Gabriel, Peter - "So"

Gabriel, Peter - So
1986/2012, Real World

1. Red Rain
2. Sledgehammer
3. Don't Give Up
4. That Voice Again
5. Mercy Street
6. Big Time
7. We Do What We're Told (milgram's 37)
8. This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)
9. In Your Eyes

I've always been meaning to dig a little bit further into Peter Gabriel's solo stuff. I listen to Hit way too much to not have any actual albums in the vault. I started with So because, as I mentioned, I'd spend hours watching MTV when I was home sick as a child just to catch "Sledgehammer" or "Big Time." As one would expect, Peter Gabriel's pop music is artsy and compelling and wonderful. Even some of his Genesis-era weirdness shows up (like on "This is the Picture"). I've always been of the opinion that Peter Gabriel works better as a solo artist and So is the first piece of evidence I would submit. I think this was his most successful album - it's certainly his most accessible. Discussion question: I don't think I've ever heard Peter Gabriel called a "sell-out" even though he totally made commercial pop music. As opposed to Phil Collins, who gets that reputation in spades. Why is that? Granted I've never listened to Phil's solo stuff in depth. Anyway...So... it's great. Case closed.

Useless Fact: Peter Gabriel does not like album titles. The story goes that the reason he chose So as the album title is because the record company made him pick something. He thought So would look good from a visual standpoint on the album cover.

Gabriel, Peter - "Hit"

Gabriel, Peter - Hit
2003, Geffin

Disc One:
1. Solsbury Hill
2. Shock the Monkey
3. Sledgehammer
4. Don't Give Up
5. Games Without Frontiers
6. Big Time
7. Burn You Up, Burn You Down
8. Growing Up
9. Digging in the Dirt
10. Blood of Eden
11. More Than This
12. Biko
13. Stream
14. Red Rain
15. Here Comes the Flood

Disc Two:
1. San Jacinto
2. I Don't Remember
3. The Rhythm of the Heat
4. Love to be Loved
5. I Grieve
6. Family Snapshot
7. In Your Eyes
8. The Drop
9. The Tower That Ate People
10. Lovetown
11. Father Son
12. Signal to Noise
13. Downside Up
14. Cloudless

I remember loving the videos to "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" when they played them occasionally on MTV. This is another collection I got because I'm a casual fan. This naturally has all the "hits" on it with some other tunes that I was unfamiliar with because I was just too young when they came out. I ended up liking some of these more than the ones I knew! The cool thing about Peter Gabriel is his support of world music by which he is influenced. It makes the songs a bit more interesting and unique than the average pop assemblage.

Useless Fact: "The Tower That Ate People" is a new song if I remember correctly and there is some multimedia on the disc too.