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Peter Gabriel: Up

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Real World Records
Released: 2002.09.24
Time:
 66:44
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Peter Gabriel
Rating: *******... (7/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.petergabriel.com
Appears with: Genesis, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, Tony Levin, David Rhodes
Purchase date: 2002.09.24
Price in €: 17,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Darkness (P.Gabriel) - 6:51
[2] Growing Up (P.Gabriel) - 7:33
[3] Sky Blue (P.Gabriel) - 6:37
[4] No Way Out (P.Gabriel) - 7:53
[5] I Grieve (P.Gabriel) - 7:24
[6] The Barry Williams Show (P.Gabriel) - 7:16
[7] My Head Sounds Like That (P.Gabriel) - 6:29
[8] More Than This (P.Gabriel) - 6:02
[9] Signal to Noise (P.Gabriel) - 7:36
[10] The Drop (P.Gabriel) - 3:03

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


PETER GABRIEL - Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar
DAVID RHODES - Guitar
TONY LEVIN - Bass, Stick
MANU KATCHE - Drums, Percussion
STEVE GADD - Drums

NUSRAT FATEH ALI KHAN - Vocals
YOUSSOU N'DOUR - Vocals
From YOUSSOU N'DOUR's band:
BABACAR FAYE - Senegalese Percussion (e.g. Sabar, Djembe)
HABIB FAYE - Bass, Keyboards
HASSAN THIAM - Senegalese Percussion (e.g. Sabar, Djembe)
THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA - Vocals
YACINE OULD NANA - Vocals
B'NET HOUARIYAT - Moroccan female vocal group
GOPAL SHANKAR MISRA - Vina
HUKWE ZAWOSE and his nephew CHARLES - Thumb Piano
JOCELYN POOK - String arrangements
AYUB OGADA - Vocals, Nyatiti
CHRISTIAN CHEVRETEL - Trumpet, Trombone, Keyboards
PETER GREEN - Guitar
DANNY THOMPSON - Double Bass
CHRIS HUGHES - Programming
DOMINIC GREENSMITH - Drums
HOSSAM RAMZY - Percussion
MAHUT DOMINIQUE - Percussion
GED LYNCH - Drums
WILL WHITE - Drums
MELANIE GABRIEL - Vocals
DANIEL LANOIS - Guitar on [3]
WILL GREGORY - String arrangements
NICK INGMAN - String arrangements

RICHARD CHAPPELL - Engineer
MEABH FLYNN - Assistant Engineer
MARCUS DRAVS - Engineer, Programming
BEN FINDLAY - Engineer on RealWorld Big Room sessions
TCHAD BLAKE - Mixing, Binaural recording
BRIAN "BT" TRANSEAU - Producer, Ideas
STEPHEN HAGUE - Production on [5]

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2002 CD Geffen 493388
2002 CD Universal 493388
2002 CD Real World PGCD11



Ten years is a long time, especially in pop music, but waiting ten years to deliver an album is a clear sign that you're not all that interested in the pop game anyway. Such is the case with Peter Gabriel, who delivered Up in 2002, a decade after Us and four years after he announced its title (in the same year that R.E.M. delivered their own Up and, as fate would have it, Shania Twain delivered her long-awaited follow-up to Come on Over a mere two months after Gabriel's Up, calling her record Up! — who says great minds don't think alike!). Perhaps appropriately, Up sounds like an album that was ten years in the making, revealing not just its pleasures but its intent very, very slowly. This is not an accessible record, nor is it easy to warm up to, which means that many may dismiss it upon a single listen or two, never giving it the time it demands in order to be understood (it does not help matters that the one attempt at a single is the ham-fisted, wrong-headed trash-TV "satire" "The Barry Williams Show," which feels utterly forced and out of place here, as if Geffen was pleading for anything resembling a single to add to the album). Really, there is no other choice for an artist as somber and ambitious as Gabriel to craft an album as dense as Up; those who have waited diligently for ten years would be disappointed with anything less and, frankly, they're the only audience that matters after a decade. And they're not likely to be disappointed, since this album grows stronger, revealing more with each listen. Initially, it seems to simply carry on the calmer, darker recesses of Us, but this is an uncompromising affair, which is to its advantage, since Gabriel delves deeper into darkness, grief, and meditation. It may take a while for him to emerge from the darkness — there is little of the comfort of a "Come Talk to Me" or "Blood of Eden," which are immediately soothing on Us — but there are glimmers of hope throughout the album, even in its darkest moments. Again, it takes awhile to sort all this out — to unlock the form of the songs, then their meanings — and it's such a somber, hushed, insular affair that some dedicated listeners may not bother to spin it the appropriate number of times. But those serious fans who want to spend time with this will find that it does pay back many rewards.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine - All-Music Guide, © 1992 - 2002 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.



