Pete has Jumped the Shark

Never thought I'd write this, but Pete - you have jumped the shark.  Hey, his music, he can do with (to) it what he wants to, but this time he's gone off the deep end.  That is assuming he has a deep end. OK, he started in the deep end, or he IS the deep end, so not sure where his "deep end" would be.  I get it - nothing left to but to deconstruct and strip down (read: gut) most of the recognizable elements from your songs (Intruder, San Jacinto, ROTH). Make little boxes of dull toothpicks from songs that are sturdy oak trees. It ain't working, Pete. Finally, exhaustingly, for the last song of his 2nd set (the by-now-all-too-cliché Salsbury Hill) his New Blood Orchestra finally let's 'er rip and Pete joyfully skips around. Hoo freaking rah. Every song prior was a clock-watcher. (Paint dry yet?) It is not maddening because this is after all, what you expect/want from PG, and a few of these somber drones work in the format as eerie and barren (dead) carcasses, but about every 3rd song should have been up at the Solisbuy Hill pace, tempo, and volume. OK, will he finally succumb in '14 and do what we want for a 40th anniversary Lamb tour with the guys?  No. Of course He won't.   The Earth Wind & Fire that got rained (lighteninged) out last night was more enjoyable.

    This album photo shown is the back cover of the 1983 DLA by Peter Gabriel titled Plays Live. It's a rare cover for a DLA because there is no gatefold. So it's like a single record album, but with one single slot sleeve that holds the two records. 16 songs - 4 on each side, very symmetrical of course. Peter was touring behind the strength of the recent studio effort referred to as 4, his fourth eponymous solo record also sometimes referred to as Security. On this DLA, he gives us 5 songs (of the 16) from Security: Rhythm of the Heat, I Have the Touch, San Jacinto, Family and the Fishing Net, and Shock the Monkey. We also get Solsbury Hill, Family Snapshot, my favorite - On the Air, and the epic statement of Biko.