If you are live, then you can click on this link to go back to the main PG page... Wayside Live Album Score: 2+ The worst case scenario would be that the album is unlistenable. I say that knowing that the best case scenario (that the album is better than the studio version) is impossible to meet. Peter Gabriel is the grand master of studio musicians. He did things in the studio that nobody even dreamed of before and ended up inspiring pretty much everybody in the '80s. (Well everybody that I ever cared about in the '80s who most predominantly includes one of the few musicians I like better than Peter Gabriel: Kate Bush.) So, a live Peter Gabriel album is bound to be inferior than his studio albums. Even if he were going to lip synch to his studio albums (which he doesn't ... that would be cheating and a disservice to the audience!!!) this would be worse. Now, let that info sink in and hear what else I have to say. This is better than it has any right to be. Peter Gabriel really seems to care about his live performances (which is another reason I would really like to see him live one day) and it shows throughout this effort. Despite the fact that these tracks don't measure up to the studio counterparts, these tracks don't sound bad at all. OK, we're missing the saxophone on "Family Snapshot," and other songs particularly "San Jacinto" and "No Self Control" lose quite a bit of their original edge! These are all very legitimate complaints. But all in all, this is still a very enjoyable album and definitely a great pick for Gabriel fans who want to hear what he sounded like live. Gabriel's singing voice is certainly on top of its game. I wanted to partly score this album based on how great they were to hear live. The songs that sound menacing (mostly the ones on his masterpiece Peter Gabriel [3]: Melt) that continue to sound menacing in the live versions are just fantastic despite the stripped down instrumentation. "Intruder" is the highlight of the whole thing (arguably) because that track not only comes off menacing, but it has a wicked cool beat the audience members can jump around to! I could try to pick a weak point in the album. Um, I guess it's "Family and the Fishing Net," but actually that song's pretty good anyway. Everything on here is great. Everybody loves Peter Gabriel! And now... um... track reviews! A fade in, and we get a very long introduction to "Rhythm of the Heat." A regular tribal beat plays for about two minutes as an excited audience (presumably) waits for Gabriel to make his initial appearance. The live show must have been amazing... I love that I am hearing Gabriel's voice so clearly, and the instrumental arrangements are simple but don't seem to compromise Gabriel's character. Sure, it's sparser than the studio version but it's not any less enjoyable. I like!!! As far as this album goes, it's a great "warm-up." The end is considerably more exciting with more busy 'tribal' drums. Gosh, I know these Peter Gabriel songs so well, it's hard for me to even come up with things to say about them that doesn't sound like blind fan worship. As always, the melody of "I Have the Touch" earns a place in my memory for a verrrry good reason. The song production on the live album just seems perfect. The synths are as nice as the studio versions and the drums are busy and gorgeous even. It sounds very crisp, which I'd imagine is pretty hard to do for a live album. Gabriel is a master at percussion ... among other things, naturally. I always felt that "Not One of Us" was the weakest moment in Gabriel's masterpiece Peter Gabriel [3], and this live version doesn't exactly change my opinion of it. Of course, the weakest track in a masterpiece is always going to have great legs to stand on by itself! The melody is nice, but the chorus doesn't work that well for me. That said, the thundering aspect of the song is certainly appealing, and hearing those drums live must have been fun! I also like to listen to Gabriel's dialog at the beginning, introducing the song. One thing I wish more live albums would have is more chatter like this .... I know I'm pretty much along there. Ah, now here in "Family Snapshot" it's pretty obvious what we're missing out on compared to the studio versions. (Oh, most painfully, it's missing that absolutely SOUL BENDING saxophone ................ ohhhhhhhhhhh, I miss that saaaaaaaaaaax. My mind just wants to fill it in, but it's empty. It's like when I'm spacing out when climbing the stairs and I try to climb another step after I've already reached the top.) The instrumentation is sparse, but at least it continues to be a fun song to hear live. Specifically that thundering part in the middle, which must've given the audience members a good reason to jump up and down in place! "D.I.Y." is another Gabriel track that I can't consider one of my favorites, but it is a prime example of a good live track. If anything it's that bouncy rhythm, which is certainly enough to get the crowd going! We can hear them clapping their hands to the rhythm at the end. Hey, Gabriel is even able to reproduce that funny voice warble! Oh, no... The studio version of "The Family and the Fishernet" was so full of production, and this live version really doesn't do it justice. Actually, I'm not a big fan of the studio version anyway (...the melody isn't the greatest, but