“It has been heartwarming to see the return of vinyl. Even though I loved being free of its limitations in the digital world, there is still a warmth and presence to vinyl that somehow makes it a more natural human companion. It is great to see a new generation learning the secrets of the grooves.” – Peter Gabriel
Following last year’s highly successful 2LP vinyl re-issues of Peter Gabriel’s first four solo albums, on July 15th the next wave of re-issues will be released featuring the triumvirate of Peter’s albums with two-letter word titles: So, Us and Up. The albums are available to pre-order now.
The albums have all been Half-Speed Remastered and cut to lacquers at 45RPM in order to deliver the maximum dynamic sound range. The So album is released across two heavyweight 180g LPs, whilst the Us and Up albums are released across three heavyweight 180g LPs, with music on fives sides and an etching on the sixth.
The vinyl was cut by Matt Colton at Alchemy Mastering, mastered by Tony Cousins at Metropolis and overseen by Peter’s main sound engineer Richard Chappell. The expertise and care that has gone into remastering these albums is incredible and consequently they have never sounded so good.
The vinyl editions will again look amazing with the gatefold sleeves utilising imagery from the initial first LP pressings, sourced and re-scanned from original artwork.
These releases are limited editions and all individually numbered and will include download cards with a choice of digital download (Hi-Res 24-bit or 16-bit).
The albums will be released on Real World via Caroline International. Currently Peter remains in the studio working on new music.
SO
The first of Peter’s studio albums to have a proper title, So was a watershed release with its perfect marriage of the artistic and the commercial. The album, produced by Daniel Lanois, features intriguing collaborations with the likes of Laurie Anderson, Kate Bush and Youssou N’Dour and contains some of Peter’s most recognisable and popular songs.
A1. Red Rain
A2. Sledgehammer
B1. Don’t Give Up
B2. That Voice Again
C1. Mercy Street
C2. Big Time
D1. We Do What We’re Told (Milgram’s 37)
D2. This Is The Picture (excellent birds)
D3. In Your Eyes
US
Us is one of Peter’s most personal and confessional records as he explored and dissected many of the relationship problems he was facing at that time. But Us is far from being bleakly introspective featuring several songs that have gone on to be amongst the most cherished in the Gabriel songbook.
A1. Come Talk To Me
A2. Love to Be Loved
B1. Blood of Eden
B2. Steam
C1. Only Us
C2. Washing Of The Water
D1. Digging in the Dirt
D2. Fourteen Black Paintings
E1. Kiss That Frog
E2. Secret World
UP
Up reveals itself to be another deeply personal statement with birth and death being near constant themes: it is what Peter calls a “book-end” record. Mostly recorded at Real World Studios, the album came from hundreds of hours of recordings ultimately slimmed down to ten tracks. Produced by Peter and mixed by Tchad Blake and Stephen Hague.
A1. Darkness
A2. Growing Up
B1. Sky Blue
B2. No Way Out
C1. I Grieve
C2. The Barry Williams Show
D1. My Head Sounds Like That
D2. More Than This
E1. Signal to Noise
E2. The Drop
Praise for last year’s 2LP Remasters of Gabriel’s first four albums:
"It sounds like Gabriel is there stood right next to you, singing, whispering and imploring.” - Q Magazine
“Gabriel’s masterpiece [‘Melt’] now sounds better than ever.” MOJO
"Even if you have the originals, as an audiophile, you need to check out these new super editions.” - Hi Fi World
