Side One
1. "Moribund the Burgermeister" Gabriel 4:20
2. "Solsbury Hill" Gabriel 4:21
3. "Modern Love" Gabriel 3:38
4. "Excuse Me" Gabriel, Martin Hall 3:20
5. "Humdrum" Gabriel 3:25

Side Two
1. "Slowburn" Gabriel 4:36
2. "Waiting for the Big One" Gabriel 7:15
3. "Down the Dolce Vita" Gabriel 5:05
4. "Here Comes the Flood" Gabriel 5:38

US #38 UK #7

An interesting first effort for sure. Gabriel used Bob Ezrin to produce who had worked with people like KISS, Alice Cooper and Lou Reed so it was an odd match.
I really like this album and what's most surprising is how little Prog there is, seeing as Gabriel had come from Genesis.
A few songs rock like "Modern Love" and "Down The Dolce Vita" and "Here Comes The Flood" and "Humdrum" are breathtaking. Gabriel always thought Flood was too bombastic but I disagree-it works very well, although his solo version on keyboard I've seen him do live is also effective.
"Moribund The Burgermesiter" is I guess the most Proggy thing here and it's warped and I dig it. "Excuse Me" is a great joke song sounding like barbershop quartet.
And of course, "Solsbury Hill" has become an all-time Rock classic and is a beautiful song (I've always disliked the upbeat live version).
Tony Levin was on board right from the start and some of the guys who had played with Alice Cooper and Lou Reed are on the album as well. Robert Fripp also appears.
The album isn't perfect, but it's a good start.

One of my all time favorite albums. I've always been a big Genesis fan and a Peter fan. So when this came out it was a big event and it delivered.
Absolutely love Humdrum but what a closer in Here Comes The Flood!
And of course this album has one of Peter's finest compostitions and radio hits Solsbury Hill.

Well, Peter Gabriel is an odd guy himself, so I don't think having Ezrin on board as producer is as crazy as it might seem. But that's all I can say as I've never heard this album.

I'll have to just see what everyone says about the early stuff and take it all in.

A must own.

My favs from this one are Solsbury Hill & Here Comes The Flood.

I agree too. This is a terrific album.

If only every artist did something this great when going solo. In addition to the tracks already mentioned, I love Waiting For The Big One, surely one of the most bombastic blues songs ever. Speaking of bombastic, I do think Gabriel is wrong about Hear Comes The Flood. It needs that big production to drive home the point. Probably the weirdest thing associated with this album is the recent use of Solsbury Hill in a re-edited trailer for The Shining which uses the song to drive home the dubious idea that the movie is a feel-good comedy. I guess it just shows how much that track in particular has become a part of our culture.

Glad we're doing a Peter Gabriel thread and my avatar for this ape-related weekend was a happy coincidence.

I almost agree, although I would say it's a "very good" start. It has several excellent songs & no clunkers. I wasn't a PG or Genesis fan until several years after this was released, but I wonder what Genesis fans at the time thought of this as it bears almost no relation to his previous work. I like how he created a sonic template here that he would continue to visit on the next few albums, and it doesn't sound like anything else at that time. Like many fans, I get confused by the album covers & couldn't identify which songs came from which album without looking at the track listings. Do we refer to this as the "windshield album"?

"The Boot Album"?
"Gabriel's Ghost Album"?
"Water Droplets on a Blue Car Album"?

I like option #3

WDOBCA for short. Hardcore Peter Gabriel fans just say "Wuh-dob-cuh" and nod knowingly.

Side One

1."On the Air" – 5:30
2."D.I.Y." – 2:37
3."Mother of Violence" (Peter Gabriel, Jill Gabriel) – 3:10
4."A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World" – 3:33
5."White Shadow" – 5:14

Side Two
1."Indigo" – 3:30
2."Animal Magic" – 3:26
3."Exposure" (Peter Gabriel, Robert Fripp) – 4:12
4."Flotsam and Jetsam" – 2:17
5."Perspective" – 3:23
6."Home Sweet Home" – 4:37

US #45 UK #10

Ugh. Probably the worst album by Mr. Gabriel due to Robert Fripp's production. A lot of underdeveloped ideas and ugly sounding songs make this a downer and a bad listen. Gabriel later stated that he shouldn't have let Fripp produce, nor take it into the avant-garde direction it went.
At least he acknowledges it's a misfire.
I will say however, "D.I.Y.", the album's lone radio hit is a fun, spirited tune (and the album could've used more like this) and "On The Air" is one of my favorites-an absolute barnstormer and a killer live number (I wish he had toured the US when he did that special tour a few years ago and took fan requests, because this one made it!).
This album is often referred to as Scratch.

This album is usually called Car or Rain.

I've always called it Car.

Yep, it was considered a disappointment at the time of release. But Side One is actually pretty good and I like all the songs especially the tremendous finish with "White Shadow" (just a beautiful song).

Side Two is where Fripp really comes into play and the album suffers. More a Fripp album at that point than a Gabriel album. Experimental is the word.

But overall, his weakest album considering what was about to come.

I've always been quite fond of this one.

Personally, I really like the first 3, with the 1st live set just behind them.

I need to revisit the "scratches"(?) album. I remember liking it, but I don't recognize the songs by the titles. Did Phil Collins play drums on this one, or was it Jerry Marotta? I recall at least one of PG's early albums having the very gated drum sound with little to no cymbals, which I believe was courtesy of Phil Collins, but I'm not sure which one it was.

AMG says it's Jerry Marotta on #2. I'm too lazy to go upstairs & check the cd, but AMG is usually accurate.

Phil was on album #3 and that's where the famous drum sound was used.

This is the only album from his early years that I never got around to buying on CD, so i guess that says something right there. I remember liking "A Wonderful Day In A One-Way World" when I had this on vinyl, but looking over the titles I see several that I can't even remember.