That Up exists at all is faintly miraculous. Over the past seven years, with guests including Youssou N'Dour, Peter Green, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Peter Gabriel has held recording sessions in Senegal, Atlanta, Singapore, the French Alps, and on a boat on the Amazon River, as well as at his own RealWorld studios. Having written and prepared over 150 songs, he's managed to cut this huge body of work down to just 10 tracks. There's a remarkable consistency and contemporary feel here that springs from a thoughtful layering process, with Gabriel combining tribal rhythms with complex backing vocals, samples, rock guitar, piano and-crucially-electronic effects. Indeed, the opener, "Darkness," begins with an aggressiveness that recalls the Prodigy, before hints of vulnerability and fear surface. Elsewhere, there is the dreamy "The Drop" and the orchestral heights of "Signal to Noise." Throughout, Gabriel uses water metaphors to put forward his positivist message. And it's all brilliant, sophisticated, and soulful. The man's a marvel and Up is a masterwork.

Dominic Wills - Amazon.com



Zehn Jahre nach Peter Gabriels letztem Studioalbum Us legt der Klangkünstler mit Up sein neues Werk vor. Die lange Wartezeit hat sich mehr als gelohnt. Der ehemalige Genesis-Frontmann liefert elf kunstvolle Songs ab, die mit Ausnahme von "The Drop" alle um die sieben bis acht Minuten dauern, ohne dabei auch nur eine Minute lang atmosphärische Dichte und spielerische Tiefe vermissen zu lassen. Eindeutig einer der Höhepunkte des Albums ist die "Barry Williams Show", Gabriels zynische und äußerst amüsante Abrechnung mit dem Talk-Show-Wahn à la Jerry Springer und Co. Der Refrain lässt einen so schnell nicht mehr los - ebenso wenig wie das rhythmische "Burn You Up, Burn You Down", das in die Beine geht wie ehemals "Sledgehammer". Für die tiefsinnigen, eher melancholisch gestimmten Momente sind das klagende "I Grieve" und "My Head Sounds Like This" zuständig. Hier gilt es, sich nicht nur musikalisch auf Gabriels ausgefeilte Klangwelten einzulassen, auch auf der Textebene wird gewohnt Tiefschürfendes geboten. Mit "Sky Blue" greift Gabriel eines der Stücke auf, das sich in der Instrumentalversion auch auf Long Walk Home, seinem Soundtrack zu Phillip Noyces Film The Rabbit Proof Fence findet, hier jedoch eindeutig durch Gabriels eindrucksvolle stimmliche Präsenz gewinnt. Brillant produziert, musikalisch und inhaltich auf höchstem Niveau erfüllt Up nicht nur alle Erwartungen - es übertriftt sie bei weitem!

Birgit Schwenger - Amazon.de



Even though it's been 10 years between the release of Us and Up, it doesn't sound like there's been any gap at all: Up measures (ahem) up to Gabriel's own heady standards. While Us was more personal in nature, this time around Gabriel explores broader themes. With Up, it's songs like "The Barry Williams Show," a thunderous track about the TV generation; "Darkness," a horrifyingly discordant song about fear; and the self-explanatory "I Grieve." Only Gabriel would include song titles like these and name an album Up, but, to be fair, there are more upbeat tracks like "Sky Blue" and "Growing Up" within. As world music's most high-profile fan, Peter Gabriel continues to use unique sounds from around the globe. He integrates ethnic instruments (particularly drums) and world music performers (the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Blind Boys of Alabama both make appearances) into his own high-tech studio sound - simple melodies or ambient coloring rise to near-apocalyptic, multi-track moments of release where giant chords ring out and cavernous drums explode. Gabriel's most unique instrument, however, is still his plaintive and slightly breathy voice, which sounds as strong as ever, and which gives this dramatic, ethno/hi-tech pop music something universally human to grab on to. It's not likely that Up will have the same kind of cultural significance as a milestone like So, but there is no way that fans can write Up off as a disappointment, either.

