PETER GABRIEL: SOMETHING ABOUT US
A Truly Unique Piece Of Art
by ahand83
Back in 1986 Peter Gabriel reached superstar status with the release of his acclaimed album ‘So’, giving him the top 10 singles ‘Sledgehammer’ and ‘Don’t Give Up’ of which the first reached no. 1 in America. The release was followed by the ‘This Way Up Tour’ trotting him all around the globe leaving crowds astound by his gift for performance. After that, Gabriel retreated back into the shadows – the shadows of Christianity in some respect – working on ‘Passion’, a very ambitious soundtrack for Martin Scorcese’s movie ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’. ‘Passion’ was recorded in the – by then still under construction – Real World Studios complex in Box, nearby Bath, a property Gabriel purchased in 1987.
The lovely situated estate formed the background for the successor of ‘So’ which was to become ‘Us’, a record Gabriel once describe as his most personal. At the end of the 1980s Peter Gabriel was at least to say a busy man and the split up from his first wife Jill seemed inevitable. After the split Gabriel had a relationship with Rosanne Arquette, the American actress known for her role in ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’. The relationship didn’t last long. Gabriel sorted out his personal life on his new record ‘Us’. In interviews he tried explaining what the title was about, but for some reason ‘Us’ as a title didn’t stand out compared to titles like ‘Peter Gabriel’ or ‘So’. The music did in some respect. ‘Us’ truly became an unique record, a dark and unpredictable work of art, that was less commercial than its predecessor. Nevertheless, some of the songs on ‘Us’ like ‘Digging in the Dirt’, ‘Steam’ and ‘Kiss That Frog’ became modest hits and remain little anthems in Gabriel’s respectable oeuvre to this day. The record was produced once more with the help of Daniel Lanois and musical contributions were made not only by his loyal disciples Tony Levin, David Rhodes and Manu Katché, but by several musicians from around the globe like Sinéad O’Connor, Shankar, Levon Minassian and the Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble to name a few. Even old pall Richard McPhail was brought in for backing vocals on ‘Digging in the Dirt’.
‘Come Talk To Me’ opens the album with a crunchy guitar fading in. This could be a guitar sample played on keyboard. Drums and percussion set in and there’s the unexpected sound of bagpipes playing a simple melody. Peter Gabriel introduces new sounds to his listeners and shows he’s not afraid to experiment with instruments from around the world. The whole feel of the track is dark and uplifting at the same time. Gabriel’s voice sounds warm and is accompanied by backing vocals by Sinead O’Connor. The lyrics, Gabriel explained in interviews, are about his teenage daughter, about willing to communicate better, but both finding it hard to overcome their obstacles.
‘Love To Be Loved’ is a beautiful track about inner soul searching. Gabriel’s divorce put a big mark on his song writing. You can hear a man struggling with the emptiness the divorce has left him with, rediscovering who he really his without a partner by his side. The lyrics can also be explained as a person analysing his egocentric perception when it comes down to loving someone or being loved instead.
‘Blood of Eden’ is another track with Sinead O’Connor on vocals and could be seen as Gabriel’s intend to write a second ‘Don’t Give Up’. There’s no leading part for O’Connor on this song but she generously provides harmony vocals on the refrain. She has an eccentric voice with character and it’s beautifully layered into the music by producer Daniel Lanois. The single got released in March 1993 and was accompanied with a video from directors Nichola Bruce and Michael Coulson. Again, the comparison to ‘Don’t Give Up’ wasn’t exaggerated. Peter and Sinead were filmed interacting intimately like did Peter and Kate Bush in 1986. No real sexual tension there, but just two people giving their best performance to the video.
‘Steam’ is an up-tempo track with a pumping beat, a strong guitar loop from David Rhodes and funky brass arrangements. It reminded people of ‘Sledgehammer’ and the obvious comparison brought Gabriel another top 10 UK hit. Steam was released as a single in January 1993 and another top notch video was produced to promote the song. Fairly new computer animation technics were used and the video had some surreal elements to it. The track was played live on the ‘Secret World Tour’ in 1993/’94 and while playing the song, clouds of steam boiled up from underneath the stage floor.
Probably one of the least known tracks of the album is ‘Only Us’, a track that evolves around a rhythm Gabriel created with help from his engineer David Bottril and his assistant Richard Blair. It’s a subdued track with again, personal lyrics. Gabriel sings: “I can hear you calling me, home from the great escape – yes, I can read you loud and clear.” He might be referring to his divorce. There’s some great bass playing from Tony Levin on ‘Only Us’. The track ends surprisingly with a shuffle beat accompanied by a repetitive guitar riff by David Rhodes.
‘Washing of the Water’ is another slow song with some of the best vocal performances from Gabriel ever. Gabriel was in his forties and he now had the warm and grating voice of a man who really had lived. He sings: “Kill that fear of emptiness – loneliness I hide” with a lot of strength and passion.
Gabriel described ‘Digging In The Dirt’ as an aggressive song about losing control. He said that everyone sometimes comes to a point when reasoning’s shut off but when primary emotions take control. He therefore did some digging of his own to “find the teeth that matched his wounds.” This is reflected in the lyrics.
Then comes ‘Fourteen Black Paintings’. This is a beautifully crafted track with doudouk playing by Levon Minassian, a native instrument from Armenia. The rhythm track is a combination of a talking drum, djembe and programming. The short lyric “…from this power come the change” reminded of a song like ‘We Do What We’re Told’ from ‘So’. Not many words are needed to make a song’s message clear.
Based on a drum loop by Richard Blair ‘Kiss That Frog’ is a pop song with a rough edge. The song starts with a low bombastic beat that blew up anyone’s speakers, apart from the ones at Real World. The harmonica on this track is played by Peter himself. The lyrics are about a frog king trying to seduce a princess for a kiss, simple really, unlike most other lyrics on the album. ‘Kiss’ was seen as a potential hit and the song became the fourth single from the album. Like Steam a video was made for ‘Kiss’ with modern computer animation.
The closing track ‘Secret World’ starts off quietly and builds up to a more up-tempo refrain. ‘Secret World’ also became the title for the upcoming tour. Peter played the song live many times ever since and it’s become a huge stage favourite. Instead of the album version where the power of the song is held back, ‘Secret World’ burst open when played live. David Rhodes provided a strong rock riff for the middle section of the track – crowds went mad.
Gabriel let several visual artists contribute to the artwork for the record that was finally released on September 28th 1992. A massive tour followed, his most ambitious tour to date. Two live shows in Modena, Italy were filmed and recorded for the ‘Secret World Live’ release on VHS, Laserdisc and CD. The tour kept Gabriel busy until the summer of 1994 after which he merged back into the shadows not be heard from until 2002, when he went from ‘Us’ to ‘Up’.