Peter Gabriel "Us"

Peter Gabriel - Us (1992)

Released in 1992, 'Us' was Peter's sixth solo album and the album which followed up his most commercially successful 'So'. This album had the challenge of trying to top his last effort which had three of the four songs he's most known for, "In Your Eyes", "Sledgehammer", "Mercy Street" and also had the 80's favorite "Big Time". Even though 'So' was a great commercial success and does have some great songs on it, it feels rather empty due to the fact that there's hardly any flow to the album, and also because two of the songs come across as nothing more than time fillers, "Milgram's 37" and "This is the Picture".
I believe any great album is a body of music that plays like a story, something that gives you a mental picture of something that could be happening from each song to the next. You should feel like you've been taken from point A to point B. A beginning and an end, something which 'So' lacked. 'Us' transcends the songs themselves and you judge the body of work, not just "oh that song was good, what's next?" type of thing...
In a review I once read of Peter Gabriel's music it said that he is the "master of subtlety". Little things, noises and effects in the background, the way certain instruments are played at certain times to accent or create a mood is just as important as the songs themselves. This is the most evident in this album. There are amazing things going on constantly in your ears which makes the album an event, something you want to go back to again and again...
The album begins perfectly with the beautifully rhythmic "Come Talk to Me". The song begins with a thick guitar part that sounds like a vacuum cleaner (nice picture huh?) and immediately busts into a wonderful chorus of bagpipes...The first time I listened to this it almost came across as cheesy, I mean who likes the bagpipes? Well I like them now, I actually think they're beautiful in the right context...Anyway....'come talk to me' has perhaps the most beautiful lyrics of all the songs on the album, it speaks of someone deep in despair who's life can be changed by talking things out with a friend or lover.
The next two songs, "Love to be Loved" and "Blood of Eden" flow almost seamlessly from each other, not because they are that similar but because it feels like one chapter of book has ended and this the next has begun. The "character" has started a new scene. "Love to be Loved" is also a very rhythmic jungle sounding song that's full of passion, it sounds like someone pleading or desiring someone to love them. 'Eden' plays perfectly off that feeling, this love ballad is a song sung between two lovers. It's like the third part of the first act, "Come Talk to Me" is the relationship going astray, "Love to be Loved" is the desperation of wanting someone back, and "Blood of Eden" is the reconciliation...
The next song "Steam" was a song I had always considered as nothing more than "Sledgehammer part II", it's kind of an interruption of the flow that had been established with the first three songs but now I see the song as something of an intermission, it's like the musical chase scenes in Scooby-Doo, our character is doing something exciting. 'Steam' is one of the more upbeat songs on the album and really sort of sets you free from the introspective first three songs. It's just fun, even though the early 90's white people rap at the end always kind of annoys me. I still can't find Vanilla Ice in the credits.
Then comes "Only Us", my second favorite song on the album. The bass part in this song is just amazing, it's accents everything perfectly. It seems like there's a million tiny things happening throughout this seemingly simple tune. 'Only Us' works perfectly after 'Steam' bringing things to a sudden halt here, like you just fell of a cliff...
The whole "lazy river" mental image continues with the great song "Washing of the Water". A Randy Newman-ish simple little song about riding on a river or could also be a metaphor for suicide. The song is both beautiful yet horrible depressing. It almost brings me to tears every time I hear it...
Things kick back up again with the biggest hit and my favorite song of the album "Digging in the Dirt". The song is just uber cool, I can't really explain more than that. The rhythm is great and the chorus just kicks you in the A.. "Don't talk back, just drive the car, shut your mouth and know what you are". The song is about dealing with the anger that grips people's lives and those lyrics from the chorus just perfectly illustrate it in a very loud and blatant way...
Not long before this Peter had worked on the sountrack for "The Last Temptation of Christ" (very awesome soundtrack by the way). The middle eastern inspired rhythms and music from that album definitely inspired this next song "Fourteen Black Paintings". It almost sounds like something left off of that album and put on here...
Here comes Peter's only child friendly song..."Kiss That Frog". It sounds like something he wrote for a sesame Street appearance that never happened. It's not that bad though, the beat is awesome and the guitar part is pretty rockin'. It also has the only appearance of a harmonica in any Gabriel song and also features Peter's famous "frog voice"(?) I guess that's what it's called...
And then things are finally wrapped up with "Secret World", a perfect ending to our journey. This song played live is probably one of my top 5 Peter Gabriel songs (the version on the 'Growing Up Live' DVD is the most magnificent thing your ears will ever hear. The ending is absolutely awesome, but you can tell that loud jam at the end was something that evolved during the first tour because on the album nothing really happens with it, it sort of just fizzles at the end. The song is still a great lyrical piece and a wonderful way to end it. "shaking it up, making it up, in our secret world".

8.76/10 pots of gold