Peter Gabriel (1978 album)

Peter Gabriel
Studio album by Peter Gabriel
Released	2 June 1978
Recorded	November 1977 – February 1978
Studio	Relight Studios, Hilvarenbeek, The Netherlands The Hit Factory, New York
Genre	Art rock progressive rock
Length	41:29
Label	Charisma
Producer	Robert Fripp
Peter Gabriel chronology
Peter Gabriel (1977) Peter Gabriel (1978) Peter Gabriel (1980)
Singles from Peter Gabriel
"D.I.Y." Released: 22 May 1978

Peter Gabriel is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, released on 2 June 1978 by Charisma Records. Gabriel started recording the album in November 1977, the same month that he had completed touring in support of his debut solo release. He employed former King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, who was part of Gabriel's early touring band, to produce the album and incorporated his use of Frippertronics effects on the co-written "Exposure".

The album was released in the US as Peter Gabriel II. It later became known informally as Scratch, referring to the album's artwork by Hipgnosis. Some music streaming services refer to it as Peter Gabriel 2: Scratch.

The album reached No. 10 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 45 on the US Billboard Pop Albums chart.

Background

The influence of producer Robert Fripp is evident in the use of Frippertronics on the track "Exposure", which Fripp and Gabriel cowrote. Fripp recorded a version of the song as the title track of his 1979 solo album Exposure.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Chicago Sun-Times
Classic Rock	7/10
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Entertainment Weekly	B+
Q
Rolling Stone
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Uncut	7/10
The Village Voice	B−

In the NME in 1978, Nick Kent wrote: "Its brazenly left-field veneer left me cold at first, and it's only now that its strengths are starting to come across ... once past the disarming non-focus veneer, there's a quietly remarkable talent at work – quiet in the manner of the slow fuse burn of 'Mother of Violence' with Roy Bittan's piano work outstripping anything he's turned out for either Bruce Springsteen or David Bowie. Closer to the root of the album, there's a purity, a strength to the songs individual enough to mark Gabriel out as a man whose creative zenith is close at hand."

Track listing