I need perspective - Peter Gabriel album by album by Alan Hewitt.

With the recent release of Peter's long awaited new album, I/O I thought it appropriate to take a retrospective look back at his recorded output, or as the title says, try to get some perspective on them.

It is hard to believe now that some forty six years have elapsed since Peter first walked back into the machinery of recording and touring with his first album, the self titled Peter Gabriel. It is equally hard to believe the impact it made on this fifteen year old listener.

Anyone expecting the lengthy discourses on fantasy and legend that had defined Peter's time in Genesis was in for quite a shock. Although perhaps it should not have been, after all, Peter's final album with Genesis, the iconic, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway had already injected the first leavening of realism into the band's work. That leavening continued with Peter's first album which gets under way with the urban paranoia of Moribund The Buegermeister , a prophetic examination of manipulation and control which has sadly come to pass in this, the 21st century.

Solsbury Hill was Peter's first chart success but even here he displayed a slightly perverse streak as the song is in 7/4 time making it virtually undanceable if infinitely hummable! An instant classic and firm favourite which has deservedly remained in his live set right up to the recent I/O shows.

Modern Love does exactly what it says on the tin, it savagely excoriates our obsession with consumerism but via references to classical characters. I love the line…

"In Paris my heart sink when I see my Mona Lisa. She give me the wink, then she show me the freezer…"

Whilst the cod barbershop harmonies of Excuse Me hide a sharper message and the man behind the mask which is such an integral part of Peter's psyche - wanting the "sin" of Los Angeles but wanting to be alone at the same time, which is a fundamental dichotomy we all face at some point.

Wanting and longing also feature prominently in Humdrum - our drab existences are laid bare in this pungent track whilst Slowburn too is a devastatingly bleak look at the human condition and our instinct to "shoot down our skies" whilst trying a "handful of pills". Bold, brash and rocky as hell, this is one of Peter's boldest statements from those early days.

Waiting For The Big One … aren't we all? Peter beat Mr Collins to his evocation of a drunk (in Phil's case Say It's Alright Joe) here delivered in a lazy jazz style tune with Peter clearly sounding ever so slightly inebriated. Don't let that fool you however, the message is clear…" Once I was a credit to my credit card. Spent what I hadn't got. It wasn't hard …" wasted life is laid bare here.

Down The Dolce Vita is a mini overture but totally in the wrong place on the album. A deliberate juxtaposition I think emphasising the distorted world in which we continue to live, the metronomic clock ticks down to…

Here Comes The Flood ...the album's quiet resolution. The survivors of earth's catastrophe can no longer hide even within themselves as everything is laid bare through telepathy. Without doubt one of the most exciting songs Peter has ever committed to record. Thank goodness he wasn't "running dry" however as we shall soon see…

Barely a year separates this album from Peter's next one the equally original Peter Gabriel (AKA: PG2 or Scratch due to the nature of the cover image).

This is that difficult second album. Peter's first had taken us, and him I suspect, by surprise. Its success was immediate and deserved.

I have always struggled with this album and I don't really know why. After all it does contain several bona fide classic Gabriel cuts starting with On The Air the tale of Peter's alter ego; Mozo who goes unrecognised until he is "on the air". Indeed this sums Peter's situation up quite nicely I suppose, he, like the rest of Genesis was still completely anonymous at this time until he got on a concert stage.

Peter's struggles with the corporate side of the music "biz" are laid bare in his exhortion to "do it yourself" a brave stab at the corporate dummies dictating what artists can and cannot do merely because they control the purse strings. It was to be several years before Peter was able to live up to his own words.. "you want some control, you got to keep it small" but nevertheless this laid the blueprint for Peter's future.

If ever there was a song which is completely and totally appropriate to the world we live in it has to be Mother Of Violence especially with lines such as "it's getting hard to believe in anything at all"... Today's world of influencers and fake news was startlingly predicted by Peter in this one and sadly, as the song says, fear IS the mother of violence and we are seeing that increasingly each and every day in this scary world in which we live.

A Wonderful Day (In A One Way World) and White Shadow both examine the contradictions between reality and commerce, black from white. Nothing is as it seems and Peter challenges our perceptions here which is probably why I find this such a challenging album - but I like a challenge!

Indigo: in its own perverse way this song predates Don't Give Up in its startling description of someone on the edge, desperate and out of hope, contemplating ending it all. Unlike it's successor though, there is no light shining on the horizon.

Animal Magic is an acidic examination of militarism and the way in which it is romanticised. The song is somewhat dated now with its reference to "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland but is equally valid today, just substitute any region of conflict you can think of.

