Yes, but what I meant is that some think it was created by Collins on his first solo album because In The Air Tonight became so famous.
Melt. The first Peter Gabriel album I bought and gave me the best impression that he was doing just fine without Genesis, imo. This whole album just screams schizophrenia, bi-polar, paranoia character who constantly fighting their inner demons.
And I think Padgham and Lillywhite were hired for this project largely due to the drum sound they got for XTC?
This is the one where it all comes together for PG as a solo artist, sort of a new beginning for him. As much as I enjoy his first two albums, this one represents a quantum leap forward in terms of the overall sound and production. The groundbreaking drum sound has already been noted here and it's interesting to hear how imposing this kind of a strict limitation on the players forced them to approach things differently. Though the effect would quickly become overused over the course of the 80s, it was very effective and innovative here. This was actually the first Gabriel solo album that I owned, picking it up in '84, around the time that I was falling for his old work with Genesis. Being more of a classic rock and prog sort of kid at the time, it was an unsettling listen for me initially. From the very first track, it all felt so cold, creepy and alien compared to what I was used to. There seemed to be a scarcity of ear pleasing melodies, overwhelmed by the percussive textures. It wasn't until I got to "Family Snapshot" that I finally heard something that seemed more recognizable to me. At the same time, I was intrigued and it quickly became a favorite of mine, one of my crossover albums into more edgy "new music", helping to broaden my horizons at a crucial juncture in my youth. He explores potent themes of alienation, conformity and struggling to connect in the modern world in a fresh new way. It's held up remarkably well over the years. A track like "No Self Control" still gives me chills.
I got the PG albums in chronological order, in order of their release, during the late ‘80s after first being a Genesis fan. While I was initially disappointed in PG’s first two albums upon buying them, that was not the case with III. Most likely, this can be attributed to my having been aware of a couple of songs from the album first and knowing generally what the album was going to sound like (as opposed to not knowing any of the songs on his first 2 albums, and not knowing what style of music they would be). Unlike with the first two albums, I was not harboring any hopes that Gabriel was going to go back and make a prog album. Also, by 1989 I was starting to get into ‘80s post-punk/alternative and didn’t really care if Gabriel ever did prog again. So, I approached this album with a good deal of anticipation. I got this and Security in close succession and had already known all the hits from “So” back when they happened, so my exploration of the PG catalog was up to date by early 1989. For a long time, I considered III to be my favorite PG album. It has since been supplanted by II, but not by very much and there are probably some days when I still prefer III. Liking III the most is hardly unusual; it’s probably the consensus best PG album. Although II was coalesced around a particular style (very much unlike the debut) III was the first time that PG really focused an entire album so narrowly around a particular sound and style. If someone wanted to call this his first focused and mature album, I’d have no problem with that. I think nearly all the songs range from very good to excellent. I particularly like Intruder, No Self Control, I Don’t Remember and Lead a Normal Life. The only songs that have faded in stature for me over the years are the two best-known. Games Without Frontiers is a song I knew and liked before I heard the album, but now I’ve come to not like it at all. I find the melody to dislikeably sing-songy and the lyrics too cutesy and obvious. Biko is dignified and powerful… the first few times you hear it. Then it’s just dignified and slow. I’ll play it once in a blue moon, but it’s gotten to the point where I no longer even associate it with this album. Musically simplistic, heartfelt dirges such as this aren’t really why I listen to music, no matter how socially/politically relevant or on point. Seems like the sort of thing that would go over better being chanted together by thousands at a concert than played through on my stereo (or worse, headphones). All in all, a very fine album. I no longer consider it to be among the best few dozen of the 1980s, but very fine nonetheless.
Couldn't agree more. I love this album. All of it. The thing is, though, the "sound / atmosphere / direction" created with this album has informed his subsequent releases a little too much for my tastes. I would have preferred a bit more "rock - oriented" stuff. After saying that, I think his complete 80's work is nothing short of brilliant. But it is his sound and along with his voice he is easily recognized.
Melt is awesome front to back. IMO this is the Peter Gabriel album... with the gated drum sound that's widely regarded to have defined the decade to one of his most popular and critically praised songs in "Biko" that should have been featured on Eagle Rock's Classic Albums series instead of So.
Fantastic album from go to whoa and for me Biko has lost none of its significance and Games Without Frontiers is still a classic in every way, but we'll get there
I'm a fairly neophyte Gabriel fan, most of his singles I enjoy but "I Don't Remember" is one that sticks out for me. I really like the 12"/video version they put together from a live performance. The immediacy of the performance pulls me in harder than the album version.
Mark, Great thread!!! I’ve constantly gushed and raved about Peter Gabriel’s best album on this forum. From the evocatively disturbing yet fascinating cover art of smeared developing Polaroids, to the troubling songs and the suffocatingly paranoid lyrics, “PG3” or “Melt” is quite a quiet masterpiece.
It definitely had all those effects. Being do dry, it took me a couple of listens back in the day, as i was used to the live album, but once i immersed myself in it, i drowned with a smile
Catching up here, but I wonder if it’s been mentioned that the German language versions of PG3 and PG4 are very interesting to hear, at the very least. They’re quite a seismic shift from The Beatles warbling “Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand”, just a few decades earlier. The eerie effect is evident early on, and emphasized eightfold!
Yes, even without having the benefit of translated lyrics, you can sense the foreign language versions of “Intruder” and “No Self Control” are not love songs.... The intense instrumentation is very prevalent.
I wonder why the 7” single version of I Don’t Remember has never been released on cd? It’s a pity there are no bonus tracks on the discs, because there are plenty of alternate single versions and b-sides available.
Yeah, they're both great, especially the German PG4, as its mix is so very different than the English language version. The German PG3 mixes are inferior to the English ones, though still very interesting. I listen to the German PG4 about 80% of the time. I listen to the German PG3 about 20% of the time.
