Reviews (page 5 of 7)
A very strong 3. Didn't expect much from this. A very eclectic range of styles that were all enjoyable in their own right, but maybe felt like it needed to stay more in one or two lanes. Enjoyable listen though!
The first track was actually pretty cool. And then...
I think I enjoyed this more than some of Peter Gabriel's later works. It was a little too eclectic though. My memories of the not so great parts dragged down the score from a 4 to a 3.
een van me favorite nummer komt uit dit album dus ben erg benieuwd naar de rest. wat was dit een apart album en eigelijk kwam niks in de buurt van solsbury hill
This is a very scattered album. A wide variety of different types of songs. I wasn’t really wild about a lot of it. Solsbury Hill is great. But nothing else on the album sounds like this at all. I liked some of the subsequent Peter Gabriel solo albums much better.
It's a classic. But it's uneven
Unexpected flashes of glam here. That said, Gabriel did have some spectacular sartorial choices whilst at Genesis. Talking of Genesis, there are implausible…echos, foreshadow, something of ABACAB here. I think.
This is the 2nd Peter Gabriel album I got. I like this one better than the last one "So". I kinda like the progressive stuff mixed with pop, rock and experimental from many bands of that era. I remember hearing "Excuse me" on the car of one of my band mates, after rehearsals, about 15 years ago. I was surprised when it came now couse I had it so buried in my mind that I never thought about it again until today!. I wonder how many other songs are hidden on my brain. Anyway, I think that's my favorite song of the album so far. Reminds me of "Lazing on a sunday afternoon" by Queen. I think Freddie Mercury got some inspiration from here for that song! 3 stars for now couse this album still has to grow on me. I'll probably change it to 4 soon though.
It was aaaaight
Nerdy.
This was alright. I recall being ambivalent about So and that's more or less how I felt about this one. Not bad, just not my thing. I could see it growing on me with repeated listens, though.
Didn't do absolutely anything for me. At least it wasn't painfully boring.
Sounded more modern than 70s to me. Might've been a 4 with more listens, but too far behind to be doing that
Decent.
Solid Gabriel. Always experimental sounding.
Peter Gabriel is a legend. But I think I prefer his later stuff better.
3.5
spennandi. tilraunakennt en með lögum sem minna á randy newman eða kinks inn á milli. aðraaðra. 3,5.
This is an interesting album. It's a little random but you can tell it's a collection of stuff he was sitting on after Genesis. It's a little Randy Newman meets The Who. It's cool.
The beginning of this felt like a soundtrack of any 80s action film. It was quite entertaining. Towards the end I thought it took a completely different gear and I was quite surprised. Wasn't so into it either. Overall a good laugh!
what a wild album, what a wild guy solsbury hill is an all-time hall-of-famer
During track 1: eurgh just another of THOSE albums. Going to be fine but dull. During track 2 (solsbury hill): okay I know this one, actually bit of a banger tbf. Probs an outlier tho. Tracks 3 onwards: okay not super special but actually a fair few bangers
The one big hit obviously, but some of the rest of the songs were interesting diversions.
I...didn't love what I heard from Genesis during this project. So I was hesitant about what I might get from Peter Gabriel's first solo outing. I guess I shouldn't have been. He probably left Genesis because he wanted to do stuff he couldn't do while he was with them. I actually really liked this album. Some original ideas, a mix of sounds and genres without being scattered, and a certain charm about the whole thing. It's far from my favorite album, but given my low expectations I was pleasantly surprised. It doesn't overstay its welcome, either. That was my biggest issue with "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway." It was far too long for being not that great, with pretty obvious filler throughout. This wasn't that, and I appreciated it. Overall it's a three star experience for me. Good stuff and I'd like to hear more of his solo work. Standout Tracks: Solsbury Hill, Modern Love, Waiting for the Big One, Down the Dolce Vita
Felt incohesive as an album, but definitely had moments of greatness.
Really don’t remember this one. Sounds okay, a bit dramatic.
Pretty good.
Had higher hopes for this, but Solsbury Hill was the only good song on this for me, the rest was meh.
Solsbury Hill is a great song. The intro song (Moribund the Burgermeister) also grew on me, but the freaky circus part kind of kills it ("I will find out"). The song (Excuse Me) got my attention because of the a cappella intro - I'm a sucker for vocal harmony. But the rest of the song is "meh".
Not really for me. Solsbury Hill is the main song to takeaway.
Not bad.
Like many others have said the album lack cohesion. It’s a bunch of random songs put together. Some are quite good and other are out of place and not that great. Overall it’s a fine album.
I was wondering why this guy reminded me of Phil Collins….
I like Peter Gabriel but he fits into a category I consider as having "greatest hits syndrome." It is when a band or musician has a good number of hit songs and a large catalog of "regular songs" to go along with it. Some, but very few musicians and groups with large catalogs and a healthy dose of hit songs can escape this syndrome, that where a person would simply go buy or listen to their greatest hits album and be perfectly happy. Those that do not suffer this fate have lots of songs that "could have" or "should have" been hits or are fan/ cult favorites anyhow. I think you would have to be a Peter Gabriel superfan to not just go buy your favorite single album or a greatest hits album. This album has a few great songs and a few sort of Meh songs as well, as with most other albums by anyone outside a rare few...
Hated it at the start, got slightly better as it went on
3 stars for Solsbury Hill alone
Good listen
This was really good, I obviously know him from being with Genesis but have never dived into his solo stuff so I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I dug this! Will definitely investigate more of his stuff based on this!
Vaudeville, Folk, Glam Rock, and Blues are just some of the genres Peter Gabriel tackled for his first solo outing after leaving Genesis. True, the album contains monster hit Solsbury Hill and his somewhat-more-of-a-deep-cut Here Comes The Flood (albeit with overblown sound and chorus arrangement - I much prefer the later quiet version). But generally, the songs weren't quite there yet, and it's evident from the aforementioned selection of styles that Gabriel himself wasn't entirely sure about the kind of music he wanted to make a s a solo artist. Thus, this album is the beginning of his experimental phase, that would last for two more studio albums: an interesting, soul-searching, but somewhat messy experience. 2.5/5
Hhh
Kind of interesting
Wayyyy worse than So. Not awful tho I kinda like Peter Gabriel he was a good discovery for me.
It was ok?
