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Peter Gabriel – I/O

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What does it sound like?:

Peter Gabriel is an intelligent man who retains his curiosity about the world and how we all fit in it together. He remains passionate about nature and climate change, global inequalities, mortality, personal relationships and the redemption to be found in love. He enjoys cutting-edge technology, takes as much care of the visuals as the sound, is drawn to the tones and rhythms of non-Western music and is fascinated by psychotherapy and the possibility of a profound, emotional performance resulting in a kind of catharsis.

He began recording I/O more than twenty years ago, with the intention of following 2002’s Up by 2004. At one point, he had 150 songs on the go. He got waylaid by Womad projects, films, a covers album, string versions of old songs, soundtracks, tours and family illness. As he points out in one of the songs, time slipped in the mirror. To be fair, he only properly settled in a studio with a band in Autumn 2021 to work on 23 songs, then whittled down to twelve. You will have heard them all already. Each track has been released digitally on a full moon, and an alternative mix of the same song for a new moon. In between, he has embarked on a world tour, featuring most of the songs even before they were released. The last one ‘dropped’ on the Beaver full moon of 27th November. It is only now that we get a chance to buy the physical product. The first disc or double LP brings together all the ‘Bright-Side Mixes’ by Mark ‘Spice’ Stent, the second, the ‘Dark-Side Mixes’ by Tchad Blake and there is a Blu-Ray of ‘In-Side Mixes’ by Hans-Martin Buff. A deluxe box set is promised for March next year bringing together 2CDs, four vinyl LPs and the blu-ray in a clamshell box. The book and poster should be a treat for the eyes as each song has its own, commissioned artwork, similar to Us and Up. The artists involved are Ai Weiwei, Nick Cave, Barthélémy Toguo, Olafur Eliasson, Annette Messager, Antony Micallef, Henry Hudson, Megan Rooney, Cornelia Parker, Tim Shaw, David Spriggs and David Moreno.

There was a time when Gabriel could have been accused of treating “world” musicians as a pick ‘n’ mix for unusual tones and textures. Now, his sound is so distinctive, Afterworders could recognise a Peter Gabriel track without his vocal. He has faithful lieutenants that have stood by his side for decades: Tony Levin on bass, David Rhodes guitar, Manu Katché drums and Brian Eno. The backing vocalists speak to his global vision. The Soweto Gospel Choir appear on three of the twelve songs, folk singer, Ríoghnach Connolly, another three, his own daughter, Melanie, on four and a Swedish male voice choir, Orphei Drängar, on another. There is an orchestra, a full horn section and a multitude of other accomplished musicians. Yet, the sound is light and airy, with an immediacy that is a long way from the dense, migraine-inducing shocks on Up. The whole thing is immaculately played and a marvel of sonic construction, whichever mix you choose. His raspy voice draws you into his world and is known to make grown men cry, especially when he strains to reach the higher notes of a song in a minor key. It’s a voice that suits a vivid imagination and a sense of drama. At the age of seventy-three, it has lost none of its mystical power, still capable of a feather-light touch and a hair-raising roar.

The great news is that he has found some actual tunes, a few choruses and some of his old intensity. The album effectively revisits Gabriel greatest tricks. Panopticom would not be out of place on The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. The Court rails against injustice and inequality. Playing For Time is especially beautiful, as maudlin as Randy Newman, musing on the inevitable passage of time, the piano and Christmas brass tapping straight into childhood memories. I/O opens walking his dog, whistling along with the birds and ends with him buried under an oak tree, nourishing its growth. Four Kinds Of Horses is inspired by Listening Wind, the Talking Heads song he covered on Scratch My Back, one that in turn may have been influenced by Biko. Road To Joy celebrates the regeneration of the senses after a coma. For So Much, Gabriel sits at the piano, feeling his age and reflecting on how little we can pack into one life. Love Can Heal shares a warm embrace and vulnerability with Don’t Give Up, the artwork capturing the spinning couple in the MTV video with Kate Bush. This Is Home takes this further, creating a gorgeous comfort blanket around the loving partners. And Still mourns for his mother, its pain exquisite.

