This band, along with Marillion, Pallas, and IQ were at the forefront of the new wave of prog which commenced in the UK in the 1980's. Arguably, you could state that they were the least successful, and certainly the least resilient.
I remember buying this upon release, absolutely transfixed by the album cover, which is about as luxurious as it gets.
The music? Well, it has received a bit of a panning in the reviews, and, by and large, much of it is forgettable, basically being an attempt at commercial music tinged with “neo” prog. It's not bad, it's just that much of it is simply not good enough, and, certainly, Jungle sounds much like any 1980's pop band of the time.
However, the album, and, thus, its rating is redeemed by two exceptional tracks, which, in my opinion, if they were the only two tracks on it, would merit an “excellent” rating.
These are the single released, Blue Powder Monkey, and the epic closer, Take A Look. In addition, I quite like The Craft, which is a very good pop song, not a bad thing in my book.
Blue Powder Monkey gallops along at a fair old pace, and the chorus is frenetic. It is a clever track, and I would put it up against any single released by Marillion at this heady time for that band, high praise coming from me indeed. There are some great guitar licks in this, and Sears carries it by an incredible vocal performance. Toe tapping, great fun, it should have done more at the time of release.
However, the one that really does make you want to stand up and take notice, and make you wonder what might have been, is Take A Look, an epic track clocking in at over 11 minutes. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the finest neo prog tracks ever released. The intensity of this track simply never lets up, and it is, surprisingly, given what went on before, pure and utter prog, with absolutely no nod to fashion whatsoever. From a slow, ponderous, thoughtful, opening, the main background riff develops, and Sears, when he enters, tells in a very caustic fashion, his take on modern society and technology. The chorus is one of those rare ones that makes you outstretch your arms and sing along at top voice, and the rush of the track with all of the band moving along at a frenetic pace is wonderful.
This album is probably now regarded as more of a curiosity as much as anything else, but I, for one, was very glad to revisit it when i converted the original vinyl to digital. There is, by the way, a remastered CD with bonus tracks on issue, but I cannot comment on this as I have never heard it.
A band who promised much, but, ultimately, delivered far too little. If you can download it, I would recommend downloading the standout tracks.
Groundbreaking video below, ladies & gentlemen!
The album that marked the transition of Gabriel from a slightly cultish solo artist into a global megastar, So is, therefore, a very important album in the prog pantheon. By and large, Gabriel escaped the massive hostility that accompanied other "classic" prog artists in the 1980's when commercial success hit. Listening to this wonderful album again tonight, it is not very difficult to see why.
Gabriel's career has been a fruitful and satisfying one, and the thing that really sets him apart, I think, from other artists who took a more commercial route is that he does it without at any time losing the lyrical, artistic, and sincere creativity that made his name in the first place. Even a blatantly commercial track such as Sledgehammer, which is loads of fun, was accompanied by a music video that was utterly ground-breaking at the time in its use of real time animation and is, even now, many years later, still wondrous to watch. You also wear your toes out tapping along to it!
Virtually every track here is a classic, with the one exception of Big Time, whose funky backdrop and overly knowing irony of the dangers of success, is too grating to be convincing. The other huge hit single was a wonderful duet with the lovely Kate Bush, Don't Give Up, an extremely moving paeon to the wanton and senseless destruction of whole communities of working-class people, and the accompanying social deprivations, wrought by Thatcher in the UK and Reagan in the USA. Kate had appeared on III and was known to have been hugely influenced by Gabriel's use of drum machines to compose music. Her vocal accompaniment is also a massive highlight of her own marvellous career.
Of course, for us old proggers, there were also some great moments. Opener Red Rain is magical, a thunderous track built almost entirely around simple piano and drum machine. Mercy Street is one of my favourite Gabriel tracks, a sensitive and very moving testimony to the poet Anne Sexton, whose work I explored a lot after getting the album on its release. If you should read her words, you will understand just why, lyrically, Gabriel was oceans apart from many of his contemporaries.
My personal favourite, and still my all-time favourite Gabriel live track, is In Your Eyes. As with much of his work, the studio version is far more delayered and quieter than the live versions, but absolutely none the worse for that. It features the incredible voice of Youssou N'Dour, a superstar in his native Senegal, but, prior to this, virtually unknown in the wider world. This incredible vocal performance changed all of that, and, overnight, many of us became hooked on the best of what became known as World Music. Gabriel, naturally, was at the heart of the movement. Of course, what is best about the track is the heartfelt lyrics, a love poem to his then wife Jill prior to the convulsions that would lead to eventual divorce.
That Voice Again is notable as being the first writing credit jointly owned by long-time collaborator David Rhodes. Mostly standard fare, the vocal solo by Gabriel towards the end is utterly stunning.
Album closer, We Do What We're Told, is brilliant, and another of his many thoughtful lyrical forays into the dangers of dictatorship. The tone of the track, very simply written and performed around keys and drum machine, is brooding and heavy.
For those who do not own this album, I would recommend the remastered CD version which features an old live favourite, This Is The Picture, featuring a vocal duet with the eccentric, and brilliant, Laurie Anderson.
Big Time grated on my nerves at the time of release and does so even more now. That Voice Again is pretty standard, and it is for these two tracks alone that my rating for this album shifts from utterly essential to that of an excellent addition to any prog rock collection.
Be sure, though. Vocally, Gabriel has rarely sounded better. Creatively and commercially, he was approaching the height of his powers, and this album left a massive imprint upon popular music all over the world. The title, by the way, was Gabriel's way of protesting at the record labels insistence that his solo work now carry "proper" titles, rather than merely Peter Gabriel (as was the case already in America).
The creative torch he carried for Genesis was still well and truly alive, and Gabriel was and is living proof that creative commercial music deserves our attention and respect.
It really isn’t that bad at all, you know. Honest!
I think this is a far better effort than its predecessor, Genesis, for the simple reason that they went back to writing and performing well good songs, either commercial or prog.
The first three tracks are all huge selling singles, and all of them are very well executed. Invisible Touch races along to a great Rutherford riff, Tonight....again features fantastic guitar work and understated keyboards from Banks, whilst Land of Confusion is simply a rollicking pop song, with Rutherford on blazing form. He really shines throughout this LP.
In Too Deep is probably a little bit too saccharine for many listeners on this site, but it is pleasant without being awful, certainly an improvement on tracks such as Illegal Alien & Whodunnit! Anything she Does is also a good solid track which picks up the pace again very well.
Then there are the two Domino interlinked tracks, which, to me, are very strong successors to the Home by the Sea tracks on the previous LP. This still plays very well live. Rutherford really blasts out his chords, and Banks returns to form on what is clearly his song with a very strong keyboard lead over Collins singing very strongly. The point about these tracks is that they continued to prove that they were still a rock group with progressive leanings first and foremost - not a singles band. Again, I feel that many people buying this LP on the strength of the singles would have rushed out to buy previous albums when they realised just how complex and beautiful the longer tracks were. The way the first, slow, movement gives way to a harder edge is stunning.
Throwing it all Away is another very good commercial track which is exceptionally pleasing to the ear.
Then the last track, Brazilian, probably my favourite Banks moment in the history of the band. This keyboard track is a piece of sheer genius, with Collins especially backing very strongly on his now trademark drum machine. Every time I hear this track, I hear something new, and this demonstrates the genius of Banks. A great way to end an album which I regarded as a very solid return to form.
Recommended.