Tad Hendrickson - September 23, 2002
CDNOW Contributing Writer
Copyright © 1994-2002 CDnow Online, Inc. All rights reserved.



Peter Gabriel's Up could be subtitled "Fear and Loathing at Real World Studios." Ten years in the making, the album is full of primal imagery dealing with birth and death, and sometimes it sounds like Gabriel died a thousand deaths putting it together. Somber and self-serious, the songs are punctuated by bursts of disquieting noise ("Darkness") or bathed in eerie technothrob ("Growing Up"). But the inspired moments, such as the celebratory soul groove that momentarily transforms the elegiac "I Grieve," are muted by dirges such as "The Drop." Gabriel tries to pick up the tempo on the theatrical "Barry Williams Show," a seven-minute song about how daytime talk-show hosts are soulless exploiters of human misery. (No way!) Long one of rock's most innovative artists, Gabriel has never sounded more out of touch.

GREG KOT: RS 905 - Sept. 19, 2002
© Copyright 2002 RollingStone.com



Blutoper

"Up", die neue CD von Peter Gabriel.
Von W. P.

Markante Rhythmen, wuchtige Schläge, ein Text, der gleichermaßen vom hohen Ton der Ernsthaftigkeit und von esoterischem Dada geprägt ist: „Darkness“, die erste Nummer auf „Up“, dem zwölften Soloalbum Peter Gabriels, deutet grob die Richtung an, die die ganze Platte einschlägt; düster geht es hier zu – wir sind Verlorene im Universum, von der Geburt bis in den Tod. „The deeper I go, the darker it gets“, singt Gabriel mit raunend-dunklem Timbre in der Stimme.

Gabriels Versprechen, der Zeit auf den Puls zu fühlen, wird auf „Up“ nicht immer eingelöst, zu wirr verfremdet und verzerrt er die Sounds (etwa in „I Grieve“); dann wieder, wenn er zwischen den Genregrenzen von Jazz, Soul und Weltmusik munter pendelt, bietet „Up“ Reize, die zu entdecken sich lohnt.

Kein Zufall dürfte es sein, dass gerade „The Barry Williams Show“, die eingängige Single-Auskoppelung, die zwischen der Üppigkeit und Langatmigkeit der Spätsiebziger stecken geblieben ist, im Video (Regie: Sean Penn) zur Blutoper wird, deren Ausstrahlung von MTV bereits in die Abendstunden verbannt wurde: Der fiktive TV-Talker Barry Williams ersäuft darin in einem Meer von Blut, zwei „Penthouse“-Schöne in goldenen Bikinis kreischen ihm hinterher. Gabriel bietet Gemetzel mit schwarzem Humor, aber nicht viel mehr als Hintergrundmusik zu drastischen Bildern.

Profil.at



What's made Peter Gabriel so endearing over the many years of his rather uneven career is how unapologetic he's been in his determination to go against the grain. Like Brian Eno, Gabriel is a survivor of the 1970s prog rock scene - an egghead who stood on stage with his pants down (sometimes literally) and told us the story of the Carpet Crawlers and other intangible, fragmented creatures and concepts. We smiled and nodded because, well, he's a genius, and we're not.

The exception to this was probably his 1986 album So (compare prices), a bid for mainstream acceptance that brought him a slew of new fans ("In Your Eyes," anyone?) and kind of creeped out his followers who'd been looking on in befuddled wonder since the early days of Genesis. Was Gabriel selling out, or at least trying to? We can take a hint on how we should respond from that album's title (with a question mark added at the end). Even when trying to get everyone to love him, Gabriel remained high on an untouchable pedestal - even his most mundane radio-friendly singles sounded like he knew something we didn't. Now that's a rock god, and like any god, sometimes we wonder why he allows certain things (or songs) to happen.

Gabriel's new album, Up, illustrates his long-time internal struggle with trying to put his bizarre sensibilities (or nonsensibilities) into a coherent musical context - or is he? Like the album title's R.E.M. counterpart, the name is used for mostly ironic effect - Gabriel sounds like he's rather, well, down, dealing with some dark something or other; but, like trying to pin down the musings of Michael Stipe, we'll be damned if we know what's really bothering the guy. A couple of tracks illustrate Gabriel's aggressive playfulness, with "The Barry Williams Show" taking a stab at Jerry Springer and the American tendency to turn our reality into a freak show. There are the clunkers, such as "Signal to Noise," which sounds like a (rightfully) rejected track from the Natural Born Killers soundtrack. And, of course, there are the tracks that make you want to crawl under the sheets and question your own existence, they're so damn powerful: "I Grieve" deserves a place next to the likes of "Blood of Eden" and "Mercy Street."