“Solsbury Hill” stands head and shoulders above the rest of the album. An artist trying to find his solo sound, to varying degrees of success.
Really awesome debut album as you can hear him searching for a post Genesis musical identity. I don't love this album but really appreciate the array of sounds he worked through. Solsbury Hill is a masterpiece. Here comes the Flood is another solid song.
01) Moribund the Burgermeister – 7,5 02) Solsbury Hill – 10,0 03) Modern Love – 7,5 04) Excuse Me – 7,0 05) Humdrum – 7,0 06) Slowburn – 6,5 07) Waiting for the Big One – 6,0 08) Down the Dolce Vita – 8,0 09) Here Comes the Flood – 8,0 TOTAL: 7,50 (75/100) Current ranking: 204/407
I thought that this was a very solid effort for a first solo album, and in spite of some of its weirdness, I generally liked it. Highlights were of course, Solsbury Hill, and I also really liked Here comes the Flood. I agree with another reviewer about Gabriel seeming to channel his inner Randy Newman on a couple of the tracks, but I also like Randy Newman. If I could, I would give this 7 out of 10 stars, but I will settle on 3. I will save it and probably will listen to it again.
Free from the confines of Genesis, Gabriel seemed eager to explore new directions. Some experiments work brilliantly, while others fall flat. The album's unevenness makes it somewhat difficult to rate—I'd give it a 3.5 if I could.
I’d listen to Solsbury Hill all day but the rest of this just did nothing. I get that it’s important and set a whole new direction for Gabriel. A direction that led to some really great stuff down the road from this record.
Fine. "Solsbury Hill" was the only song i knew going in and it was the only real stand out.
This was fine. Nothing really stood out, but it was pleasant enough.
I liked this one! Back to something with a nice melody
I was just grateful for a melody at this point, honestly pretty solid stuff
Been a long time since I listened to this album, possibly because it’s a little inconsistent. It starts and ends really well, Moribund the Burgermeister being very Genesis-like and Solsbury Hill still being among my favourite Gabriel songs, Her Comes the Flood closing in epic style. But, much as I love Bob Esrin’s production style, he’s a little bombastic for PG in places, particularly when his favourite Alice Cooper guitarist, Dick Wagner, shows up on Slowburn. And the Randy Newman sounding blues of Waiting for the Big One doesn’t suit Gabriel at all. Tony Levin and Robert Fripp would have a bigger impact on the better albums to come. Good, not Great.
3.5
“Solsbury Hill” rules, and there are some other moments I dig, but overall, there’s still a lot of that Genesis-era influence that I’m not into. 3/5
I struggle with Peter Gabriel. This album seemed all over the place, and nothing really worked for me. Not a bad album in any sense of the word, but not something I'd seek out either.
Never heard of this before, I didn'd expect tha Favorites: Moribund the Burgermeister, Here Comes the Flood
A profoundly mediocre album. Favorite Song: "Waiting For The Big One".
This is #day115 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to the first album of winter 2024/2025, aka Peter Gabriel's first solo record. Actually, this is the last one in a run of Gabriel records I'm revisiting after a while, but anyway. "There's no point in direction," sings Gabriel on the closing track. This particular line gave me an answer to why I struggled with this record. Another reason is that it still draws on the Genesis sound, so think of it as his most Genesis-like solo record, if you will, and I'm not the biggest Genesis fan out there. I might revisit them as well, though, we'll see. Car has its moments, like "Waiting for the Big One," whose bluesiness got my ears pricked, but out of the three Gabriel records represented on the list, it's my least favorite. Let it be a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day116.
interesting album. all over the place stylistically.
This’s alright. That Solsbury Hill song is great.
Not very cohesive at all. High peaks but pretty low valleys in my opinion. At least it is never really uninteresting so there is that.
There's the amazing "Solsbury Hill" and then there is a very ambitious album that is all over the place. A little Randy Newman sound in "Waiting for the Big One". "Down the Dolce Vita" was the prog-rock version of "Eye of the Tiger". I'll give him props for doing whatever the hell he wanted but, damn, what a weird ride. He gets an extra star for that. I'm glad that he found the voice that he would go with for the latter part of his career.
Solisbury Hill jumped out - rest of this was ok yet odd. kept thinking it was going to go into the Toy Story song, although some parts felt like just a connection of noises, for what it was, surprisngly listenable
It's an easy listening album
Melt is one of my great discoveries from this thing. I’ve listened to this one several times and it just hasn’t come together for me. Maybe he was still trying to find his voice after leaving Genesis? And Modern Love sounds like Bruce Springsteen
not as good as Melt :(
Solsbury Hill is unfortunately not enough to pull it up to 4.
Nett. Für Nebenbei ganz gut.
Interesting to hear the initial transition from genesis to solo in full
This was alright to listen to. Possibly not his best album though. 3*
I tried, as I often do, to get on with this album. The hit is a classic, but is really all I can take of this album. As he moves away from prog and into something a bit more post punk on the later records, I start to come a bit more on board. But I don’t like his voice and this is just too reminiscent of a silly man walking about dressed like a flower. Which irritates me. That’s the problem with this album, for me; I can’t get to judge the quality of the music because listening to it annoys me too much.
Solsbury Hill is great, and gives me memories of my dad, so thats cool, but outside that this album is pretty humdrum. Which is unfortunate, Peter Gabriel has more hits, just not here.
It started off so strong! But then it fell off a cliff. The orchestral arrangements in the back half of the album were great, but I just didn’t really enjoy any of the songs past Solsbury Hill
Avg for Gabriel
3.5
His debut album. Solsbury Hill. Slightly bonkers. Very varied album. Rock, circus, folk. Quite a bit of stadium rock. Did not grab me, but good album.
A couple of great songs, but not a patch on "The Lamb..." his last with Genesis.
This album, unofficially titled 'Car', is another example of a musician sounding technically impressive but not really doing much for me. 'Solsbury Hill' proves Peter Gabriel's ability to make a hit song without his Genesis bandmates. Some if his later work is a lot stronger. 'Car' just doesn't move me like I'd hoped it would.
Not the best Peter Gabriel record. There’s certainly a lot of great composition and arrangement. There’s still a bit of a Prog rock hang over. But the quality is clear. I’ll stick to the hits with this, though.
