Peter Gabriel - Us

Like Peter Gabriel needs me to push his music. I've been listening to three Peter Gabriel CD's fully cranked all night, and "Us" is one of my favorite albums - of any artist - of all time. So it's time to hop on Amazon and read what others say about it. I'm a little irritated by all this review talk regarding Gabriel being formulaic with this album. This is the only CD I'll strut a little attitude about in its defense. I'm very protective of this effort by Gabriel.



Do you really think when an artist as masterful as Gabriel sits down to write he's motivated by a template or blueprint of what worked in the past? Gabriel's been testing the industry, pushing the creative envelope, and helping to redefine music since his Genesis days. He created the blueprint for others. Gabriel couldn't be predictable if he tried, and there's nothing formulaic about "Us". The release of "Us" was Gabriel bloodletting. This album is sustenance, and "Us" is his most intense songwriting offering to date. There was never anything main stream about it. "Us" may be the most cathartic, intense, profound, complex, and raw exploration of the human psyche I've ever heard. The guy a few reviews back definitely got the purpose of this album. It's some of the best therapy you can put yourself through. It touches on loss, grief, desperation, anger, fear, lust, communication, love, exploration of identity, the need for trust and security - every human emotion/need we could possibly have. Gabriel was exploring the impact of some incredibly intense experiences when he walked into the studio to make this album. The instrumentals are just as profound and overwhelming as the writing. It's pretty full on.



If you want to explore emotions you can't quite identify yet, if you want to be moved, or simply be challenged and reconnect - "Us" will do that. Am I objective in this review? No. Do I care? Definitely not. This album really can't be compared to his other work. It's very different from any of his other releases. He had a clear purpose in mind when he created "Us". It was to deal with what life threw at him and to heal. This is why Peter Gabriel is put on a pedestal. He's fearless to do it all in the public realm, and he's a pioneer within the industry.



Side note: I had a good giggle with a couple of the "Us" reviews - For anyone new to this album don't let the write ups from a few reviewers who innocently think the song, "Kiss That Frog" is about some form of self acceptance/beauty statement misguide you - it's inaccurate. Dirty up your mind a little, take a good listen, read the lyrics, and then have yourself a really good laugh. It turns out Peter Gabriel has a mischievous sense of humor too...I don't want you to miss that. (Most of Gabriel's music videos illustrate this too.)



If you only have knowledge of Gabriel's radio play hits or the occasional Gabriel tune that makes a movie soundtrack - dabble in some of what "Us" has to offer. "Love To Be Loved," "Come Talk To Me," "Washing Of The Water," "Digging In The Dirt," "Secret World," and "Fourteen Black Paintings" are all shattering. At some point in your life every song on "Us" will touch you.

Peter Gabriel wants US to share the pain

It took almost 5 years for Peter Gabriel to record a pop music follow-up to the massive "So," but he endured a lifetime's worth of experiences through the period. The soundtrack to Martin Scorcese's "Last Temptation Of Christ" took up a huge amount of his creative juice, and a divorce also took place. The resulting "Us" aches from the beginning plea of "Talk To Me" to the final "Secret World" question of "what was it we were thinking of?" Peter is certainly asking us to feel his pain, but it isn't always the cathartic kind (think Phil Collins' "Face Value").



The other problem with "Us" is that Gabriel was beginning to sound like formula. Both "Steam" and "Kiss That Frog" are far too similar to "Shock The Monkey," "Big Time" and "Sledgehammer" from previous efforts to think that Gabriel was investing much thought into them. They stand out like sore thumbs from an artist that derives most of his best music from his startling originality.



Which is not to say that "Us" doesn't frequently strike its emotional target. "Blood Of Eden" and "Washing Of The Water" do find that emotional catharsis that Gabriel so obviously was trying to purge. "Only Us" and "Digging In The Dirt" meditate and shout at the causes of his loss, and "Fourteen Black Paintings" is clearly influenced from the "Last Temptation" compositions.



What it leaves us with is a so-so album from an artist who frequently turned his emotional tumults into brilliant art (even the dramatic downer "Up" pushes this CD aside). While even a dodgy Peter Gabriel album puts most other artists to shame, there are other Gabriel CD's that would make a better purchase than "Us." For me, this is the only CD post PG3 that is less than stellar.

Reasonable followup to "So".

Peter Gabriel's followup to "So" must have been one of the more difficult albums to make-- with huge singles like "In Your Eyes" and "Sledgehammer" on "So", repeat expectations were high. Gabriel, however, has never really been known as one to rest on his laurels, and his sound has evolved over time. This album is no exception. Gabriel regulars David Rhodes (guitar), Tony Levin (bass), and Manu Katche (drums) are present again, along with producer Daniel Lanois and engineer David Bottrill. Additionally, Sinead O'Connor sings on a pair of tracks, and whole bunch of other performers, including Brian Eno, Hassam Ramzy, Shankar, Peter Hammill and John Paul Jones show up.



The album works best when Gabriel spreads his wings and covers new directions. "Blood of Eden", "Steam" and "Kiss That Frog" are a bit too much of the same mold and formula of the last album. Don't get me wrong, they're decent songs, but Gabriel does better more when finding new directions.



Songs like "Come Talk to Me", with its great harmonized vocal and brilliant percussion, the funky and emotional "Love to Be Loved", and the positively angry and haunting "Digging in the Dirt" succeed much better. The latter appears to be the natural successor in the chain of brilliant songs like "Family Snapshot", but adds an aggression not found in any of Gabriel's other really dark songs. Also of note are the pseudo-electronica of "Only Us" and "Fourteen Black Paintings" and the bubbling, funky "Secret World", the three of which in their own way I think paint the way for Gabriel's next album, and the delicate "Washing of the Water", one of the really unrecognized gems in Gabriel's catalog.



Overall, its a decent album, but a lot of the material is not quite up to the level of expectations that "Peter Gabriel 3", "Security", "So" and "Passion" placed on Gabriel's music.