Which all means, of course, that this is pretty much any other Gabriel offering: he still constantly experiments with different musical styles, yet somehow sounds like he hasn't really gotten any better since he first went solo. If you don't like one song, the next one is probably better: Repeat until end of CD. Up shows us that Peter Gabriel is in permanent existential gridlock. Thusly, in ten tracks, it sums up the scope of his entire career. All hail and kneel before him.

Variety: B+. Gabriel keeps finding ways to turn random objects into musical instruments.
Music: B-. When it's good, it soars. When it's bad, it crashes and burns. An acceptable balance, though the former is more frequent.

Overall: B. Fans will be pleased, non-fans won't even glance at it on the shelf. Pretty foolproof.

Review by Chris Riley, up with people



There's a scene in Grosse Point Blank where John Cusack as Martin Blank meets an old school friend in his home town following a lengthy period of disappearance (spent working as an assassin) and all his buddy can say is, ''Ten years! TEN YEARS MAN!?! Where have you been?'' Even the most patient of Gabriel's followers will be muttering something similar, especially as what is contained on the long-awaited follow-up to Us is, on first spec, pretty much a direct continuation of what he was doing a decade ago. Or is it?

Firstly any sonic similarity to previous work is easily explained by the fact that many of the songs on offer here were actually started during the sessions for Us. In the intervening period Gabriel has produced music for the Millenium Dome (OVO) and film The Rabit-Proof Fence, written stuff with apes (no Monkees or Gorillaz jokes, please), kept his Real World label going, worked with Greenpeace, WOMAD and the Witness programme for human rights and married and become a father again, so get off his case - he's no idle wheel-spinner. Likewise this album is no coasting exercise. Like every great work it takes a little living with to tease out the depth and intricacies that lie at its heart but eventually reveals itself as both mature and full of wonders.

Initial listens will leave one with a sense of aching sadness yet (PG says), like its title, this is an album of positive life-affirmation. By this he refers to the central themes of death and renewal. No shirking the big issues then, eh? The title track deals with the process of grieving, as (unsurprisingly) does ''I Grieve'', whereas ''Growing Up'' is a description of just that a soul's journey on this mortal coil. ''Don't Leave'' is a description of someone critically wounded, yet focuses on the pull of loved ones, urging the victim back to the land of the living.

If this all sounds ponderously deep, it's not. Gabriel's correct that what's on offer here is an ability to face up to and deal with our mortality and frailty without seeing it as a bleak Beckettian journey into a void. ''More Than This actually'' goes as far as to say, again and again, that there is something beyond mere existence and ''Darkness', while discordant and brooding on the nature of fear, has a chorus of ''I cry until I laugh'' seems to hint at therapy that heals. There is humour here too, albeit of a scathingly black kind on the Jerry Springer-baiting funkathon, ''The Barry Williams Show''.

Musically the textures are unbelievably rich with subtle beats and washes of sound provided by the usual team of David Rhodes (guitars) and Richard Chappell (programming), mixed to perfection; all underpinned by Tony Levin's fabulous bass and aided by luminaries as diverse as Daniel Lanois, Danny Thompson, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Black Dyke brass band. True, the structures havent moved far away from So and Us but as Mike Love once said to Brian Wilson, "why f**k with the formula?" Gabriel remains a songsmith who speaks from the heart and never fails to move. Ten years suddenly seems like minutes and all is forgiven...

Chris Jones - BBC



Gabriel has nowhere to go but Up

Hard to believe that it's been a whole decade since we've heard a studio album from the mighty Gabriel. The hugely respected British music star finally returns with his followup to 1992's Us on Tuesday. The new collection is, not surprisingly, sophisticated, world-beat-driven pop with distorted drones and blips that range from the screeching opening track Darkness to more rhythmic songs like Growing Up and More Than This. But the standout tracks - with the exception of the optimistic and soaring More Than This with the Blind Boys Of Alabama on backing vocals and the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan-accompanied opus Signal To Noise - are of the sombre variety.

