Blood of Eden (Peter Gabriel, 1992)

When Peter Gabriel successfully combines good melodies, original arrangements and a first rate vocal performance... well, Paradise reveals itself to the well educated ears. And such a perfect mix is not rare in Peter's discography. "Blood of Eden" definitely is one of those songs, with its ethereal and even catchy sung theme, its intricate and syncopated rythm and, of course, Peter's deep and sensitive voice. Plus two fantastic guest singers: Sinéad O' Connor and Daniel Lanois!

Probably not the best Peter Gabriel's cover art. But who cares?

Of all these features, as you can imagine, I better like the music Peter wrote and the way he found to create a special, somewhat ancestral atmosphere. In this pure magic the singers enact the double game of feminine and masculine worlds and their need of union. Like all great songs, this "Blood of Eden" carries me away far, so far from the daily passions and worries... and yet, just into life, into the core of life. 

San Jacinto (Peter Gabriel, 1982)

This is one of my favourite Peter Gabriel's tracks, it has always been, since its release in the album "Peter Gabriel IV", also known as "Security" LP. There's a tense vibration in this song, a mysterious mood and a deal of weird, fascinating sounds. The lyrics are about a Native American initiation ritual, a painful one, and the short lines are like a wheezy breathing. Useless to say, Gabriel's vocal performance is perfect: deep and intimate, suggestive and moving.

 

This was the last album Peter Gabriel titled simply by his name.

The electronic effects are like ancestral instruments, and Jerry Marotta's drumming adds a syncopated heart to the track. When the chorus come in and Peter's voice rises up like a scream, I see flashes and colours from an unknown desert bursting out. I do think this song is more like an emotional trip than a mere musical experience.

Biko (Peter Gabriel, 1980)

Why "Biko" should be considered as aprog song? Tell me, why not? It's a highly experimental track, combining (sampled) Scottish pipes and (real) African choirs, offering some 7 minutes of distressing atmosphere and mysterious landscapes, and finally featuring clever and strong lyrics against Sourth-African apartheid. If you better like I file this under the label world music, well, I'll certainly do, but still I'll keep it here in my blog. "Biko" has the power to move me deeply each time I listen to it and I sincerely admire this deal of great musical ideas Peter gathered in one wonderful track.

Taken from the third Gabriel's album (also called "melted"),

Biko was released as a single in several different supports.

This one was a 12" vinyl single.

I can't decide what's the best one: the Scottish thing? The electronic drumming melting in the African background? The martial and sad verse? The strange and effective chorus Biko, Biko because Biko? The intense vocals? Name yours, I really can't tell, so, if you please, I take the whole lot. Thank you Peter, thank you so much and if you think a prog blog isn't your place, well, forgive me, but this is exactly what I call prog.

Red Rain (Peter Gabriel, 1986)

If ever Peter Gabriel wrote a progressive rock song, in a profound and not necessarily formal way, this is the one. Featuring a fluctuating wall of sound and dominated by the deep and hoarse voice of Peter, "Red Rain" (from the album "So") is an intense and surprising emotional trip. The sound is maniacally laboured and yet the first impact is that of a natural, spontaneous rock song, growing up in volume and poignancy until the first emotional pitch, then going by a pair of tempo changes up to the ending largo. The 2012 remaster of "So" magnify this musical abundance.

Peter Gabriel during his "So" world tour (1986).

Maybe for the first time from his Genesis years, Peter expresses the wide range of feelings of his voice, abandoning for a while any electro-rock and ethno-rock experimentations and coming back to his roots. Also the lyrics, related to a Peter's recurring dream, concur with their sanguine imagery to the strength of this track. I really think this is one of the most moving songs I've ever heard in Peter Gabriel's production. And that's saying something!