Peter Gabriel (1977 Album)

Peter Gabriel (1977 album)

Peter Gabriel is the first studio album by British singer, musician and songwriter Peter Gabriel and the first of four with the same eponymous title. Released on 25 February 1977, it was produced by Bob Ezrin. Gabriel and Ezrin assembled a team of talented musicians, including Robert Fripp of King Crimson, to record the album. Upon the album's release, Gabriel began touring with a seven-piece band under his own name.

This album is often referred to as Peter Gabriel 1, Car, or Rain, referring to the album cover by Peter Christopherson (a.k.a. "Sleazy" from Hipgnosis). The car was a Lancia Flavia owned by Storm Thorgerson.

The album went to #7 in UK and #38 in the USA.

Gabriel's first solo success came with the single "Solsbury Hill", an autobiographical piece expressing his thoughts on leaving Genesis. Although mainly happy with the music, Gabriel felt that the album and especially the track "Here Comes the Flood" was over-produced. Sparser versions can be heard on Robert Fripp's Exposure, his appearance on Kate Bush's 1979 TV special and yet a third version on greatest hits compilation Shaking the Tree (1990). He often performs the song live accompanied by only himself on keyboard, either in German or English, depending on the audience.

There is a slightly different version of this album released through Direct Disk Labs, a half speed mastered version from the original master tapes. It has a longer version of "Slowburn" (5:16 instead of 4:36) with the song's introduction intact. All other versions of the song seem to have this intro edited out. Normally the song starts with a piano, but this rare version begins with a full band.