Here comes the flood (Peter Gabriel) (LP 2559 - 2564)

Peter Gabriel  Peter Gabriel (Vinyl, Charisma Records, 1977) ***  

Peter Gabriel  Peter Gabriel (Vinyl, Charisma Records, 1978) *** 

Peter Gabriel  Peter Gabriel (Vinyl, Charisma Records, 1980) *** 

Peter Gabriel  Peter Gabriel (Vinyl, Charisma Records, 1982) ****  

Peter Gabriel  So (Vinyl, Virgin Records, 1986) ****  

Peter Gabriel  Us (CD, Real World Records, 1992) ***  

Genre: pop/ rock/art-rock/ prog rock 

Places I remember: Slow Boat Records; Passionate about vinyl, Real Groovy Records, Marbecks Records, TheWarehouse.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Here Comes The Flood

Gear costume: Solsbury Hill

Active compensatory factors: It's weird: I prefer Gabriel as a solo artist, to his work with Genesis. I guess it has something to do with his singular vision and experimentation. He's a pretty fascinating guy.

His first album (the first four were all called Peter Gabriel - a genius idea), the one that had the car on the cover, was a grab bag of things that caught his attention so it has a variety of styles. Most work, except for the barber shop quartet sound of Excuse Me. 

The two best moments are in the selections above - Solsbury Hill, Here Comes The Flood, but I also enjoy the Genesis like Moribund The Burgermeister and the extended jazzy feel of Waiting For The Big One.

Album number 2 (with the scratches on the cover) was more intense (no hits on this one) and dense in sound. His vocals are semi-buried as well. It's still a very rewarding experience listening to it though.

Robert Fripp's presence is felt more directly on album 2, both as a musician and a producer. Never a dull moment with Fripp onboard.

Album number 3 (with the melting face on the cover) could also be called the 'no cymbals' album, as that was Gabriel's instructions to drummers Phil Collins and Jerry Marotta. 

This is the one that launched a new Peter Gabriel up front vocal and big sound, thanks also to producer Steve Lillywhite. Like the first solo album it has two absolute standout songs - Games Without Frontiers and Biko. 

Album number 4 (a.k.a. Security in the U.S.) is the one with Shock The Monkey on it - which was the reason I bought it back in 1982. That and the videos for it and Games Without Frontiers.

The elephant in the room, the monster in the pack is, of course, So, with Sledgehammer dominating an otherwise excellent album. The album was so successful he did a Neil Young Harvest move and headed for the ditch after it. Did the success scare him, or did it enable him to do what he wanted or was it something else?

So has plenty to support Sledgehammer: Don't Give Up; Red Rain; Big Time; In Your Eyes and Mercy Street. All top efforts.

Us followed So but it took a couple of years. It's a bit of an amalgam of pre So styles. Always fascinating, but doesn't quite have the emotional pull of So. The world music thread is underlying to a more marked degree on Us.

Where do they all belong? I'm clearly not a Peter Gabriel completist. I think this will do me.