PG1 was a great way to kick off a solo career. Gabriel was trying to get as far away from Genesis as he could although a couple of songs certainly hark back to their style. Gabriel surrendered a lot of control to Ezrin as he wasn’t confident enough in his song writing to have a strong vision of his own. Fortunately most of Ezrin’s choices worked well and the album benefited from his proven track record. I first heard it on the day of release courtesy of my brother who bought the album the day it came out. I found it a very visual album in that the songs created mini films in my mind as I listened, especially Solsbury Hill. Yes I got into Gabriel through being a Genesis fan an by 1980 I preferred his stuff to theirs by a considerable margin. Around then he became my favourite rock artist (before that it had been Zeppelin) and he has held onto that position ever since. Just a few pointers regarding this album. The proper recording sessions didn’t commence until September 1976 and were completed by Christmas. Initially Solsbury Hill was the opening track to Side 1 with Moribund slated for Track 4. Also the nude label design used on Modern Love was initially going to be used on the album. Oh and a version of Exposure was tried out during these sessions but not used. I finally bought my own copy in 1979 after my brother left home the previous year and took his albums with him. Since then I have bought or acquired the cassette, the Super-Disk with longer Slowburn, the 1987 CD, the pic disc CD box set, the misprinted version with pinky red sleeve, the mini vinyl remaster, the US digipack remaster as well as the acetate promo of the remaster. As a Gabriel album some of its gloss has worn a little thin - Waiting for the Big One is a bit overlong, and Excuse Me sounds oddly out of place - he should have given that song to Charlie Drake as a follow up to You Never Know as he did have better material that he didn’t finish during the sessions. Still it’s a great debut and an enjoyable listen.
Thanks for the info. I just love the music, I certainly don't pretend to be complete with all the necessary knowledge
Regarding cassettes: According to Discogs the UK cassette had the songs in the right order but with "Slowburn" at the end of side 1. And the USA/Canada cassette had the running order: Moribund Solsbury Slowburn Waiting for the Big One Modern Love Excuse Me Humdrum Down the Dolce Vita Here Comes the Flood Which actually seems like a fairly successful alternative sequence. Side 2 is two minutes longer than side 1.... so the US version makes the side lengths more equal while the UK version saves the listener a fast forward at the end of side 1 but leaves a long space at the end of side 2.
I'll join the song-by-song discussion since I never heard the album in full. I checked "Moribund..." via YouTube and fully agree with previous comments that it has a Genesis feel. I'm more familiar with other Gabriel albums (III, Live, So, Us) but the truth is, it is the song that more resembles what he previously did with the band.
Ezrin’s production has been criticized as being too commercial, but for me, his choices are overall successful and he brings a sophistication and grit that works well with these songs. It might not have been as good a fit with later albums, but for PG1, Ezrin was a fine choice. I also admire his work with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed and Kiss for what it’s worth.
If you want to know what he did, there is this article from PROG about that time https://connyolivetti.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/gaabriel-prog.pdf
Wouldn't that be great! I bet Peter's demos sounded quite different than they did after Ezrin got hold of them. Package them in with maybe some unreleased tracks plus the Roxy concert and you would have a fantastic set suitable for fans and collectors alike.
My PG1 box bluray 5.1 mix stereo mix flat transfer Any video's upgraded to be consumable (not necessarily HD obviously) live and/or videos Doco cd 1 the album cd 2 out-takes, alternate mixes or whatever cd 3 (and 4) concert from the era? if possible and re-issue all the albums this way .... the bluray is all I would probably need
No problem - these threads (this and the Genesis one) are brilliantly done. I’m just happy to chip in with a few facts to broaden the picture. Thanks for running the threads in the first place.
There’s a fabulous demo from 1976 (Springtime) which included the first version of Flotsam and Jetsam among others including a demo of Slowburn and at least 2 tracks that he never recorded professionally, which I heard once (by special arrangement with Gabriel’s team). This demo hasn’t been leaked so would be completely new to even the hard core fans. Also he demoed Solsbury Hill as a piano arrangement when it was called Stress, that hasn’t ever seen the light. There lots of stuff Gabriel could release from each album session if only he could concentrate on that long enough to see it through. As a live show I think Cleveland is better than Roxy and includes Why Don’t We. I’d also love to hear a full set from Sept/Oct tour in pristine quality when he did early versions of White Shadow, Grapevine, Animal Magic and DIY.
Indeed! I have the concert in Stockholm, 1977, with a 10 min version of "I've heard it through the grapevine", pure magic!
Just to chime in with all those commenting on the Genesis feel of Moribund The Bergermeister, the first time I heard it was unnanounced on the radio in the mid 80s and I actually thought it was Genesis. I'd been working through the back catalogue and thought I'd heard everything from the Peter Gabriel era. When the DJ came on after the track and said it was from Gabriel's first solo LP I was blown away. Actually getting the album a few weeks later was a bit of a disappointment. Neither the lost Genesis album Moribund had led me to expect or much like what I'd heard (and enjoyed) of his later solo work. Nowadays I think it's probably his weakest solo effort.
Why does he have to concentrate on it at all? Surely it's the kind of job that could be left to someone on his staff. He just has to sign off on the finished product, maybe veto the odd thing which really makes him cringe.
Solsbury Hill was a modest hit even in my country home town when I was young. I thought it was a great song and when I started working a few years later and was able to buy LPs, PG1 was one of the first I bought. Solsbury Hill was my favourite track but as a young man I was intrigued by the variety of the album. In those days I didn't have a lot of records so I used to play this quite a bit. But a few years later on I learned about Peter's earlier band and I fell in love with his Genesis LPs and these are what I listen to when I want some Gabriel action. So it's been a long time since I listened to PG1 sadly. But reading this thread - although it's been a long while these songs are still embedded in my memory and I need to listen to some vinyl real soon.
So I listened to PG1 this morning ... first time in many years ... not a favourite, apart from a few songs: Solsbury, Humdrum, Flood (and the last two tracks have better versions available elsewhere). Definitely a transitional album and not one that I'll be playing on a regular basis. --Geoff
From what I can recall, I first got into Peter Gabriel around the time PG3 came out because I got caught up in the "new wave" movement. I had just graduated high school and the "punk/new wave" sound was big, even in our small state. The radio was playing The Clash- "Train in Vain," "Brass in Pocket" on and on. I found "Video Killed The Radio Star" and "Turning Japanese" on 45. A friend owned a small record store and he told me "new wave" music to him was defined by David Bowie's Scary Monsters & PG3. I took his advice and bought PG3 right away (Scary Monsters came later; remember, I was young and not working - getting ready for college). To date, the only Genesis I knew about was what was on the radio that summer - "Misunderstanding" and "Turn it On Again." I loved those singles - have them both, including the latter on import - but didn't get into Genesis until a few years later. But I loved PG3. I then worked my way back to PG1 and PG2. In some ways, PG1 remains my favorite. I loved "Moribund..." as an opener, but not so sure that "Solsbury Hill" wouldn't have worked better. A few weak tracks but I liked the one-two punch at the end of "Dolce Vita" and "Flood." Maybe it is overproduced, but this version of "Flood" remains my favorite.
