bob_tomato's Full Review: Us [Remaster] by Peter Gabriel
I love Peter Gabriel's music. I love Peter Gabriel's lyrics. I love the albums of his that I own but most of all, I really, really love his Secret World concert video I recorded one night off cable TV several years ago. I wasn't in regular CD purchasing mode at the time (I'm slowly working on getting back to it) so I took every opportunity to record concerts shown on television – I have a collection of old video tapes that I will still pull out every once in a while to enjoy again. Secret World has always been my favorite of these recordings.
I love songs like Come Talk To Me, Digging In The Dirt and Kiss That Frog because they were performed in the Secret World show. Of course, so was Secret World - and you couldn't love a concert if the artist didn't perform the tour's namesake, could you?
I love Tony Levin's bass playing because of Secret World. I love Manu Katche's skill on percussion, not just for his work with Sting, but all the more because of his work in Secret World. Paula Cole got love from me before all the cowboys left her, because she was Peter's highly capable backup singer on Secret World. Secret World put a face to Gabriel's long time guitarist David Rhodes, whose work I also love.
you'd really love to click "off-topic" right now, wouldn't you?
Go ahead. In fact, go read this genuine review of Secret World that someone else wrote – give deadmilkboy your love; his excellently crafted opinion deserves it. I'll still be here, and when you come back, we can deal with this thing between us.
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Now that they're gone, I think I can really explain my feelings about Us and Secret World.
It's all about a love misplaced, a love formed deep within me for a second generation of music, not knowing the sweet tenderness of the first. I'll let Gabriel's lyrics for I Love To Be Loved explain:
So, you know how people are
When it's all gone much too far
The way their minds are made
Still, there's something you should know
That I could not let show
That fear of letting go
And in this moment, I need to be needed
With this darkness all around me, I like to be liked
In this emptiness and fear, I want to be wanted
Cos I want to be loved
I love to be loved
You see, I first heard the music of Us in their Secret World concert arrangements (and this is almost so ridiculous as to be unbelievable, but it's true) – with the exception of Steam, I had still never heard the original Us tracks until I bought the album a couple months ago. (Guildenstern just fainted dead away – sorry about that…)
While the songs of Us are muted, introspective and somewhat dark, the performances on Secret World are brighter and somehow happier, despite the fact that the lyrics are unchanged. Perhaps this is merely because a live performance captures that unique energy that only a great concert can bring to a song, but it explains how my opinions of the songs could be biased prior to hearing the original material. Upon first listen, the songs of Us seemed somehow lacking or, at the very least, different to my ear. In the Secret World show, songs like Come Talk To Me and Secret Worldpop - there is an intrinsic energy in both songs that can't be ignored, and the original tracks don't have it to the same extent. But is this necessarily a bad thing? After further auditions of the recording, I've found that it is not.
I initially resisted these songs – there's that fear of letting go of the sound I'd come to love so much. After a while, these songs slowly began to reveal themselves as they took their rightful place next to their Secret World counterparts in my heart. In fact, the subdued tones of Us may better illustrate the impetus behind the deeper meanings of Gabriel's lyrics and the care he took in recording this album over six years.
Us is intricately detailed and deliberate, using carefully chosen sounds that augment the theme and lyrics of each song. It's obvious that Gabriel deliberately chose to explore his own inner angels and demons, those that rule the choices he makes in his relationships with those he loves. As a result, the album is very personal; it's a voyeuristic look at the soul of the artist, and a mirror held up to the listener's own soul. Consider these lines from Secret World:
So I watch you wash your hair
Underwater, unaware
And the plane flies through the air
Did you think you didn't have to choose it
That I alone could win or lose it
In all the places we were hiding love
What was it we were thinking of?
In this house of make believe
Divided in two, like Adam and Eve
You put out and I receive
Down by the railway siding
In our secret world, we were colliding
In all the places we were hiding love
What was it we were thinking of?
The opening anthem Come Talk To Me illustrates the fact that communication is vital to all human relationships by using tribal drumming patterns, droning bagpipes, a piercing organ, and an African vocal chorus sings a short bridge. With it's synthesized rhythms and wooden flutes,Fourteen Black Paintings is reminiscent of Mercy Street from So – the droning sounds reflect the dark title of the song. Washing Of The Water floats on nothing more than piano, bare percussion, bass and spare synthesizer effects for most of it's length, tender and pleading as the voice that is heard asking for redemption.
Most of the songs are quiet and thoughtful, and they allow the lyrics their place at the forefront – Gabriel's songs are substantive both in word and sound. The instrumentation is artfully directed, well balanced and highly skilled. Tony Levin's bass playing is always stellar – in Us, he really shines on upbeat tracks such as Steam, Secret World and Digging In The Dirt where he provides the pulsing heart of each song. Levin's playing is even more nuanced in subdued songs such as Blood of Eden, and Only Us where the bass is given a more melodic voice, rather than its usual rhythmic voice. Gabriel and his musicians treat each song as some abstract painting, illustrating the song with sounds and effects that accentuate and add to the overall experience for the listener. Each song is not played so much as it is displayed – for me, this is an important key to defining a great musical artist.
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Ah, I see you've come back…take a few moments to catch up and we'll wrap this thing up.
I loved Secret World. I never considered the source of my favorite songs from that concert because I thought they were terrific in that presentation. Now that I've listened to Us, I've found that my love is not divided – I love Come Talk To Me in it's concert form and it's original form equally – they hold different meanings and emotions for me, and I enjoy both of them. There is no love lost for the original version of Secret World or Blood of Eden because of the energy infused by the live performances; instead, there is a newfound respect for the years of effort Peter Gabriel put into these songs. I love Us, I love Peter Gabriel for writing Us and I love that I can love all versions of these songs equally.
And deep down, don't we all just love to be loved?
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Peter Gabriel - US
Originally released in 1992 by Geffen Records
All lyrics quoted here are the copyrighted property of Peter Gabriel Original Track Listing
Come Talk To Me / Love To Be Loved / Blood Of Eden / Steam / Only Us / Washing Of The Water / Digging In The Dirt / Fourteen Black Paintings / Kiss That Frog / Secret World
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