Liked one song
There have been several albums lately that have had a moment where there's a slide whistle or similar, like "Excuse Me" on this album, and it kills me every time. I can't believe so many artists threw a slide whistle onto their tracks. This album is really varied, and often pretty quirky, but like a basic bitch, my favorite here is predictably "Solsbury Hill." 3.5
The highlight on this for me is Solsbury Hill. Peter has a great voice. The album is eclectic and has a lot going on. It made me feel like I was listening to a musical art exhibit. I hear similarities with Gabriel's voice and how Phil Collins sounds
Well, it starts off like someone who is trying to escape from prog rock, but not actually managing to. On the plus side - the album plays like someone trying to escape from prog rock, but eventually kinda making it. Clearly rips Gabriel away from Genesis by the end, and that's actually a pretty cool thing. I can't think of a single solitary reason to listen to it again though.
Not as good as I expected it to be
It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great.
The album has a kind of restless energy, shifting between moods. The production feels big, almost theatrical, like early Genesis but with a more personal edge. There’s a mix of experimental and straightforward sounds, giving it a unique push and pull. It’s almost like listening to a David Bowie record from the same era, but it has a darker, more introspective vibe.
Good music overall. This album had more songs I did not connect with than ones I did connect with. So though not for me, I see it's value.
Wel vet gemaakt, maar raakt me toch niet echt.
I don't know. I liked when he was in Genesis. This seemed ok, I might like it more on second listens Will I listen to again: 30%
I don't mind this record, I think it's okay. It had sections that made me pause what I was doing and say to myself "What the heck is this?", in a good way. Mainly the song "Excuse Me" is a good example. Is it the best song in the album, no I'd give that to "Solsbury Hill", but it grabbed my attention with how wacky and different it was. Same example of the section where Peter sings "I will find out" in "Moribund The Burgermeister" (great name for a song) Would I listen to this album again, probably not. Did I appreciate my time with it, yeah I did. 3/5
Well. It's better than Genesis' latest offering on this Project, but I feel I'm quite over prog now, and to be honest I began the process not exactly ready to embrace it. Two absolute bangers on this album - Solsbury Hill and Here Comes The Flood - get it up to a decentish score, but for a long time it was just a case of chewing through it.
So, Peter Gabriel's first album has Solsbury Hill and Here Comes the Flood as two great examples of what he is capable of as a solo artist. However, I found the rest a bit aimless and uninteresting.
This was a surprising album in a lot of ways. Salisbury Hill is iconic. He sounds like Randy Newman, and even the Band, at times. Unfortunately, the album finds its way to some middling prog-rock too often. I loved “excuse me”.
Solsbury hill (which I always assumed was an 80’s song) gets this to a 3 for me by a nose. That’s a strong stand out but the rest of this I just didn’t really get into. There was some interesting experimental use of instruments and sounds. Some of the tracks reminded me of show tunes you may hear performed live during a play/drama production. “Down the Dolce Vida” and “Here comes the flood” at the end helped nudge it to a 3.
An ambitious debut album clearly. Completely forgot that the standout Solsbury Hill went this far back. The musicianship is top notch, but other than the Hill single the rest of the album lacked cohesiveness given every song essentially exists in its own silo. At times I felt I was listening to Bowie run through a Danny Elfman blender which is not necessarily a bad thing. Just a little too avant-garde for me.
What the hell did I just listen to!?! The album was all over the place, but I thought had some really high moments. And you know what? I kinda liked it. Especially Here Comes the Flood. Much of it sounded oddly familiar. Bowie is the obvious ones but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Looked in the producer, Bob Ezrin. He has quite the mix of artists (Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, 30 Seconds to Mars, Mason). I’d go 3.5. I’m tempted to round up but not quite there…perhaps bc of the lack of cohesion.
Never been able to get into Peter Gabriel other than In The Air Tonight (or even better the video of a gorilla playing drums to the song) and this album didn't do much to change my mind. I do enjoy Solsbury Hill but the rest of the album is a bit all over the place and need really clicked with me. Still decent, just not great. 3/5
Good stuff. I've been a fan of Peter Gabriel since I was a kid, though I don't now his whole catalog super well. But I think I will continue on listening to his older albums and catch up to the late 80's stuff I'm more familiar with. 3.4/5
Bit of a mixed bag. Enjoyed it overall though
could i write poetry to this? n
Started really strong. But started to lose me a little in the second half.
An eclectic mix of music - worth a listen
3.5
Impressed. Not really my thing but this is a good album. Varied, interesting, compelling.
Interesting, but I'm not going back to it. Reminiscent of Pink Floyd
#354. A few good songs, but nor super impressive overall. It's OK. 3/5: fine
osea... ok??? 7/10
Not the best, but still an okay album with a few hits.
Noteworthy songs - 808080808 Magical Dream - Kinda catchy synth, but the rest is bland. Ancodia - Good background noise. Cobra Bora - Actually kind of cool, reminds me of Bomberman Hero. Pacific 202 - N64 vibes, but melody isn't great. Donkey Doctor - Nothing too special, weird ending. 808080808 - Really cool beginning. A little slow in the middle but stays interesting enough. Sunrise - Nothing remarkable. The Fat Shadow - Eerie. Very short.
Pretty good album. Solsbury Hill is such a good song. The rest of the tracks are unique and surprising. You would never know they are from the same album, but I like the variety.
The first song is titled Moribund the Burgermeister, I feel like I'm in for a very pretentious experience. Solsbury Hill is an amazing song and by far the biggest hit from the album. There is no way Peter Gabriel thought Excuse me was a good song other than as a goofy interruption. It's like he heard a Randy Newman album and thought he absolutely had to have a song like that on his album. This isn't a super cohesive album, no real theme or definitive sound. I suppose that's the danger of an art rock debut, it can end up sounding like an eclectic mish mash of postmodern songs. Slowburn is more of a standard prog rock song, could be an ELP song. Down The Dolce Vita could be ELP too. Even weirdos can't escape their time and place. Here Comes the Flood is a good song, an a good choice to end the album.
the songs where he tries to sound like a bar room bluesman don't really cut it for me.
Peters out in the middle (I don't care for the Moder Love-Excuse Me-Humdrum run) and it’s not exactly the most cohesive of albums, but pretty decent overall with some standouts (Solsburry Hill in particular).
