I've really just been focused on the first 3 this time around, but So is a fantastic album, Sledgehammer aside.
I've really just been focused on the first 3 this time around, but So is a fantastic album, Sledgehammer aside.
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
I don't get the general dislike on that album, mainly because it sold millions... To me, only that tear-jerking Don't Give Up is overtly commercial
Sledgehammer and Big Time are normal pieces that are in the musical continuity of Shock The Monkey and other typical Gabe sonics... The difference were the accompanying videoclips that made them huge on MTV
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
So is a wonderful album, just not my favorite. Rating a Peter Gabriel album is hard for me really, because I love them all so much. Just some really hit the spot, and the others are just amazing.
Definitely my favorite vocalist/frontman of all time during his tenure with Genesis but he started to lose me after PG III with the exception of San Jacinto on IV and Mercy street on So. My ranking would probably be I, II, III after that it doesn't matter. Love the Peter Plays Live SACD even tho it's only stereo. Would love a few more live releases of those early tours. Overall would recommend to check out his full catalogue with heavy emphasis on the earlier releases.
I don't like the sound of Plays Live. The drums don't sound good. Except for Levin, kind of a weak band.
II.
The rest I either found boring right off the bat, or have become bored by due to over-exposure. I don't think that PG has any great albums in his catalog, but II is the best of the bunch IMO.
Songs that made the cut on my personal CDR of PG's first few
Car - Solsbury Hill, Waiting for the Big One, Down the Dolce Vita and Here Comes the Flood
Scratch - Exposure, White Shadow and Mother of Violence
Melt - the whole thing!
CDR time 80:23
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
I must say that Plays live never managed to gain a spot that I expected it to have as the sole PG album, a compilation of his first four albums...
Never heard the SACD, but I did own the vinyl for two years or so, than I borrowed the CD, but I wasn't convince either.
How's Secret World Live??
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Yes, 'Plays Live' is a disappointment IMHO. Did this have a 2-cd release? I only have a scratchy, but still playable, copy of the abridged CD. I never listen to it enough to upgrade, really, anyway.
'Secret World Live' is more expansive but I don't listen to it that much. I have however played the SW-EP many times, with 'Red Rain', 'San Jacinto' and 'Mercy Street'. The former lacks the groove of the studio one IMHO (which had two drummers on it) but the latter two are very strong performances.
OXO hit the spot at the Dome and for a while I played the cd regularly until my partner said give it a rest...
Yes, “Plays Live” was released on 2 CD’s. I have it, and always thought the sound was ok given the year it was recorded. I also saw that tour and it remains one of my all time favorite concerts and the best I have seen Gabriel of the 3 times I have seen him. Much of the material I like better than the studio versions.
I also think “Secret World Live” is excellent as is the DVD. I did not see this tour, but the DVD always made me wish I had.
Steve Sly
I'm getting the Live in Athens DVD from the So tour
Why is it whenever someone mentions an artist that was clearly progressive (yet not the Symph weenie definition of Prog) do certain people feel compelled to snort "thats not Prog" like a whiny 5th grader?
According to Wikipedia the no cymbals sound origination was something Gabriel himself requested to Marotta and Phil Collins during the recording of PG III. It also seems to have lead to the " gated Drum" sound that Phil Collins used later on in his recordings.
Details[edit]
Gabriel's ex-Genesis band mate Phil Collins, who succeeded Gabriel as Genesis' lead vocalist, plays drums and provides backing vocals on several of the album's tracks. In particular, Collins played drums on "Intruder", which has been cited as the first use of Collins' "gated drum" sound. This effect, as created by Steve Lillywhite, Collins and Hugh Padgham,[7] was featured on Collins' and Genesis's recordings throughout the 1980s. The distinctive sound was identified via experiments by Lillywhite, Collins and Padgham, in response to Gabriel's request that Collins and Jerry Marotta not use cymbals on the album's sessions. The sound was significant enough and influential enough that it has been claimed by Gabriel, Padgham, Collins, and Lillywhite. The drum sound on this album has been noted by Public Image Ltd as influencing the sound on their album Flowers of Romance,[8] whose engineer, Nick Launay, was in turn employed by Collins to assist him with his first solo album, Face Value.[8] Paul Weller, who was recording with his band The Jam in a nearby studio, was asked to contribute guitar to "And Through The Wire". Gabriel believed Weller's intense guitar style was ideal for the track.
I love that record; it was the most prog-sounding album he'd done since Security, so yeah, I agree with you and don't understand why it's less regarded. That said, while I agree Barry Williams Show is the weakest track on the record, I understand why it was the video/single - it was the most accessible, with a hook-driven chorus. So it makes sense he chose that one, even if the rest of the record blew it away.
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