Exposure is a bleak and bare soundscape which owes everything to Gabriel's cohort on the album: Robert Fripp - not my favourite track but by a long shot worth it for Tony Levin's dirty baseline.

The remaining tracks are cast in a similar bleak mould although the album closer, Home Sweet Home is one of those songs which Gabriel was to develop the knack of writing which takes you in one direction before veering sharply off in another. In this case the tale of a doomed relationship and a suicide from which the song's central character rebounds to become a winner instead of a loser.

With the New Wave washing over the music scene in the UK at this time of this album it isn't surprising that Gabriel cut his coat to suit his cloth with sharper, more incisive songs and punchier rhythms. And speaking of rhythms…

If a week is a long time in politics, then the two year wait for Peter's next album was an interminable one for fans. Fortunately we did have the benefit once again of his decision to road test some of the songs at the handful of shows he performed at UK festivals in 1979 and they augured very well indeed I can tell you!

This album is a classic from start to finish beginning with the claustrophobic tale of a stalker and his prey, driven along by a pervasive and startling drum rhythm, dark and menacing and deeply disturbing, this one sets the tone for the entire album.

No Self Control can be interpreted on so many levels, a suicide's desperate plea for help. A murderer's self justification for his crimes? You choose. Driven along by a marimba rhythm which was the first indication of what we were to get increasingly as Peter indulged his obsession with different sounds and augmented by the vocals of Kate Bush no less, this one really hits the mark.

Start is something of a rarity, an instrumental on a PG album, short and (not so) sweet, it sets us up nicely for I Don't Remember and a tale of communication gone awry a startling song, and an instant favourite live as were many songs from this album.

Genesis were always masters of storytelling but kept their stories mythical or allegorical whilst Peter fronted the band. Family Snapshot is grounded firmly in the real and tells the story of an assassin and his potential victim. Of course, things aren't quite so simple as they seem and as the song progresses it becomes clear that the central character is (thankfully) living out his fantasies from the confines of a padded cell!

And Through The Wire dramatically examines the divisive nature of political/religious divides, we get so strange across the border indeed, which leads us nicely to…

Games Without Frontiers, a song that courted some small degree of controversy at the time of the release of the single. Dear old Auntie BEEB didn't know what to make of it and banned it from the radio! A song ostensibly about a rather childish TV show called It's A Knockout (which is name checked in the lyrics) but it hits the mark much more deeply as it eviscerates the stupidity of nationalism and the damage it causes - and is still causing in the world.

Not One Of Us is another superbly constructed dissection of how the human race treats members of its own species who for whatever reason (race, politics, sexuality etc) do not "fit in". Amazing to think that this was written 43 years ago and it remains every bit as relevant today.

Lead A Normal Life, given the subject matter of most of the other songs on this album, it isn't really surprising that this tells the short but pithy story of an asylum inmate - we are all inmates of an asylum of our own making.

Which leaves us with … Biko. What can I say about this song that hasn't already been said? It made an instant and lasting impression on me when I first heard it, ironically in the live context and a year before it was committed to the album. Here we are some 43 years later and it sadly remains as vibrant as ever and as relevant. An anguished plea for justice and humanity which never fails to raise strong emotions either live or on record.

Peter also took the brave step of releasing two of his albums in German. The first, PG 3 was subtitled “Ein Deutsches Album” and is astonishingly good! Many of the songs have additional elements in them and are significantly longer than their English counterparts. Hearing Intruder (Eindringling) in German is a genuinely scary experience! Which is precisely what Peter was aiming for with the song.

Others such as Und Dutch Den Draht (And Through The Wire) and of course, Spiele Ohne Grenzen (Games Without Frontiers) are equally as effective. The entire album is a wonderful listening experience which takes us out of our comfort zone - unless you are a German speaker of course!

Two years later and Peter repeated the experience with PG 4 this time titled “Deutsches Album”. Once again, many of these tracks gain an indefinable something in translation with no consequent loss. Der Rhythmus Der Hitze (Rhythm Of The Heat) for example is every bit as dramatic, in some aspects I would say more so as Peter's voice sounds even more impassioned here. San Jacinto and Nicht Der Erde Hat Dich Verschlukt (a very wordy Wallflower!) are equally impressive and once again, the album works on every level - something I didn't think possible at the time.

Peter was rumoured at the time to have also offered to translate the albums into Italian and Japanese but these offers were strangely declined. The latter in particular would have been a fascinating listening experience!

