Peter Gabriel Self-Titled Album 3 - The Soundtrack to Your Mental Breakdown

Few artists have been as enigmatic in their musical style and songwriting as Peter Gabriel. From his beginnings as the frontman for progressive rock band, Genesis, to a continuing, successful solo career, his genre and the meaning behind what he does have both been hard to pin down. The best way listeners have been able to describe it is usually as "art rock", which is a fine title- but there's so much more to it than that. 

His solo career began with a series of self-titled albums... yes, that's right- he named FOUR albums in a row as just his name. So there have been fan-made titles that have come up to help differentiate, usually based on the album cover art. His third self-titled album is usually referred to as Peter Gabriel III, or Melt. It is Peter Gabriel at his most experimental, and, in my opinion, his most twisted. It contains elements of many different genres, including art rock, post-punk, new wave, and post-progressive, to name a few. The music and lyrical themes of Peter Gabriel III range from direct political commentary, to anxiety-inducing nightmare fuel. It is praised for being such a perfect melding of experimental and abstract, while also being able to be played on commercial rock radio stations. It is a fascinating record, which to me has always felt like a mental breakdown set to music. Let's take a closer look at why that is. 

To start off on a completely unnerving note, let's begin with the first track- "Intruder". Utilizing the newly founded "gated drum" (or isolated drum) technique, Gabriel's former Genesis band-mate, Phil Collins, pounds away with a steady, cymbal-less pace. This sets the background for Gabriel to tell us the story of a break-in, or "intrusion", from the point of view of the intruder. Now, this isn't some simple burglary just to make some money and get out unseen- this intruder does it entirely for the thrill. It is not directly stated why he's broken in...but by the end of the song, it is hinted at...and it is far more disturbing than simple theft. "I like the touch and the smell, of all the pretty dresses you wear", being the line that lets you know where this is going... yikes. It is actually, probably the most terrifying song I have ever heard (right up there with Suicide's "Frankie Teardrop"), which is why it always finds itself on my yearly Halloween Playlist (I should probably give this playlist its own post at some point soon). It is the start to an album of pure twisted insanity, that only continues to get more messed up. Listen to "Intruder" for yourself below, if you dare.

Next we have the compulsive, "No Self Control". Here Gabriel describes what it feels like to have a complete loss of ability to control oneself. Eating too much, or sleeping too much being some of the simpler compulsive examples. There is also the concept of isolation potentially being introduced, with picking up the phone, and calling anyone, just to hear a voice besides the ones in your own head. It seems pretty relevant, with our own quarantines and self-isolations currently reaching over six months... hearing it now might hit a little too close to home for some. "You know I hate to hurt you, I hate to see your pain, but I don't know how to stop, no I don't know how to stop", shows when our own compulsions go from hurting ourselves, to hurting other people in our lives as well. Whether it be self-harming, an eating disorder, substance abuse, etc.- "no self control" is a shared human experience. It is a dark one, that many don't want to talk (or sing) about. Clearly, there is not much Peter Gabriel will shy away from. You can watch a purposefully scary, lip-synced Top of the Pops performance of him and his band from 1980, performing the song below. With Gabriel staring down the camera with a menacing look, and his erratic movements, he was definitely channeling his old Genesis "performing artist", or theatrical roots. 

Track three is a less than a minute and a half long saxophone solo titled "Start". It serves as the perfect, yet strange, interlude between "No Self Control", and its follow-up, "I Don't Remember". Now in this one, I'm not sure exactly what type of mental deterioration Gabriel was trying to convey. But it just seems like a non-specific loss of memory, of self, and of meaning. It has a fairly simple, repetitive chorus, which made it slightly more popular than the previous tracks on the album. It is not any less disturbing, however, and musically it has quite a creepy, unnerving sound to it (while also being a jam). The music video is even more horrifying still, with weird human-like creatures painted fully white torturing and tormenting Gabriel throughout. It could be considered a 5 minute long horror movie in itself. The version of the song used for the music video is actually the one off of Gabriel's live album, Plays Live, but with audience noise cut out. It still fits the visuals perfectly, and somehow makes the whole thing feel even more eerie. The only video I can find of it on YouTube is of an 80's Japanese TV broadcast, which has an announcer at the beginning and end, but direct your attention to the video itself, in between the talking. Brace yourself though, it's a wild ride.

