Peter Gabriel • 3
Classic Records/Real World Records PG 3-45
Four single-sided 45-RPM 200 g LPs
Originally released in 1980, this is Peter Gabriel’s third eponymously-titled studio album. It is often referred to as Melt because of the cover art.
This record has more of a funk-rock feel to it that its predecessors, and contains one of my favourite Peter Gabriel tracks, Games Without Frontiers, a song about the childish futility of war. The opening track, Intruder, is notable as being the first use of Phil Collins’ gated drum sound (Collins was one of Gabriel’s Genesis bandmates, and succeeded him as Genesis’ lead singer when Gabriel left to pursue his solo career).
The sound quality is as good as the previous Peter Gabriel Clarity releases, i.e., very good, especially for a commercial pop record. The single-sided records are pancake flat with silent surfaces.
These Clarity sets are expensive and are becoming increasingly hard to find, so if you want the ultimate version of this record, get it while you can!