Two years were to elapse before Peter returned with his fourth album and to my mind at least, this remains one of his finest. A deeply dark and atmospheric album from start to finish and one which, like its predecessor, I initially had the pleasure of hearing live before the album was released. It is difficult to describe the initial impact which songs like The Rhythm Of The Heat, I Have The Touch and San Jacinto had but listening to the album again for the purposes of this review, even after all these years they have not lost the power to shock and thrill in equal measures.

As with the previous album, Peter continues to explore emotions at their most raw and basic level. The Rhythm Of The Heat for example frighteningly evokes the fear of losing self control to an outside source, driven along by a scorching rhythm section, this is a stunning opener.

San Jacinto too never ceases to amaze. Ostensibly a tale of the civilised heartlands of America as seen by a native American, the veneer is thin and soon collapses as the story of that native's initiation unfolds. The pretence of civilisation is brutally exposed…" Cut up land", Scouts and Guides make Pow Wow signs, Sit n Bull steakhouse - white men dream…" and yet through all of it, the exhortion to "Hold the line" and retain a grasp on your own culture is fearsomely strong.

I Have The Touch continues the theme of human interaction and how on the one hand we relish "contact" with our fellow human beings even if the contact may be strained and awkward. Peter, an inherently shy man, nails the dilemma of an introvert's struggles with society perfectly here.

Ritual is the theme of The Family And The Fishing Net , the ritual being that of the wedding ceremony with all of its symbolism. A deeply disturbing song this one, not a track for a nervous bride or groom to listen to before the big day!

Shock The Monkey a song about sex, "Cover me" indeed! Upbeat and rude,the references may not be obvious but the pelvic thrustings of Peter during live performances of the song leave little to the imagination.

Lay Your Hands On Me without doubt is one of the most dramatic songs Peter has ever penned. A bleak examination of a repressed life and the desire to escape.

Then we have Wallflower, a worthy successor to Biko, a bleak unforgiving examination of the plight of the world's prisoners, political and otherwise. An anthemic song which only Peter could construct from such unpromising raw materials.

The album concludes with Kiss Of Life and even after all these years I remain unsure as to what this upbeat,sassy song is actually about but after the uncompromising dark nature of most of the rest of the album it is a breath of fresh air and a glimpse of sunlight piercing the darkness.

It would be a further four years before Peter returned with So, an album which broke the mould in so many ways, from the fact it was his first to actually have a title to the image on the front cover which, unlike previous efforts, was a black and white portrait of a strikingly handsome PG!

Musically however, So managed to shock his fans in ways which no album has before or since. Here we have Peter openly and blatantly courting commerciality and (whisper it) POPularity. He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams and this album catapulted him into the same stratospheric popularity as his former cohort, Phil Collins.

The album gets under way however with a fairly topical PG effort; Red Rain, a nightmare of a song, drenched in blood and infectious rhythms which gives way to…

Sledgehammer. Now what can I say about this song that hasn't been said before? An out and out pop classic, a driving and infectious rhythm, saucy lyrics and an inventive promotional video, all combine to make this probably the track which defined Peter throughout the remainder of the Eighties.

Following this with Don't Give Up, without doubt, the greatest social commentary song I have ever heard. A heart wrenching examination of the breakdown of a relationship in the wake of unemployment graced by the awesome vocals of Kate Bush, this remains one of the high points of Peter's career.

That Voice Again,you know, the one we have nagging in our heads,colouring our every decision for good or ill.

Mercy Street and Big Time are poles apart in terms of subject matter but both serve to brilliantly illustrate the many facets of Peter and his music. The former, inspired by Anne Sexton and shimmering with emotion, whilst Big Time is Peter in glorious send up mode, a full on piss-take of himself and his position as an unlikely rock star - ego successfully deflated and brilliantly so.

We Do What We're Told (Milgrans' 37) was a real surprise. This one harks back to 1980 and was often in his live set. Here it is, in a slightly incongruous setting. The tale of what humans may do to each other if the bounds of propriety are unleashed, it sits somewhat uncomfortably in the body of this album.

This Is The Picture is not a track I can find anything to say about really, it is a somewhat drab effort which leads us to…

In Your Eyes, the album's closer and another masterpiece featuring Peter and Youssou N',Dour with sublime results. Love triumphant - nuff said!

Almost five years passed before Peter tried to emulate the success of So with US. The album opener, Come Talk To Me is certainly another strong effort examining the pain and isolation that comes from failure to communicate. Once again musically Peter takes some of the more rhythmic elements of previous work especially the Passion soundtrack, with the same soul baring vocals that are his trademark.

