Peter Gabriel (1978 album)
Peter Gabriel | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2 June 1978[1] | |||
Recorded | November 1977 – February 1978[1] | |||
Studio | Relight Studios, Hilvarenbeek, The Netherlands The Hit Factory, New York[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:29 | |||
Label | Charisma | |||
Producer | Robert Fripp | |||
Peter Gabriel chronology | ||||
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Singles from Peter Gabriel | ||||
Peter Gabriel is the second studio album by the English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, released on 2 June 1978 by Charisma Records. Gabriel started recording the album in November 1977, the same month that he had completed touring in support of his debut solo release. He employed former King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, who was part of Gabriel's early touring band, to produce the album and incorporated his use of Frippertronics effects on the co-written "Exposure".
The album later became known informally as Scratch, referring to the album's artwork by Hipgnosis. Some music streaming services refer to it as Peter Gabriel 2: Scratch.[6]
The album reached No. 10 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 45 on the US Billboard Pop Albums chart.[7]
Background
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Robert_Fripp_2.jpg/220px-Robert_Fripp_2.jpg)
Unlike his first album, which was produced by Bob Ezrin, Gabriel instead selected Robert Fripp to produce his 1978 eponymous release. Gabriel briefly considered working with Ezrin again, but ultimately decided against it.[8] Compared to Ezrin, who was more insistent on dictating the arrangements, Fripp favored a more spontaneous work process that allowed Gabriel to contribute his own musical ideas.[9] Gabriel credited Fripp with creating a studio environment that was conducive to creativity.
Robert's approach to the process of recording was very good. He likes situations to happen rather than make them happen. On the first album I wasn't confident of my own ability in arrangement, whereas on the last one I was a lot more confident and had definite ideas.[10]
Fripp utilised his Frippertronics technique on the track "Exposure", which he and Gabriel cowrote.[11] He later recorded a version of the song as the title track of his 1979 solo album Exposure.[12] During the assembly of the album package, Fripp originally wanted the liner notes to include Produced by Robert Fripp for Peter Gabriel to indicate his belief that he abdicated too much creative control to Gabriel.[9]
Artwork
[edit]The cover depicts an image of Gabriel with several vertical grooves gouged into it that end at his fingertips. He stands with hands raised, palms facing himself, and fingers bent to simulate the appearance of tearing the image. The effect was achieved by gluing strips of torn paper onto a photo of Gabriel in the appropriate pose, taken by photographer Peter Christopherson, then using Tipp-Ex correction fluid to touch up the spots where they met his fingers.[13]
Critical reception
[edit]Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chicago Sun-Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Classic Rock | 7/10[16] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[18] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Uncut | 7/10[21] |
The Village Voice | B−[22] |
In the NME in 1978, Nick Kent wrote: "Its brazenly left-field veneer left me cold at first, and it's only now that its strengths are starting to come across ... once past the disarming non-focus veneer, there's a quietly remarkable talent at work – quiet in the manner of the slow fuse burn of 'Mother of Violence' with Roy Bittan's piano work outstripping anything he's turned out for either Bruce Springsteen or David Bowie. Closer to the root of the album, there's a purity, a strength to the songs individual enough to mark Gabriel out as a man whose creative zenith is close at hand."[8]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Peter Gabriel, with additional contributors noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "On the Air" | 5:30 | |
2. | "D.I.Y." | 2:37 | |
3. | "Mother of Violence" | Jill Gabriel | 3:10 |
4. | "A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World" | 3:33 | |
5. | "White Shadow" | 5:14 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "Indigo" | 3:30 | |
7. | "Animal Magic" | 3:26 | |
8. | "Exposure" | Robert Fripp | 4:12 |
9. | "Flotsam and Jetsam" | 2:17 | |
10. | "Perspective" | 3:23 | |
11. | "Home Sweet Home" | 4:37 |
Notes
[edit]- On original LP pressings of the album, the audio of "White Shadow" (the last song on side one) continued into a locked groove.
