Peter Gabriel-Melt ( pg 3) is thirty-five years old this week!

[KELLY WELSH]

Whilst the first two PG albums were both decent albums to begin the career of the ex Genesis frontman,it wasn't until the beginning of the eighties that we began to realize the creative solo talents of Gabriel,when he released his third album,Melt or pg 3!Thirty five years old this week it's still a remarkable record,and equal to his So album.Games Without Frontiers,No Self Control,Intruder,and of course Gabriel's tribute to Stephen Biko.Musicians included Robert Fripp,Phil Collins,Jerry Marrotta,and Tony Levin.
Any thoughts on this? Any fans?

[happytheman]

I found plenty to love with the first two releases.. especially the 2nd.. But yeah the 3rd one was great (as was the 4th!).. I had the first three on vinyl but third one for some reason I bought on cassette as well.. and it got plenty of air time in my car going to and from work..

[g.bremer]

This was my intro to PG and it made a big impression on me, especially considering what was being played on the radio at the time. It's the first album of any artist that I never get tired of listening to. To me, this album and Security are the pinnacle of his career.

[Fracktured]

Saw this tour and love the album.

[rickm]

One of my PG favs. I also like a lot the one sung all in German, though I don't understand anything of it :-)

[JKL2000]

One of my PG favs. I also like a lot the one sung all in German, though I don't understand anything of it :-)

Some time if you want I can translate it out for you - I should be able to figure it out.

[SteveSly]

Still my favorite Gabriel album. Not a clunker in the bunch and some of his strongest individual songs.

[JKL2000]

A random but good (lip synched) selection:

[JJ88]

^I saw that for the first time last year on TV, it's a massive production number by TOTP standards.

I think this is still his best album, really a towering achievement. The first two had many strong moments but this was much tighter.

[Oreb]

I can remember listening to him do a track-by-track interview with a local DJ when this came out. Sitting on my bed in my parents' house and taking in every word.

That doesn't seem like 35 years ago...

[Halmyre]

^I saw that for the first time last year on TV, it's a massive production number by TOTP standards.

I think this is still his best album, really a towering achievement. The first two had many strong moments but this was much tighter.

If it's from TOTP, where are the gormless audience trying to work out how to dance to it? Unless it was pre-filmed as an insert.

[Rufus]

The best was yet to come!!!

[Fracktured]

To me this one and the next one Security were his best efforts.

[mozo-pg]

To me this one and the next one Security were his best efforts.

Yep.

[Casey]

I remember picking this up the moment it hit my local record shop. The edge & energy are the things that immediately grabbed & held my attention. My favorite.

BTW: is that Tony Levin in the video? Full head of hair. I also noticed no cymbals on the drum kit.

[proggy_jazzer]

BTW: is that Tony Levin in the video? Full head of hair. I also noticed no cymbals on the drum kit.

John Giblin, I believe, who also played most of the bass on the album. TLev contributed only Stick, and on only one track ('I Don't Remember'), as he was busy with Paul Simon that year. That one track, though, caught my ear in a big way and made me want to check out the instrument making that remarkable sound.

Love this album; but then, I think all four eponymous recordings plus So and Us are nearly perfect, so I suppose I'm a fanboy ;-)

[rael74]

He's one scary bastard on that video.

[the winter tree]

PG3 is one of the most forward looking and innovative albums ever created. I was 18 when it came out and it took me a while to understand it. It's a huge step beyond his first 2 solo albums and is the work that really put Gabriel on the map.

Interestingly, when it was completed and played to Ahmet Ertugan (Atlantic Records prez), the first thing Ertugan said was "Has Peter been hospitalized?" The dark nature of the material didn't sit well with Ertugan. Its surprising because he seemed like a man of impeccable taste and forsight. He was soon dumped by Atlantic with Ertugan issuing a statement, "This is not what I want to hear on an Atlantic Peter Gabriel album."

I wonder if he always regretted his decision...

It certainly is a very dark album. Each song is about a different fringe character ranging from a creepy burglar, an amnesia victim in a post apocolypticsetting, a person who has no self control and beyond desperate, an assassin, etc. But the album ends with some hope with the great anthem "Biko".

[Drake]

That has to be the best lip-synch performance ever.