There's the soulful and pretty Sky Blue, with wonderful backing vocals from the Blind Boys again, and suitably atmospheric guitar playing by Canadian producer/songwriter/artist Daniel Lanois; the incredibly sad I Grieve - originally written for the City Of Angels soundtrack, which dramatically changes tempo about three-quarters of the way through into a joyous celebration of life; the gorgeously stripped-down, short-but-sweet The Drop; and the similarly mournful My Head Sounds Like That. Gabriel also favours strings, horns and piano on many of the songs, which tend to run six minutes or longer, guaranteeing no radio play. Among the weaker tunes are the uncharacteristically fluffy Burn You Up, Burn You Down, which is far too dependent on backing vocals, and the first single, The Barry Williams Show, which suffers from overproduction and tired subject matter - tabloid TV.

By JANE STEVENSON - Toronto Sun



It has been 10 years since Peter Gabriel released his last studio album, Us, but, aside from his balding pate, not much seems to have changed. Making a comeback at 52, Gabriel sticks to what he does best: cerebral, eclectic art-rock that sounds as great now as it did back in the '70s and '80s. In fact, Up sounds so contemporary that it reveals how far ahead of his time the progressive Brit once was. One of the first pop artists to embrace world music, Gabriel continues to deftly explore African rhythms and incorporates Middle Eastern influences with guest vocals by the late Pakistani great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He also weaves atmospheric electronica into his sonic quilt on tracks such as the propulsive "Growing Up," one of several songs that deal with death (its title to the contrary, this disc can be a downer). There is a cathartic power in sumptuously somber cuts such as the mesmerizing "Sky Blue," with its haunting background vocals by the gospel group Blind Boys of Alabama; its artistry requires no sledgehammer.

September 19, 2002
Copyright © 2002 Time Inc. All rights reserved.



Man, Pete, do you need, like, a hug or something? Because Up is a total downer. A far cry from Gabriel's cheesy stuff like "Big Time" and "Sledgehammer," this is an eerie meditation on aging, death and the corruption of popular culture. ("The Barry Williams Show" is not a song about the Brady Bunch actor but is a belated attack on Jerry Springer Show types.) In other words, it sounds like Gabriel's been holed up in his home studio waaay too long. Most of this contemplative material works (if you dig his somber '70s-era material), and vocal aid by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Blind Boys of Alabama help round out the album. But, dude, if you're going to disappear for another 10 years, try to at least get outside once in awhile. Please.

Grade: B-
© 2002 E! Online, Inc. All rights reserved.
 

 L y r i c s


DARKNESS

i’m scared of swimming in the sea
dark shapes moving under me
every fear i swallow makes me small
inconsequential things occur
alarms are triggered
memories stir

it’s not the way it has to be

i’m afraid of what i do not know
i hate being undermined
i’m afraid i can be devil man
and i’m scared to be divine
don’t mess with me my fuse is short
beneath this skin these fragments caught

when i allow it to be
there’s no control over me
i have my fears
but they do not have me

walking through the undergrowth, to the house in the woods
the deeper I go, the darker it gets
i peer through the window
knock at the door
and the monster i was
so afraid of
lies curled up on the floor
is curled up on the floor just like a baby boy

i cry until i laugh

i’m afraid of being mothered
with my balls shut in the pen
i’m afraid of loving women
and i’m scared of loving men
flashbacks coming in every night
don’t tell me everything’s alright

when I allow it to be
it has no control over me
i own my fear
so it doesn’t own me

walking through the undergrowth, to the house in the woods
the deeper i go, the darker it gets
i peer through the window
knock at the door
and the monster i was
so afraid of
lies curled up on the floor
is curled up on the floor just like a baby boy

i cry until i laugh


GROWING UP

folded in your fleshy purse
i am floating once again
while the muted sounds are pumping rhythm
all the walls close in on me
pressure’s building wave on wave
‘til the water breaks – and outside i go, oh

one dot, that’s on or off, defines what is and what is not, one dot
two dot, a pair of eyes, a voice, a touch, complete surprise, two dot

growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live

my ghost likes to travel so far in the unknown
my ghost likes to travel so deep into your space

three dot, a trinity, a way to map the universe,
three dot
four dot, is what will make a square, a bed to build on, it’s all there,
four dot

my ghost likes to travel so far in the unknown
my ghost likes to travel so deep into your space

