1992's "US" is truly a "from the heart" body of music from Peter Gabriel, his most personal album to date. He recorded "US" during a time when his 15-year marriage to his wife Jill had recently broken up, and a following relationship with actress Rosanna Arquette had also dissolved, so Peter certainly had a lot of personal, romantic demons to exorcise from his system, which he did with this album.
Gabriel totally wears his heart on his sleeve with these songs, which may have irked some listeners, but not me. "US" is a Peter Gabriel album that's very close to my heart, because I can certainly relate to what he's singing about on it. Like Peter, I love to be loved, too.Gabriel explores many aspects of love & relationships on "US": lack of communication ("Come Talk To Me"), the desire for love in one's life ("Love To Be Loved"), relationships between men & women ("Blood Of Eden"), sexuality ("Steam"), loneliness ("Washing Of The Water"), emotional pain ("Digging In The Dirt"), and seeing someone's inner beauty beyond their physical appearance ("Kiss That Frog").
Gabriel explores these subjects honestly & beautifully, and not without moments of playfulness along the way, too (as the upbeat numbers "Steam" & "Kiss That Frog" clearly show). As always, Gabriel's singing, songwriting, and playing throughout are extraordinary. He also gets great help from the likes of Sinead O'Connor, Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, William Orbit, and Gabriel's band regulars Tony Levin on bass, guitarist David Rhodes, violinist Shankar, and drummer Manu Katche, as well as a few holdover players from Gabriel's "Passion" album, like Doudou N'Diaye Rose & Hossam Ramzy.
And "US" has definitely benefitted greatly from the new remastering job done on it, as the album has a much more spacious sound to it now than it did on the original version.When I listen to "US," I don't hear anything excessive or "overwrought" on it.
What I hear is a very gifted man opening his heart to his listeners in a very bold, personal way that he had never done before, and God bless him for it.
Peter Gabriel's "US" is a very special album. (Amazon.com)
01-Come Talk To Me.mp3
02-Love To Be Loved.mp3
03-Blood of Eden.mp3
04-Steam.mp3
05-Only Us.mp3
06-Washing of the Water.mp3
07-Digging in the Dirt.mp3
08-Fourteen Black Paintings.mp3
09-Kiss That Frog.mp3
10-Secret World.mp3
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