Individually, each track has much to relish. It’s been a pleasure checking in every lunar cycle to find Gabriel still creative, challenging and effective. Listening to all twelve in one sitting at 68 minutes long takes some stamina, especially in an ADHD world. I/O could do with one or two more funky numbers, or, at the very least, a shake up of the running order. In fact, the vinyl edition does juggle the sequence and just three songs per side is more digestible. The differences between the Bright and Dark-Side mixes are, let’s say, subtle. If anything, the Dark-Side is lighter but these tracks weigh heavy, addressing things in life that really matter. Ironically, it’s a beatier, more energetic song that breaks the spell. Olive Tree attempts to be an uplifting interaction with nature but its chorus is not strong enough and the backing is artificial and cheesy. The finale, Live And Let Live is an attempt at a Biko-esque global anthem for peace and tolerance. At a time of barbaric wars in the Middle East, Ukraine and many other parts of the world, as well as more widespread culture wars, its sentiment is to be applauded but its Afrocentric sound seems hopelessly naive.

I/O demands patience and perseverance from its listeners but the rewards are plentiful. Some of these songs are Gabriel at his emotive best.

What does it all *mean*?

With this I/O project, Gabriel joins a select group of “Rock” artists producing great work later in life. He remains true to himself, sticks to his well established preoccupations but addresses them from the perspective of his point in life. The themes running through the collection will resonate with many Afterworders and anyone else who cares to listen.

Goes well with…

A record player or a quality streamer, DAC and amp. Vinyl, with its breaks after every three songs, is the best way to listen and to drink in the art work.

Prices seem reasonable.

Release Date:

Out now

Might suit people who like…

Beautiful music with eloquent lyrics.

19

Comments

    • In my head, Melt was released in the late seventies! It was actually May 1980. Remain In Light was October 1980, so still “possible”.

      I’m sure your dad will love it. Lots of looking back on life and anticipating a limited future! 😉

          • I’ve had exactly the same feeling about Melt for years btw – I can trace it to knowing that Biko died in 1977 (as if PG could have written the song right then.. now that really is chronologically suspect 😉 )

            • The PG ‘Melt’ album was reputedly re-recorded,, and ready in late 1979, but they decided it needed more tinkering. I saw him at the Reading Festival in August 1979, and he played slightly different versions of ‘I don’t remember’, ‘and through the wire’, and most significantly to this debate, ‘Biko’. IIRC, he started the set with ‘Biko’, which had an extended drum machine intro, and was quite radical for the context and time. All three songs were instantly memorable. I saw his gig at the NIA this year, and he played all of I/O. It was all lovely, and looked nice, but the songs had little impact. I hope they work better on return listening, as I found everything after ‘So’ pretty forgettable compared to thr first 5 of solo work.

    • Your mum is aware of John Martyn and your dad is a fan of Peter Gabriel? What different upbringings we must have had. I see now that I was culturally deprived, my artistic awareness neglected throughout my developing years. Explains so much.

      • My dad was aware of, but unbothered by, PG – actually being very averse to Genesis – prior to happening across the Growing Up concert film on the tellybox in about 2003. Not unsurprisingly he was knocked out by it and fell head over heels for the former lawnmower.

        Only recently nicked back my copies of Car and Security off him… the tables turned.

  5. I was a huge Peter Gabriel fan with his first few albums, and fell away with the ones where he made his fortune later on. I preferred the strange stories and characters he used to put across in the music. I’ve seen the videos of the new tour posted on YouTube and he does all the later stuff (with a little less energy than in the past). It’s not at all like he was when I saw him at the Roxy on his first tour through Los Angeles with Fripp. I guess it’s OK that he focuses on the later stuff because that is the Peter Gabriel that most people like. I ordered the new album. I hope there’s something in there that I connect with again, but even if not, it will be interesting to hear him in surround.

