ENTER GABRIEL & The Political of Amnesty
Peter Gabriel has always believed his music should have a healthy dose of social consciousness, but lately there are those who would transform the former Genesis lead singer into a one-man political action committee. Take, for instance, “Red Rain,” the opening track from Gabriel’s latest album, So.
ENTER GABRIEL & The Political of Amnesty
Daniel Brogan
Peter Gabriel has always believed his music should have a healthy dose of social consciousness, but lately there are those who would transform the former Genesis lead singer into a one-man political action committee.
Take, for instance, “Red Rain,” the opening track from Gabriel’s latest album, So.
In many ways, it’s a “typical” Gabriel song. Hypnotic, dreamy, full of Third World rhythmic influences. He says the song came to him in a recurring dream about the inevitable surfacing of repressed emotions.
But fans and critics alike continue to see a post-nuclear vision in lyrics such as “I’ve seen them buried in a sheltered place in this town, they tell you this rain can sting” and “it can’t be that cold, the ground is still warm to the touch.”
“I’ve heard that too,” said the 35-yearold singer. “Especially when I was traveling around Europe promoting the album, right after Chernobyl. Everyone was drawing that same conclusion. It isn’t a correct interpretation, but some of the images do seem to fit anyway.”