all the slow clouds pass us by
make the Empire State look high
as you take me in your sea-stained sweetness
it spills, it tingles and it stings
all the pleasure that it brings
‘til the door has let the outside inside here

well on the floor there’s a long wooden table
on the table there’s an open book
on the page there’s a detailed drawing
and on the drawing is the name i took

my ghost likes to travel so far in the unknown
my ghost likes to travel so deep into your space

growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live

my ghost likes to travel
my ghost likes to travel
moving inside of your space
my ghost likes to travel
my ghost likes to travel
moving inside of your space
my ghost likes to travel
moving inside
my ghost likes to travel
moving inside of your space
my ghost likes to travel
moving inside
my ghost likes to travel
moving inside of your space

the breathing stops, i don’t know when
in transition once again
such a struggle getting through these changes
and it all seems so absurd
to be flying like a bird
when i do not feel I’ve really landed here


SKY BLUE

lost my time lost my place in
sky blue
those two blue eyes light your face in
sky blue
i know how to fly, i know how to drown in
sky blue

warm wind blowing over the earth
sky blue
i sing through the land, the land sings through me
sky blue
reaching into the deepest shade of
sky blue

sky blue
so tired of all this travelling
so many miles away from home
i keep moving to be stable
free to wander, free to roam

train pulled out said my goodbyes
sky blue
back on the road alone with the sky
sky blue
there’s a presence here no one denies
sky blue

sky blue

sky blue
so tired of all this travelling
so many miles away from home
i keep moving to be stable
free to wander, free to roam

i can hear the same voice calling
crying out, from my heart
and that cry, what a cry
what a cry, it’s going to be
if i can stop to let it out, oh


NO WAY OUT

saw a group of people forming
round a figure lying down
and someone runs to make a phone call
and the man kneels on the ground
the man kneels on the ground
there’s a tightening in my chest
i know that I’m drawn in
oh god let it not be – you

don’t leave us
don’t leave like this
don’t leave me here again
i’m not quitting on you
no one else
you’re not quitting on us
no running out

the colour in your shirt is darkening,
against the paleness of your skin
i remember how you held the goldfish
swimming around in a plastic bag
swimming around in a plastic bag

you held it up so high
in the bright lights of the fair
it slipped and fell
we looked everywhere

don’t leave us (your eyes are bright, your blood is warm)
don’t leave like this (your heart is strong, you’re holding on)
don’t leave me here again (i feel your pulse, i hold your hand)
i’m not quitting on you
there’s no one else
you’re not quitting on us
there’s no way out
no way out

don’t leave us
don’t leave like this
don’t leave me here again (i feel your pulse, i hold your hand)
i’m not quitting on you
there’s no one else
you’re not quitting on us
no running away – no way out


I GRIEVE

it was only one hour ago
it was all so different then
there’s nothing yet has really sunk in
looks like it always did
this flesh and bone
it’s just the way that you would tied in
now there’s no-one home

i grieve for you
you leave me
‘so hard to move on
still loving what’s gone
they say life carries on
carries on and on and on and on

the news that truly shocks is the empty empty page
while the final rattle rocks its empty empty cage
and i can’t handle this

i grieve for you
you leave me
let it out and move on
missing what’s gone
they say life carries on
they say life carries on and on and on

life carries on
in the people i meet
in everyone that’s out on the street
in all the dogs and cats
in the flies and rats
in the rot and the rust
in the ashes and the dust
life carries on and on and on and on
life carries on and on and on

it’s just the car that we ride in
a home we reside in
the face that we hide in
the way we are tied in
and life carries on and on and on and on
life carries on and on and on

did I dream this belief?
or did i believe this dream?
now i can find relief
i grieve


THE BARRY WILLIAMS SHOW

let’s go

one man at the window
one girl at the bar
saw that look of recognition
when they know just who you are
i seen you on the tv
i seen you on that show
you make the people crazy
and then you let them go

before the show we calm them
we sympathise, we care
and the hostile folk we keep apart
‘til the red light says ‘on air’
did you see our leather lovers
all tied up to the chair
did you catch those child molesters
no one else goes there

what a show, the barry williams show
what a show,
dysfunctional excess
is all it took for my success
the greater pain that they endure
the more you know the show will scored
it’s showtime

got the reputation of a surgeon
‘cos they cannot feel the cut
it looks so very simple
but it really is an art
they call our studio ‘the hospital’
making money from the sick
we let people be themselves
there is no other trick