    Interestingly enough, I played a video of his live concert from Athens? to some 20-something year old friends and they made a something stinks face. They thought he sounded like a modern version of Englebert Humperdinck or Perry Como. They missed hearing “edge” in the music.

    • I know what you mean.

      I never regarded myself as a Genesis (though I had three of their albums and saw them twice 😉). Solsbury Hill knocked me sideways. I loved the bonkers debut but Melt was the one for me. On release, I could not fail to be impressed by So but I felt let down by what I perceived as commerciality. That feeling disappeared as time went by and, to be fair, it was Aardman Animations’ impact on MTV that drove it up the charts. He has wandered an interesting creative path since and almost went bankrupt over Womad. This album takes us back towards the warm sound of So but it is definitely an older man’s perspective not that of an aspiring Rockstar. I don’t know how old you are @Bigshot, but I can definitely relate well to I/O.

      Give it a go. It’s all there to stream.

      • His evolution as a solo artist over those five albums, and as an incredibly charismatic life act, is fascinating.

        In the final account, So is a brilliant album by any reasonable standard. I think the production is fantastic – it’s more widescreen than his earlier stuff but it’s hardly Slippery When Wet. In fact , as with Graceland, I think the MTV-driven ubiquity of the singles makes you think that it’s more conventional and mainstream than it is.

        There’s the funny reggae coda to Don’t Give Up.
        We Do As We’re Told could have been on Scratch. And then there’s that (inevitably) queer thing with Laurie Anderson.

        Car is a phenomenal album, the record Genesis could have made (thank you Alan Partridge). Totally different artist.

      • I’m ancient. My favorite is Scratch. I’m not a huge King Crimson fan, but Robert Fripp was doing a lot of interesting things around this time. I consider Exposure to be as good or better than anything Gabriel ever did. (And for a fan like me, that’s saying something.) PG3 was very good too. Security kept pace. My primary objection to the debut album was the way it was produced. It sounds thick and muddy to me compared to the theatrical sounds of the albums that followed. So was obviously a great album, but it wasn’t what I wanted to hear. At the time, I felt that it was a sellout album to follow up Phil Collins’ shift into pop music. The albums that followed just sounded lugubrious to me. I may be an outlier on this, but Biko irritates me in the same way that Ravel’s Bolero does. Talking Heads did African beat stuff better.

  6. I dislike the Americanisation of his album titles it is called “Melt” nowhere officially. Personally I prefer to call it PG3. Definitely his greatest achievement for me, find the Genesis stuff to be hard work personally. I also don’t love So as much as others, would also put PG4 ahead of it and maybe Us too (or is it Up, I get those names confused).

    I loved the show I saw a few months ago and I really like the new album, will not complain it is too long after he hasn’t released any new material in 20 years. As you say bite sized pieces may be the way to go, will not buy the vinyl though in this case having paid for it already through subscription.

    I did like the covers album and the orchestral stuff. Was tastefully done which isn’t always the case. Also very very slow which suits him

    Nice review, wonder if we will ever get another album. Same applies to his former collaborator Kate Bush who has rushed out 2 studio albums in the 20 years since Up (or was it Us?), hopefully this inspires her to release at least one more, she’s a bit younger too.

  7. Great review as always Tigs, however I’m puzzled by the implication that you can’t enjoy this on CD but streaming it is fine. I obviously agree that the artwork will be better on the LP version, but getting up and turning the thing over or changing discs every 3 songs isn’t a plus for me.

  9. I loved the songs on ‘Up’ but the polite, dense, smothering sound means I don’t return to it often. From this review it seems that it’s a much lighter sounding record, so I’ll have to investigate.

  11. Worth noting that with a PG Bandcamp subscription you can download a lossless Hi-res version of the album (both mixes) plus some other bonus stuff. May only cost you 3 pounds. I subscribed for 3 months so it has cost me 9 quid.

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