There was recently a thread dedicated to his music.. and I felt there should be one about this album.. I just got it and listened to it for about a day now.. and its a very impressive piece of work.

I do not consider this a pop record, and its not too accessible to the average listener.. but I will say beneath its clever technology, and abstract sounds are some GREAT written songs.
Its heavily layered with samples, wonderful beats, and thought provoking lyrics.
I looked up some specs on it and said that in the last ten years he wrote 150 songs and narrowed it down to these 10...

Every song (except The Drop) exceeds 6 minutes.. so each track has a lot of musical depth to it.

These are the type of albums I look out for.. because their different in many ways, and as john lennon would say.. its not "wallpaper"..


Wonderful album and I recommend it for the listener who is looking for something experimental, and wants a well thought out composition.

Sdldawn said:

"The Barry Williams Show" is my jam. Gabriel rocks.

Thanks to Cheek for making that thread about him and everyones input...


made me happy to find really really good music.

A whole thread just for Up! Yes, lyrically and musically, it's great stuff. I'm hoping we get to hear some more of those other tracks that didn't make this album!

Got this CD for Christmas the year it came out and never really played it. Might have to dust it off and check it out.

Axchi696 said:

I actually really used to like him but was pretty bored by Us. I didn't know he even had a new one. I'll have to check it out.

MendesCity said:

Us is one of my favorite PG albums, so I had high expectations for Up. When I took a quick listen to the disc, it just sounded dated and trendy, which are qualities that I don't usually associate with Gabriel.

Sdldawn said:

Oh, please don't mention it!!! Sdldawn!!!

I just felt the need of a Peter Gabriel thread among the silly MJ threads!
He's one of my all time favourite artists and it makes me a little bit sad that people forgot about him cuz there's no more dancing chickens...

I'm glad you like "Up"!!! A fantastic album!!!




PS: I would like to recommend another Peter Gabriel album to You: "OVO" (2000).
Have you heard this??? It's more experimental, world music type music with a few guest vocalists - including Neneh Cherry!!!
I think you'd like it!!!

OVO is an incredible album. Between OVO and UP I listen to OVO more often. But I love UP as well. OVO tells a story so it's got a narrative thing going on whereas UP is heavy and dark and takes some time letting it all sink in. It is worth the effort to do so.
sdldawn, I thought you'd be hip to these two albums already.

PG is suppose to release I/O this year. Shouldn't be a problem considering he has a stockpile of recorded material ready to go (according to the man himself).

to the Ovo recommendations, that's a great album as well. Lots of "world music" influence and sounds. And yes, it tell a story, though it's a bit vague.

As for I/O, I was over at petergabriel.com, and no date is being thrown around yet. Can't blame him, he threw around dates for years before Up was finally released! But true enough, he does have a lot of unreleased material (like all those songs that didn't make it to Up) so it shouldn't take so long. As I understood it, that was the purpose of I/O, to get some of that out.

Hi all,

I thought that I was the only one that LOVED UP! I initially bought it for "The Barry Williams Show", but after listening to So Blue, I was hooked! I loved it so much that I went and bought the live DVD!

Peter Gabriel rocks!

Mutts

muttley said:

You mean "Sky Blue", right???

Cheek said:

Youre right! It is still early in the morning here!

muttley said:

Go and spin the song!!! Merry Christmas!!!

muttley said:

I bought the Growing Up DVD as well. I haven't got the new one that just came out, Still Growing UP anyone got that one yet?

I have been featuring the Maison 104 (live appearance at French radio to promote the Growing up-tour) bootleg heavily
over the past few weeks; leading up to my interest in Up, which is in rotation right now...

Enjoying it! Made me get all of Gabriel's work.

hmm OVO sounds interesting.. gonna go check it out..


I'm still dumbfounded by up... terrific!

Sdldawn said:

I read a review stating it is too dependent of the visuals that it was created for. But the outline of the project comes
across as some strong work.

I Grieve is very impressive...




These ten songs represent some very well thought out compositions...


damn.. this would've been my album of the year in 2002.. no doubt...


Its rivaling against everything in 05... but bottom line.. this type of music is in a whole new category when it comes to comparing..

Sdldawn said:

I'm really enjoying your posts, glad you like the album so much! I hadn't listened to Up for awhile, you made me get it out and give it a couple of spins (Signal to Noise sounds great on my new stereo! )

Maybe you should check out the DVD from the tour, "Growing Up Live"? I just got the new one, "Still Growing Up" but haven't had time to watch it yet.

I think what struck a chord with me about this album.. is the infinite soundscapes that are in each song... and on top of that, the lyrics are genius.
There are so many lines I can relate to, and think of in all directions..


I'm inspired

by the way... the lyrical details are very memorable also.. (The Drop).. all that detail for such simple things in life...


"Did I dream this belief... or did I believe this dream"

what a great line....
[Edited 12/24/05 22:19pm]

oh, and the instrumentation in "My Head Sounds Like That" is hypnotic.. very pleasing to hear...

I take photography of downtown jacksons landscapes as a hobby (although its getting really popular.. its my 2nd job)

this album makes me wanna go back out and experiment with my camera...

very few albums make me wanna do this.. but this does.