Good variety of sounds on here
I might have been a bit distracted this day but this didn’t really capture me.
Not my favorite Peter Gabriel but not bad.
I am a huge Gabriel fan thanks to our dad, but I never got into his albums, just the songs themselves. I had no idea that Solsbury Hill was on his debut, this is one of my favs. It was on a compilation album called Journey's or something that had some other soft rock songs on it from those you'd expect, but this song was always so uplifting to me. I specifically have a memory of going to some type of petting zoo in Illinois when I was very young with Aunt Sue and Uncle Tony and my brother and mom had this playing in the car. That's the power of music in my eyes. Songs that are so powerful that they have the ability to capture sights, sounds, and smells of the past that can come flooding back as soon as the song plays. The rest of the album was enjoyable, but none of the songs hit that height most likely due to no memory attached.
Always game for Peter Gabriel, still waiting on So. This one's got "Solsbury Hill," a classic that we grew up on. Some other deep cuts that I enjoyed too, this guy just makes cool music. Favorite tracks: Solsbury Hill, Excuse Me, Here Comes the Flood. Album art: Moody brooding shot of the hood of a car covered in rain drops, and wait a minute, there's a guy in the car. Is that Peter? Moody and brooding is right. This is a great cover though, really dig this one. 3.5/5
First: 2 stars for Solsbury Hill alone. One of the greatest songs of all time. Top 1000. Maybe 500. Maybe better. Second: much stronger album than III. and as Bryn said: what a weird dude. I’d do 3.5 if I could but I’ll round down this time
Nnnaah. Solsbury Hill, which I didn't know by name nor would gave attributed to Gabriel is a great song and Humdrum and the last track went into my basket, but overall... this album is good when it makes me think of putting on Marillion's first album post Fish again, but then it makes all this messy turns into Meat Loaf, Queen or that Disney dude's territory and Nnnaah.
A bit too proud of itself
Didn’t expect to like. Did like very much after the first song.
Phil Collins?
Decent! He’s a good musician, respect
Not bad. Solsbury Hill is great
All over the place. Old Genesis vibes mixed with a more pop-oriented sound. I definitely appreciated the work here, but it didn’t fully click.
Solsbury Hill is joyous. Gabriel's voice is so rich and strong. The rest is a little experimental, a little hit and miss. The Bluesy feel for Wiating for the Big One surprised me. An ambitious album that falls a little short.
Really hard to rate this album. Kept getting Phil Collins vibes, which makes sense now that I find out Gabriel was in Genesis! First listen I didn’t enjoy much as it was so scattered and incohesive, but subsequent listening I enjoy each song more.. gonna stick with 3/5 but I can understand any ratings 2-5
Perfectly nice, but honestly I slept through a lot of it.
Funny, I barely recognize this album cover, though I played Solsbury Hill way back when on the radio. Still an all-time favorite. Now listening to the rest again, Humdrum almost as nice, Slowburn nearly as dramatic as his very recent Genesis work. Some tunes seem to be be from other people's albums, as if he's still trying to figure out who he is solo. He's hiding behind the windshield, eyes closed--not ready yet to show himself after the giant costume that was Genesis. Lots to like here, but still working things out. The Fripp is great--helpful.
On paper, Peter Gabriel's music should appeal to me. Progressive, ambitious, majestic — this album is all of those things. In fact, all of his albums are these things, as far as I've heard, but it's not until "So" that I really relate to the songs. This album went by and somehow, nothing stuck. Well, "Solsbury Hill" is something I'm very familiar with, but even that is growing tired. So it's hard to articulate why I don't relate to PG's music, but the same is true of his work with Genesis. I'm fond of a couple of the early albums after he departed (Duke, Abacab) but unmoved by their earlier work in much the same way this fails to make an impression. Lots of words to say that, as grand as this all is, this is eminently ignorable music for me.
I'm kind of surprised I never listened to this before. It's an interesting album. He's trying out a lot of different styles to see what works, which is cool, but it makes for a confusing overall listen. I liked about half the songs, hence my rating. I'm glad this wasn't the only PG solo album, as he refined these ideas on later (better) albums. I don't know that this one belongs on this list per se, but then again I wouldn't have listened to it otherwise, so...
Other than the magnificent Solsbury Hill, this album landed flat for me. I listened to it and then immediately nothing stuck. I guess one needs to listen to this album b/c it has Solsbury Hill?
Some good tunes here. Can see the direction he wants to go in
Not really Gabriel's best, a lot better stuff that he's done
gostei
We all have that coworker that clearly is great at their job doing spreadsheets, but they eventually got promoted to be a manager and now all they do all day is micro-manage and schedule idea-generation meetings to discuss things that never turn into real work and spend 30 minutes talking to you at your desk, distracting you from your own spreadsheets, which you have to work twice as hard on now because this coworker no longer does spreadsheets. Peter Gabriel is the pop music equivalent of that. The man can write a killer pop hook, but he’s so goddamn famous already that he instead feels like he should spend his time being experimental and trying to push the envelope, and he’s just not as good at that. When he’s on, he’s fucking on, but he’s only on about 50% of the time. Most of Car is mediocre experimental art pop that isn’t worth your time. But the other half is great ‘80s pop. “Solsbury Hill,” obviously, but really the best song to me is “Modern Love,” and the gorgeous closer “Here Comes The Flood.” I’ll also give it up to “Humdrum,” although Gabriel does teeter on the edge with that one. I’m not sure any of these songs elevate Car to essential status, but it’s still very good. They’re just unfortunately surrounded by some of the most annoyingly pretentious drivel imaginable. I think the highs on Car do enough to push me toward positive apathy, but on a worse day, I could easily demote it a star for being try-hard. I admire Gabriel’s efforts, I just don’t think he can execute at the level he believes he can. But that was also my issue with A Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and his era of Genesis in general. But when Gabriel wants to write a pop song, the man is one of the best ever, and I will be adding those songs to future playlists. But a couple songs doesn’t make an album, even if there’s just enough to make it a technical 50/50 split. Idk Gabriel, maybe I’m saying you should stick to spreadsheets, I didn’t need you in upper management.
Jazz, orchestral, blues, rock, pop - this thing is a mess. A well executed mess, but just a convergence of discovering a sound. While not bad, it was tough to invest into. Solsbury Hikl is magical.
