, appearing on his third eponymous album. The song was inspired by An Assassin's Diary, published in 1973 and written by Arthur Bremer, who attempted to assassinate George Wallace, a politician who supported racial...
" – 4:28 - "And Through the Wire" – 5:00
Side two
- "Games Without FrontiersGames Without Frontiers (song)"Games Without Frontiers" is a hit 1980 single by Peter Gabriel, released on his third self-titled solo album. It features Kate Bush on backing vocals and became his first UK Top 10 hit, peaking at #4. It ties with 1986's Sledgehammer as his highest-charting song in the UK. It peaked at #48 in the...
" – 4:06 - "Not One of Us" – 5:22
- "Lead a Normal Life" – 4:14
- "BikoBiko (song)"Biko" is a protest song by British rock musician Peter Gabriel. The song was included on Gabriel's third album, Peter Gabriel . It is about Steve Biko, a noted black South African anti-apartheid activist. Biko had been arrested by the South African police in late August 1977...
" – 7:32
Personnel
- Peter GabrielPeter GabrielPeter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
– vocals, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, bass synthesizer, percussion - Kate BushKate BushKate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
– backing vocals on "No Self Control" & "Games Without Frontiers", (uncredited on "I Don't Remember" and "Not One Of Us") - Jerry MarottaJerry MarottaJerry Marotta is a drummer currently residing in Woodstock, New York. He is the brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a well-known drummer and composer....
– drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, percussion - Larry FastLarry FastLawrence Roger 'Larry' Fast is a synthesizer expert and composer. He is best known for Synergy, his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums, and for his contribution to a number of popular music acts, including Peter Gabriel, Foreigner, and Hall and Oates.- Biography :Fast grew up in...
– synthesizer, bass synthesizer - Robert FrippRobert FrippRobert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
on "No self control", "I Don't Remember" & "Not One of Us" - John GiblinJohn GiblinJohn Giblin is an internationally renowned session bassist who has worked with the following artists:*Eric Clapton, Sting, Mark Knopfler, Phil Collins * Peter Gabriel...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Dave Gregory – guitar
- Tony LevinTony LevinTony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman stick and upright bass ....
– Chapman stickChapman StickThe Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and has been used on music recordings to play bass lines, melody lines, chords or textures...
on "I Don't Remember" - Phil CollinsPhil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
– drums on "Intruder" & "No Self Control"; snare drumSnare drumThe snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
on "Family Snapshot"; surdoSurdoFor the football player of the same name see Surdu.The surdo is a large bass drum used in many kinds of Brazilian music, most notably in Axé/Samba-reggae and samba and its variants, where it plays the lower parts from a percussion section....
on "Biko" - Dick MorrisseyDick MorrisseyRichard Edwin "Dick" Morrissey was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor sax, soprano sax and flute.- Background :...
– saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Morris PertMorris PertMorris David Brough Pert was a Scottish composer, drummer/percussionist, and pianist who composed in the fields of both contemporary classical and jazz-rock music...
– percussion - David Rhodes – guitar, backing vocals
- Paul Weller – guitar on "And Through the Wire"
- Dave FergusonRandom HoldRandom Hold was a British rock band from 1977 to 1980.-History:The first line-up featured David Ferguson and David Rhodes , plus Simon Ainley , Bill MacCormick and David Leach...
- screeches on "Biko" - Steve LillywhiteSteve LillywhiteSteve Lillywhite is an English Grammy Award winning record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited for working on over 500 records and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including XTC, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dave Matthews Band, U2, Peter Gabriel,...
- Producer
Critical praise
In 1989, the album was ranked #45 on Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Albums of the 80's".
In 2000, Q magazine placed the album at #53 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
In 2006, Q placed the album at #29 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s", the only Gabriel album to make the top 40.
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Pop Albums |
22 |
| 1980 | UK Album Chart | 1 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | "Games Without Frontiers" | Billboard Pop Singles | 48 |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| BPI – UK | Gold | 2 June 1980 |