Peter Gabriel (1978 album)

Peter Gabriel is the second solo album by English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, released in 1978. The album is the second of four with the same title. It was produced by guitarist Robert Fripp, whose influence is evident in the use of 'Frippertronics' on the track "Exposure".[1]

Peter Gabriel
Studio album by
Peter Gabriel
Released2 June 1978 (1978-06-02)
RecordedNovember 1977 – February 1978
StudioRelight Studios, Hilvarenbeek, The Netherlands
GenreProgressive rock, art rock
Length41:29
LabelCharisma (UK)
Atlantic (North America)
ProducerRobert Fripp
Peter Gabriel chronology
Peter Gabriel
(1977)		 Peter Gabriel
(1978)		 Peter Gabriel
(1980)
Singles from Peter Gabriel
  1. "D.I.Y."
    Released: September 1978

The album did not sell as well as the first Peter Gabriel, but reached No.10 in the UK.[2]

In the U.S., the album was titled Peter Gabriel II. The album is also often referred to as Scratch, referring to the album cover by Hipgnosis. Music streaming services currently refer to it as Peter Gabriel 2: Scratch.

This album was originally intended as part of a loose trilogy with Fripp's Exposure and Daryl Hall's Sacred Songs. (All three were produced by Fripp.)

Songs

Gabriel explained the songs in the May 1978 issue of the French magazine Best.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Chicago Sun-Times[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[6]
Q[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
The Village VoiceB−[10]

In the NME in 1978, Nick Kent wrote: "Its brazenly left-field veneer left me cold at first, and it's only now that its strengths are starting to come across ... once past the disarming non-focus veneer, there's a quietly remarkable talent at work – quiet in the manner of the slow fuse burn of "Mother of Violence" with Roy Bittan's piano work outstripping anything he's turned out for either Bruce Springsteen or David Bowie. Closer to the root of the album, there's a purity, a strength to the songs individual enough to mark Gabriel out as a man whose creative zenith is close at hand."[11]

Track listing

All songs written by Peter Gabriel, except where indicated.

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."On the Air" 5:30
2."D.I.Y." 2:37
3."Mother of Violence"Peter Gabriel, Jill Gabriel3:10
4."A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World" 3:33
5."White Shadow" 5:14
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Indigo" 3:30
7."Animal Magic" 3:26
8."Exposure"Peter Gabriel, Robert Fripp4:12
9."Flotsam and Jetsam" 2:17
10."Perspective" 3:23
11."Home Sweet Home" 4:37
  • On original LP pressings of the album, the audio track of "White Shadow" (which was the last song on Side One) continued into the run-off groove, causing the track to play continuously until the tonearm was lifted from the record.
  • Some editions of the cassette release had a different running order: "A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World" was track 11, "Home Sweet Home" was track 5, and "White Shadow" was track 4.
  • The original B-side of the single "D.I.Y." is a longer version of "Perspective" edited for the album and all subsequent releases.

Musicians

Charts

Album
Chart (1978) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] 50
UK Albums Chart[2] 10
US Billboard Pop Albums[13] 45

Notes
  1. "Genesis News Com [it]: Peter Gabriel - II (Scratch) - CD review". www.genesis-news.com. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  2. "UK Top 40 Hit Database". Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Peter Gabriel [2] – Peter Gabriel". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  4. DeRogatis, Jim (4 July 1993). "A Solo Discography". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  6. Brunner, Rob (12 July 2002). "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel 2". Entertainment Weekly: 84–85.
  7. "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel 2". Q (191): 137. June 2002.
  8. Marsh, Dave (7 September 1978). "Peter Gabriel (2)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  9. Considine, J. D. (2004). "Peter Gabriel". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 319–20. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. Christgau, Robert (4 September 1978). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  11. Nick Kent: "Gabriel: The Image Gets a Tweak". NME. 10 June 1978
  12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 120. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  13. "allmusic (((Peter Gabriel > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums)))". Retrieved 24 August 2008.
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