I'm not too embarrassed to admit that I'm a big Peter Gabriel fan, so it's fun to get his work in this collection, and also fun to get an early album, which I'm a lot less familiar with. And what an odd selection for the "1001 Albums" project, as this is definitely *not* one of his better albums. There are a few classic songs on this album--well, really just "Solsbury Hill" (with a fantastically odd but beautiful video, although I suspect that was done later than the album)--and some other really solid songs (mainly "Humdrum" and "Here comes the flood", although the latter is better in his later live stripped-down versions). The rest is a kind of weird grab-bag of experiments from all over the place, likely a product of having left Genesis fairly recently. Perhaps because of Robert Fripp's involvement in the album, several songs reminded me of David Bowie (especially the concept-album-style "Moribund the Burgermeister" as well as "Modern Love" (with a pretty wild video) and "Down the Dolce Vita"), and others just seemed better left on their own ("Excuse Me" a particularly good example of that, but also "Slowburn" and much of the album's side B). As much as "Solsbury Hill" is one of Peter Gabriel's truly great songs, this album doesn't really rank higher than three stars when you balance the rest of the album against it, sadly.
I liked this more than I thought I would. I thought I would hate it. Giving it 3 because I do like Solsbury Hill.
A mess of songs of all different styles. I felt like I was listening to a different album midway through. Apart from the well known Solsbury Hill, there isn't much to remember. Definitely feels like he was trying to find his sound.
Eccentric, which is no surprise because it’s Peter Gabriel. I definitely prefer his work with Genesis, but this isn’t bad.
3 ok
All songs are good, only Solsburry Hill is great. I didn't remember any of the other songs after one go, but they are well-crafted.
There always seems to some aversion to hooks or chorus with Peter Gabriel. Hearing a full album like this does get a bit tiresome. Style wise it's a bit everywhere, feels like he is trying to string together a lot of ideas, sometimes a bit jarring. But it is at the very least well sung and performed. 3*
What in the ? This was cool! The first tune made me think of Mr. Bungle and anything from the 70s that gives me that kind of crazy vibe is a-okay with me. It would have been four stars if not for "Waiting for the Big One". Why does every album from the 70s have to have a cheesy Randy Newman blues jam on it? Why?!? So out of place on this otherwise unique and interesting effort.
Not my favorite PG album, but easily my favorite PG album cover. Elite.
Bueno
Yeah, I guess I'm just not a big Peter Gabriel fan. However, there were moments (like Moribund) that kept this hovering around a 2.75, so I'll give it the full 3.
Ehh it was fine. Like the other Peter Gabriel albums it's fine. Nothing to write home about.
5/10
The first rock concert I went to was by Peter Gabriel for the album Melt in Berlin. It was very exciting. I wasn't that impressed by the album Car. Of course Solsbury Hill is still great. I thought Excuse Me was funny. Many elements remind me of the early and experimental pieces by Genesis. It was interesting to listen to the album. But it's not one of my favorites. 3/5
no sledgehammer. still a well produced record
Again?
Love Peter Gabriel's music
De este disco a priori solo conozco la portada. Mmm tenía guardada "Solsbury Hill" no sé de cuándo y es realmente bonita. No está mal, me ha recordado a las paranoias de los primeros Genesis.
Just so all over the place... I can definitely see the prog-rock roots for a few of the songs with Peter coming straight from Genesis, but then you also have a song like Solsbury Hill which is mostly so pop-y and conventional and catchy (love this one). A very strange listen indeed. 5/10
Burger!
STANDOUTS: Solsbury Hill OVERALL: 3/5; bumped up a half point for the beautiful cover art.
Enjoyable first listen. Couple of fillers
Sounds like Randy Newman
Hän kyllä kaipaisi loput Genesiksestä kaverikseen, jotta biisit olisivat mielenkiintoisempia eivätkä vain suureellisia. Lopetuskappaleesta pidin kyllä kovin, se toi tarinallista tunnelmaa lopulta koko levyyn. Keskivaiheilla oli vähän liikaa hassuttelua, apatia olisi minusta kivempi. Vahva kaksi puoli.
This one is a tough one to rate - it doesn't feel like one complete album but instead like someone trying on lots of different hats. On the one-hand it is impressive how Peter Gabriel captures different styles within this album and he's clearly musically talented, but on the other hand it feels disjointed. To be honest I don't see myself listening to it again. It's not a car wreck, but I did get whiplash.
A mixed bag, no one particular style, a mish-mash of everything really. Solsbury Hill remains an all timer though.
Raro...Conocía Solsbury Hill, un poco musical. Al final una heavy-lenta-romántica...Raro.
I enjoyed the first half of the album but the second part fell pretty flat.
Moribund - 2 Solsbury Hill - 3 Modern Love - 4 Excuse Me - 2 Humdrum - 3 Slowburn - 3 Waiting for the Big One - 3 Down the Dolce Vita - 3 Here Comes the Flood - 4
Peter Gabriel by Peter Gabriel Tuesday 5/21/2024 10:53, office S Tier————————— Solsbury Hill A Tier————————— Modern Love Slow Burn Hum Drum Down The Dolce Vita B Tier————————— Waiting For The Big One Here Comes The Flood C Tier————————— Excuse Me Moribund The Burgermeister
Somewhere, there is an A&R guy to whom we all owe a huge debt of gratitude. If Peter Gabriel’s whole solo career had lived or died on the strength of this album, it seems unlikely that we would have ended up with Security, So, or Us. I was surprised, having not present to this entire album in several decades, to see how unfocused and uneven it is. Sure Solsbury Hill and here comes the flood are huge standouts. But as for the rest of the tracks, the best I can say is, I didn’t hate all of them. I’ll give it an average rating based on the strength of it two masterpieces, and for the promise of what his third through sixth records would provide us.
Peter Gabriel
Interesting album, didn’t vibe with it all the way through but it felt like an album with many different genres. From pop, to blues, to lounge. Understand why this was included in the project, as musically it’s a very well written album. Solsbury Hill is a familiar tune considering how many soundtracks it’s been a part of.
Keep up the great work!
Dolce Vita is alfa
It was nothing remarkable
I've only really listened to Peter's music from the 80s on, so this album was super interesting. It's not amazing, but a very solid album of an artist trying various sounds
not his best ...
