CLASSIC ALBUM
PETER GABRIEL III (AKA MELT)
PETER GABRIEL
THE FORMER GENESIS FRONTMAN RETAINS HIS ECCENTRICITY, YET CHANNELS IT INTO AN ALBUM FULL OF FACE-MELTING ANTHEMS – HIS THIRD LP WAS AN ARTISTIC AND COMMERCIAL HIGH POINT THAT REPOSITIONED THE PROGGY EXPERIMENTALISM INTO A POST-PUNK FRAMEWORK, EXPLORING POLITICS, MINIMALISM AND THE FRAGILE STATE OF THE MIND
FELI X ROWE
Peter Gabriel, clearly not a fan of excessive nomenclature, pictured circa 1980
© Getty
These days you’ll have to hold out for 20-plus years for the latest Peter Gabriel album of fresh material – give or take the odd soundtrack or obligatory orchestral reimagining. At least early cuts from the long-overdue I/O suggest it will be worth the wait. But there was a time – that sweet spot either side of the 80s – when he was knocking albums out with the reliable regularity of a bi-annual anthology.
Each self-titled release – delivered with the same masthead – was differentiated only by its Hipgnosis-designed feature image, and of course, the music within. Gabriel even went to the effort of recording several German-language versions at the same time.
For ease of reference, fans, critics and subsequent reissues have assigned each a number and nickname: Peter Gabriel I from former band Genesis. Melt was by far his most consistent record to date, but that’s not to say that the listener would have any clue of what to expect from one track to the next.
Gabriel’s first solo single, 1977’s sublime Solsbury Hill, demonstrated he could contain his eccentricities to deliver a Top 20 hit – albeit in its stumbling 7/4 time signature. And his first two solo albums certainly weren’t struggling for ideas – on the contrary there’s inspiration flying about in every direction. But Melt brings those disparate ideas together and, crucially, exercises restraint – a word not typically associated with Peter Gabriel’s output (or wardrobe) up to this point. For those of us who can conceive no better pastime than endlessly dreaming up names for hypothetical music projects (come on, admit it), Gabriel’s (Car), Peter Gabriel II (Scratch), Peter Gabriel III (Melt), and finally – the last eponymous release, presumably before his exasperated marketing team threatened industrial action – Peter Gabriel IV (Security).