In the late 80s, after I bought my first CD player, I immediately purchased three albums that I knew I had to own in this new digital format. Two of them are still to come on this list. The third was Peter Gabriel’s So.
That purchase was in part due to the album’s sonic qualities, which I knew would be well served on CD, but mostly because it was one of the best records I owned of any sort.
With all of the great songs on Peter Gabriel’s So (‘Sledgehammer,’ ‘Red Rain,’ ‘In Your Eyes,’ ‘Mercy Street’… wow!), it’s easy to forget this inspirational track.
Teaming up with Kate Bush, better known for her avant garde songwriting than this sort of lush balladry, Gabriel recorded a grand ode to perseverance, a precursor to ‘Everybody Hurts.’
Though ‘Don’t Give Up’ isn’t a love song in the traditional sense, I find it achingly romantic. That’s due in large part to the interplay of Gabriel’s and Bush’s vocals, not to mention the video of them hugging throughout the performance (must have been an interesting shoot).
Here’s another song that filled out the soundtrack of our lives in the summer of ’92. I remember listening to this while driving in my mom’s Miata, top down under the stars. It’s a really good nighttime song… especially on a very still night with nobody around for miles.
Meet Me In Montauk 