Probably won't revisit
He hadn't found his sound yet but his albums only get better and more interesting from here.
Solsbury hill is the only song that really stands the rest of time. Everything else has a wide range and various styles. Most the songs are like blindly throwing darts. Fortunately for Gabriel one stuck long term and it’s the only thing worth revisiting. 5.9/10
Some good tunes. Heavier than expected. Nice instrumentation at times
this album was pretty good background music while i was working thats all i'd really ever use it for though nothing really stood out to me and it was a bit all over the place not a bad album but definitely could be better solid 3.3/5
If "Solsbury Hill" and "Here Comes The Flood" are absolute gems, the rest of Peter Gabriel's first solo LP after his exit from Genesis is, give or take, a little wack. Prog-rock opener "Moribund The Burgermeister" is so ridiculously verbose and stilted it sounds like a parody of the genre. Not a smart way to start your first solo LP. "Waiting For The Big One" could have been a nice cut if it had solely been based on the melody of its instrumental climax--but unfortunately, the bulk of the song is a blues-rock dud that turns in pointless circles. Apart from that, there's a couple of more minimalistic cuts that remind you of Randy Newman--alas, without the latter's bite and/or unforgiving eye for narrative details. Nothing offensively bad, but rather innocuous overall. And there's a couple of more classic-sounding rock tracks going into Bruce Springsteen territory--without the latter's charisma. "Modern Love" is the best of that small pack, but if it's nice enough to be salvageable, it's still a notch under the two songs mentioned at the start of this review. On the *plus* side, Bob Ezrin's production is effective and the man does the best he can to give his unmistakable dynamics to those songs. Yet ultimately, he can't save half of them from utter oblivion, as nice as his disticnctive orchestrations are in the more "epic" moments. So that's it. *Car* is the very definition of a mixed bag and a topsy-turvy affair. Wish there were more tracks displaying the catchy and elegant instrumentation and arrangements of "Solsbury Hill" (one for the ages), or the sheer emotions of heartbreaking closer "Here Comes The Flood". But you gotta look for other Peter Gabriel albums for that. 3/5 for the purposes of this list of "essential albums". Which translates to a 8/10 grade for more general purposes (5+3). Number of albums left to review: less than 300, approximately (I've temporarily lost count here) Number of albums I'll include in my own list: half so far, approximately Number of albums I *might* include: a quarter, approximately (including this one) Number of albums I'll never include: another quarter (many others are more important to me)
This album is all over the place, and kinda in a good way. I'm familiar with Gabriel and his years in Genesis but other than a few hits, don't think I had heard much of his solo stuff. This being his first solo album, seems like a good place to start... And what a start. The first song reminded me of something that should be playing in the background at a Halloween party. It's followed by Solsbury Hill, which is definitely the best song on the album but also a significantly different sound from the first track. The rest of the album has quite a variety in sound which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. Waiting for the Big One stood out a bit more than the others.
guess it was better than most I think rock records
6 / 10 Mezcla de canciones muy heterogénea. Hay progresivo tipo Génesis, hay pop, y hay alguna ida de olla poco aporvechable.
For reasons I can't quite explain Solsbury Hill is a song I just can't stand. The rest of the album is fine though.
Solsbury Hill makes this rating go to 3 instead of 2.
An interesting album. It’s got the bar classic, Solisbury Hill - also heard on countless television dramas and romantic comedies. m But the album is just all over the place: Prog Rock Cabaret Rock Opera Not quite sure this is the debut single album I’d make after so much success with Genesis
6/10
Competent glam rock, but nothing that really excites me. Good playing, some decent hooks, but just overall not really a standout album to me. Sounds like a less interesting version of stuff Bowie was doing at the time. Decent listen but not long-term impactful to me.
boom boom boom
This album is all over the place. Peter Gabriel is clearly trying on sounds and genres to find something that sounds like it's his. He comes the closest on 'Solsbury Hill.' The guitar work here by Robert Fripp is great and overall, I think this album succeeds at what it's trying to do though it definitely needs some find tuning and focus. I really enjoyed the variation in rhythms and dynamics which really show flashes of Peter Gabriel's genius, but ultimately find the album wanting.
Ég hlusta reglulega á Genesis og hef alveg hlustað á Pésa af og til en það er samt ekki af mínu eigin frumkvæði. Mér finnst þetta ekkert standa neitt voðalega mikið upp úr en mér líður samt eins og ég ætti að gefa plötunni meiri séns. Það voru lög þarna sem voru fín (önnur en þekktasta lagið meina ég) en það var samt ekkert sem greip mig svo platan lendir í miðjumoði.
Definitely "Trying some stuff out" in this one. There's a lot of earnest air-grabbing, but there's also the delightful Salsbury Hill, and some other nice bits in there.
Not bad, Peter Gabriel is clearly a quality song writer but overall this album doesn't do much for me.
Fine. Kind of boring. Barely three stars. Solsbury Hill is a good song, but for me that song has been played to death. Whenever I hear that song I think of the jokes where people made a fake movie trailer using that song and scenes from a horror movie or whatnot to make the movie look like a lighthearted romantic comedy.
Solsbury Hill is a nice song. The rest of the album was pleasant enough, but a little too weird without being interesting. Also, too much echo in the vocals.
A couple great songs, a lot of meh ones. Feels like a 3.
Peter Gabriel's music has always been uneven for me - huge peaks on a great plain. This eponymous album is his first solo project post Genesis and includes Solsbury Hill, one of those peaks. Caught a bit of great guitar - a lot is over-orchestrated for my taste.
Pretty decent, but nothing too special. Also, the mix of the remastered version on Spotify is nausiating when listening with stereo headphones
About what I expected
I honestly hadn’t followed Peter Gabriel as much as Phil Collins post-Genesis, or should we call that Revelation? However, I have mad respect for ol Pete and the work he does. Not something I would choose to listen to often, but I’ll give it 3.5 stars.
Does Peter Gabriel sound like Phil Collins or does Phil Collins sound like Peter Gabriel? This music is a bit wonky and silly, but it’s not terrible. Not something I’ll likely revisit, but I appreciate it for what it is.
aka Peter Gabriel 1: Car that solsbury hill song is popular. but it's rare that I want to groove in 7/4 time. rest of the album: meh. could have aged better; could have aged worse.
