•
Rating:
Reflecting on it, I have almost never (or rarely) reviewed new productions, new artistic efforts. I always fall back on the classics, on what has already been seen and heard, but it is not something planned—rather a spontaneous attraction, a pull towards artists and works that are part of my life as a listener, that are inevitably part of the past that stretches into today. Yet, the concept of "new" is not unidirectional, on the contrary, it opens up to various meanings, such as "fresh," "ALWAYS new."
In this sense, many works (of mind and soul) by Peter Gabriel are always new, still shining today, with no dust settling on them.
"US" dates back to '92, but it still speaks of us—and of them ("them"). The co-production of Daniel Lanois, already involved six years earlier as an arranger and producer of what would become Gabriel's best-seller, "So," produces the desired effect for the artist, who, to this day, considers many of the songs included in "US" among his best, creating the right internal dynamics in the listener, who perceives, simultaneously, a cleanliness and a "roughness" in the sound.
Digging inside himself, Gabriel brings out the primordial that is within him and develops it, revealing it to the world in an unprecedented yet paradigmatic way, because the process is "old" for years (already from the third album, "Melt," in 1980, Peter had dived into the world of technology wedded to analog sound).
The "myth" of Adam and Eve perpetuates and coexists with the modern marriage, which fails, more or less "miserably", in a psychological tug of war, which often risks depleting the energy from both sides. Peter, in the 1980s, went through a series of therapy sessions, without coming out of it completely unscathed—but not destroyed. He is aware. Indeed, one of the titles considered for "US" was "Us: Consciousness," which—let's admit it!—although original and adequately conveying the idea, would have been quite heavy, didactic if you will, besides being anti-commercial (as "Melt" had also been, rejected by Atlantic for its experimental content).
As always, the English artist relies on the collaboration of many instrumentalists and many voices of great class and wide range, such as Sinead O'Connor, who in 1987, created the masterpiece "The Lion and the Cobra," her debut. Brian Eno (in "Love to Be Loved") and Peter Hammill (backing vocals in "Digging in the Dirt," along with Ayub Ogada and Richard MacPhail, a friend and collaborator of Peter since the Genesis) are recalled.
As always, the album title is deceptive, because "US," despite its brevity (monosyllabic), once placed on the record player, it reveals itself as a bomb of crafted and artfully united sounds. Peter, repeatedly self-described as "a mediocre musician but a good composer", gives his best, not renouncing formal perfection, even while "working from the heart". The warmth is alive, almost tangible, in the grooves of "US."
Though knowing the album centers on human relationships, taken both globally—at a social level—and personally by Peter—who has, as said before, a failed marriage behind— it must be noted, and realize that it is not just a work of introspection, where the artist would fall victim to his own ghosts and problems. It is an introspective album, but also explosive, hopeful, of rebirth: of awareness.
There is not just the wounded husband, but also the absent father, who in "Come Talk to Me" implores his daughter, Melanie, to talk to him, to "free (together) the pain," to reconcile; there is a man who needs warmth, steam, in "Steam", the lapping of water, to act as a second baptism, in "Washing of the Water"; a man sometimes in need of carnal impetus, full of libido, expressing in "Kiss That Frog", experiencing self-mockingly his condition as a man in the skin of a frog.
Seventh in line, "Digging in the Dirt", inspired by a psychological study on murderers, is pure catharsis, a mixture of emotions—anger, sexual desire, sense of loneliness, resulting sadness, desire for redemption. Accompanied by a video, to call it a masterpiece is an understatement, for which Peter won the Grammy (for best "short form videoclip"), "Digging in the Dirt" has become over the years a showcase piece, and during the Secret World Tour, Peter performs it wearing a helmet with a camera attached (like an antenna).
To close the concept, "Secret World", a postmodern mini-symphony, alternating calm moments with strong ones, with a precision and compositional finesse unique in the rock world. Gabriel takes listeners into his secret world—which is also theirs! This track explains the entire album: from the personal traumatic experience, of the broken marriage, to the experience of redemption-reconciliation with the audience, and with the “other” in general. This is "US". A global marriage.
