Security

Sometimes those aimless masses of bodies careening off one another in the endless streets of New York or Troy, Montana get things right. Somewhere, someplace, some time, there's a something to be said for the masses; some times they get things right. Most times they don't, or worse, they forget. This time around I have to give it to them though. They remembered Peter Gabriel's Security. His fourth album, it's labeled as a "full digital recording". I downloaded the entire album via Yahoo music and the recordings were posted at 192k. After listening to it twice on a pair of Sony headphones in a quiet room, I am reminded of the first time I was exposed to the Rhythm of The Heat. The song made me tear up and even to this day, it still does.
The album is a frantic piece of chaos splashed together with intense vocals and lackadaisical meanderings which can not hide their military strike perfection. The music ebbs and flows, taking the listener on a trip which never relaxes, but lightens up however momentarily to give relief when absolutely needed. It's not a perfect listen. Sometimes the music is overwhelming, sometimes overly long and expressive, however Gabriel was well aware of the power of his voice and his intelligence when he wrote this album, and it's used to full affect. A sophisticated album, it deserves a listen at least once a year, as reminder that not all of the music made in the world is crap.