Scratch, Car, Melt & Security- How do the early Gabriel solo albums hold up?

[Kcrimso]

Are you forgot the beauties like Down the Dolce Vita, Humdrum, Waiting for the Big One, or you just don't like them?

I don't particularly like any of those songs. And Down the Dolce Vita is quite annoying song.

[everyday]

So for me; then 3,4,1 and 2.

[bob_32_116]

Are you forgot the beauties like Down the Dolce Vita, Humdrum, Waiting for the Big One, or you just don't like them?

PG I is the only one I have any real familiarity with, and IMO the opening track is so good that it sets the rest of the album up as a bit of an anti-climax. Here Comes the Flood is good, and certainly the right choice as the closer, but I don't swoon over the song the way some people do. I have probably heard Solsbury Hill too many times to still appreciate it."Excuse Me" is an amusing novelty, but I think it outstays its welcome.

[Drake]

4 is the masterpiece. 3 is brilliant. 1 and 2 are ok.

But do you never get tired of Solsbury Hill?

[-=RTFR666=-]

So for me; then 3,4,1 and 2.

For me as well.

[mozo-pg]

III
IV
I
II

However, II is a gem on an uneven release. Lot's of highlights.

[bill g]

The only PG album I listen to much these days is 'Up', which is probably my personal favorite. But I should revisit these, have always liked them. Just not LOVED them. Of the first four:

PG1 - 'Down The Dolce Vita', and 'Humdrum' are two of my favorite songs in his entire catalog. Overall, a pretty good album, with a few tracks that don't do a whole lot for me

PG2 - For me, this falls under 'pretty good, but nothing great'. I suppose 'Flotsam & Jetsam' is my favorite song on the album, and I like 'Mother of Violence' and 'White Shadow' well enough too. But a lot of what to me is fairly ordinary on this one.

PG3 - A bit more focused effort even if it is a product of it's time. A definite improvement over PG2, and pretty consistent

PG4 - This was my favorite PG album until 'Up', which is to say I like it a whole lot better than the first 3. 'San Jacinto' is pretty outstanding.

[moecurlythanu]

I like them better than what came after, but rarely spin any of them anymore. There's just many better choices in my collection, as well as an endless influx of new-to-me items coming in.

III is the best, and sounded pretty innovative at the time. Great tour too.

II is second. The dry production and somewhat sparse arrangements are unique in the Gabriel catalog.

IV is third. Gabe gets his world beat groove on, presaging some of what he would do on So, while also looking backwards at III.

I is fourth. A few good songs. Gabriel tries to establish himself as a Rock artist, distancing himself from his previous band's sound, but overall a very unfocused effort.

[Faithscience]

This order for me:
1. PG I - I love this record! Great songs and performances and a wonderful production by Bob Ezrin. There's still a little Genesis influence creeping in here and there (especially in "Moribund").
2. PG III - An important and influential album. Overall, it is one of his strongest musical statements and gave Peter the direction he would follow to some degree ever since its release (the incorporation of world music, etc.).
3. PG IV - Another great album, only slightly below PG III - and some of that has to do with III establishing the format that he used on IV. And I like 'The Family and the Fishing Net"! It was great to see it on the 25th anniversary of So tour.
4. PG II - Okay, this is the weak one. I've always felt it was front loaded with the best songs, the second half features some of Peter's weakest writing. The production doesn't help it much either.

[olivetti]

4, 3, 1 and 2. But rate 1&2 on the same level.
Family and the Fishing Net is a minimalistic masterpiece!

[g.bremer]

For me it's 4,3,2. I never liked one. "Here Comes the Flood" is much better with the minimalist approach used on "Exposure".

3 was a real revelation for me. In the AOR radio dominated world of 1980, 3 was a light shining in a dark place. It showed me what a unique talent he is. This was before I discovered WLIR (LI, New York) and a whole new world of music. 4 is my favorite though, there's not a single track I don't like.

[ProgArtist]

PG II - Okay, this is the weak one. I've always felt it was front loaded with the best songs, the second half features some of Peter's weakest writing. The production doesn't help it much either.

Exactly.

As for "Here Comes the Flood", I definitely prefer the big sound of the original, which fits the subject matter perfectly.

[Kcrimso]

Exactly.

As for "Here Comes the Flood", I definitely prefer the big sound of the original, which fits the subject matter perfectly.

The best version of Here Comes The Flood is on Fripp's Exposure album. Ezrin's bombastic production almost wrecked the fine song on Gabriel's first album.

[ProgArtist]

The best version of Here Comes The Flood is on Fripp's Exposure album. Ezrin's bombastic production almost wrecked the fine song on Gabriel's first album.

Well, I haven't heard Exposure, but I really like the approach to the song on PG1. I mean, he's singing about saying "goodbye to flesh and blood", which calls for a bit of bombast in my mind.

[strawberrybrick]

Absolutely love 3 and 4, classics, forward thinking, but most of all consistent as albums. 1 never really did it for me, while 2 is half fantastic the other half meh - but I want to love it.

All that said, I recall UP being a fantastic album but haven't listened to it for years.

[JJ88]

'Here Comes The Flood' is a malleable enough song to withstand both Ezrin's bombast and the more stripped-down versions of later years. Perhaps the most widely known version is actually the later Shaking The Tree one.

[arise_shine]

I JUST started exploring PG's solo catalog. I started with I and So. My thoughts:

I: The worst of what I find annoying about PG-era Genesis. Solsbury Hill is a great song though.
So: I was 11 when this came out, and it left a huge impression on me. Mostly the hits (which I still like), but I love the non-hit tracks too. Beautiful atmospheres, and I really like his "simple, smoky" vocal style.

Guess I'll work my way backward and/or forward from So, then?

[bob_32_116]

In case anyone is not aware, there was a whole thread about So, it being the featured album on one occasion.

[mozo-pg]

I JUST started exploring PG's solo catalog. I started with I and So. My thoughts:

I: The worst of what I find annoying about PG-era Genesis. Solsbury Hill is a great song though.
So: I was 11 when this came out, and it left a huge impression on me. Mostly the hits (which I still like), but I love the non-hit tracks too. Beautiful atmospheres, and I really like his "simple, smoky" vocal style.

Guess I'll work my way backward and/or forward from So, then?

I highly recommend going back - and getting Up.

[CageNY]

For me, "Security" is Gabriel's masterpiece.

[rcarlberg]

Has Peter ever explained publicly why he eschewed titles on these four?

[StevegSr]

Has Peter ever explained publicly why he eschewed titles on these four?

Unfortunately, no.

[moecurlythanu]

Has Peter ever explained publicly why he eschewed titles on these four?

He said he intended his solo albumsto be like issues of a magazine.

[-=RTFR666=-]

Unfortunately, no.

Sure he has, many times in interviews over the years. He wanted to put out albums as if they were editions of magazines. He cited Life and Time magazines as examples. Then Geffen pitched a fit with PG IV and so they compromised at the time with a sticker "Security" on the release - he called it "the world's first disposable album title."

[StevegSr]

Sure he has, many times in interviews over the years. He wanted to put out albums as if they were editions of magazines. He cited Life and Time magazines as examples. Then Geffen pitched a fit with PG IV and so they compromised at the time with a sticker "Security" on the release - he called it "the world's first disposable album title."

I should have actually listened to his interviews instead of flipping them off and listening to Gabriel's albums instead. Silly me.