Longtime TAH readers know of my interest in popular music \u2013 and my penchant for running my yap about it.\u00a0 On that score, all I have to say is:\u00a0 \u201cOK \u2013 ya got me.\u201d\u00a0 (smile)<\/p>\n
In general, I prefer popular music that is literate and has a message.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 a simpler but excellent song, well executed, can also grab and hold my attention; Deep Purple\u2019s Smoke on the Water<\/i> and AC\/DC\u2019s You Shook Me All Night Long<\/i> are two examples.\u00a0 There are many others.<\/p>\n
Still \u2013 I tend to gravitate towards popular music that\u2019s a bit more complex, both musically and lyrically.\u00a0 In general, I like a song with a message that makes me think a bit.<\/p>\n
And yeah, you\u2019re correct:\u00a0 this is the beginning of another of those damned \u201cwalkabouts\u201d.\u00a0 I’m about to\u00a0 wander off into the bush and wax obtuse yet again.\u00a0 (smile)<\/p>\n
. . .<\/strong><\/p>\n Peter Gabriel is an artist I\u2019ve grown to admire more as I’ve grown older.\u00a0 As a younger man, I wasn\u2019t all that big a fan of his immediate post-Genesis work (and I wasn\u2019t particularly a fan of Genesis while he was a member).\u00a0 Other than Solsbury Hiill<\/em>, Games Without Frontiers, and Shock the Monkey<\/em>, I probably wouldn’t immediately recognize even the titles of more than 3 or 4 other songs from his first four solo efforts.\u00a0 I also don’t agree with the majority of Gabriel’s political views.<\/p>\n Gabriel\u2019s not a particularly prolific artist, either.\u00a0 During his 35+ year solo career, he\u2019s only released a handful of albums of original work \u2013 maybe 12 or so if you include the few motion picture scores he\u2019s written.\u00a0 And his voice, while recognizable, isn’t exactly that of a world-class tenor.<\/p>\n Still:\u00a0 when he’s “on”, the man can flat-out write, perform, and sing.\u00a0 His work is literate, complex, mixes multiple influences, and is exquisitely crafted.\u00a0 Audio-wise, it’s also superbly recorded and engineered.<\/p>\n Two of Gabriel’s works \u2013 1986\u2019s So<\/span> and 1992\u2019s Us<\/span> \u2013 IMO are among the best works I think I\u2019ve ever heard.\u00a0 There\u2019s so much on those two discs that is simply . . . excellent.\u00a0 I won\u2019t attempt to describe or catalog the \u201cgoodness\u201d there; I just don\u2019t think I can do so adequately.<\/p>\n Of the two, So<\/span> was more immediately listenable, as well as more commercially successful.\u00a0 And it indeed contains some truly fine music.<\/p>\n But of the two, I’ve found that Us<\/span> is the one that seems to get better with time.\u00a0 And it IMO contains music that is among the best that Gabriel’s ever done.<\/p>\n Both works were well-known in their day.\u00a0 And yet, the two tracks from that pair that I find perhaps most moving may be ones you\u2019ve never heard.<\/p>\n The first of those is a tune called Come Talk to Me<\/i>.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t released as a single (it was only released as a promo), and it never received particularly much airplay.<\/p>\n I liked it well before I ever knew its history.\u00a0 And the tune’s history simply . . . fits.<\/p>\n . . .<\/strong><\/p>\n In the late 1980s, Gabriel\u2019s personal life was, bluntly, a mess.\u00a0 He\u2019d separated from and divorced his wife of many years, Jill Moore, in 1987.\u00a0 He\u2019d begun living with another woman \u2013 actress Rosanna Arquette – not long afterwards.\u00a0 The changes and stresses associated with all of this had landed him in therapy.<\/p>\n Nothing unusual there, especially in the music business – or in everyday life, for that matter.\u00a0 Sometimes relationships simply don\u2019t last.\u00a0 Life isn’t always simple, easy, or fun.<\/p>\n As is often the case, there were children involved.\u00a0 Gabriel and his ex-wife Jill had two daughters.<\/p>\n At the time the daughters were not small children.\u00a0 Both were in their teens – the youngest, only barely.\u00a0 And she wasn’t yet a teen when her parents first split.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s just say that Gabriel’s daughters weren\u2019t exactly thrilled with their dad during those years. \u00a0 Reputedly the older of the two let him know that – quite pointedly at times.\u00a0 The younger one, not so much.\u00a0 She was just young enough that the changes reportedly really affected her.