Weird, but good at times. 3/5
Really good, i now notuice how often solsbury hill is played on radiostations
Didn't really enjoy much of this but I appreciated that it was creative and was always trying new things.
His first album and first hit “Solsbury Hill” (which is one of my favorites). He was so progressive. All of these songs are unique. They don’t exactly go together but love his voice.
Some nice tunes, not really my main genre or era but not bad.
Eh... there was some good and bad in there for my taste. Good enough for passive listening, but nothing noteworthy to give my full attention to.
Very cool album. I think his first, and it definitely has the cool sounds and production that his later albums will feature. As well as some interesting spins on common blues song forms.
Un grosso esperimento, credo, ma non troppo interessante. Bella 'Here comes the flood'
Gefällt mir gar nicht schlecht. Erster Track schon fast so ein bisschen experimenteller Artpop-mäßig. Hat mir insgesamt ziemlich gut gefallen, werde ich noch mal anhören. Teilweise eine wilde Mischung, ob ich da lang dranbleibe, ist eine andere Frage.
So is prolly one of my more fav albums from this so was kinda bummed that I didn’t like this as much. 6/10
Pretty good, though not as good as So. I guess he found his sound a bit more in the later album. 7/10
5/10 - A lot of weird songs but a few that I enjoyed. I thought they flowed together nicely.
Solsbury hill was good, excuse me was whack, the rest was ok. 6.5/10
I was kinda gone listening to most of this, but I remember feeling pretty similarly to his other album. Pretty good. Here comes the flood is a great song, but I think it was overall a slightly weaker album than so. 5.5/10
favorite tracks: Here comes the flood, Modern Love otherwise pretty boring to be honest. Not completely sure what made Solsbury Hill a hit.
A tough one to rate. “Solsbury Hill” is a deserving classic, and most of side 2 is good. But there are also some real stinkers here. “Moribund the Burgermeister“, “Excuse Me”, and “Humdrum” really show that Peter Gabriel needed the rest of Genesis to rein in his dumber ideas.
I like Peter Gabriel, but the album So is way better than this, so I don't think he needs 2 solo inclusions on the list. Solsbury Hill is a classic, I do really love that song, but again, as a whole this album offering isn't as strong as So. At one point I almost thought I was listening to a Randy Newman album instead, with the way he really slipped into a whole different persona on the song Excuse Me. There's lots of experimentation with the artistic identity presented, which leaves me feeling like there's something undone with the overall packet. This is fine, but it's not exciting enough to keep me coming back. I do love this album cover too though, it's gorgeous.
Liked it, but a couple songs were too weird.
3.2
Sometimes experimental albums are amazing and sometimes they are garbage. This is somewhere in between.
Aside from “Here Comes the Flood,” I didn’t really enjoy this, although there were some interesting and creative flourishes that somewhat elevated it. 2.5 rounded up; unlikely to revisit. I’m curious to hear some of his other music, though.
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Weird. Like a shitty space opera not done by David Bowie. Saulsbury Hill and one other more jazzy one were great. Some good guitar licks, but overall not for me. Sounds like that era for sure, what little I've listened to it.
Solsbury Hill is the standout. The rest is ok.
A very solid debut album
Yeah, I mean, it was pretty okay Favorite song: Down the Dolce Vita Least favorite: Modern Love
Definitely one of the albums of all time
Raro...Conocía Solsbury Hill, un poco musical. Al final una heavy-lenta-romántica...Raro.
I can appreciate the work on this album and the creativity that went into it, and the performances are fantastic. Robert Fripp is always a good idea.
Better than I thought it would be. Would love this on a classic rock station, but maybe not something I would put on.
Peter Gabrield is a confusing album. Partly very cool experimental music, partly the worst kind of pompous prog rock, common at the time of it's release. This duality is contained inside of almost every track on the album. As such, I can easily acknowledge the album, but it's not easy for me to enjoy it. Solsbury Hill deserves all the radio time it has gotten. 2.8
Such a weird album. 3.5 just for Solsbury Hill.
первый трек просто мешанина падла вперемешку, второй очень ничего такая песня , третий просто проходной, вобщем неоднозначно наверное переслушаю
Versatile and interesting songs
I like Pete, but this album wasn't my favorite. I can hear the experimental things he's doing and appreciate it. There really only a few songs that I really enjoyed.
3/5. Man, this one is all over the place. Dark and jazzy on some, poppy and upbeat, silly and cute, and just weird. Like a greatest hits but not all of them are great. And if we're being honest, Solisbury Hill, maybe Flood, are the ones to take from this one. The other ones are good, and the album is enjoyable but there definitely some flaws.
A fun listen
Good. Prog-rock feel. 3.4
There's a few fantastic songs here, mixed in between a bunch of songs that were an absolute miss. Peter Gabriel is someone I had heard of before, and his sound is familiar, but he was clearly still finding himself in this debut album. In this case, the highs were enough to balance out the lows. Highlight: Solsbury Hill Lowlight: Moribund The Burgermeister Surprise Hit: Excuse Me
Had no idea what I was getting into, had no idea what I was through afterwards. Couple of interesting songs, plesant to listen to (not always). Overall a directionless record, but it was entertaining. Didnt sound particularly groundbreaking. Significant albums 13/30. Albums I liked 7/30. Albums I have added to my library 1/30. Not significant, liked, didnt add.
Gabriel’s first album after leaving Genesis. Some songs are throwbacks to the progressive rock thing he did in Genesis. A few other songs that kind of rock. The radio friendly “Solsbury Hill” is here too. Not his best album in my opinion but pretty good for a debut.
Pop-rock bien elaborado para la época, con una buena voz y canciones bien construidas. Algún tema muy reconocido.
i do like me some peter gabriel but this album wasn't AMAZING for me at least. solsbury hill is obviously a classic, but not my fave.
Hints of greatness in Waiting for the Big One but all up squarely middle of the road
Jeg kendte solsburry hill i forvejen , men ellers kendte jeg ingen af numrene. Men var ikkke kæmpe fan, så den kræver nok st msn lyttter igen.
Some good songs but on the whole not my cup of tea.
I love the oddness of Peter Gabriel. Good stuff.
Good, but not for me
Okay, mostly listened to as background music.
