Peter Gabriel - Security (1982)

Dan:

Peter Gabriel's solo career was much anticipated after he left Genesis. His first four albums were all titled simply Peter Gabriel but known by other names descriptive of their cover art: Melt, Car, and Scratch. His fourth album was also eponymous but became widely known as Security. (It could have been called Balaclava for the scary mask.) The North American release formalized Security as the album title so we'll call it that. For me, it was the first of his solo albums to make much narrative or musical sense. It was also one of the first digital recordings in rock history, receiving lavish praise for its production and sonics. 

Being digitally recorded, Security was nonetheless pressed on vinyl, creating what seemed to be an anomaly - digital vinyl. But at the time, record labels were eager to tout the virtues of digital recording while also satisfying record buyers who were not equipped with CD players. Curiously, when CD versions of Security were released, the vinyl outperformed the CDs. The superior sonics of digital vinyl were hard to explain, and I recall reading various theoretical treatises to explain the counterintuitive findings.  

Amidst the format controversy, attention to the music became a bit slighted by concerns over sound quality. In any format, the music on Security served as the beginning of a breakthrough for Gabriel in reaching a wider audience. He would in four years' time complete the breakthrough with the album So. 

Security offers some heavy themes that logically tie this album back to the prog origins of Genesis. The first two tracks set the expectations high. "Rhythm of the Heat" is a percussive feast supporting a chanting lyric that places the listener inside a ceremonial ring of fire. Gabriel's scream "The rhythm has my soul!" provides the climax as the drummers pound on. The following "San Jacinto" portrays a burial procession of an indigenous native, featuring another climactic wail: "I hold the line, the line of strength that pulls me thorough the fear." 

Other songs also echo dark themes, especially "Wallflower," which is about an incarcerated person being advised to "hold on."

Hold on, you have gambled with your own life

And you face the night alone

While the builders of the cages

Sleep with bullets, bars and stone

They do not see your road to freedom

That you build with flesh and bone

You may disappear

You're not forgotten here
And I will say you
I will do what I can do.

I get chills whenever I hear "San Jacinto" or "Wallflower."

Two of the songs on Security appear to break the continuity of themes about despair and anguish: "Shock the Monkey" and "Kiss of Life." I don't really understand "Monkey," but I don't like animal cruelty, so I rarely play this song. "Kiss of Life" just seems pointless. But few albums are free of weak tracks, so I can still praise Security for its bold assault on unusual but important themes. It's a minor classic that has aged well over the 40+ years since its making.

Steve:

Security was likewise the first Peter Gabriel album that made its way into my consciousness. "Shock the Monkey" was easily Gabriel's biggest hit to that point, so I heard it a lot on the radio. It has also proven to be one of those songs I can never get tired of. This was proven during my college years (1987-1991) when a Charlotte NC station played it on a loop for several days straight. Why? It was a classic rock station that was about to be converted to a new format, and the station's mascot was a monkey. In protest, the station played the song continuously without commercial breaks until the conversion occurred. Several campus fraternity houses were amused by this and played their radios loudly for an entire weekend with "Shock the Monkey" playing, over and over. The fact that I still enjoy the song after all that says something, I think.

On a more artistic note, another way that Security impressed me was from hearing "The Rhythm of the Heat" on a good stereo, really loud. I believe it was a CD copy, so as Dan says, it probably wasn't the optimal format for this album (I'm listening to a vinyl copy as I write this) but hearing the thunderous drums that herald the climax of that song are something I will never forget. "San Jacinto" also provides some major cathartic sonic marvels. While it has no single "whoa" moment, the entire piece builds wonderfully and the deep bass notes that come in at the chorus provide a lot of tension/release.