Peter Gabriel - Security (Album Review)

 

Peter Gabriel - Security

 

Peter Gabriel’s fourth album was originally called “Security” here in the U.S. and in Canada. However, it was released self-titled everywhere else in the world. (The change was because his three previous records were all self-titled albums, and since he’d changed record companies three times over at this point, Geffen Records demanded he give his fourth album a name, even if it didn’t stick after multiple reissues over the years.)

Boy, this is a tough album for me to talk about. My opinion of this record keeps changing with almost every listen! At worst, I'll think it's only "Shock the Monkey" surrounded by a bunch of artsy songs I haven't quite decoded yet. At best, I'll agree with Gabriel's most fervent fans and think this record is a near-masterpiece. Bennett the Sage once said that Gabriel seems more like a performance artist than a musician at times, and nowhere is that more evident than on this album. The songs here seem to be begging to be made into music videos or perhaps short films as opposed to standing on their own as songs. (Of course, there are some notable exceptions to this rule. We’ll get to those later on.) Security was one of the earliest albums to be a fully digital recording, which is pretty impressive, considering it came out in 1982. There’s a heavy use of the Fairlight CMI Synthesizer on this album, since it was considered cutting-edge technology at the time and could sample any sound you recorded to it. That results in lots of interesting noises heard throughout the album, and some interesting credits in the liner notes. (Such as including the sound of a “scraped exhaust pipe”.) If you want to find out more about the making of this album, there’s an episode of a British TV show called “The South Bank Show” that did a whole 45 to 50 minute documentary on the making of it. Here’s the link if you want to know more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scmYG1Pv1_Q

 

The Rhythm of the Heat: The album begins with a faint drum beat that pulsates throughout the opening song. It is punctuated by a cry from Gabriel that effectively sets the mood of being in an African jungle. It’s heavy on atmosphere with creepy subtle synth stabs during parts of the verses and some powerful singing from Peter as he belts out the final line of every chorus. “The rhythm has my SOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUULLLL!!!” It’s an effective, if strange opening song that’s a highlight of the record, especially with the African percussion freakout at the end. It lets you know that a lot of the songs on here will have a cinematic mood to them, though not every song here benefits from that. Still a good song, and an effective highlight of the album.

San Jacinto: This song is described as “eerie” by Allmusic.com, and I can’t disagree with that. The song has this strange, shimmering keyboard sound that is the main instrument throughout it until the haunting end. The song tells the story of a Native American watching his culture get overtaken by modern society, and is supposedly based off of something a member of the Apache tribe told Gabriel, but I can’t find anything to confirm that just yet. The song is very dramatic, especially during the choruses that are punctuated with electric guitar strums atop of the shiny keyboard sounds and Gabriel’s passionate voice. The most effective part is, hands down, the ending, where all of the instruments drop out. The only sounds you hear are some strange breathing that may have been recorded through pipes of some sort and Peter Gabriel’s voice mentioning that “We will…hold the line.” It still sticks with me to this day. Another highlight of the record, even if it may not be an easy listen.

I Have The Touch: I always thought of this as an awkward pop song, because the lyrics came off that way to me. The much lighter tone and lyrics are much needed on this record after the intensity and somberness of the previous two songs. However, the lyrics kind of prevent me from liking the track more than I should. (Or am I just weird that way?) “I'm waiting for ignition, I'm looking for a spark. Any chance collision and I light up in the dark. There you stand before me, all that fur and all that hair. Oh, do I dare, I have the touch. Wanting contact, I'm wanting contact. I'm wanting contact with you.” I just find them a little creepy.

The Family and the Fishing Net: The album’s longest song is also its strangest and creepiest. (Maybe that’s why Primus somehow covered it?) I think it’s supposed to be comparing a voodoo ceremony to a normal traditional wedding, but I’m not certain. I have had parts of an idea for a creepy music video to go with this song. (Like, have blood ooze out of the wedding cake after it’s cut.) Why do I mention that? Because the song feels like some strange poem set to music instead of being a song that can stand on its own. It does have some great uses of sampling, with the scraping sound effect adding tension to the verses and percussion, but this has never been a favorite song of mine and likely never will be. When I mentioned earlier that this album’s songs felt like they begged to be made into music videos or short films, I feel this song is “Exhibit A” for that case.