the studio drumming was just crazy). So there's quite a bit lost here, and I also don't think this was a great pick for a live song. I noticed that "Games Without Frontiers" isn't present in this live album! That would have been SWEET. But in its defense, this slower and more 'contemplative' track would please the Gabriel fans who wanted to hear this kind of song represented (that is "WORLD MUSIC"). All of that said, I can't say I'm not enjoying this. At the very least, the bass line is good especially as it picks up steam in the second half, and I like those occasional synth build-ups we hear. Classic Gabriel, that. But I do like the fact that he's including so much from Peter Gabriel [3] on here, since that's obvious his greatest album. "Intruder" was the first track of the album, and it's a freaking masterpiece! It's missing that funny rubber band noise at the beginning! But hey, he inserts some interesting new synths that wouldn't sound too out of place in a '50s B-grade sci-fi movie. The thundering drums make this another good example of a fine choice for a live track. Most importantly, however, Gabriel preserves the creepy feel of the song. Yeah, the studio production is lost, but ....... hell, I'm enjoying this any dang way. The mood is fantastic. Now "I Go Swimming" isn't a song that you can complain about being inferior to the studio version. It doesn't have a studio version! Interesting, because this is really a gem of a song. The bouncy drums are simpler than Gabriel's norm, but it's probably the most fun song on here. The melody is catchy as hell, and the songwriting still manages to be complex. I like the synths here, which produces a few interesting sounds. (I do think he made a music video out of this ... it seems like I remember that.) "San Jacinto" doesn't seem to come off too badly. It's well past eight minutes long, and it's another one of Gabriel's more contemplative tracks and another addition into the world music genre. I honesty couldn't care the world for the studio version, and again it's easy to say that this doesn't live up to it! This track starts out rather simply with a tinkly synth loop, and then it gradually gets more exciting as it goes. Naturally, this still remains better than you might have thought for a live album... "Solsbury Hill" is Gabriel's famous pop hit (well, the famous one that occurred before his highly popular So album in 1986). No Gabriel live performance would be the same without this song! I do suppose that riff he plays is one of pop rock's more well known, which is probably unusual considering this is Gabriel. I like this version of the song! Wow, he plays "No Self Control" completely differently from the album. The album version is played very menacingly and this one's more laid back. It picks up in the latter half, but it's still not nearly as menacing. This is probably one of the weaker entries into the album. It's more boring here. Naturally, I do like the melody, and Gabriel delivers a convincing vocal performance as always! "I Don't Remember" is much better this time. It sounds just as menacing as the studio version! The live quality of the song was pretty good and must have been great to hear live. It's not a toe-tapper, but at least the melody is good! Gabriel does deliver a passion-filled vocal performance. And now here's another one of Peter Gabriel's pop hits: "Shock the Monkey." This song used to annoy me, although I suspect that was because it was a pop hit the album after he released his masterpiece. Actually the song isn't that bad, and I do enjoy the dark groove. Generally, this pop hit would sound more comparable to the studio version as the masterpiece songs. Well, this ended up to be one of the highlights on this live album. "Humdrum" was a sparse track to begin with! OK, nothing will still beat the studio album (the drums aren't as great). But hey this is another one of the great live album picks anyway. I love the melody as always, and there's quite a bit of playful instrumentation throughout. The synthesizers are fun in particular, and they create some glorious feelings in the second half! Now, "On the Air" is another live version that's fun, and I doubt this one disappoints anyone. The drum is nice 'n' danceable and the track sounds epic and important. Well, it would go great with a light show! Oh!!!! (I really want to see Gabriel live, you know.) This is an exciting track and particularly well done for the track. He even incites some audience participation, getting them to sing part of the chorus. And the encore, presumably, is the enormously well-chosen "Biko," which I always felt was one of Gabriel's best tracks and (aguably!) his best world music track. It's seven glorious minutes and a tune that's just perfect. All the dramatics and seriousness are here and perfectly believable even. They even bring in that perfect bagpipe sound. Yummmmmm!!! And it fades out as the crowd goes wild, and chants of "Peter, Peter, Peter" can be heard. So the consensus if I didn't already beat that horse to death: buy the studio albums first. Once you fall in love with those, buy the live albums and hear how Gabriel took them on the road! You won't be disappointed! 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All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He's a master at double entertrees.