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Peter Gabriel (1978 album)

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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. Fripp used his Frippertronics effects on the co-written song "Exposure".

Peter Gabriel
Studio album by
Peter Gabriel
Released2 June 1978 (1978-06-02)[1]
RecordedNovember 1977 – February 1978[1]
StudioRelight Studios, Hilvarenbeek, The Netherlands
The Hit Factory, New York[1]
Genre
Length41:29
LabelCharisma
ProducerRobert Fripp
Peter Gabriel chronology
Peter Gabriel
(1977) 		Peter Gabriel
(1978) 		Peter Gabriel
(1980)
Singles from Peter Gabriel
  1. "D.I.Y."
    Released: 12 May 1978[5]

The album's cover artwork by Hipgnosis led to it becoming known as Scratch to differentiate it from Gabriel's other eponymously titled albums. 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

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Robert Fripp produced the album

Gabriel briefly considered working again with the producer of his first album, Bob Ezrin, but ultimately decided against it.[8] Gabriel instead selected Robert Fripp. Compared to Ezrin, who was more insistent on dictating the arrangements, Fripp favoured 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 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] Gabriel said that Fripp suggested this credit "because some of the style of the sound was not altogether what he wanted. He didn't want people to think that was exactly how he would have interpreted the music".[13] In a 1980 interview with Smash Hits, Gabriel stated that he failed to attain the results he desired on his second solo release in part because of his creative differences with Fripp. Gabriel believed that Fripp lacked an understanding on synthesizers and said that the two "spent too much time on theoretical arguments." He also expressed his opinion that "On the Air" and "White Shadow" were the only songs on the album that received sufficient attention in the recording studio.[14]

Artwork

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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.[15]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [16]
Chicago Sun-Times    [17]
Classic Rock7/10[18]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [19]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[20]
Q     [21]
Rolling Stone     [4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [22]
Uncut7/10[23]
The Village VoiceB−[24]

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

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All tracks are written by Peter Gabriel, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."On the Air" 5:30
2."D.I.Y." 2:37
3."Mother of Violence"Peter and Jill Gabriel3:10
4."A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World" 3:33
5."White Shadow" 5:14
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Indigo" 3:30
7."Animal Magic" 3:26
8."Exposure"Gabriel, Robert Fripp4:12
9."Flotsam and Jetsam" 2:17
10."Perspective" 3:23
11."Home Sweet Home" 4:37
  • 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

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The electric guitar on 7 is uncredited.

Charts

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Chart (1978) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[25] 50
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[26] 46
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[27] 48
French Albums (SNEP)[28] 2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] 49
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] 24
UK Albums (OCC)[31] 10
US Billboard 200[32] 45

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Mic, Smith (2002). Peter Gabriel (booklet). Peter Gabriel. Box, Wiltshire: Real World. p. 1.
  2. ^ Easlea, Daryl (2018). Without Frontiers: The Life & Music of Peter Gabriel. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9781787590823. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1990). "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  4. ^ a b Marsh, Dave (26 July 2001) [7 September 1978]. "Peter Gabriel [2]". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  5. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 9.
  6. ^ "Peter Gabriel 2: Scratch (Remastered)". 2 June 1978 – via open.spotify.com.
  7. ^ "UK Top 40 Hit Database". Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  8. ^ a b Kent, Nick (10 June 1978). "Gabriel: The Image Gets a Tweak". NME – via The Genesis Archives.
  9. ^ a b Brown, Mick (19 August 1978). "The Clean-Cut Approach". The Guardian – via The Genesis Archives.
  10. ^ Birch, Ian (1 July 1978). "Peter Gabriel, Latest Edition". Melody Maker. pp. 10, 46 – via The Genesis Archives.
  11. ^ "Genesis News Com [it]: Peter Gabriel - II (Scratch) - CD review". www.genesis-news.com. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  12. ^ Scarfe, Graeme (2021). Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-78952-138-2.
  13. ^ Clarke, Steve (20 January 1979). "The Technology of Being Peter Gabriel". NME. p. 22–23, 46 – via The Genesis Archives.
  14. ^ Taylor, Steve (26 June 1980). "Fame Without Frontiers". Smash Hits. p. 33. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Peter Gabriel 2 - Scratch » Real World Galleries". realworldgalleries.com.
  16. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Peter Gabriel [2] – Peter Gabriel". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  17. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (4 July 1993). "A Solo Discography". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  18. ^ Beaumont, Mark (2 October 2015). "Peter Gabriel: Vinyl Reissues". Classic Rock. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  19. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Gabriel, Peter". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel". Q. No. 191. June 2002. p. 137.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ Christgau, Robert (4 September 1978). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4655a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  27. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 2" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  28. ^ "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.
  29. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 2" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  30. ^ "Charts.nz – Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 2". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  31. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  32. ^ "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
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