Very weird opening track, Peter. Very good second track. Cool third. Questionable fourth - melody and lyrics are fine but the instrumentation was too far down the barbershop/carnival rabbit hole for me to get onboard. Dolce Vita was cool. Last was alright. Ultimately not sure this album belongs on the list. His album So has more of his solo hits.
Kind of all over the place and definitely not my thing but overall fine. Solsbury Hill and Here Comes The Flood we’re my faves.
This album is really a mixed bag. Some of it sounds like prog rock -- the Peter Gabriel led version of Genesis. Other parts sound like him trying to make more mainstream, blues based rock music. Better music is still a few years away.
Bit all over the place. Struggle but I could appreciate the ideas
Listened Before? N Cool old PG album. He's not my favorite but this was a decent one. I think I liked it better before he got trippier in the 80s. Added to Library? N Songs added to library: Solsbury Hill
Smatterings of genius and a decent listen all round
There are some pretty decent tracks on here, but most is progrock/art rock silliness.
like it but was not the right sound for today
pretty fun :)
A good debut, some solid songs especially, Solsbury Hill, but other than that there isn't much to love. I don't mind Genesis, I despise Phil Collins and I can tolerate Peter Gabriel in small doses, if that tells you anything...
Peter Gabriel, like cheap wine, isn’t particularly offensive to the senses, but also doesn’t really stand out to me in any meaningful way.
It was OK
I was hoping to like this one a bit more! I'd say it's a strong three. There were many parts I liked, but not enough for me to love any of the songs. I'm more hopeful for his other solo stuff, and the Genesis stuff that is one here. My favourite song was Excuse Me.
Nope, this album is still not doing much for me. Solsbury Hill is a good song, of course, but that's about it.
Strangely inconsistent album. Nice music here and there, and of course the gorgeous Solsbury Hill, but it doesn't get into one piece for me.
Some great stuff
It was alright. One song was recognizable. I don't see myself listening to this album again but I will round up.
Favourites: • Moribund the Burgermeister • Solsbury Hill
Decent. Starts of really strong but loses momentum quickly.
pretty cool, how is solsbury on this
It was alright. Solsbury hill and here comes the flood carried this album.
i liked a lot of these songs but really i cant remember them too well i think they were fine but not good enough for me to be like wow i want to listen to this again like ever and i know wow its peter gabriel he wrote solsbury hill which is not how i would spell that by the way but anyway he is just so normal oh my god
Es realmente el verdadero puede y debe mejorar, pero siga por ese camino. Un disco que intenta mucha cosa bajo la huella del rock. Evidentemente hay canciones buenas, pero los falsetes qeu no entran, la longitud innecesaria de las canciones y de plantearles problemáticas a temas que sonarían 20 veces mejor, hacen que llegue puntos a los que el disco se haga tedioso y uno desee llegar al final o terminarlo antes. También los momentum de las canciones a veces no se encuentran y realmente el cambio por más lírico qeu sea con lo melódico no entra bien y no convence, un gran ejemplo de esto es la última canción. Como canciones individuales se podría decir que tienen mucho mérito y uno queda con ganas de saber si peter gabriel mejoró a lo largo de los años 6/10.
Peter Gabriel is someone I’m well-disposed towards without knowing that much of his stuff. He seems to have decent music taste and experimental-but-not-too-proggy tendencies, and this album displays those quite well. That said, I might've considered a lower score were it not for the joyous Solsbury Hill, which never fails to raise a smile.
I don't hate it as much as that godawful 70's psychedelic folk band, but I am not a fan of Peter Gabriel (with a couple of song exceptions)
paljon erinlaista biisinnypäkkää, tykkään variaatiosta moni biisi heikommanpuoleisia niin, tuota, siitä en tykkää heh.. kuitenkin pophitti solsbury hill objective albumin heikoin kappale ja mielummin kuuntelen outoa HUMPUUKia kun sanan-toisto-poppia heh B-OSIO PELASTI!! HYVIÄ BIISEJÄ SIINÄ!!! waiting for the big one
6/10. Eh, I probably just wasn't in a pretentious enough mood for a genesis solo album today, and this started to wear on me after the first few songs.
Meh, Would rather listen to Pink Floyd or Yes
This album is fucking bonkers. There's a lot going on, and Gabriel tries many different things. You can tell he's trying to find his signature sound. Some of it was fantastic (Moribund the Burgermeister), and others weren't (Humdrum). I appreciate the risk and the inventive nature of this album, but the majority of the songs fall flat after Solsbury Hill.
There were a couple of good tracks here but it didn't deliver anything special. Just another mediocre 80's album.
Mon camarade d'écoute robcavalière m'a déclaré hier que Peter Gabriel, je cite "s'est surpassé pour nous sortir de la merde". Je vous laisse maintenant aller voir la note que ce dernier a attribué à l'album. Cela devrait vous permettre de comprendre le calvaire vécu au quotidien dans cette éprouvante épreuve des 1001.
Yup!
Starts out nice and proggy then gets gradually more boring as it goes on
3.5/5
Raro...Conocía Solsbury Hill, un poco musical. Al final una heavy-lenta-romántica...Raro.
Found myself enjoying quite a bit with the odd tune I disliked, however left no lasting impression. 3.3
Mid way between his proggy heights of Genesis and his MTV hit making. Interesting in place but again not really my taste
You're standing on my memories.
I mean Solsbury Hill is one of the greatest songs ever. The rest of the album is good but not on the same level
Alright music. While I don’t have a distaste for this one like I do for So (hasn’t come up, but it’ll probably be a 2), I don’t particularly enjoy this. ‘Solsbury Hill’ is a great song, and I enjoy the more rocking tracks, but it doesn’t really interest me overall.
Ietwat poppy progrock. Wel oké, maar niet direct iets wat ik opnieuw zou op zetten
I enjoyed it, though it is a bit eclectic in a way that feels random. He sounds so much like Phil Collins at times, I suppose that's no coincidence given their time in Genesis together.
I respect his work, but never can vibe with it. Always sounds a bit too cheesy for me.
Some interesting songs from the Genesis guy but I don't feel it holds together as a coherent album. Solesbury Hill and Flood are great tracks. He found his feet on later albums.
Was curious which 'peter gabriel', all first 4 album have that name don't they? This one too eclectic for me, love e.g. Solsbury Hill and Here Comes the Flood but not as strong and coherent as e.g. Peter Gabriel (4).