- Some editions of the cassette release had a different running order. "A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World" was track 11, "Home Sweet Home" was track 5, and "White Shadow" was track 4.
- The original B-side of the single "D.I.Y." is a longer version of "Perspective" edited for the album and all subsequent releases.
Personnel
[edit]- Peter Gabriel – vocals; Hammond organ on 11; piano on 2; synthesizer on 5, 7
- Robert Fripp – electric guitar on 1, 3, 5, 10; acoustic guitar on 5; Frippertronics on 8
- Tony Levin – bass guitar on 1, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11; Chapman stick on 2, 4, 9; string bass on 6; recorder arrangements on 6, 9; backing vocals on 1, 4, 7, 10, 11
- Roy Bittan – keyboards on 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11
- Larry Fast – synthesizer, treatments on 1, 2, 5, 7, 10
- Jerry Marotta – drums on all except 3; backing vocals on 1, 4, 10, 11
- Sid McGinnis – electric guitar on 1, 4, 8–11; acoustic guitar on 2, 3; steel guitar on 3–5, 6, 9, 11; mandolin on 2; backing vocals on 7
- Bayeté (Todd Cochran) – keyboards on 2, 4, 6, 7
- Tim Cappello – saxophone on 10, 11
- George Marge – recorder on 6, 8, 9
- John Tims – insects on 3
Charts
[edit]Chart (1978) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[23] | 50 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[24] | 46 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] | 48 |
French Albums (SNEP)[26] | 2 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] | 49 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28] | 24 |
UK Albums (OCC)[29] | 10 |
US Billboard 200[30] | 45 |
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c Mic, Smith (2002). Peter Gabriel (booklet). Peter Gabriel. Box, Wiltshire: Real World. p. 1.
- ^ Easlea, Daryl (2018). Without Frontiers: The Life & Music of Peter Gabriel. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9781787590823. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1990). "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ a b Marsh, Dave (26 July 2001) [7 September 1978]. "Peter Gabriel [2]". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 9.
- ^ "Peter Gabriel 2: Scratch (Remastered)". 2 June 1978 – via open.spotify.com.
- ^ "UK Top 40 Hit Database". Retrieved 24 August 2008.
- ^ a b Kent, Nick (10 June 1978). "Gabriel: The Image Gets a Tweak". NME – via The Genesis Archives.
- ^ a b Brown, Mick (19 August 1978). "The Clean-Cut Approach". The Guardian – via The Genesis Archives.
- ^ Birch, Ian (1 July 1978). "Peter Gabriel, Latest Edition". Melody Maker. pp. 10, 46 – via The Genesis Archives.
- ^ "Genesis News Com [it]: Peter Gabriel - II (Scratch) - CD review". www.genesis-news.com. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ Scarfe, Graeme (2021). Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-78952-138-2.
- ^ "Peter Gabriel 2 - Scratch » Real World Galleries". realworldgalleries.com.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Peter Gabriel [2] – Peter Gabriel". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ DeRogatis, Jim (4 July 1993). "A Solo Discography". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ Beaumont, Mark (2 October 2015). "Peter Gabriel: Vinyl Reissues". Classic Rock. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Gabriel, Peter". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ Brunner, Rob (12 July 2002). "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel 1 / Peter Gabriel 2 / Peter Gabriel 3 / Security / Plays Live / Birdy / So / Passion / Us". Entertainment Weekly. pp. 84–85.
- ^ "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel". Q. No. 191. June 2002. p. 137.
- ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "Peter Gabriel". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 319–20. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Thomson, Graeme (November 2015). "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel 1 ('Car') / Peter Gabriel 2 ('Scratch') / Peter Gabriel 3 ('Melt') / Peter Gabriel 4 ('Security')". Uncut. No. 222. pp. 88–89.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (4 September 1978). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 120. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4655a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 2" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
- ^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – G". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Peter Gabriel from the menu, then press OK.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 2" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 2". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
- ^ "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
External links
[edit]- Peter Gabriel (Scratch) at Discogs (list of releases)
- Peter Gabriel (Scratch) at MusicBrainz