Peter Gabriel is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, released on 2 June 1978 by Charisma Records. Gabriel started recording the album in November 1977, the same month that he had completed touring in support of his debut solo release. He employed former King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, who was part of Gabriel's early touring band, to produce the album and incorporated his use of Frippertronics effects on the co-written "Exposure".
| Peter Gabriel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2 June 1978[1] | |||
| Recorded | November 1977 – February 1978[1] | |||
| Studio | Relight Studios, Hilvarenbeek, The Netherlands The Hit Factory, New York[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:29 | |||
| Label | Charisma | |||
| Producer | Robert Fripp | |||
| Peter Gabriel chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Peter Gabriel | ||||
The album was released in the US as Peter Gabriel II.[citation needed] It later became known informally as Scratch, referring to the album's artwork by Hipgnosis. Some music streaming services refer to it as Peter Gabriel 2: Scratch.[6]
The album reached No. 10 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 45 on the US Billboard Pop Albums chart.[7]
Background edit
The influence of producer Robert Fripp is evident in the use of Frippertronics on the track "Exposure", which Fripp and Gabriel cowrote.[8] Fripp recorded a version of the song as the title track of his 1979 solo album Exposure.
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Chicago Sun-Times | [10] |
| Classic Rock | 7/10[11] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [12] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[13] |
| Q | [14] |
| Rolling Stone |  [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [15] |
| Uncut | 7/10[16] |
| The Village Voice | B−[17] |
In the NME in 1978, Nick Kent wrote: "Its brazenly left-field veneer left me cold at first, and it's only now that its strengths are starting to come across ... once past the disarming non-focus veneer, there's a quietly remarkable talent at work – quiet in the manner of the slow fuse burn of 'Mother of Violence' with Roy Bittan's piano work outstripping anything he's turned out for either Bruce Springsteen or David Bowie. Closer to the root of the album, there's a purity, a strength to the songs individual enough to mark Gabriel out as a man whose creative zenith is close at hand."[18]
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Peter Gabriel, with additional contributors noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "On the Air" | 5:30 | |
| 2. | "D.I.Y." | 2:37 | |
| 3. | "Mother of Violence" | Jill Gabriel | 3:10 |
| 4. | "A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World" | 3:33 | |
| 5. | "White Shadow" | 5:14 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Indigo" | 3:30 | |
| 7. | "Animal Magic" | 3:26 | |
| 8. | "Exposure" | Robert Fripp | 4:12 |
| 9. | "Flotsam and Jetsam" | 2:17 | |
| 10. | "Perspective" | 3:23 | |
| 11. | "Home Sweet Home" | 4:37 |
Notes edit
- On original LP pressings of the album, the audio of "White Shadow" (the last song on side one) continued into a locked groove.
- Some editions of the cassette release had a different running order. "A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World" was track 11, "Home Sweet Home" was track 5, and "White Shadow" was track 4.
- The original B-side of the single "D.I.Y." is a longer version of "Perspective" edited for the album and all subsequent releases.
Personnel edit
- Peter Gabriel – vocals; Hammond organ on 11; piano on 2; synthesizer on 5, 7
- Robert Fripp – electric guitar on 1, 3, 5, 10; acoustic guitar on 5; Frippertronics on 8
- Tony Levin – bass guitar on 1, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11; Chapman stick on 2, 4, 9; string bass on 6; recorder arrangements on 6, 9; backing vocals on 1, 4, 7, 10, 11
- Roy Bittan – keyboards on 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11
- Larry Fast – synthesizer, treatments on 1, 2, 5, 7, 10
- Jerry Marotta – drums on all except 3; backing vocals on 1, 4, 10, 11
- Sid McGinnis – electric guitar on 1, 4, 8–11; acoustic guitar on 2, 3; steel guitar on 3–5, 6, 9, 11; mandolin on 2; backing vocals on 7
- Bayeté (Todd Cochran) – keyboards on 2, 4, 6, 7
- Tim Cappello – saxophone on 10, 11
- George Marge – recorder on 6, 8, 9
- John Tims – insects on 3
Charts edit
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[19] | 50 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[20] | 46 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] | 48 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[22] | 2 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] | 49 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] | 24 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[25] | 10 |
| US Billboard 200[26] | 45 |
Notes edit
- ^ a b c Mic, Smith (2002). Peter Gabriel (booklet). Peter Gabriel. Box, Wiltshire: Real World. p. 1.
- ^ Easlea, Daryl (2018). Without Frontiers: The Life & Music of Peter Gabriel. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9781787590823. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1990). "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ a b Marsh, Dave (26 July 2001) [7 September 1978]. "Peter Gabriel [2]". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
- ^ "D.I.Y." PeterGabriel.com.
- ^ "Peter Gabriel 2: Scratch (Remastered)". 2 June 1978 – via open.spotify.com.
- ^ "UK Top 40 Hit Database". Retrieved 24 August 2008.
- ^ "Genesis News Com [it]: Peter Gabriel - II (Scratch) - CD review". www.genesis-news.com. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Peter Gabriel [2] – Peter Gabriel". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ DeRogatis, Jim (4 July 1993). "A Solo Discography". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ Beaumont, Mark (2 October 2015). "Peter Gabriel: Vinyl Reissues". Classic Rock. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Gabriel, Peter". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ Brunner, Rob (12 July 2002). "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel 1 / Peter Gabriel 2 / Peter Gabriel 3 / Security / Plays Live / Birdy / So / Passion / Us". Entertainment Weekly. pp. 84–85.
- ^ "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel". Q. No. 191. June 2002. p. 137.
- ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "Peter Gabriel". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 319–20. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Thomson, Graeme (November 2015). "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel 1 ('Car') / Peter Gabriel 2 ('Scratch') / Peter Gabriel 3 ('Melt') / Peter Gabriel 4 ('Security')". Uncut. No. 222. pp. 88–89.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (4 September 1978). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^ Kent, Nick (10 June 1978). "Gabriel: The Image Gets a Tweak". NME.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 120. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4655a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 2" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – G". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Peter Gabriel from the menu, then press OK.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 2" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel 2". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ "Peter Gabriel | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- ^ "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
