Gabriel creates an underrated gem from "Scratch"

I've heard alot of criticism about this album from both critics as well as a fair number of fans but for me being a HUGE fan of PG for years I brushed aside all of the sayings of this album and bought it new and I'm very glad that I did. Unlike while most people find Robert Fripps production rather muddy but the remastered edition that I have is incredible. PG2, released in the summer of 1978 is more than likely Peters least accessable album in his entire catalog. I can't believe that this underrated masterpiece was out of print for a period of time let alone that none of the songs on here were on the Shaking The Tree album. Thank goodness it was released remastered. OK OK so Peter recorded this album in the course of just six weeks so I thought that this album would sound sort of rushed but I must say that this CD is actually well put together, much better than I thought. Peter Gabriel was still in the experimental stages during this albums release year. Somewhat similar to some of the early Genesis music PG2 is a very good album that truly is a great purchase. The style of this album is light, relatively upbeat but yet dark in tone but it's more like cloudy day dark as opposed to the frightening sinister feel of the Melting Face album. PG2 is his most obtuse, abstract, and most difficult record that he has ever put out. This album is like a rollercoaster that ranges from angry and rebellious and upbeat(In The Air, D.I.Y. Perspective) to bizarre(White Shadow, Exposure & Flotsam) to mellow & eerie(Flotsam & Jetsam) but overall the Scratch record is probably PGs most challenging album he has ever put out. Those whose taste is confined mostly to Sledgehammer & Big Time might not easily enjoy this album but I highly recommend this album to those who enjoy Gabriels more adventurous works. For those who liked the strangeness of Scratch this album is a good warmup to prepare yourself for the madness, the monochromic bleakness & the frightening darkness of the powerful 1980 Melting Face album.

PGs buried treasure

Upon reading the unfortunately unwelcoming comments I've read about this CD, I have to come here and defend this marvelous album. Yes, it's my least favorite album of PGs catalog but that does not mean that PG2 is a weak album. On the contrary, it's a very good album that is much better than what it's given credit for.

This CD strongly benifits from the remastering that was given as when I owned the original version a long time ago, the sound quality of the music was very muddy. Robert Fripp probably takes alot of heat for the lousy production but it's not as badly produced as most ppl say. In fact, I might sound odd but I actually love it's raw production, being free of the more electronically produced material on Gabriel's later works following this one, and instead the music overall is kind of like as it were being recorded live on tape especially the angry D.I.Y. and the morbid yet beautiful Home Sweet Home. In The Air, Perspective and Animal Magic are fun upbeat rockers while the eerie White Shadow and Mother Of Violence are gorgeous ballads. I don't think this album is all that dark like Security or Melting Face but it's concept is relatively bleak although more like cloudy winter afternoon bleak as opposed to the murderous, and frightening Melting Face or the window shattering Security. For those who are mostly into the synthesized materpiece So or the worldly pop colored Us, PG2 is unlikely to be the best disc to easily appreciate as it's probably the most abstract, experiment, and the least accessible album that Peter has ever put out.

If you already appreciate the (more) famous albums of his, then if you're willing to take a dive into the early, more experimental music, welcome to PG2. It's at least a great album to warm yourself up to before heading into the bleakness of the 3rd LP that followed this one two years later.