‘my lover stole my girlfriend’
‘i keep beating up my ex’
‘i want to kill my neighbour’
‘my daughter’s selling sex’
‘my s/m lover hurt me’
‘my girl became a man’
‘i love my daughter’s rapist
‘my life’s gone down the pan’

what a show, the barry williams show
the barry williams show
dysfunctional excess
is all it took for my success
and when the punches start to fly
the ratings always read so high
it’s showtime

‘that girl has got no scruples’
not a wrinkle on her face
you would not believe the plot she conceived
so they’d let her take my place
well, no man is an island
no man is a sea
but this display of emotion
is all but drowning me

what a show, oh what a show
on my show, the barry williams show
it’s my show
what a show
dysfunctional excess
is all it took for my success

the best tv you’ve ever seen
where people say the things that they really mean
i hear my name, i hear them roar
for the one more time i take the floor
just one more barry williams show
we’re gonna take you where you want to go
it’s showtime

come on down
come on down


MY HEAD SOUNDS LIKE THAT

the metal jangles as the key turns
unlock the door, wipe my feet clean
oh my head sounds like that

the oil is spitting in the saucepan
i squeeze this sponge and let the cat out
oh my head sounds like that
oh my head
oh oh oh
oh oh oh

the water’s dripping in the hallway
the guy next door, he knocks his wall down
oh my head sounds like that

the knife it scrapes across the burnt brown toast
the freight train rumbles pass my window
oh my head sounds like that
oh my head
oh oh oh
oh oh oh
oh oh oh

around the axis we all spin
to determine what’s left out and what’s left in
what’s left out and what’s left in
what’s left out and what’s left in
who’s left out and who’s left in
who’s left in

the moment’s come and go like water
i try to hold them but they’re fading
oh my head sounds like that
oh my head
oh oh oh


MORE THAN THIS

i woke up and the world outside was dark
all so quiet before the dawn
opened up the door and walked outside
the ground was cold

i walked until i couldn’t walk anymore
to a place i’d never been
there was something stirring in the air
in front of me, i could see

more than this
more than this
so much more than this
there is something else there
when all that you had has all gone
and more than this
i stand
feeling so connected
and i’m all there
right next to you

it started when i saw the ship go down
i saw them struggle in the sea
and suddenly the picture disappears
in front of me

now we’re busy making all our busy plans
on foundations built to last
but nothing fades as fast as the future
and nothing clings like the past, until we can see

more than this
more than this
so much more than this
there is something out there
more than this
it’s coming through
and more than this
i stand alone and so connected
and I’m all there
right next to you

oh then it’s alright
when with every day another bit falls away
oh but it’s still alright, alright, alright
and like words together we can make some sense

much more than this
way beyond imagination
much more than this
beyond the stars
with my head so full
so full of fractured pictures
and i’m all there
right next to you
so much more than this
there is something else there
when all that you had has all gone
and more than this
i’m alone
feeling so connected
and i’m all there right next to you

more than this
more than this
more than this


SIGNAL TO NOISE

you know the way that things go
when what you fight for starts to fall
and in that fuzzy picture
he writing stands out on the wall
so clearly on the wall

send out the signals deep and loud

and in this place, can you reassure me
with a touch, a smile – while the cradle’s burning
all the while the world is turning to noise
oh the more that it’s surrounding us
the more that it destroys
turn up the signal
wipe out the noise

send out the signals deep and loud

man i’m losing sound and sight
of all those who can tell me wrong from right
when all things beautiful and bright
sink in the night
yet there’s still something in my heart
that can find a way
to make a start
to turn up the signal
wipe out the noise

wipe out the noise
wipe out the noise
you know that’s it
you know that’s it
receive and transmit
receive and transmit
receive and transmit
you know that’s it
you know that’s it
receive and transmit
you know that’s it
you know that’s it
receive and transmit


THE DROP

moving down the fuselage
toward the open door
catch you looking down outside
to see what lies ahead

one by one
you watch them fall
fall through cloud
one by one
you watch them fall
no idea where they’re going
but down

where they’ve gone
where they’ve gone

watching as the sun goes down
i sit inside this plane
notice how the city lights
are like the nerves inside the brain

one by one
they’re going out
you watch them dim

one by one

you watch them fall
and wonder where they’re falling to

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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