Hearts around the Tabletop are going boom, boom, boom as the members dive deep into Peter Gabriel’s debut solo album. The 1977 release finds the former Genesis frontman exploring a variety of musical landscapes, from grandiose epics and straight up rock to blues/jazz and barbershop quartet. Excuse me??
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I bought this album on the day of its release. I’m pretty sure that the publicity leading up to it was ‘Expect the unexpected’ though that may have been his second album it’s a long time ago. I do remember well how bizarre it seemed on the first many listenings. All the orchestral arrangements and a massive sound stage, this was as far away from Genesis as I could think of except for the quirky nature of some of the themes.here In spite of all that, I always liked it for its epic sound and the genius song order. At the end of Here Comes the Flood, I just had to flip it over and play it again. This album is Peter Gabriel. The name Car was added decades later and not in any way relative to those of us who were there at the time. I’m supposing it was a US construct and I resent that. It is still one of his top three or four records for me. My favourite song is Humdrum with as a close second Here Comes the Flood.
Great episode. When you were reviewing Tom’s latest poll, I was wondering if you might devote a future episode to a poll of polls – ask listeners to vote for their favourite Genesis track from the list of previous poll winners. You’d get fans’ all-time favourite Genesis track. That would be cool.
That’s a good idea! I throw it up the Tabletop flagpole (which is a completely different pole altogether).
…sorry…as a follow up to my comment. I saw Peter on the 1978 tour in a couple of places in Southern California. At UC Irvine where we saw him in the gym, my friends and I were near the top of the gymnasium, as the band was playing the opening to Waiting for the Big One when the vocals started, there was this mook right behind us singing the song. Then this guy touches my shoulder then my friends shoulder and works his way between us…… AND IT WAS PETER! My friend had the wherewithal to rub his baldish head as he passed us… I was, as the Limey’s say, gob-smacked.
Enjoyed the new line up, being as ever insightful, witty and interesting.
I saw PG shortly after the release of this album at Hammersmith Odeon, London. Reportedly nervous at one of his first solo gigs, he started by simply walking on to the stage and sat straight down at a grand piano. No sign of trembling fingers! Quite impressive – in no way humdrum.
Thanks, Barry. It was great to have David as a guest and we hope to have him back in the future. Very envious that you got to see PG on this tour!
I bought this album in 1978 (I think) as my first foray into pg solo. Honesty I thought maybe there was another Peter Gabriel out there and I’d blown $5 until the vibrato in Modern Love.
I’ve always considered this pg’s I-can-do-anything-musically record. Even blues, and barbershop! I was wondering how a podcast would go – there’s no Underlying Theme to talk about, quite the contrary – you guys did great.
It’s a great album. For me it’s maybe harder to pin down Why It’s Great than some of his others, but it gets a fair amount of listening time in my house. pg4 comes out on top there but this one is close.
I also bought this on it’s release day at Music + in Monterey Park, Ca. I was floored. In the intervening 40+ years I’ve come to realize the only strike against this recording is Bob Ezrin. I know you guys thought he did a bang up job, but ultimately the recording is muddy. I can’t help but think if Peter had turned to George Martin… presuming Gabriel wanted strings on this or maybe, just maybe a Steve Lillywhite, that Peter’s first solo recording might have been even better. Sorry, Ezrin sucks…now, and back then. He literally turned Kiss into a boy band, with slightly more makeup.
I know this is a couple of years old, but I just listened to it yesterday. I wanted to comment on that mystery phrase that comes after the first verse in “Solsbury Hill.” I actually hear it (and sing it) as “Emyn Muil.” Once you hear it, you can’t unhear it. It’s a Tolkien reference, which is the geographical area that Frodo and Sam enter right after they break from the fellowship. It’s the place they choose to trust Gollum. It’s an interesting counterpoint to the theme of the song, which is about taking risks on your future. The positive, optimistic, but unknown future themes in his lyrics contrast with this turning point in Lord of the Rings, where these characters take a risk to leave their friends behind and face the daunting prospect of moving forward alone with an untrustworthy guide. Now…was this deliberate? Could be garbled Gabrielese. He’s never acknowledged the lyric and it doesn’t appear in any published lyric I know of. But did Gabriel drop random literary references in his prior Genesis work without any explanation whatsoever? Absolutely. So, while I don’t know that this is what it is, it definitely fits.
Does any one else have thoughts on this?
One more thing…one of you mentioned Gabriel’s “Kermit the Frog” voice. If you want to hear him doing full-on Kermit the Frog, check out his cover of “Strawberry Fields Forever” for the multi-artist compilation album All This and World War II, also released in 1977 and likely recorded in the same sessions or time period as his first album.