Despite being less commercially successful than the previous "So", "US", over time, has gained notoriety and respect among enthusiasts. In my opinion, it does not surpass "So", neither conceptually nor artistically, but it is a worthy follow-up, "in a similar vein" yet not too much. There was already the massive hit, "Sledgehammer", replicated by "Steam"; there was already the explosive, cathartic opener "Red Rain", in which the artist implored "I'm begging you"; already "In Your Eyes" was a sort of "Secret World". In short, in "US", the structure of the previous Masterpiece is found, yet still, it's a big deal, being a Peter Gabriel album, very enjoyable, special among specials. If not a masterpiece, it's at least a classic of the '90s that every music enthusiast should know and have in their collection.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Come Talk to Me (07:03)
The wretched desert takes its form, the jackal proud and tight
In search of you I feel my way, through the slowest heaving night
Whatever fear invents, I swear it makes no sense
I reach out through the border fence
Come down, come talk to me
In the swirling, curling storm of desire unuttered words hold fast
With reptile tongue, the lightning lashes towers built to last
Darkness creeps in like a thief and offers no relief
Why are you shaking like a leaf?
Come on, come talk to me
Ah please talk to me
Won't you please talk to me
We can unlock this misery
Come on, come talk to me
I did not come to steal
This all is so unreal
Can't you show me how you feel now
Come on, come talk to me
Come talk to me, come talk to me
The earthly power sucks shadowed milk from sleepy tears undone
From nippled skin as smooth as silk the bugles blown as one
You lie there with your eyes half closed like there's no-one there at all
There's a tension pulling on your face
Come on, come talk to me
Won't you please talk to me
If you'd just talk to me
Unblock this misery
If you'd only talk to me
Don't you ever change your mind
Now your future's so defined
And you act so deaf so blind
Come on, come talk to me
Come talk to me, come talk to me
I can imagine the moment
Breaking out through the silence
All the things that we both might say
And the heart it will not be denied
Till we're both on the same damn side
All the barriers blown away
I said please talk to me
Won't you please come talk to me
Just like it used to be
Come on, come talk to me
I did not come to steal
This all is so unreal
Can you show me how you feel now
Come on, come talk to me
Come talk to me, come talk to me
I said please talk to me
If you'd just talk to me
Unblock this misery
If you'd only talk to me
Don't you ever change your mind
Now your future's so defined
And you act so deaf so blind
Come on, come talk to me
Come talk to me, come talk to me
03 Blood of Eden (06:36)
I caught sight of my reflection
I caught it in the window
I saw the darkness in my heart
I saw the signs of my undoing
They had been there from the start
And the darkness still has work to do
The knotted chord's untying
The heated and the holy
Oh they're sitting there on high
So secure with everything they're buying
In the blood of Eden
Lie the woman and the man
With the man in the woman
And the woman in the man
In the blood of Eden
Lie the woman and the man
We wanted the the union
Oh the union of the woman
The woman and the man
My grip is surely slipping
I think I've lost my hold
Yes I think I've lost my hold
I cannot get insurance any more
They don't take credit, only gold
Is that a dagger or a crucifix I see
You hold so tightly in your hand
And all the while the distance grows between you and me
I do not understand
In the blood of Eden
Lie the woman and the man
With the man in the woman
And the woman in the man
In the blood of Eden
Lie the woman and the man
We wanted the the union
Oh the union of the woman
The woman and the man
At my request you take me in
In that tenderness I am floating away
No certainty, nothing to rely on
Holding still for a moment
What a moment this is
Oh for a moment of forgetting, a moment of bliss
Oh....
I can hear the distant thunder
Of a million unheard souls, of a million unheard souls
Watch each one reach for creature comfort
For the filling of their holes
In the blood of Eden
Lie the woman and the man
With the man in the woman
And the woman in the man
In the blood of Eden
Lie the woman and the man
We wanted the union
Of the woman and the man
In the blood of Eden
Lie the woman and the man
I feel the man in the woman
And the woman in the man
In the blood of Eden
Lie the woman and the man
I feel the man in the woman
And the woman in the man
In the blood of Eden
We have done everything we can
In the blood of Eden
So we end as we began
With the man in the woman
And the woman in the man
It was all for the union
Oh the union of the woman, the woman and the man
04 Steam (06:01)
Stand Back! Said stand Back!
What are those dogs doing sniffing at my feet
They're on to something, picking up
Picking up this heat,
This heat, give me steam
And how you feel can make it real
Real as anything you've seen
Get a life with the dreamer's dream
You know your culture from your trash
You know your plastic from your cash
When I lose sight of the track
You know the way back
But I know you
You know your stripper from your paint
You know your sinner from your saint
Whenever heaven's doors are shut
You kick them open but
I know you
Give me steam
And how you feel can make it real
Real as any place you've been
Get a life with the dreamer's dream
Stand back, said stand back!
