Peter Gabriel

Us

A pale shadow of his former self

Review Score:

(6/10)
Even though many years went by after Gabriel's huge hit album SO (Sledgehammer, In Your Eyes, Big Time) this album still feels like it was pretty much tossed off in a month or two, and those months must have been fairly uninspired ones.

Not much on the album feels new, and Gabriel's vocals, which have always had a lanquid, sad quality, just feel tired and uninterested...most of the time.

KISS THE FROG is the greates of his few "funny" songs, like BIG TIME. Yes, it could be a musical version of the story of THE FROG PRINCE, but when he begs the princess to be nice to him and to "Kiss the Frog," I think any adult listening knows he's NOT talking about a frog. Since this is a family site, I can't say what he IS talking about kissing, but suffice it to say, the double entendre in this song is priceless. It's like Gabriel has written a really dirty limerick!

STEAM is also a blast. Upbeat and full of fun (though somewhat pointless) lyrics. DIGGING IN THE DIRT has moments of great evocativeness, but mostly (as with the rest of the album) we feel we've heard it all before.

I normally just LOVE his work, but this album is at the bottom of my list. (But if you haven't heard KISS THE FROG, you MUST find a way to get ahold of it!!)

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