Up (Peter Gabriel album)

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Up
Studio album by Peter Gabriel
Released	September 24, 2002
Recorded	1992–2002
Genre	Rock
Length	66:40
Label	Geffen Records (US & Canada) Virgin Records
Producer	Peter Gabriel
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Entertainment.ie link Pitchfork Media (7.2/10) link Rolling Stone link
Peter Gabriel chronology
Long Walk Home: Music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) Up (2002) Hit (2003)

Up (2002) is the seventh studio and thirteenth album overall released by the British progressive rock musician Peter Gabriel.

After the release of Us (1992) and his Secret World Live tour, Gabriel began work on the album. Its name was Up from the start, though at one point it was considered to be called I/O. Gabriel began saying the album was near completion somewhere around 1998 but did not release it until September of 2002. In the months preceding the album's release, video clips of Gabriel talking about the songs as well as short demos of each song were released at the coming of every full moon on Gabriel's official website.

The album's lyrics deal mostly with birth and especially death. The opening track, "Darkness", is a song about overcoming fears. "Growing Up" is a summation of life put to a pulsating beat. "Sky Blue" is a track Gabriel claims to have been working on for over 20 years before finishing it. The track "No Way Out" is the first track to deal with death solely, though death is a common theme across the entire album. "I Grieve" was conceived after Gabriel looked over his catalogue of music as if it were a catalogue of emotional tools. He found one major missing tool to be one to cope with death and therefore "I Grieve" was born (first aired in 1998, despite the popular belief that it was written in response to 9/11). The first single from Up, "The Barry Williams Show" is a down-beat, jazzy song dealing with reality talk shows such as Jerry Springer. The second single, "More Than This" is one of the more upbeat songs from the album. The song wonders over there being something more to life. The song "Signal to Noise" was a challenge for Gabriel because the guest vocalist for the track, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, died. All that was left to work with were recordings from a live performance of an early version of the song at the VH1 Witness show on April 28, 1996. Finally, "The Drop" consists of only Gabriel and a Bösendorfer grand piano.

Many artists, including Trent Reznor and Elbow, remixed the tracks. These remixes were included as b-sides to the singles.

The song "I Grieve" is (in an earlier version) on the soundtrack from City of Angels (1998), as well as featuring in the Smallville episode "Reckoning". "Signal to Noise" appeared on the soundtrack from Gangs of New York (2002).

This album is also available on vinyl and hybrid multi-channel Super Audio CD.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Personnel 3 Charts 4 Certifications 5 External links

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Peter Gabriel.

1. "Darkness" – 6:51
2. "Growing Up" – 7:33
3. "Sky Blue" – 6:37
4. "No Way Out" – 7:53
5. "I Grieve" – 7:24
6. "The Barry Williams Show" – 7:16
7. "My Head Sounds Like That" – 6:29
8. "More Than This" – 6:02
9. "Signal to Noise" – 7:36
10. "The Drop" – 2:59

[edit] Personnel

• Peter Gabriel – Vocals, organ, bass, harmonica, piano, strings, harmonium, keyboards, tom-tom, sampling, Mellotron, string arrangements, brass arrangement, electronics, bass programming, loop, crotales, synthesizer drums, sampled guitar, sampled keyboards, string samples, Telecaster, JamMan.
• Tony Levin – Bass on "Darkness", "Sky Blue", "No Way Out", "I Grieve", "The Barry Williams Show", "My Head Sounds Like That", and "More Than This".
• David Rhodes – Guitars on "Darkness", "Growing Up", "Sky Blue", "No Way Out", "My Head Sounds Like That", and "Signal To Noise". Guitar on "The Barry Williams Show" and "More Than This". Electric guitar on "I Grieve". Backing vocals on "Growing Up", "Sky Blue", "The Barry Williams Show", "More Than This", and "Signal To Noise".
• Manu Katché
• Hossam Ramzy
• Shankar – Double violin (Improvised) on "I Grieve".
• Melanie Gabriel
• Tchad Blake
• Jon Brion
• Richard Chappell
• Alan Coleman
• Edel Griffith
• Christian Le Chevretel – Trumpet on "The Barry Williams Show".
• Adrian Chivers
• Pete Davis
• Dominque Mahut
• Richard Evans
• Bob Ezrin
• Mitchell Froom
• Steve Gadd
• Peter Green
• Dominic Greensmith
• Will Gregory
• Stephen Hague
• Chris Hughes
• Nick Ingraham
• Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
• Daniel Lanois
• Sally Larkin
• Ged Lynch
• Chuck Norman
• David Sancious
• Ed Shearmur
• Alex Swift
• Assane Thiam
• Danny Thompson
• Will White
• Black Dyke Band – Brass on "My Head Sounds Like That".
• Blind Boys of Alabama – Additional vocals on "Sky Blue". Backing vocals on "More Than This".
• Dhol Foundation
• London Session Orchestra – Strings on "Darkness".

[edit] Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
2002	UK Album Chart	11
2002	U.S. Billboard 200	9
2002	Billboard Top Canadian Albums	2
2002	Billboard Top Internet Albums	9

[edit] Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
BPI - UK	Silver	October 18, 2002
CRIA – Canada	Gold	July 23, 2003

[edit] External links

• Up at MusicBrainz
• Up at MusicBrainz
• Richard Chapelle on recording Up at Sound On Sound

v • d • e Peter Gabriel Studio albums Peter Gabriel I (Car) • Peter Gabriel II (Scratch) • Peter Gabriel III (Melt) • Peter Gabriel IV (Security) • So • Us • Up • Big Blue Ball  • I/O Live albums Plays Live • Secret World Live • Encore Series: 2003; 2004; 2007 Soundtracks Birdy • Passion • OVO • Long Walk Home Compilations Shaking the Tree • Revisited • Hit Films Secret World Live • Growing Up Live • Growing Up: A Family Portrait • Play: The Videos • Still Growing Up: Live & Unwrapped German Albums Ein Deutsches Album • Deutsches Album Other Peter Gabriel discography • Genesis • Mozo