Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel (1977)

As a nerdy sixth form Genesis obsessive, I was ambivalent about Gabriel's debut solo album and probably didn't investigate it until a couple of years later, enjoying what I heard. Later still, I picked up my own copy, but it's only recently via Ebay that I've replaced it on CD.

So nearly half a century on, how has it held up? Frankly, a bit of a curate's egg. Moving from a band noted for 23 whole side epic tracks and sprawling double concept albums (both of which Gabriel was instrumental in driving), it's inevitable that the move away would be towards shorter self contained songs, some of which work better than others.

Opening song Moribund The Burgermeister is probably the most likely to have found its way on to a Genesis album, a convoluted tale, which is a fair start, before the hit single Solsbury Hill jingles its way into action. Flexing his musical styles, Excuse Me starts off with a barbershop quartet opening, but is a decent song once that's been erased from the memory. while Humdrum, slow and brooding, is humdrum.

Slowburn is solid without really inspiring, and Waiting For The Big One, a slow bluesy number, which goes on for far too long. Things liven up for the final two, the grandiose Down The Dolce Vita, a huge sound and a decent song, with the wonderful Here Comes The Flood (although, in my opinion, there's a much better version on Robert Fripp's solo album Exposure, (where the Frippertronics add real atmosphere).

It seems to be an album where the artist is finding his feet, after stepping out on his own for the first time, and no one should be surprised that he doesn't nail it first time. But it's a solid enough debut.

Link to full album

3* - a decent enough debut, as Gabriel looks for his direction