All of us want to try to reach their main goal by succeeding. It can be a long and winding road to go from humble beginnings, starting in underground bands, leaving a group after an amazing eight-year ride and embarking on a successful solo career. For Peter Gabriel, he has proven himself that he has come back swinging. And this time, it’s gotten bigger. It had been nearly 14 years after he released his ninth studio album New Blood which consisted orchestral versions of his songs from his catalog.
It’s been a long, long wait for him to release new material. And now, at the end of 2023, Peter has come back with his long-awaited release, I/O. His tenth studio album was three decades in the making, going back to 1995. He wanted to go back and work on the album after finishing up 2002’s release of Up, but delays got in the way and his two albums in an orchestral tone between Scratch My Back and New Blood.
For him, returning back to the world of I/O, is a welcoming return to see what Gabriel has left in store for all those years to bring new music into the forefront by proving himself that he’s stable, stronger, powerful, and an artist that refuses to back down. It is fearless, brave, and a bold release for Peter to spread his wings once more and fly off into the night.
There are two different versions of the album; Bright-Side and Dark-Side mixes of I/O. It’s hard to choose which mix is better, but let’s take a deep, delve into the centerpieces on the album. The darker version of Gabriel’s approach to Randy Newman’s songwriting with ‘Playing For Time’ gives an insight of the memories long and gone, reflecting the loss of a loved one with beautiful string arrangements, and pianist Tom Cawley’s compositions while Tony Levin’s set-up of a jazz-like romance, sets the sadness and saying goodbye to life as we know it.
I almost felt a tug to the golden years of Pixar’s animation from the original Toy Story trilogy as if Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of the toys are saying farewell to Andy as they came full circle with Gabriel’s harmonizing vocals singing out into the night while the electronic and Oldfield-like take on ‘Four Kinds of Horses’ sees Peter returning back to the Up years with snapping fingers, neo-film noir atmospheres, the demise of a tragic superhero, and rain dropping effects from the synths.
The brighter side of the title-track makes it worth the sing-along chorus. I have this vision of Peter sitting at his house, drinking his cup of coffee, watching old movies of his life and remembering the good times he had. From Genesis, embarking as a solo artist, starting up WOMAD, and Real World Studios, he knows how much the fans mean so much to him.
He’s more than just the hit songs such as ‘Solsbury Hill’, ‘Games Without Frontiers’, ‘Sledgehammer’, and ‘Shock The Monkey’, this is where he finally gives his energy juice, with all of his might. While the brighter side of ‘Love Can Heal’ is too much exciting, the darker version adds elements of a romance gone horribly wrong.
You feel the intense arguments, the massive fights, the domestic abuse, and the vocals between Linnea Olsson and Jennie Abrahamson adds some sadness to the bruise and beatings of a woman who has had enough of everything gone wrong.
When I think of ‘This Is Home’ I think of the sounds of Motown and Peter’s take on his appreciation of soul music that might have inspired him to write the song in the realms of Marvin Gaye by adding that continuation where ‘Panopticom’ had left off. Now, we have to talk about the opening track.
When it came out as a single at the beginning of 2023 between the Dark and Bright Side (which I prefer both), I had no idea on what to expect. But with its Bowie-sque flamenco acoustic guitar structures from Katie May, Gabriel’s partner-in-crime Brian Eno, and Tony Levin are setting up the mountains one by one. For Peter, it was like he was going back to the Car (Peter Gabriel I) album in 1977.
And the rhythm section adds that sun-rising element by starting off a brand-new day, but keeping that upbeat flowing to a new chapter waiting for its listeners to see what happens next. ‘Road To Joy’ is of course Peter’s tribute to the chameleon himself by taking a page from the Young Americans sessions, adding his own electro-funk rock attitude in the styles of Carlos Alomar’s lead guitar take that David Rhodes pays homage to.
It does have elements to the song ‘Fame’ along with bits and pieces from the So sessions. Peter does his tipping of the hat to Bowie’s greatness, but making him dance to the beat in the styles of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly that brings in the shining beauty between Top Hat, The Band Wagon, and Singin’ in the Rain.
I/O is a spectacular return for Peter Gabriel. Yes, it took a long time to get this album unleashed at the end of 2023, but with all of its power and its mighty compositions, Gabriel has taken the true identity on who he really is. And for us, we’ve experienced the spiritual journey with him.
