My 50 Favorite Albums (continued)

In 1982, my friend Bob convinced me to go on a road trip with him and some friends to some place in upstate NY (from Boston where we were all at MIT) to see Peter Gabriel.  I wasn't really a fan at the time but Bob was and it sounded like a fun time.  So I went along.

It was the greatest show I had seen at the time and certainly one of the greatest shows I've ever seen.  When Peter Gabriel jumped into the crowd singing "Lay Your Hands On Me", I was blown away.

It was artist meets audience in its most fundamental form and it was amazing.  It wasn't a cheap trick to get the audience going.  Gabriel was living out his music and he meant it.

That tour was for Gabriel's fourth record, called Security.  It is a brilliant record, many say his best.  And I love it as I do all of Gabriel's records (and his Genesis work before he went solo).

But it's not my favorite Gabriel album.  I've gone back and listened to all of them this week.  And the one that makes my skin tingle and brings tears to my eyes is Gabriel 3, also called Melt.

What a record this is.  The drumming, the bass, the singing, the lyrics, the sound, everything about this record is stunning.

There is a part of this record that may be my favorite song sequence in rock music.  No Self Control into Start with its haunting sax solo, into I Don't Remember, then the devastating Family Snapshot, and finally And Through The Wire.  Wow.  Music like that just doesn't get made very often.

Comments

[Brandon]

Am I the only one who's noticed that Dr. Dre's, Chronic has made your top 50 albums? The Michael Bolton character from the movie Office Space keeps popping into my head every time I see that for some reason, but who am I to judge.

I'm just glad I'm not all alone in this world secretly hoping for more old school Compton Gangsta rap.

Good for you!

All My Best,
Brandon

[Bryan William Jones]

You have got to admit that "And Through The Wire" is one of the most powerful songs ever written. It has a seductive element to it that for me somehow represents an anthem for the Internet with all the promise and pain that it brings with it.

Finishing the album up with the beautiful "Lead A Normal Life" segueing into the haunting "Biko" makes my hair stand on end.

On a somewhat related note, I have my entire iTunes library duplicated on my workstation at the lab. "And Through The Wire" was cranking in the lab one afternoon and my student walks in and asks "Is that Ozzy Osborne?" To him (a 21 year old) it was sooo raw, but he had never before heard early Peter Gabriel and had no idea.

[jackson]

You got me into Gabriel, and I agree that 3 is his best, though I'm particular to 1 (Wet Car). I remember in 85 when Tony Alva said that I didn't REALLY like Gabriel, I simply thought it was cool to 'be into it'. I hope Tony can now admit that I really do like Gabriel.

[Sparky]

>>In 1982, my friend Bob convinced me to go on a road trip with him and some friends to some place in upstate NY (from Boston where we were all at MIT) to see Peter Gabriel>>

Great to hear! It's a shame you didn't catch the Boston show Peter played at the Music Hall (The Orpheum) around that same time. You wouldn't believe what an intense show that was and the sound quality was peak. I was from Worcester and didn't become a Gabriel/Genesis fan until 1984. Plays Live and Security made me really wish I had been there. You were lucky to catch that one.

Leaving you with some audio of the 1982 Orpheum show that might bring back memories.
I uploaded a mix of rare stuff well as a few others on my site. http://www.sparky.furtopia.org/MP3/

One fan to another,
~ Sparky