New Peter Gabriel single - review in full

[Joe Turner <cutter%umass-boston.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA>]

Well. After hearing it on WFNX, I rushed to Newbury "We're Overpriced but
We Don't Care" Comics to pick up the 12". I'm impressed...

OK, OK. So he's gotten Phil-ish. As Doug was quick to point out a while
back, "If Gabriel does pop, it'll be brilliant." Well, it isn't a MASTER-
PEICE, but it's awful good! On second (and 3rd and 4th and 5th etc...)
listen, I find it is growing on me like kudzu. It sounds like a mixture
of David Bowie's "Fashion" crossed with Ian Dury & the Blockheads' "Sex 'n
Drugs 'n Rock & Roll" mixed with "Sussudio". "Sledgehammer" is a complete
departure from PG4 - this is closer to "I Go Swimming" than anything I can
think of from PG. Enough of comparisons... onto the songs!

"Sledgehammer" starts off with a quiet section of rhythm, minimal to the max
with a bit of synth. This hardly prepares you for the aural onslaught that
awaits - suddenly, after a "One, two" count, comes a blast of horns! It
slides quickly into a funkier rhythm and in come the vocals. Gabriel still
has his voice, and he uses it well. The lyrics are so-so - they are the
weakest part of the song. Here's the first verse and chorus:

	You could have a steam-train
	If you just lay down your tracks
	You could have an aeroplane flying
	If you bring your blue sky back
	All you do is call me
	I'll be anything you need
	You could have a big dipper
	Going up, and around the bends
	You could have a bumper car bumping
	There's a new man in the race
	I wanna be your Sledgehammer
	Why don't you call my name?
	Let me be you sledgehammer
	This will be my test

Eh. Another "Just call me and I'll be there" songs. But damn! it's great
to listen to. He's thrown away the CMI and has a simpler sound. As he
says:

	I've kicked the habit
	Shut my skin
	This is the new stuff
	I come dancing in

He certainly does! This is great to dance to, that's for sure. But the
production is a dream and the song glides along pleasantly. Now, the
b-side is VERY interesting.

"Don't Break This Rhythm" - it's a PG4 outtake! Listen to that African
rhythm! Listen to that Fairlight! Hmm - xylophones - maybe it was done
inbetween PG3 or PG4? Still, it's actually a better song than "Sledgehammer",
although it sounds like Gabriel has been listening to too much Sade.

	Right through these fences
	Come through the stone walls
	Dig out the tunnels
	Follow the silent storm
	There she is
	But so surrounded
	All those fancy men with soft white hands
	Come all this distance
	It should be me there
	Whatever it takes
	Don't break this rhythm
	Don't break this motion
	We move together in sympathy
	Don't break this rhythm
	Don't break this motion
	We work together in sympathy

Simple, but pleasureable.

"I Have the Touch" is actually a good remix. It sounds just like the original
but with some subtle instrumental differences. The vocal is the same, except
for the phrase "wanting contact", which has a reverse echo on it.

Well, *I* thought it was actually a good buy at $6. Go pick it up, it's
worth it - if not for "Sledgehammer", then for "Don't Break this Rhythm"...
then again, take me with at arm's length, as I turn into a screaming meemie
when Gabriel is concerned...

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Also pick up Talk Talk's "Life's What You Make It" single - not for the a-side
but for the b-side, "It's Getting Late In the Evening", a quiet song, very
minimalist, but awful purty...

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I picked up the Shriekback "Fish Below the Ice" double-pak. I was told this
had the "Plankton Enriched Mix" on it. It doesn't. Are there TWO "Special
Limited Edition Gatefold" FBtI records out there or something?

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I also picked up my very first Robyn Hitchcock psuedo-record, the single
for "The Man Who Invented Himself". Before I get anything else by this man
(who, at least from this single, I really like), can anyone tell me:
	a) Is his stuff more like the a-side or the b-side ("Dancing on
	   God's Thumb")?
	b) Has his style changed a lot?
	c) If I like this single, which album will I probably like more?
	   (i.e. which should I get first)

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Later.

				Save your parity bits for big cash prizes!
						Joe

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