Peter Gabriel studio albums

[soundchaser09]

Which is your favourite? Its a tough choice for me, I think his peak years as a solo artist were 1980-1992, and my top album is PG4.

[Sam I Am]

I think PG3 is darned near flawless. Also a big fan of PG1 and PG4 - So is pretty good - and the later stuff a little bit hit and miss for me (pun not intentional)...

[soundchaser09]

My order would be :

PG4
So
PG3
Us
Up
PG1
PG2

[Mr. Holland]

I came into Peter Gabriel in 1986 via "So", which remains my favourite album of him. I was 13 at the time. I learned of the older stuff due to the "Shaking the Tree" greatest hits album. And Us and Up were 'current' releases for me. So and those two had the biggest impact on me, especially since I played the hell out of the Growing Up DVD which only contained "Here Comes the Flood" from the first four albums.

So in order my favourite Peter Gabriel albums are:

So
Us
Up
PG 4
PG 3
PG 1
PG 2

Special mention to the OVO tracks "The Tower that Ate People" and "Downside Up" which I both love.

[madbear]

I saw the first Gabriel tour, with Fripp playing offstage and out of sight, which was fantastic. On record i find he gradually got more and more overproduced, to the point I find Us and Up pretty unlistenable. So has some great songs but they're hidden under studio gloss.
I'd probably go 2, 3, 4, Us, 1

[Soundwaveseeker]

Probably 'Melt'(3) as his near flawless musical statement. Every cut is a winner. 4(Security) would be next, despite kinda 'tinny' production. The first song I ever heard from Peter Gabriel and knowing it was from somebody called Peter Gabriel was Shock The Monkey. I thought it was just so cool and strange and futuristic and 'new wave' and atmospheric. This was before I knew he was in a band called Genesis along with that 'In The Air Tonight' guy. Still love Shock The Monkey.

So is mid-80's bliss - good memories of it when it first came out but since tired of Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes. 'In Your Eyes' is most likely playing over the PA system at your local WalMart or grocery store as I type. Almost tired of Red Rain as well, but hey, it's a good song. In general it's a good album, just overemphasized.

In contrast, PG 2 (Scratch), part of Robert Fripp's Exposure trilogy (with Daryl Hall's Sacred Songs), is overlooked but underrated. Gabriel hardly plays anything from it live (On The Air or DIY once in a while I think), and you never see much if anything from it on a hits compilation. But that's a very 'city' album to me, kinda New York. I like that one a lot.

Us and Up were 'the new album' for me as well when they came out, and I saw both tours.

I suppose I could rank them as:

1) Melt
2) Security
3) Scratch 0r So
4) So or Scratch - these two go up and down my list
5) Rain/Car or Us
6) Us or Car/Rain - same, these two fight for the 5th spot
7) Up

Throw 'Birdy' in there and you got the cream of Gabriel's solo output. The drumless and somber orchestral Scratch My Back stuff, though wonderful sounding and richly executed, less so. Bring on the new album, I just don't want to wait for a supermoon eclipse to get it.

[michelforest]

I used to be a big fan of his solo stuff, but now, my interest has decreased significantly. PG2 is pretty good. There are some good songs on PG1, PG3 and PG4, but I just don't feel like listening to these albums anymore. It's a bit like The Police: I was a huge fan, but now, that band really bores me.

Gabriel in concert is always great, however. I wouldn't go now, as the tickets will probably be insanely expensive and he will play his most recent music, but the 3 shows I saw (between 1982 and 1987) were memorable.

[Olorin]

PG3 by a landslide for me.

[Roundabob]

I love the first album. Here Comes the Flood, Solsbury Hill, and Hum Drum are classics, and the rest of the album was very good. I didn’t know what to expect upon his departure from Genesis, so this was a pleasant surprise. PG 2 then PG 3 would rank second and third respectively for me. I didn’t purchase the offerings after that.

[rePete]

So for me.

[Soundwaveseeker]

I love the first album. Here Comes the Flood, Solsbury Hill, and Hum Drum are classics, and the rest of the album was very good. I didn’t know what to expect upon his departure from Genesis, so this was a pleasant surprise. PG 2 then PG 3 would rank second and third respectively for me. I didn’t purchase the offerings after that.

I saw an interview with Mike Rutherford where he said your first solo album always sounds a bit like the band (referring to Smallcreep's Day, his first solo album in 1980). That's true sometimes, Steve Hackett's first was almost a Genesis album itself. But Gabriel's first totally carved out a different sound altogether. None of the material sounded much like the band he left, with the exception of Humdrum. That's one of my faves from the car/PG 1 album as well. That's the one song on there that sounds like it could have been on the Lamb or if he stayed for one more album in 1975, it would have been on that. Humdrum has the Genesis flute, and the heavy Tony Banks chords, especially towards the end. That could have been a Genesis track. Maybe Moribund The Burgermeister too by a hair, maybe not.