Although not his biggest commercial success, this Peter Gabriel album is his most triumphant (and sometimes uncomfortable) work...every track is a winner. Gabriel's gift as a songwriter has always been to create "moody" songs, usually with a foreboding or creepy edge. His voice, of course, is well suited to that style. In this album, we get to hear him in his best, most-varied voice, and the music behind the voice is about as varied as you're likely to hear.INTRUDER Told in the first person (as many of his songs about "troubled" protagonists are), this song celebrates a burglar...kinda. In this case, the intruder breaks in to the home, but maybe not to steal. It is implied that he mostly likes the rush of going through drawers and jewelry, and watching his victims sleeping, or even enjoying their fear when they sense he is there. Creepy stuff, with a great, pouding percussion (provided in part by Phil Collins).
NO SELF CONTROL: Similar to his later, excellent I HAVE THE TOUCH, the observations of a person obsessed with making contact. Obviously a loner, reaching out in inappropriate ways:
"Got to pick up the phone
I will call any number
I will talk to anyone...
Street after street
Night after night
I walk on through the rain..."
I DON'T REMEMBER The album's most "rockin'" song, if that's what you're looking for. The narrator has lost his sense of identity.
FAMILY SNAPSHOT First person again, this time about an assasin, in the moments right before he takes his fatal shot at the president. Inspired by the Kennedy killing (he even mentions the governor), but the motivations have to deal more with an unhappy childhood. The psychology is a bit pat and easy, but the song itself (with lots of tempo and time signature changes) is unforgettable, and Gabriel's emoting has never been better. It's one of my favorite.
AND THROUGH THE WIRE Don't claim to know what this one is about, but it jams!!
GAMES WITH FRONTIERS An early Gabrial "single" I remember the video from YEARS ago. A great song to sing along with, about how the spitting matches and wars between our leaders really resembles a kids game. It's an upbeat song with a downbeat message...instantly hummable though.
NOT ONE OF US: Explores how one group may reject others who don't look or act like they do. Another upbeat tempo song, with a somber message.
NORMAL LIFE Mostly an instrumental, but there's a brief verse halfway through:
"Its nice here with a view of the trees
Eating with a spoon, they don't give you knives
'spect you watch those trees, blowing in the breeze
We want to see you lead a normal life."
That's it. But you've got to hear it in the context of the music. A beautiful, even touching song.
BIKO One of Gabriel's crowning moments, keeping alive in very simple lyrics the life of South African freedom activist Stephen Biko (see the movie CRY FREEDOM with Denzel). It's incredibly evocative, and the kind of song that in concert becomes a rallying cry. Has the power to raise goosebumps.
If you are looking for intelligently crafted music that isn't all lightness and fluff, check out this brilliant, haunting work!
