Peter Gabriel (IV Security)
Encyclopedia
Peter Gabriel is the fourth album released by the British
progressive rock
musician Peter Gabriel
. This album was originally released as Gabriel’s fourth eponymous album, but was released in the United States as Security, Gabriel's first album with Geffen Records in the US and Canada.
. Its instrumentation is mostly electronic with extensive sampling
(through use of the then-new Fairlight CMI
) and percussion. It was recorded at Gabriel's then-home, Ashcombe House
in Somerset, England in 1981. It was remastered with most of Gabriel's catalogue in 2002.
The songs on the album cover a wide variety of subject matter. "The Rhythm of the Heat" is based on Carl Jung
’s experience while observing a group of African drummers. "San Jacinto" reflects on the fear and pain experienced by a Native American
man who sees his culture overwhelmed by modern white society. "Shock the Monkey
", a meditation on jealousy, uses imagery of a primate to describe personal anxieties. "Lay Your Hands on Me" deals with a theme of healing, through trust, which is further explored on later albums. "The Family and the Fishing Net" is a song comparing a modern day wedding to a voodoo sacrifice. "Wallflower" is about the treatment of political prisoners in Latin America during the 1980s.
"Shock the Monkey" was featured on the 1987 film, Project X, starring Matthew Broderick
. "Wallflower", along with adaptations of other songs from Gabriel's third and fourth albums, was featured on the 1984 film Birdy
, directed by Alan Parker
and starring Matthew Modine
and Nicolas Cage
. "I Have The Touch" featured in the 1988 film, The Chocolate War
; an alternate version of "I Have the Touch" was featured on the 1996 film, Phenomenon, starring John Travolta
, and a cover version by Heather Nova
was featured in The Craft
. "Shock the Monkey" was also featured in episode 110 of the animated series South Park
.
This was the last album by Gabriel to be titled Peter Gabriel until the 2008 compilation album released covermount
into The Mail on Sunday
.
s that the working title for "The Rhythm of the Heat" was "Jung in Africa", the working title for "Shock the Monkey" was "Black Bush", and the working title for "Lay Your Hands on Me" was "93"--this was the number of the LinnDrum
pattern used on the track.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
musician Peter Gabriel
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...
. This album was originally released as Gabriel’s fourth eponymous album, but was released in the United States as Security, Gabriel's first album with Geffen Records in the US and Canada.
History
This album is an early full digital recordingDigital recording
In digital recording, digital audio and digital video is directly recorded to a storage device as a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure for audio and chroma and luminance values for video through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or...
. Its instrumentation is mostly electronic with extensive sampling
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
(through use of the then-new Fairlight CMI
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...
) and percussion. It was recorded at Gabriel's then-home, Ashcombe House
Ashcombe House, Somerset
Not to be confused with the Ashcombe House in Wiltshire occupied by Madonna and Guy Ritchie.Ashcombe House at Swainswick, north-east of Bath in Somerset, England is a Gothic revival country house. It is a Grade II listed building....
in Somerset, England in 1981. It was remastered with most of Gabriel's catalogue in 2002.
The songs on the album cover a wide variety of subject matter. "The Rhythm of the Heat" is based on Carl Jung
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
’s experience while observing a group of African drummers. "San Jacinto" reflects on the fear and pain experienced by a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
man who sees his culture overwhelmed by modern white society. "Shock the Monkey
Shock the Monkey
"Shock the Monkey" is a 1982 song by Peter Gabriel. It was released as a single and peaked at number 29 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart. The song was Gabriel's first Top 40 hit in the US. In the UK, the song charted at number 58. It was included on...
", a meditation on jealousy, uses imagery of a primate to describe personal anxieties. "Lay Your Hands on Me" deals with a theme of healing, through trust, which is further explored on later albums. "The Family and the Fishing Net" is a song comparing a modern day wedding to a voodoo sacrifice. "Wallflower" is about the treatment of political prisoners in Latin America during the 1980s.
"Shock the Monkey" was featured on the 1987 film, Project X, starring Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
. "Wallflower", along with adaptations of other songs from Gabriel's third and fourth albums, was featured on the 1984 film Birdy
Birdy (film)
Birdy is a 1984 American film directed by Alan Parker and starring Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage. It is based on the novel of the same name by William Wharton.- Synopsis :...
, directed by Alan Parker
Alan Parker
Sir Alan William Parker, CBE is an English film director, producer, writer and actor. He has been active in both the British cinema and American cinema and was a founding member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain.-Life and career:...
and starring Matthew Modine
Matthew Modine
Matthew Avery Modine is an award-winning American actor. His film roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the title character in Alan Parker's Birdy, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, football star turned spy Alec McCall in Funky Monkey and the...
and Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
. "I Have The Touch" featured in the 1988 film, The Chocolate War
The Chocolate War
The Chocolate War is a young adult novel by American author Robert Cormier. First published in 1974, it was adapted into a film in 1988. Although it received mixed reviews at the time of its publication, some reviewers have argued it is one of the best young adult novels of all time...
