On original pressings of this record, the title Security appeared only on the label on the record and not anywhere on the jacket. This is true of my Canadian pressing. I think I remember Gabriel being upset that the title Security was promoted to the jacket on later releases and on the CD release. I suppose the record company couldn't stand the idea of four albums all being called Peter Gabriel.
I think it's fair to say that Peter Gabriel attracted a whole new cadre of fans with this record, mostly because of the track, Shock the Monkey. I, too, like that song, but it was nearly ruined for me from overexposure. I feel the same way about a handful of other songs, most notably Our House by Madness and UB40's cover of Red Red Wine.
What is really perplexing to me is Allmusic's rating for his record. They give 4.5 or 5 for each of his first three records, while this one gets only three stars. That is seriously delusional. This record is equal to or better than some (at least some) of the first three records. Perhaps I have a biased position, because Rhythm of the Heat is my favourite Peter Gabriel track. It's truly awe inspiring. The second track, San Jacinto is a track I have always admired, but I have to say the New Blood version of that song is so emotionally powerful, it blows the original away. The rest of the tracks are all excellent, so I would rate this as a five star record, along with PG1 and PG3.
So, Allmusic gives it 3 out of 5 and then calls it "one of the better records in Gabriel's catalog..." Confused much?
No comments:
Post a Comment