One of the bestselling and cherished rock albums of all time – Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon was released just over 50 years ago. It came on the heels of concept albums by The Who and masterpieces like Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles and the Moody Blues classic Days of Future Past. It was a time when FM radio was changing the way music was consumed and full-length albums with themes, meant to be listened to from start to finish, were a major part of popular music.
Today we listen differently. With streaming, and song placement in tv and movies and even commercials, the focus is on the song, more like early AM radio. In the time I’ve been working in radio, I’ve noticed that the average length of a song (especially in pop) has decreased, and albums are more collections of singles than the murals once painted by bands like Genesis, Rush and The Beach Boys. That doesn’t diminish the work that artists are putting into their music or the music itself, it’s just a different focus. Like many others, and maybe especially because of the amount of music that I’m exposed to, I don’t have a lot of time to sit down and fully appreciate a full-length record very often. I knew though that I/O, the latest release from the progressive rock icon Peter Gabriel, would be worth the time.
From his earliest days in Genesis, Gabriel has embraced this kind of music-making. He’s no stranger to pop or great singles, but a Peter Gabriel album is best played from start to finish multiple times to absorb all the nuances. His attention to detail in the studio is the stuff of legends. His 1986 release, So, took 10 months to produce, at the time, the shortest amount of time he’d spent on an album.
The idea for I/O began 20 years ago, so even by his standards, he took his time honing it. The album was released in singles during 2023 on the full moon of each month. The full length was officially released in December. It’s a 12-song album over 70 minutes in length. There are three different mixes: bright side, produced by Mark “Spike” Stent; dark side, produced by Tchad Blake; and in-side, on blu ray disc and recorded in Dolby surround sound. I honestly can’t hear a huge difference in the bright and dark side versions, or at least not a big enough difference that it makes or breaks either of them. The bright side mix is heavier on the percussion and more vocal forward. On the dark side mix there is more separation between the instruments and heavier bass lines. I have yet to hear the in-side mix to compare it.
Gabriel has never been bashful about social commentary. True to form, I/O is full of observations about life and existence from his mature point of view. The title and title track set up the theme. Gabriel is a fan of technology and has advocated for its exploration. I/O in technology stands for input/output – the transfer or data from one source to another. In the title track, he relates input and output to life itself and his relationship to the big picture – “I’m just a part of everything/I stand on two legs and I learned to sing/I walk with my dog and whistle with the bird. Stuff going out, stuff coming in/I’m just a part of everything.” There is a similar theme in This Is Home. I find myself comparing them both to some of the existential movements on the 2023 Paul Simon record Seven Psalms.
On The Court, Gabriel explores the balance between the necessity of a justice system and the associated abuse of power. Road to Joy is about someone who goes through a near-death experience but is stuck and unable to communicate. This particular song has roots in his 2000 project OVO: The Millennium Show which was commissioned as part of England’s millennium celebration at the turn of the century.
The tone of this/these record(s) is like a mash-up of sounds from Gabriel’s 50-year career. The lead-off track Panopticom, is reminiscent of the Genesis masterpiece Lamb Lies Down on Broadway mixed with some of the synth pop from his early solo records. The breakout single Road to Joy shares some of its melody with Kiss That Frog from his ‘90s release Us. Other tunes follow that formula with a mix of more introspective down-tempo tunes and his signature upbeat dance pop. There didn’t seem to be an effort at reinvention or compromise to fit any particular trend. He did what he knows. Sticking with his classic sound, is his classic core band with Manu Katche on drums, David Rhodes on guitar and Tony Levin on bass. Gabriel’s dynamic voice sounds as strong as ever putting aside any concerns that at 73, he may be past his prime. While fans might find comfort in familiarity, some may find reason to critique Gabriel’s formula. Plenty of time has gone by since his last album of new material for him to mix things up a bit. It is, however it’s easily comparable to some his most loved material. In other words, get ready to reconsider the order of your favorite Gabriel albums.
For the uninitiated, I/O is a great starting point to explore an artist with an enormous body of carefully considered work dating back to the beginnings of the progressive rock band Genesis. For fans of Gabriel and people who enjoy being immersed in a record, there is plenty of nuance and enough fodder for conversation to last months.
