jack's soul & rock corner

Peter Gabriel
Plays Live (1983)
320

Peter Gabriel has one of the most original voices in the music industry. He was good in Genesis, but he is better in his solo career, that actually became interesting from the third album. Pete Gab's interest for Africa and the world music rendered his music less pop-oriented and more experimental. This live recording has one foot in the traditional pop material heard on albums 1 and 2 (on the air, I go swimming, DIY) and the other foot in the african-influenced tracks (the rhythm of the heat, no self control). All songs sound to me better than the studio original tracks, thanks to an excellent musicianship (Larry Fast on keyboards [see my review of Synergy's 'Electronic realizations for rock orchestra'], David Rhodes on the guitar, Tony Levin (which joined King Crimson in 1980) on the bass (fantastic bassline on 'I don't remember' and 'DIY') and Jerry Marotta on drums (the sound is similar to Mosley's sound on the Marillion's live 'Reel to real', as they both play on Yamaha drums). The songs are played with energy and Pete's voice is great. This is a fabulous live recording, that is worth being listened to as often as you can.

Disc: 1
1. The Rhythm Of The Heat
2. I Have The Touch
3. Not One Of Us
4. Family Snapshot
5. D.I.Y.
6. The Family And The Fishing Net
7. Intruder
8. I Go Swimming

Disc: 2
1. San Jacinto
2. Solsbury Hill
3. No Self Control
4. I Don't Remember
5. Shock The Monkey
6. Humdrum
7. On The Air
8. Biko

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