Peter Gabriel
Palasport, Torino, Italy
September 30, 1980
Soundboard-recording, using several sources, including a tape generously donated by LC!
Disc 1:
1 Intruder – 7.22
2 The Start – 1.41
3 I Donít Remember – 5.12
4 Solsbury Hill – 5.43
5 Family Snapshot – 7.03
6 Milgrams ë37 – 3.40
7 Not One of Us – 5.59
8 Lead a Normal Life – 4.19
Disc 2:
1 Moribund the Burgermeister – 5.21
2 Mother of Violence – 4.20
3 Humdrum – 4.22
4 Games without Frontiers – 4.34
5 Band Introductions – I Go Swimming – 1.23
6 Biko – 11.08
7 On the Air – 7.13
8 D.I.Y. – 5.05
9 Here Comes the Flood – 2.28
Total Running Time: 40.59 + 45.54 = 86.53
Soundboards are a rare thing for the tour supporting Peter Gabrielís third album, also known as
ëMeltí among fans. What is available from the mixing desk is not in stellar quality either
sadly, and the same goes for this particular recording of the Torino gig nearing the wind
down of the tour. However, using several sources, a very listenable release was possible
that gives a somewhat different perspective than being in the audience.
Not changing much throughout the China 1984 tour (which, in true Gabriel tongue-in-cheek
humour, would of course never visit China, nor would it take place in 1984), the setlist
is the usual one, missing ëAnd through the Wireí. ëModern Loveí was actually part of the
set too, but missing on the soundboard recordings of this show, as is pretty much all of
ëI Go Swimmingí, and the ending of ëMilgramís 37í.
Focusing on what has been captured, the show starts off with a long drummachine intro
for ëIntruderí, setting the tone for the rest of the show: dark, raw and gritty. Almost
any track off the third album is featured here, excepting the before mentioned ëAnd
through the Wireí and ëNo Self Controlí, which would only be included from the next tour
on. A great rendition of ëBikoí signals the end of the gig, where apparently a few members
of the crowd are able to catch Gabrielís microphone and decide to join the sing-along
chorus, before this is quickly turned off by the engineer.
After a rousing ëOn the Airí, the crowd is treated to a very pure and raw version of
ëD.I.Y.í, after which Gabriel returns to the stage for one other final song, in the form
of ëHere Comes the Floodí, singing the chorus on the absolute top of his voice.
After this, only a handful of dates in France, Spain and Portugal would be played before
the tour would come to an end.
WHAT WAS DONE?
The process of this remaster is somewhat fading away, since it’s already a few months old
and the entire process is not really clear to me anymore.
What is left in my memory though:
First of all, there is some doubt as to if this is really a soundboard, or just an
audience recording, with almost no crowd noise present. In my opinion this is a soundboard
as some of the sounds are too close and dry in the source to make it an audience recording.
Also, the best proof for me is the fact that I’ve heard of the existence of the master
soundboard tape.
For the remaster, several sources were used. Modern Love and I Go Swimming were played as
well, but not on the soundboard recordings. Most sources around are not pretty, with some
being very distorted, others very generated. The best source I could work with was LC’s
tape, which was a tad hissy, but didn’t have many distortion, making it a lot more
listenable. Also it wasn’t denoised like some other recordings. 2/3 of the remaster comes
from LC’s tape.
Most of the other songs use one of the other complete sources. Mother of Violence is from
a different source, an attrocious source sadly, and it’s quality-wise the low point of
the recording, but I wanted to include it for completeness.
The remastering process included the usual steps I take in remastering, including using
one channel (mono source), equalisation, noise reduction, multiband compression/expanding,
and some slight effects to create a sense of stereo.
THANK YOU TO:
Thanks to LC for generously donating a tape for part of this remaster!
As always, hope you enjoy this remaster!
Jesper Moonen
October 24, 2007
If you have any comments, a question, or perhaps even have an unusual Gabriel
recording (on tape, CD, or anything else), which you would like to offer to the
project, just send me an e-mail at sledgehammer86 AT hotmail DOT com