With "Family Snapshot", Gabriel once again lets us see through the eyes / narrative of "the bad guy", who in this case is modeled after Arthur Bremer, and his attempted assassination of racist politician, George Wallace. By the way Gabriel has this would-be assassin describe himself, you can tell what he wants most out of this act is fame. The first half of the song is self-aggrandizing, acting as though he thinks he is the star of some action movie. But by the second half, after he takes his shot, he has a flashback to his childhood. He sees his parents ignoring him and fighting with each other, and then he and the listener realize that he was nothing more than a little boy looking for attention his whole life, taking it to the extremes to get someone to notice him. It is quite saddening, when you think about it (and Gabriel definitely wants us to think about it). Maybe not that we should entirely excuse attempted murder because of this, but just to take that into account when considering what makes a human decide to take a life.

Skipping ahead a bit to what is probably the most well-known track off the album- "Games Without Frontiers" is a catchy, yet strange, art rock / new wave jam that compares world leaders waging wars, with children playing games. It is a brilliant concept, and I honestly think it should be played in all world history classes. You have a cameo from equally talented art rock artist, Kate Bush, singing "Jeux sans frontieres" (the French TV game show the title is taken from) in the background, throughout, which just adds another layer of intrigue to the song, for those who don't know what it means. And while the upbeat whistling sounds make the whole thing sound charming and fun, it is actually still a pretty dark song. It makes us question who we have in positions of power (which we always should), and has us asking what their intentions truly are for waging wars that end in the loss of countless lives...with little to no good ever coming from it. Maybe they're all just a bunch of children bickering, but with the power to wipe out nations backing them. Gabriel got a lot of flack for the music video, for some reason, so there were two versions created. The original ("uncensored") one has scenes of children seated around a fancy dinner table talking and laughing, while black-and-white footage of the Olympics plays in the center... Not really sure what the BBC had a problem with, but I guess anything with children in it has the potential to concern people. Either way, check out the song and original music video below.

Rounding out the end of this unhinged mental trip of a record, is "Lead A Normal Life". This song to me is like the coming down from the mania, and once calm, realizing you've been committed to a mental institution. This time, the point of view seems not to be of the unstable person, but of someone visiting them at their institution. There aren't many words to the song, it is mostly instrumental, but with what few words there are, the person is acting caring, yet not quite understanding. "We want to see you lead a normal life" they say at the end, which sounds like a concerned parent, who wants to see their child "get better", mentally, but has absolutely no idea how to help. So they sent them here... which will probably make things worse. 

The last song on the album doesn't entirely fit the "mental breakdown" narrative, but it is important, and relevant, to mention still. "Biko" is a nearly eight-minute-long eulogy and protest song, about the murder of South African anti-apartheid activist, Steve Biko, in police custody in 1977. While being interrogated, Biko was beaten to death by police, which caused international outrage and protest. Gabriel himself was angry and saddened by Biko's murder, and wrote this song in tribute. It incorporates lyrics written in the Xhosa language (one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe), as well as in English. Gabriel denounces apartheid governments, racism, and the violence perpetuated against people of color by white police officers, in the song. He also commemorates Biko's life, in a way that feels uplifting, and befitting of a funeral. It sparked Gabriel's involvement in human rights activism, which he still takes part in today. 

Whew... well, I don't know about you, but that was a doozy. I will admit, writing extensively about songs that describe mental decline in various fashions is a strain on the brain (and sometimes hit a little too close to home). But, of course, it is totally worth it, to try and help convey the absolute genius that is Peter Gabriel's music. And these dark, twisted lyrics are paired with amazing, innovative instrumentation, which turns them into jammin' rock songs, and makes them much easier to stomach. Overall, Peter Gabriel III is a scary trip of an album, but while also conveniently being a post-punk / art rock / new wave JAM. If you enjoy a little critical thinking, and overall "intelligent" music, but also something that rocks- I highly reccomend Peter Gabriel's third self-titled album to you. 

Thank you as always for reading, and for hanging in there with me, through this tumultuous record! I hope it didn't drive any of you "crazy" yourselves. Have an insightful, but rockin' week! 

Peter Gabriel, photographed during the "Games Without Frontiers" music video, in 1980.