; an alternate version of "I Have the Touch" was featured on the 1996 film, Phenomenon, starring John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
, and a cover version by Heather Nova
Heather Nova
Heather Nova, is a Bermudian singer-songwriter and poet. She has released eight full-length albums and has found lasting success in Germany where two of her albums South and Storm have made their way into the Top-5 of German official album chart.-Biography:Heather Nova was born in Bermuda...
was featured in The Craft
The Craft (film)
The Craft is a 1996 American supernatural teen horror film directed by Andrew Fleming and starring Robin Tunney, Rachel True, Fairuza Balk and Neve Campbell. The film's plot centers on a group of four teenage girls who pursue witchcraft and use it for their own gain...
. "Shock the Monkey" was also featured in episode 110 of the animated series South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
.
This was the last album by Gabriel to be titled Peter Gabriel until the 2008 compilation album released covermount
Covermount
Covermount is the name given to storage media or other products packaged as part of a magazine or newspaper...
into The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
.
Side One
- "The Rhythm of the HeatThe Rhythm of the Heat"The Rhythm of the Heat" is a song by Peter Gabriel from his 1982 album, Security. The song is based on the experiences of Carl Jung in Africa....
" – 5:15 - "San Jacinto" – 6:21
- "I Have the TouchI Have the Touch"I Have The Touch" is a song by Peter Gabriel from his album Security. Peter Gabriel and Robbie Robertson remixed the song for the 1996 film Phenomenon. As a result, it charted 14 years after it was first released...
" – 4:30 - "The Family and the Fishing Net" – 7:08
Side Two
- "Shock the MonkeyShock the Monkey"Shock the Monkey" is a 1982 song by Peter Gabriel. It was released as a single and peaked at number 29 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart. The song was Gabriel's first Top 40 hit in the US. In the UK, the song charted at number 58. It was included on...
" – 5:23 - "Lay Your Hands on Me" – 6:03
- "Wallflower" – 6:30
- "Kiss of Life" – 4:17
Musicians
- 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, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Tony LevinTony LevinTony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman stick and upright bass ....
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - David Rhodes – 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...
- 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....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, 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...
– 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...
s
Additional personnel
- John EllisJohn Ellis (guitarist)John Ellis is an English guitarist and songwriter.-Career:He was a co-founder of the pub rock band Bazooka Joe in 1970 and a founding member of the punk rock band The Vibrators. Ellis formed The Vibrators in 1974 while still at art school studying illustration. The Vibrators released two albums...
– bass vocals on tracks 1, 3, 8, guitar on tracks 2, 4 - Roberto Laneri – treated 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...
on track 4 - 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...
– timbalesTimbalesTimbales are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing, invented in Cuba. They are shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned...
on track 6, percussion on track 8 - Stephen Paine – Fairlight CMIFairlight CMIThe Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...
on track 4 - David Lord – 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...
s on tracks 6, 7, 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...
on tracks 7, 8 - Peter HammillPeter HammillPeter Joseph Andrew Hammill is an English singer-songwriter, and a founding member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Most noted for his vocal abilities, his main instruments are guitar and piano...
– backing vocals on tracks 4, 5, 6 - Jill Gabriel – bass vocals on track 2
- Tony LevinTony LevinTony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman stick and upright bass ....
- Bass in track 1,2,3,5,6,7 Chapman Stick on Track 4 - David Rhodes - Guitar on Track 1,3,4,5,7
- Ekome Dance Company – GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
ian drums on track 1 - Simon PhillipsSimon PhillipsSimon Phillips is an English jazz, pop and rock drummer.-Career:Phillips began to play professionally at the age of twelve in his father's Dixieland band for four years. He was then offered the chance to play in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar...
- Drums on track 3 - Chris HughesChris Hughes (record producer)Chris Hughes is a music producer and a former drummer for Adam and the Ants....
- LinnDrumLinnDrumThe LinnDrum is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics. It was released in 1982 as a successor to the Linn LM-1. The LinnDrum has 15 drum sounds sampled from real drums, a sequencer for programming rhythm patterns and five trigger inputs....
on track 5
Album
| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 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 |
28 |
| Music Week Music Week Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week... (UK) Albums |
6 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "I Have the Touch" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 46 |
| "Kiss of Life" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 34 | |
| "Shock the Monkey" | Billboard Black Singles | 64 | |
| Billboard Club Play Singles | 26 | ||
| Billboard Mainstream Rock | 1 | ||
| Billboard Pop Singles | 29 | ||
| UK singles | 58 |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| BPI – UK | Gold | 30 November 1982 |
| CRIA – Canada | Gold | 1 February 1983 |
| CRIA – Canada | Platinum | 1 February 1983 |
Trivia
Larry Fast, synthesizer performer on the album, mentioned during a presentation on Moog synthesizerMoog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
s that the working title for "The Rhythm of the Heat" was "Jung in Africa", the working title for "Shock the Monkey" was "Black Bush", and the working title for "Lay Your Hands on Me" was "93"--this was the number of the LinnDrum
LinnDrum
The LinnDrum is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics. It was released in 1982 as a successor to the Linn LM-1. The LinnDrum has 15 drum sounds sampled from real drums, a sequencer for programming rhythm patterns and five trigger inputs....
pattern used on the track.