Like I said before, I'm suprised (sdldawn) that you were not hip to OVO and UP. But the best music is really when one discovers it out of the blue, not on expectation.

Sdldawn said:

BTW, a slightly different version of "I Grieve" appeared earlier on the City of Angels soundtrack (1998).

Bfunkthe1 said:

I totally agree with you..

damn.. I hope he puts out a new album soon...


I'm enjoyin this disk ALOT.



impressed much.

Found this review on amazon.com and pretty much summed up a good description of this album.. check it out.



-----
Amazon.com Posted by x bruce

There are a lot of smart, articulate reviews here and they deserve being acknowledged. However there are two other styles driving me nuts. People fawning over Up as if it is the best thing to happen to music since....uhm, music and their polar opposites, the ones that can't forgive it for not sounding like So or Us.

First, Peter Gabriel's first three albums explored a lot of musicial territories, most of them dark and brooding. All of them mildly to highly experimental at times. Of these three most fans agree the third "aka: melting face" album was the one that really broke Peter Gabriel as a substantial talent and shed reason on why he left Genesis.

It was bold, set new standards of sound both in quality and timbre and created new music genres. It also introduced things like the Fairlight synthesizer and gated drums. If that term is not familiar listen to "Intruder" from that album and you'll hear the sound of 80's drum sounds. The Fairlight was a computer based sample playback device that could examine sounds and put them together with a lot of different sound qualities. This was one of the first samplers which also are quite popular in music today. However the album was so different that his record company dropped him. Thankfully he found another to distribute it.

Based on this tradition of new technology, blurring the lines of distinction between music styles, sounds and new technical advances PG continued with his 4th album, Security, one of the few recordings done completely digital that didn't sound terrible and bright. The Fairlight was back as were African drum troupes and exotic percussion.

That's the short history. Then came So, a glossy production with several bright and happy songs that were radio friendly and still not a sell out. It broke Peter Gabriel as a commercial artist. Having gotten that out of his system he tried to reconsile the darkness of previous albums in particular Security and some of the commercial incinations of So winding up with the album Us.

To me this is his weakest and monochromatic album. There is a Sledgehammer re-write, Steam, there are certainly some good songs such as Come Talk To Me and Digging In The Dirt, but there is a lot of dense and insular material on this album.

Fast forward to 2002 and we have Up. It has managed to polarize many listeners which is always the sign of something different. It is a dark and sad place mostly but it is a creative examination of life, relationships and grief from an adult perspective.

Up is not a commercial album. It is similarly dense in a way that Us wasn't. Here there is variety. Some listeners may need to spin this CD several times to hear it but it's there. The opening track "Darkness" conveys the claustraphobic and explosive nature of someone in thought. It does so with an almost industrial styled segment of guitar blasts alternating between quiet, you can almost hear a pin drop dynamics in the verses. I hear John Lennon's ghost on this track at times, like a weird Beatles side project that no one would know about.

"Darkness" typifies the album's themes of provoking musical dynamics and introspective lyrics. Also good to hear is PG using his vocal range again. Not simply belting out songs or using soft/loud dynamics but getting back to the different personas found in his work on Genesis' "Lamb Lies Down On Broadway". It's not theatrical this time but it is dramatic.

Listen to "Growing Up" for a glimpse of this kind of drama. Actually much of the album is sung dramatically and unlike so many singers that attempt to copy the idea, Gabriel is still the one who does it best and with great taste.

Many have slammed "The Barry Williams Show" and this is typical of critics that decide that a seven plus minute song is:
1. the "single"
2. the commercial song - to a degree it's one of the faster paced and more immediately catchy tracks

My problem is this. If anyone but Peter Gabriel does this song most would enjoy it, but because he dares to think like you or I that is a bad thing. He's a great musician but he's not god. "The Barry Williams Show" is still a good listen, Up might be a somber album but you don't need take to take it so seriously on every song.

For the initiated Up is not So or Us. It is it's own album and not created to thrill you. It isn't hard to anticipate that Mr. Gabiel is making an album for himself and his record company is hoping you'll like it too. For the uninitiated there are sounds of modern aspects of music such as industrial and techno electronica mixed with simmering, at times progressive rock music. They are like an instrument however, not dictating to song but a frequent, subtle shade. This is a smart album and an uncompromising one that expects listeners to actually pay attention and not turn it on at a party. That's no knock as I enjoy fun music too but I enjoy being challenged and I am impressed when someone is willing to share thoughts that challenge me as an adult.

If you think you are up to it this is a great album that will repay your time with rewards most rock albums can't. If you are a musician this is a must as it is a study in restraint and compositional arrangement.

In summary. So/Us fans, get over it. Old time fans, get it and if it's not happening for you because of the modern spin and use of instrumentation from areas you don't like or understand trust the artist. This is excellent music. And if you are looking for something a little different no matter what kind of music you listen to try Up.

Prediction; this will be considered more highly as time goes on.


-----

I like Up a lot.....it's probably my 4th favorite PG album. Who mentioned "Sky Blue".....I love that one. "Darkness" "No Way Out"

I pulled out "Long Walk Home," PG's soundtrack to the film "the Rabbit-Proof Fence" for a listen last night. I wonder if you'd like that one too? It's bascially instrumental music, much like the Passion album.