Okay it is now time to review Peter Gabriel. No, not Peter Gabriel I’ve already done that one, Peter Gabriel ditto and I really haven’t listened to Peter Gabriel enough yet to review it*.
I am cheating as Scratch** actually belongs to Mrs 1537, she was the teenage Gabriel nerd in our relationship, I’m busy playing catch up to her; in oh so many ways.
Scratch was Gabriel’s sophomore effort, released in 1978 and well-intentioned soul that I am, I find it a difficult LP to love. This is despite the presence of the estimable Robert Fripp as producer, wielder of Frippertronics and co-writer of the best track here.
When I picked Scratch out to listen to Mrs 1537 was enthusiastic about the first two cuts, ‘On The Air’ and ‘D.I.Y’ and so I settled down to enjoy. They’re awful. Gabriel does that thing where he makes his voice all nasal and strained, in that way which spoiled bits of Genesis for me too^. Not only that but the music is bobbins, oddly major chord bombastic sub-Meatloaf in places, albeit with some pleasant bubbling synth. Please Peter art it all up a bit for us, although not as much as ‘D.I.Y’ where my sole listening note just read ‘sub pub-level pretension, not fucking clever’.
As I contemplated taking the LP off and falling back on a half-written Ramones review instead, ‘Mother Of Violence’ happened. Talk about a saving grace, with added bonus insects. It’s a beautifully sung, sad song about fear, set to Roy Bittan’s keys and lovely steel guitar accents; I’m going to give all the credit to his wife and co-writer here, Jill. Scratch lives!
‘A Wonderful Day …’ irritates me, despite some rather good rhythms. At least he doesn’t sing it in a funny voice, although there is something quite trite about this one. ‘White Shadow’ is much better, I love the way it builds via Larry Fast’s synth whorls and some guitar frippery, never losing sight of its tune, for all its progressive tendencies. On original vinyl copies, like mine, the closing swirl of synths lasted forever, trapped in a closed groove – until you lift the needle.
His real voice, lovely. Then he jizz-jazzes all over it with woodwind, fucking woodwind!
I refer you again to my listening notes for ‘Indigo’. I like it better tonight than I did yesterday, the woodwind being less bothersome? is there really woodwind on it? or did I conjure it in a fit of pique? I hardly dare listen.
Next track ‘Animal Magic’ is much better and contains a rather fun ‘dancing’ piano part, it rocks in a rather fun slinky fashion, putting me in mind of Ian Hunter. I was chair dancing to it just now, aided by some properly rocking guitar.
I would have ended Scratch with the next track ‘Exposure’, it is excellent^^. It slinks into view in a shimmering heat haze of (I assume) treated guitar and then when the funky, minimal beat locks in, my word this is a kicker. Gabriel’s vocals are deep, earthy, monumental and then increasingly desperate, ‘space is what I need’. It is just incredible and like an outsize portion of everything Mr Fripp touches, sounds like it fell through a fissure in the time-space continuum from the future. At 4:18 it is only half as long as it should be and in a perfect world would come back in heavily after it fades.
There’s a touch of John Lennon about ‘Flotsam And Jetsam’, I rather like the sense of detachment it creates. Then Gabriel straps on his big rock panties again for ‘Perspective’, which puts me in mind of an offcut from The Little Shop Of Horrors^*; it boasts a great sax solo from Timmy Capello.
Sadly Scratch finishes with the pants ‘Home Sweet Home’, it really is dire despite having a lovely tune with shades of Young Americans-era Bowie. I think its the story I object to so much and even Timmy Capello’s best efforts cannot conceal the stench of it.
Well that was a bit of a ride.
For me Scratch just isn’t as good as Peter Gabriel (Car), despite carrying a some wonderful tracks in the shape of ‘Exposure’, ‘White Shadow’ and ‘Mother Of Violence’. The bad weighs more heavily than the good here for me, possibly because so much of it seems to be born from needless sodding about to no good affect.
In the trajectory of Gabriel’s solo albums Scratch is a slight stuttering diagonal diversion from the perpendicular.
1168 Down.
P.S – Because I love you:
*Okay so it’s an old joke I’ve used before, but it is mine.
**as it shall henceforth be known here.
^on Plays Live from 1983 both are tracks are much better by far as he sings them without sodding around with his vox.
^^as is the version re-recorded for Fripp’s solo LP.
^*which, for the avoidance of any doubt I think is great.