Can't you see I've lost control I'm getting indiscreet
You're moving in so close 'til I'm picking up
Picking up this heat, this heat
Give me steam
And how you feel can make it real
Real as anything you've seen
Get a life with the dreamer's dream
You know your green from your red
You know the quick from the dead
So much better than the rest
You think you've been blessed
But I know you
You know your ladder from your snake
You know the throttle from the brake
You know your straight line from a curve
You've got a lot of nerve
But I know you
Give me steam
And how you feel can make it real
Real as any place you've been
Get a life with the dreamer's dream
Everybody nosedive
Hold your breath, count to five
Backslap, boobytrap,
Cover it up in bubblewrap
Room shake, earthquake
Find a way to stay awake
It's going to blow, it's going to break
This is more than I can take
Oh yeah, I need steam
Feel the steam around me
Ah you're turning up the heat
When I start to dream aloud
See you move your hands and feet
Won't you step into this cloud of steam
This steam
Give me steam
And how you feel can make it real
Real as anything you've seen
Get a life with th dreamer's dream
Help me yeah
Ready to steam out the log jam
Stir crazy from the freezer to the foil
Water's bubbling, it's b..b..b..bubbling
bubbling bubbling bubbling bubbling
like it's coming to a boil
Give me steam, lady
Give me steam around me now
Coming alive
Coming alive
Said give me some steam
06 Washing of the Water (03:50)
River, river carry me on
Living river carry me on
River, river carry me on
To the place where I come from
So deep, so wide will you take me on your back for a ride
If I should fall would you swallow me deep inside
River, show me how to float
I feel like I'm sinking down
Thought that I could get along
But here in this water
My feet won't touch the ground
I need something to turn myself around
Going away, away toward the sea
River deep, can you lift up and carry me
Oh roll on though the heartland
'Til the sun has left the sky
River, river carry me high
'Til the washing of the water make it all alright
Let your waters reach me like she reached me tonight
Letting go, it's so hard
The way it's hurting now
To get this love untied
So tough to stay with thing
'Cause if I follow through
I face what I denied
I get those hooks out of me
And I take out the hooks that I sunk deep in your side
Kill that fear of emptiness, loneliness I hide
River, oh river, river running deep
Bring me something that will let me get to sleep
In the washing of the water will you take it all away
Bring me something to take this pain away
07 Digging in the Dirt (05:15)
Something in me, dark and sticky
All the time it's getting strong
No way of dealing with this feeling
Can't go on like this too long
This time you've gone too far
This time you've gone too far
This time you've gone too far
I told you, I told you, I told you, I told you
This time you've gone too far
This time you've gone too far
This time you've gone too far
I told you, I told you, I told you, I told you
Don't talk back
Just drive the car
Shut your mouth
I know what you are
Don't say nothing
Keep your hands on the wheel
Don't turn around
This is for real
Digging in the dirt
Stay with me, I need support
I'm digging in the dirt
To find the places I got hurt
Open up the places I got hurt
The more I look, the more I find
As I close on in, I get so blind
I feel it in my head, I feel it in my toes
I feel it in my sex, that's the place it goes
This time you've gone too far
This time you've gone too far
This time you've gone too far
I told you, I told you, I told you, I told you
This time you've gone too far
This time you've gone too far
This time you've gone too far
I told you, I told you, I told you, I told you
Don't talk back
Just drive the car
Shut your mouth
I know what you are
Don't say nothing
Keep your hands on the wheel
Don't turn around
This is for real
I'm digging in the dirt
Stay with me I need support
I'm digging in the dirt
To find the places I got hurt
Open up the places I got hurt
I'm digging in the dirt
Stay with me I need support
I'm digging in the dirt
To find the places I got hurt
To open up the places I got hurt
Digging in the dirt
To find the places we got hurt
Digging in the dirt
To find the places we got hurt
Digging in the dirt
To find the places we got hurt
Digging in the dirt
To find the places we got hurt
Digging in the dirt
To find the places we got hurt
Digging in the dirt
To find the places we got hurt
Digging in the dirt
To find the places we got hurt
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By Mariaelena
"It is the Eden, the call to seek; it is the call to the human desire for union, for perfection."
"Life is an extraordinary gift and must be sought; the warm blood of paradise travels at a speed greater than the negative thought of man."
