Security of State
Overall Album Score: 8.1 out of 10 Imperfection abounds in Peter Gabriel's follow-up to his brilliant third self-titled album. But imperfection abounds in a lot of things. So, it's not like it's a shock that Security is imperfect. It's really hard to make a really good follow-up to such an excellent album as Peter Gabriel [3], and Gabriel seemed to do the best he could. Although, the least Gabriel could have done was to write more songs ... well, as long as they don't sound like "Shock the Monkey" or "Kiss of Life," that is. Gabriel can leave these dumb 80s synth pop songs with Phil Collins where those bloody things belong! ... Of course, we're stuck with them (because Gabriel is going to totally sell out a few years later with So). Anyway, we're talking about Homeland Security, and so I'd better get down to it. Gabriel attempts to get a bunch of tribal African and, perhaps, South American sounds and mesh it with the style of music on Peter Gabriel [3] and 80s pop rock. This really wasn't a bad idea, and there are a few interesting songs on here. Gabriel's work with the synthesizers and the arrangements are pretty good, actually, so this album is pretty enjoyable for the most part. Unfortunately, due to the sheer length of these songs (most are usually in between five and seven minutes) and some of the songs' weak melodies, the album has plenty of inadequacies. Nevertheless, if you enjoyed Peter Gabriel [3], then this album is certainly worth picking up. Overall Album Score: 8.1 out of 10 (Gabriel's follow-up to his masterstroke Peter Gabriel [3] fails to measure up ... but it's still a fairly good album.) Average Song Score: 8.2 (There's some pretty good songs in here. I mostly like the way Peter Gabriel arranged these things more than anything else.) Album Tilt: 8.0 (It weakens toward the end, but this is a pretty enjoyable and unique-sounding album.) Artist Rating: 8.0 (If the material at the end of the album were a little bit stronger, I would have given this an 8.5. Just the same, I really enjoy how Gabriel meshed 80s pop rock and world music together.) Track Reviews Rhythm of the Heat 9/10 HELLO, PETER GABRIEL! HOW ARE YOU DOING? HOW ARE THE KIDS? HOW IT THE WIFE? HOW IS PHIL COLLINS? IS HE DOING OKAY? ... HEY! I HAVE AN IDEA! WHY DON'T YOU START WRITING THESE LONG-DRAWN-OUT PSYCHO SONGS WITH WORLD-MUSIC LEANING? ... Ya see? Security was created just because I asked Peter Gabriel to create it for me! And he even gave this song some WORLD in it. The song sounds like Peter Gabriel was forced to perform in front of a bunch of African tribesman. There's a lot of drumming at the end of this here song. Heheee! San Jancino 8.5/10 Those silly sounds ... I think they're synthesizers that are made to sound AFRICAN. (Gabriel couldn't find it in his heart to sound AFRICAN-AMERICAN ... nothing gets better than an AFRICAN-AMERICAN.) This song sounds pretty neat, though, and I like those tinkly synths (or whatever the heck that is). If you like the tinkly synths and you happen to not give much of a crap that the first half of the song lacks a melody of the first-order, then you'll probably like it too. (But, I guess since this is AFRICAN, it doesn't need a melody. Because only stupid WESTERN WHITE PEOPLE bother writing stuff like melody. Gabriel was African for awhile, and then he had to go and write a chorus and insert 80s drums. Honkey.) The end of this song (with some weird scratchy synths) prove that Gabriel really is an evil genius. I Have the Touch 8.5/10 THAT'S A DRUM MACHINE, STUPID!!!!!! ... Okay, I don't really have anything against the drum machine, actually. And this was 1982. The year I was born. The year of the drum machine, according to the Chinese Zodiac. This song certainly sounds neat. Gabriel has a melody in here ... it's not a *great* melody, but it's not bad. The electronic studio arrangements are nothing but FUN. Peter Gabriel really *does* have the touch! The Family and the Fishing Net 8/10 Again, Gabriel accomplishes nothing exciting with "The Family and the Fishing Net," but it remains to be another interesting song that is fun to listen to. All those synths are really neat!! There's even some nice guitar in here. The major drawback to this one is its 7+ minute running length. As the television immortal Ricky Riccardo would say: "Ayeayeayeayeayeayeayeayeayeayeaye, etc..." Shock the Monkey 8/10 SHOCK THE MONKEY!!!!!! ... Isn't that a webvertisement? "Shock the monkey and be eligible to win $1,000,000 from your own bank account if you have that much in it." ... Well, Peter Gabriel really never should have gone into 80s pop. This is nothin' but uninhibited 80s pop. There's not that many cool, goofy world-synths to sink yer teeth into. Just robotic 80s grooves. And this bloody song is more than five minutes long. Dear Peter Gabriel, You suck. Love, Don Ignacio. Lay Your Hands On Me 8.5/10 Dear Don Ignacio, Please lay your hands on me. Love, G. Paltrow Ooooh yeah! I just got that in the mail a few minutes ago! How do you like that! ... Well, I've got to go finish this review before I run off to the nonstop Wichita-Hollywood flight. And, this is a pretty good song, I think. I like those weird bongo-drum sounding things. They're nice. And then the song picks up into more of a chant. This song is awesome, but only awesome in that Peter Gabriel sort of way. Wallflower 7.5/10 Man! What's wrong with Peter Gabriel anyway? Did he stop off at the supermarket and accidentally buy Serene Sounds From the Rain Forest (That Will Be Destroyed If You Don't Buy This Dumb Album Full of Stupid Pan Flute Noises). Man, that guy's been HAD! This song is slow. This song is bleak. This song is slow. This song is echoey. This song is slow. This song has keyboard in it. This song is slow. This song has Peter Gabriel singing in it. This song is slow. This song has a crescendo or two. This song is still slow. I want to go to bed. Kiss of Life 7.5/10 More like "Kiss of MY BOTTOM!!!!!" Peter Gabriel. Please. You're beginning to sound like Phil Collins. The synths are making-a me go "Mmmmmmfthththththth" and this song is way toooo loooooooooooooooongngngngngn! There Are No More Songs After This 10/10 Yay! Feel like I deserve a beating? Or do you want to be my body guard? Leave your thoughts aobut this album here! slb23@shaw.ca (Simon B.) received Dec. 22, 2004 This is one of my non-favourite PG albums [along with "PGII
(Scratch)" and "US"] but a bit more than half of the songs are still
pretty damn good. (i think my favourite is "San Jacinto", and least
favorites are "Kiss of Life" and "Wallflower").
Useless trivia: Geffen in the USA was fed up with Peter having no
titles for his first 3 albums, so they slapped on a title themselves -
hence, "Security".
|
All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He works for someone whose last name rhymes with "Junkie."
