Peter Gabriel - 'Us'

Happy 31st birthday to an under-appreciated Peter Gabriel album

Listen to ‘Us’ on the streaming service of your choice by clicking the cover below.

It’s 7th September 1992. I’m just beginning a new academic year as a lecturer in a further education college in Reading, UK.¹ Much more importantly, though, the first single from ‘Us’, ‘Digging in the Dirt’, is released. To buy a copy of the CD Maxi Single, pre-internet, it is necessary to ride my bike the long way home via Our Price Records (remember them?). I’m in a bit of a rush, so I leave my bike unlocked in an alley, shoot into the shop, pay for the single, and return to my bike. Oh.² No bike. I curse myself for being so stupid, and for the fact I won’t be able to play the CD until I’ve made a long walk home.

So, my relationship with ‘Us’ was off to a rocky start. This was appropriate as the album is loosely themed around difficult personal relationships. ‘Digging’ would go on to become a sort of personal mantra when I was studying a counseling course a few years later.³

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‘Us’ was the follow-up to Gabriel’s best-known solo album ‘So’. Four years on, would/could he repeat the hit formula of ‘So’ Well, no - and he didn’t really try - and yes, it’s just as good, although I think underrated in comparison.

‘Us’ is a more introspective album, lyrically, as it came in the wake of a divorce and a growing distance between Gabriel and his first daughter, Anna-Marie.

Two songs, though, did rest on the shoulders of ‘So’ giants:

Most obviously, ‘Steam’ was another rock ‘n’ soul uptempo song to sit alongside, ‘Sledgehammer’. A cynical attempt at another smash single? If, so, why not? Or, more likely, given Gabriel’s usual constant innovation throughout his career, Genesis included, it was just that he enjoys some sweaty soul, especially when performing live. 

The other is ‘Blood of Eden’, which is in the spirit of ‘Don’t Give Up’; another slow, elegant, thoughtful ballad, including backing vocals from Sinead O’Connor - backing vocals rather than solo as offered by Kate Bush on ‘Don’t Give Up’. 

O’Connor also sings backing on ‘Come Talk to Me’,⁴ opening ‘Us’ as it means to go on with a song to his then teenage daughter Melanie (who would later have her own music career and sing with Gabriel in concert.) 

When I saw the ‘Secret World Live’ tour (taking its title from the closing track) at Earl’s Court in London, O’Connor was on stage with Gabriel. I’ve seen criticism of her performance - all I can say is it sounded fine in the audience, although I missed her contribution to closer ‘In Your Eyes’ as I had to get the last coach home.⁵ I haven’t sought out a bootleg to hear the song I missed (yet).

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Elsewhere, there’s the weird ‘Kiss That Frog’ (the forerunner of the verse melody of the ‘i/o’ track ‘Road to Joy’, and ‘Washing of the Water’ is the opening song on the current ‘i/o’ tour, with Gabriel, Levin, and company gathered around a campfire. Never expect the expected from PG.

Because of the way Gabriel crafts each album as extended studio projects - usually at his own Real World Studios in Wiltshire - there’s a comprehensive list of musicians to be heard on ‘Us’. Advanced technology met more traditional musicians - from places such as East Africa, Egypt, and Armenia.

Alongside members of his regular band (Tony Levin, David Rhodes, and Manu Katche) there are another 39 listed, if I’ve counted correctly. Sinead O’Connor is one, as we’ve seen, and among the others are Brian Eno, Peter Hammill, Richard Macphail (the glue that held Genesis together), and John Paul Jones.

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Three weeks after my adventure while buying the first single, the full album dropped (as we didn’t say then). For the first time, here was Gabriel releasing an album at CD length (in this case, 58 mins.) As you know if you subscribe to ‘LP’, I’m into the idea of albums coming in at around the 40-45 min mark (my weekly playlist album, ‘Gems’, is structured that way) because many releases seem to lose focus when there’s not the same need to edit - but not here. In fact, it was only when reacquainting myself with ‘Us’ for this post I remembered it was longer than Gabriel’s previous studio albums.

This could be because ‘Us’ finishes strongly with ‘Secret World’, a mid-paced, dynamic song building in intensity to a dramatic climax. Gabriel ended his gigs at that time by folding himself up in a suitcase and closing the lid in sync with a resounding bass drum thump.

Finally, a note about audio quality. The original release, at least to my ears, sounded muddy, as if something had gone awry with the mixing or mastering. It certainly didn’t have the clarity we’d come to expect from Gabriel. I guess he thought so too, because the remastered version issued a few years later digs out the muddy dirt and sounds crystal clear. 

Really finally: three months later, a new ‘Us’ related development was upon us, called ‘Xplorer1: Peter Gabriel’s Secret World’. In those days, CD-ROMs were set to be the next big thing, so here was an interactive computer game/experience including puzzles, hidden video footage, interviews, and the opportunity to remix some ‘Us’ music. I bought it, but because I’m not really into computer games, I didn't get very far into it. I’d rather just watch the videos and (okay, this bit is good) play with some mixes. This sort of project is always (of necessity) built around the technology of the day and becomes pretty much inaccessible a few years later.⁶

So, happy 31st birthday, ‘Us’. 

What are your thoughts about ‘Us’ and/or Peter Gabriel? Do join in the community discussion by leaving a comment below. Thank you.

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A reminder

You can find the latest ‘i/o’ track, ‘This is Home’ as part of ‘Gems 3’, my latest weekly playlist album, which comes complete with Track Notes.

As a long-standing Gabriel fan, I’m thinking about a long read mapping the road to ‘i/o’. If you’re able, do consider upgrading to paid to ensure you receive all of my music writing. Thank you!

1. For many years, the home of Peter Gabriel’s world music festival WOMAD. As I lived just across the city, this was a great opportunity to attend every year, although I never saw Gabriel play there. (A piece about WOMAD/Real World/world music is on my ‘to write’ list).

2. Stronger language may have been used.

3. The grotesque camera hat, worn by Gabriel in the live shows, is not included.

4. This song features bagpipes. Many records sound better with the inclusion of bagpipes. This must be my Celtic roots showing.

5. At least I wasn’t cycling.

6. Of course, I had to check, didn’t I? And I found this. It runs in a tiny box on my Windows laptop. Another Gabriel CD-ROM, ‘Eve’, is on the same site.