February 6, 2022 by A.S. Van Dorston

Gabriel experiments with Fairlight synths, gated reverb and global music without getting bogged down by the toys.

The fourth self-titled Peter Gabriel album (titled Security by his label against his wishes) was built around Gabriel’s favorite new toy, the Fairlight synthesizer. Also prominent is the gated reverb drum effect that producer Steve Lillywhite and engineer Hugh Padgham also featured on Peter Gabriel 3: Melt (1980), with former Genesis bandmate Phil Collins on the kit. Those two elements could have sunk and hopelessly dated the album, as the gated reverb became one of the overused and irritating effect of the ’80s. However, just like Lillywhite/Padgham’s early use on XTC’s Drums and Wires (1979) and Black Sea (1980), Peter Gabriel was too great of an artist to be overwhelmed by the technology.

Aside from the single and video “Shock The Monkey,” which foreshadowed the irritatingly grating “Big Time,” the album is less accessible than his previous album. For me, it’s been a sleeper 40 years, as I was always turned off by the single. The rest of the album is mostly atmospheric, textural art rock, subtly incorporating synths and Gabriel’s next big love, global music, including Afro Pop and Arabic folk that will fully manifest on Passion (Music for The Last Temptation of Christ) and his Real World studio and label. Opening track “The Rhythm of the Heat” shows a preview of both his ambient pop, and the Fairlight-assisted use of exotic rhythms, the thunderous percussive ending recalling The Drummers of Burundi. The lovely “San Jacinto” takes Mike Oldfield’s chiming Tubular Bells and creates an effectively moody ballad. “I Have the Touch” is a highlight with a multi-part arrangement worthy of David Bowie.

A lot of the sounds and samples provided by the Fairlight in “The Family and the Fishing Net” reminds me of Brian Eno’s production with David Byrne in My Life In The Bush of Ghosts and Talking Heads’ Remain In Light, but more restrained and subtle, as well as the Fripp/Eno collaborations (Robert Fripp also contributed to Gabriel’s early solo work). Next is the big single, “Shock the Monkey,” which mainly wore on me because I heard it too much. Putting that aside, it is a groundbreaking and hugely influential production. I think Prince was keenly listening too, along with those handclaps on “Lay Your Hands On Me.” Or was it vice-versa? “Wallflower” is one of my least favorite tracks, another slow moving ballad that teeters into melodramatics, while the album closes with the busy, percussive “Kiss of Life” that feels both dense and stark. Again, not an immediate crowdpleaser, but one that rewards repeated listens.

In some ways a transitional album into Gabriel’s peak commercial phase, Peter Gabriel 4 is still a must have for any fans of art rock and Gabriel’s other solo work.