Love To Be Loved and Blood Of Eden examine similarly intriguing subjects. The former deals with one fundamental need: to be loved and wanted and in the latter Peter deals with a man's loss of his grip on reality and what is important. Both tracks feature suitably evocative musical accompaniments and profoundly thought provoking lyrics. Peter has, on this album managed to synthesise the raw emotion of his subject matter and it is perhaps this element of the album which makes it more difficult for those who bought into the Peter Gabriel experience on the back of the So album.

I must admit, I have always preferred the single version of Steam, known as Quiet Steam which to my mind works much better overall, although I am still even after all these years not exactly sure what the song is about!

By far the weakest track on the album is Only Us, which to my ears remains as an appallingly banal mix of incomprehensible lyrics and music. More like an out take from Passion than a contender for space on a PG album.

Washing Of The Water is much better. An examination of the need for absolution and forgiveness of sins. Its appeal lies in the (for once) overall simplicity of both lyrics and music which combine to create a truly expressive song where Peter really exposes his thoughts in almost as brilliant way as he did with Here Comes The Flood all those years ago.

Digging In The Dirt is a truly remarkable and painful exorcism of the dark inner side of humanity. Lyrics and music combine to evoke the repressed violence which is never far from the surface in all of us - that veneer of civilisation so brilliantly evoked on many of Peter's songs fractures and breaks to pieces here.

Fourteen Black Paintings is another deeply emotive track combining the best elements of Passion with a lyrical depth which is one of Peter's greatest strengths. Painful to listen to, an impassioned plea for the hope for change in personal circumstances and in a broader context, worldwide change - every bit as relevant now as it was in 1992!

Kiss That Frog is the bastard child of Sledgehammer and as such, doesn't do that much for me personally but was a great success as a single.

Secret World rounds off the album in typically emotive fashion. A tale of two people hiding their feelings from each other and the wider world - we all have our secret worlds, the masks behind which we all hide at times.

The album represented a sea change in direction for Peter at the time and remains one of his most thought provoking pieces of work.

The waits for a new album by Peter began to take an inordinate turn with fans having to wait ten years before he gave us his next offering : UP. This was a slow grower for me. The opener, Darkness begins inauspiciously with muted sounds before letting rip with a cacophony of sounds akin to vintage King Crimson. Peter's vocals are as haunting as always but musically this remains something of a hybrid between the Passion and US albums.

Growing Up is altogether more satisfying, drawing heavily on the rhythmic and aural influences which have always made Peter's albums such an adventure. It should have been a single ...but wasn't! It still has the industrial grind and syncopation which might see it as a hit on the dance floor!

Sky Blue has echoes of previous efforts,particularly some of the tracks from So, a pleasant enough track but unchallenging.

No Way Out features some superb guitar work from David Rhodes which still gets the toes tapping even after all these years. It still sounds to me like a rehash of Mercy Street and Red Rain.

I Grieve remains the stand out track from the album. It had appeared prior to the album's release on the soundtrack to the film City Of Angels. Very understated vocals and muted percussion all of which create a very melodramatic atmosphere - Gabriel at his creative best.

The Barry Williams Show became the album's first single and even now, I have to ask why? This track does not float my boat and even the wry (and I must assume) humourous lyrics sound clichéd to me.

My Head Sounds Like That is another throwback, this time going all the way back to the depressing Home Sweet Home which failed to move me. This one doesn't either.

More Than This is a vast improvement, a beauty of a song and one which became an instant favourite in Peter's subsequent live shows.

Signal To Noise was already a favourite before it found a place on the album. Peter performed it with the late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and it remains a fitting tribute to that singer's incredible voice. A bona fide classic.

The Drop rounds off the album in a suitably dramatic and simple way. Minimalist piano and vocals make it a haunting in its simplicity, and yet provocative. Peter still manages to challenge our preconceptions with this one.

2010's Scratch My Back was a brave attempt at a covers album but with a difference. The original premise was that Peter would cover various artists' tracks and then a second album would see them return the favour by covering tracks by Peter. The second album never materialised. Utilising an orchestra instead of a band, the result is, to me, a hit and miss affair. Tracks such as album opener, Heroes (David Bowie) and The Boy In The Bubble (Paul Simon) work extraordinarily well in their new setting.

Others such as Mirror Ball (Elbow) and Flume (Bon Iver) leave me not even mildly titillated. Whether this is because I am totally unfamiliar with the artists in question I don't know.

The Power Of The Heart (Lou Reed), The Book Of Love (Magnetic Fields) and I Think It's Going To Rain Today (Randy Newman) are exquisitely delivered in their new orchestral coat but the rest of the album is a desultory affair to my ears.

And there you have it. All that remains is to say a few words about Peter's new album, and those you can find elsewhere in this edition.