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t blame the daughters for being angry and hurt.\u00a0 In their shoes, I sure as hell would have been.<\/p>\n Regardless,Gabriel didn\u2019t want to sever the relationship between himself and his daughters – and he worked at maintaining some connection.\u00a0 For that, I’ll give him credit.<\/p>\n It was during \u00a0this period that Gabriel wrote and\/or recorded most of what would be released on Us<\/span>.<\/p>\n The influence of his life on that work is apparent.\u00a0 Us<\/span> has an underlying theme that’s obvious as hell:\u00a0 relationships.\u00a0 Gabriel stated that much explicitly on the liner notes.<\/p>\n Come Talk to Me<\/i> was the first track from\u00a0Us<\/span>.\u00a0 On the surface, it\u2019s a fairly generic appeal from one party in a strained relationship to the other to talk things out.\u00a0 The specific context isn’t explicitly stated, but the lyrics imply the relationship to be a romantic one.\u00a0 The vocalist seems to be getting the “silent treatment” from the other party.<\/p>\n In any case, the exact context is immaterial.\u00a0 The tune simply works on that generic level – as an appeal to talk out existing relationship problems.<\/p>\n That, however, is only part of the story.\u00a0 Like much well-crafted music, the song’s underlying inspiration and intent is different – and not immediately apparent.<\/p>\n In reality, the song was Gabriel\u2019s attempt to reconnect – through his music – with his daughters.\u00a0 In particular, in that song he was reaching out to one of his daughters; accounts differ as to which.<\/p>\n The result was IMO exceptional.<\/p>\n I won\u2019t attempt to describe the tune, or its lyrics, in any detail.\u00a0 It speaks for itself more eloquently than I can speak about it.\u00a0 If you\u2019re interested, the original version is here<\/a>; a video version from the film documenting the tour to promote Us<\/i> \u2013 \u201cSecret World\u201d\u00a0 \u2013 is here<\/a>.\u00a0 Both are longish (around 7 minutes, give or take a bit); if you listen to either, I’d suggest using a good pair of headphones.<\/p>\n The latter, while a bit theatrical, perhaps captures the song’s essence and underlying theme a bit better; maybe that’s just me.\u00a0 But I think you\u2019ll find either worth the time.<\/p>\n . . .<\/strong><\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth:\u00a0 Gabriel\u2019s attempt to reach out to his daughters apparently was successful.\u00a0\u00a0 Gabriel\u2019s younger daughter Melanie has been a backup singer for her father\u2019s band since 2002.\u00a0 His older daughter Anna-Marie and he also seem to have reconciled; she directed the films documenting Gabriel\u2019s tours in 2002 and 2004.\u00a0 And he’s reputedly on cordial terms today with his ex-wife Jill as well.<\/p>\n His relationship with Rosanna Arquette, however, ended some time in the early 1990s.\u00a0 I guess that particular tower must not have been built to last, either.<\/p>\n . . .<\/b><\/p>\n I can’t say I’ve ever found myself in Gabriel’s precise situation.\u00a0 And for that, I’m very grateful.<\/p>\n But I think everyone on earth has had problems in a relationship with someone close at one time or another.\u00a0 I know I certainly have.<\/p>\n So I think we all know what it’s like to want someone close to come talk things out and clear the air.\u00a0 And in some cases, we know what it’s like to wonder if they ever will.<\/p>\n Those latter cases can be hard to take.\u00a0 Frankly, I don’t know what’s worse – not knowing if they’ll ever come talk, or realizing they never will.\u00a0 But either is incredibly painful for all concerned.<\/p>\n Talking things out is preferable to letting such a situation drag on indefinitely.\u00a0 And that, I think, may be the whole point Gabriel was trying to make.<\/p>\n . . .<\/b><\/p>\n OK, that\u2019s the end of today\u2019s walkabout.\u00a0 Thanks for listening.<\/p>\n But this time, I\u2019ll like to add a bit of unsolicited advice.\u00a0 Take it or not as you like.<\/p>\n Like most of Gabriel\u2019s work, Come Talk to Me<\/i> has a message.\u00a0\u00a0 And in this case, the message is clear, and for Gabriel is unusually apolitical:\u00a0 if you have problems with a friend or loved one, talk things out<\/span>.<\/p>\n I think that’s sound advice.\u00a0 If you’re in that situation today . . . perhaps you should listen to the man.<\/p>\n Tomorrow comes with no guarantees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"