Gabriel, Peter

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PETER GABRIEL

Born: Woking, Surrey, England, 13 February 1950

Genre: Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: Us (1992)

Hit songs since 1990: "Steam," "Digging in the Dirt"

One of the most adventurous and provocative artists in modern rock music, Peter Gabriel has been pushing lyrical, thematic, and technological boundaries since the mid-1970s, when he gave up lead vocal duties in the rock band Genesis to pursue a solo career. By the early 1980s Gabriel had developed an ardent cult following, although widespread fame did not arrive until 1986, when his album So became a multiplatinum best-seller on the basis of the hit "Sledgehammer." Known for his meticulous attention to detail and bouts with creative block and depression, Gabriel spaces his albums years—even decades—apart. His lyrics are notable for their dark themes, wry humor, raw sexual energy, and a mistrust and horror of modernity. This focus has also informed his personal crusades; among rock artists, he has become an outspoken and dedicated activist on behalf of human rights. Paradoxically, Gabriel's highly conceptual work revels in the technological possibilities offered by the modern studio.

At the age of fifteen, while attending the Charter-house School in England, Gabriel formed Genesis with his classmates Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford, and Anthony Phillips. Initially recording in a style similar to 1960s pop group the Moody Blues, Genesis gradually sharpened its sound after the addition of drummer Phil Collins in 1970. At the same time Gabriel added theatrical elements such as masks and props to the group's live performances. In 1975 he left Genesis and two years later released Peter Gabriel, the first of three self-titled albums. The third Peter Gabriel, released in 1980, is often viewed by critics as his best album, featuring "Biko," a song eulogizing murdered anti-Apartheid poet and activist Steve Biko. The song, incorporating traditional South African funeral music, represented one of the first ventures into the pan-cultural "world music" that became popular in the 1980s. An angry statement against the racism and brutality of Apartheid, "Biko" led to the banning in South Africa of Gabriel's entire catalog. Although "Shock the Monkey" (1982) provided him with a minor hit, the album So (1986) made Gabriel an international star. His most upbeat and accessible album, So features the R&B-inspired hit "Sledgehammer," packed with sexual allusions, and ballad hits such as the inspirational "Don't Give Up," recorded with the rock performer Kate Bush.

Although he scored the music for the controversial 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ, Gabriel did not release a follow-up album to So until 1992, when Us appeared. In the intervening years, Gabriel had endured a troublesome divorce and bouts of severe depression—experiences that influence the dark themes explored on Us. As evidence of Gabriel's fascination with world music, "Come & Talk to Me" features sonic elements as diverse as bagpipes and African chants. The simmering rhythms of "Love to Be Loved" underscore themes of sadness and loss: "Let it pass, let it go, let it leave / From the deepest place I grieve." "Steam," similar in sound and feel to "Sledgehammer," employs swaggering, R&B-style horns and an insinuating, recurrent guitar lick. One of the album's most moving cuts is the understated "Washing of the Water," driven by a quiet, gentle piano. Gabriel's lyrics, delivered in his hoarse, textured voice, emphasize cleansing and release: "I need something to turn myself around." Unlike his fellow progressive rock artist and world-music proponent David Byrne, who often distances himself emotionally from his material, Gabriel uses the medium of recording to cut to the core of his pain.

During the years following the release of Us, Gabriel became involved with various side projects, most notably, the development of a record label devoted to world music. He also spent considerable time in seclusion in the English countryside. As a result fans were forced to wait a long time—ten years—for his next album, Up (2002). A typically dense, challenging effort, the album revels in multiple layers of sound and the juxtaposition of contrasting moods, a result of the long, arduous studio hours Gabriel put into its creation. The album's opener, "Darkness," alternates soft, string-laden passages with jarring, slashing bursts of electric guitar, whereas "Growing Up" begins with a somber violin and synthesized piano and then adds varying sonic elements—vocals, light drums. Gabriel augments the song's rhythm with the kind of insistent electronic beat associated with dance or "club" music. Inaccessible and mysterious, Up repositions Gabriel as one of rock's most uncompromising artists.

Accorded complete artistic freedom by his record company, Geffen, Peter Gabriel has released albums only sporadically, often spending years in honing and sculpting them. Known for his dark themes and creative boldness, Gabriel has created his own unique place within modern rock music.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Peter Gabriel [1] (Atco, 1977); Peter Gabriel [3] (Mercury, 1980); So (Geffen, 1986); Passion (Geffen, 1989); Us (Geffen, 1992); Long Walk Home: Music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence (EMI, 2002); Up (Geffen, 2002).