Shock the Monkey: This is BY FAR my favorite song on the record. It’s catchy, has energy behind the music and singing, and best of all, there’s a hook! This was obviously the biggest hit from the record, and it’s easy to hear why. The music hits you with that repetitive synthesizer hook constantly throughout the song, yet I’ve never tired or gotten annoyed of it. That’s because it’s one of the few uptempo songs on this record (if not the only one) and is kind of a fun song to dance to. The lyrics are still really weird, but they don’t come off as awkward or creepy as they did on “I Have the Touch”. (It’s supposed to be a metaphor for jealousy. This triggering of jealousy “shocking the monkey to life”, as the song puts it.) But don’t let the artsy words deter you from giving this song a listen. Also, the music video for it is pretty cool, if of course, kind of weird in an artsy way. That definitely helped Peter stand out during the early MTV years and get his foot in the door of American popular music (since this was his first-ever Top 40 hit here) before he became a megastar with 1986’s So. But that’s a whole ‘nother ball of wax.

 

Lay Your Hands On Me: This is kind of a sister song to “The Family and the Fishing Net” for me, as it feels like a poem set to music, too. The difference here is it’s not quite as creepy as its predecessor. I do like the percussion towards the end as the chorus gets repeated multiple times, and there are some great dramatic drum fills throughout, too. This is another song that begs to be made into a music video, since it feels like it would be more effective that way to me. (For example, you can hear or find plenty of covers of “Shock the Monkey”, but very few of “Fishing Net” or “Hands”, because the two don’t hold up well as songs.)

Wallflower: This is my second favorite song on the album. Radiohead was supposed to cover this for a project Gabriel did in the early 2010s, but they never did for reasons not quite known. (That’s another story for another time, anyway.) One listen to this song and its easy to hear why they were rumored to cover it at some point. It’s sparse, with keyboards and percussion being the most notable instruments in the song. In fact, most of the song until the chorus starts to kick in (and towards the end) is just Gabriel’s voice, a piano, synthesizer. It’s a simple, emotionally affecting song as Gabriel pleas for Latin American political prisoners to “hold on”. I’ve mentioned how strange Gabriel’s lyrics can get on this album beforehand, but they’re great on this track. This is when he drops his artsy pretenses and just speaks directly to the prisoners, if they’re listening. If not, he speaks to you in order to tell you about them and their plight. Its very similar in spirit to “Biko” the closing track to his previous album, Peter Gabriel (1980), aka Melt. Where “Biko” has gotten a lot of attention over the years (and deservedly so), “Wallflower” has kind of been forgotten about, and that’s a damn shame. It’s a sad, but fine song that I really enjoy. Give this song a listen. You may find yourself moved by it. (Or maybe not, I don’t know.)

 

Kiss of Life: The final song off of “Security” is unfortunately, a weak one. It just doesn’t seem to be as lyrically deep as some of the other tracks on here, though I commend it for ending the record on a lighter note, given how dark, sad, and weird this record could get at times. Again, I really like the percussion here. Its given a Latin feel, coupled with some cool sampling sounds sprinkled throughout. While I enjoy the song’s danceability and praise its upbeat nature, I just don’t find it as likeable or memorable as the other tracks on it. Along with (possibly) “Lay Your Hands on Me”, this might be the most forgotten track on the album. It’s never been on a live recording or compilation and there’s been no major covers of it to note. I think that says enough about it.

 

        “Security” is a strange record. The sequencing and pacing of it are fine, and it runs at a lean 8 tracks. But the artsy inclinations of many of those tracks might be off-putting to some, or maybe they won’t give them the attention they demand or require. But, there are some highlights and powerful moments to be found in it. I do like it, and recommend it, but only if you’ve listen to some other Peter Gabriel records first. (Like, “So” or “Melt” or “Us”.)

 

FINAL SCORE: 6.5 out of 10 (NOTE: This score may be subject to change.)

 

Recommended Tracks: “Shock the Monkey”, “Wallflower”, “The Rhythm of the Heat”, “San Jacinto”.