Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel
Studio album by Peter Gabriel
Released	February 25, 1977 (1977-02-25)
Recorded	July 1976-January 1977, The Soundstage, Toronto
Genre	Experimental rock, progressive rock, hard rock
Length	41:42
Label	Atco (US & Canada) Charisma
Producer	Bob Ezrin
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Robert Christgau (B+) link Rolling Stone (not rated) link
Peter Gabriel chronology
Peter Gabriel (1977) Peter Gabriel (1978)

Peter Gabriel is the first album Peter Gabriel recorded after leaving the progressive rock band Genesis, and the first of four with the same eponymous title. Upon the album's release, Gabriel began touring with a seven-piece band under his own name.

Gabriel and producer Bob Ezrin assembled a team of talented musicians, including Robert Fripp of King Crimson, to record the album.

The album's second track, "Solsbury Hill," describes Gabriel's departure from Genesis and has become one of Gabriel's more popular songs. Erasure covered the song in 2003 on Other People's Songs.

After release, Peter Gabriel felt that the track "Here Comes the Flood" was over-produced. Since then he has created far simpler renditions such as the one on Robert Fripp's album, Exposure, his appearance on Kate Bush's 1979 TV special, and yet a third version on Peter Gabriel's first greatest hits album, Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats.

The album went to #7 in UK and #38 in the USA.

This album is often referred to as Car, referring to the album cover by Hipgnosis. The car was a Lancia Flavia owned by Storm Thorgerson. [1]

There is a slightly different version of this album released through Direct Disk Labs, a halfspeed mastered version from the original master tapes. It has a longer version of "Slowburn" (5:16 instead of 4:36) with the song's introduction intact. All other versions of the song seem to have this intro edited out. Normally the song starts with a piano, but this rare version begins with a full band.

Track listing

All songs written by Peter Gabriel, except where indicated.

Side One

1. "Moribund the Burgermeister" – 4:20
2. "Solsbury Hill" – 4:21
3. "Modern Love" – 3:38
4. "Excuse Me" – 3:20 (Gabriel, Martin Hall)
5. "Humdrum" – 3:25

Side Two

1. "Slowburn" – 4:36
2. "Waiting for the Big One" – 7:15
3. "Down the Dolce Vita" – 5:05
4. "Here Comes the Flood" – 5:38

Personnel

• Peter Gabriel – vocals, keyboards, flute, recorder
• Allan Schwartzberg – drums
• Tony Levin – bass, tuba, leader of the Barbershop Quartet
• Jimmy Maelen – percussion, synthibam, bones
• Steve Hunter – electric, acoustic & rhythm guitar, pedal steel
• Robert Fripp – electric & classical guitars, banjo
• Jozef Chirowski – keyboards
• Larry Fast – synthesizer, programming
• Dick Wagner – backing vocals and solo guitar on "Here Comes the Flood" & "Slowburn"
• London Symphony Orchestra on "Down the Dolce Vita"
• Michael Gibbs - arrangement of orchestra

Charts

Album

Single

Certifications

External links

• Peter Gabriel (Car) at MusicBrainz