Birdy | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 18 March 1985 | |||
Recorded | October–December 1984 | |||
Studio | Ashcombe House (Swainswick, Somerset) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 35:42 | |||
Label | Geffen Records (US & Canada) Charisma Records | |||
Producer | Peter Gabriel and Daniel Lanois | |||
Peter Gabriel chronology | ||||
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Birdy is the first soundtrack and sixth album overall by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel for the movie of the same name, released in 1985. The album marked Gabriel's first work with producer Daniel Lanois. It was remastered with most of Gabriel's catalogue in 2002.
In addition to composing new pieces for the soundtrack, Gabriel also used instrumental themes and sections from earlier works to form the basis of some tracks. Of the album's twelve tracks, two adapt music from Gabriel's third album and three adapt music from Gabriel's fourth album. There are, however, no songs with lyrics on the album. [2]
In an interview with Spin in 1986, Gabriel said, “Birdy was about the struggle of the spirit... It was about the interplay between the traumatized Birdy, the wounded victim, and his best friend, who’s ostensibly the tough one. But in the end, it’s Birdy who’s strong and his friend who’s cracking. When I saw the rough cut of the film, I knew I had to do it. It haunted me.” [3]
Recalling his experience of working with Gabriel, Birdy director Alan Parker told Prog magazine in 2010, "We got on so well, he’s such a sweet man. It was such a refreshing change from working with megalomaniacs like Roger Waters. Peter’s record company were very difficult to begin with, and so I phoned them to ask if they’d mind if Peter took a little time to do this, and they said as long as it didn’t take more than a couple of months because Peter was already a year late or something. He had strong views and I would never be able to persuade him to do something he didn’t feel comfortable with, but we didn’t have any confrontation as such." [4]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
The Great Rock Discography | 6/10 [7] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
Released 18 March 1985, Birdy reached number 51 on the UK Albums Chart and number 162 on the US Billboard 200. The commercial performance exemplified Gabriel's strong cult following, according to biographer Daryl Easlea (2018), adding that the chart peaks are "still pretty impressive for what is essentially an album of sound collages." [1] In their review, Rolling Stone noted the album's prioritisation of "mood over melodic content". [1]
In a retrospective review, Tom Demalon of AllMusic felt the album was a "successful companion piece" to Parker's film, providing a "moody and evocative" backdrop. He noted many of the tracks incorporate threads from Peter Gabriel's fourth album (1982) and warned that the album would disappoint listeners expecting Gabriel's more pop-leaning material, but said "its meditative nature makes it fine, reflective listening for the more adventurous." [9] Steven Grant and Ira Robbins, writing for Trouser Press , also drew attention to the mix of new material and adaptations of earlier recordings, and felt that "[a]lthough it's uncommon to hear sustained instrumental work from someone so known for vocal music, the score is audibly identifiable, and provides a fascinating glimpse into his adaptational thinking." They described it as "[a] strongly affecting work, a major challenge met admirably with style and character." [10]
Colin Larkin described it as a "haunting soundtrack" in The Encyclopedia of Popular Music , [6] whilst in The Great Rock Discography , Martin C. Strong wrote how Gabriel transformed earlier material into "atmospheric mood pieces" with "impressive effect". [7] Birdy was reissued on vinyl in 2017; reviewing the release for Uncut , John Lewis described Birdy as "interesting but fragmentary" but highlighted "Birdy's Flight" for being a heavy, drum-laden instrumental based on "Not One of Us". He also noted the album's significance, saying: "Many of the techniques explored on Birdy – particularly the experiments with ambient sound on 'Dressing the Wound' and 'Sketchpad with Trumpet and Voice' – would lay the groundwork for So , and both projects certainly shared many of the same personnel." [11]
All songs written by Peter Gabriel.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "At Night" | 2:38 |
2. | "Floating Dogs" | 2:55 |
3. | "Quiet and Alone" | 2:30 |
4. | "Close Up" (from "Family Snapshot") | 0:55 |
5. | "Slow Water" | 2:51 |
6. | "Dressing the Wound" | 4:06 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
7. | "Birdy's Flight" (from "Not One of Us") | 2:58 |
8. | "Slow Marimbas" | 3:21 |
9. | "The Heat" (from "The Rhythm of the Heat") | 4:41 |
10. | "Sketch Pad with Trumpet and Voice" | 3:05 |
11. | "Under Lock and Key" (from "Wallflower") | 2:28 |
12. | "Powerhouse at the Foot of the Mountain" (from "San Jacinto") | 2:19 |
Chart (1985) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200 [12] | 162 |
The piece "Birdy's Flight" was later used by Hong Kong film director John Woo as part of the score to his A Better Tomorrow films. Other parts of the score were used in Tsui Hark's 1986 movie Peking Opera Blues . The track "The Heat" was used in 1994 Movie Natural Born Killers and in the theatrical trailer of the 1993 movie Tombstone .
Spirit of the Boogie is the sixth studio album by Kool & the Gang, released in 1975. It can be seen as a follow-up to Wild and Peaceful (1973); the instrumental "Jungle Jazz" uses the same basic rhythm track heard in "Jungle Boogie", but lets the players improvise on their instruments. References to earlier works can be noticed. "Spirit of the Boogie" features Donald Boyce, who was rapping on "Jungle Boogie". Some African influence can be felt, and the band even play in a West-Indian style on "Caribbean Festival", another instrumental track, with once more much room for improvisation.
Passion is an album released in 1989 by the English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel. It was the first Peter Gabriel album to be released on Real World Records, Gabriel's second soundtrack, and his eighth album overall.
About Face is the second solo studio album by English singer and musician David Gilmour, released on 5 March 1984 by Harvest in the UK and Columbia in the United States, a day before Gilmour's 38th birthday. Co-produced by Bob Ezrin and Gilmour, the album was recorded in 1983 at Pathé Marconi Studio, in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. The lyrics of two tracks, "All Lovers Are Deranged" and "Love on the Air", were written by Pete Townshend of the Who. Townshend's version of "All Lovers Are Deranged" appears on his solo album Scoop 3.
Six of the Best was a reunion concert between the rock band Genesis, their original lead singer Peter Gabriel and former guitarist Steve Hackett. It took place on a wet Saturday, 2 October 1982, at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Genesis were introduced on to the stage by Jonathan King, who discovered and christened the band fifteen years earlier. The support bands were John Martyn, The Blues Band and Talk Talk.
So is the fifth studio album by English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, released on 19 May 1986 by Charisma Records and Virgin Records. After working on the soundtrack to the film Birdy (1984), producer Daniel Lanois was invited to remain at Gabriel's Somerset home during 1985 to work on his next solo project. Initial sessions for So consisted of Gabriel, Lanois and guitarist David Rhodes, although these grew to include a number of percussionists.
Peter Gabriel is the fourth studio album by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel. In the United States and Canada, the album was released by Geffen Records with the title Security. Some music streaming services refer to it as Peter Gabriel 4: Security. A German-language version, entitled Deutsches Album, was also released. The album saw Gabriel expanding on the post-punk and world music influences from his 1980 self-titled record, and earned him his first US top 40 single with "Shock the Monkey".
Peter Gabriel is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter and producer Peter Gabriel, released on 25 February 1977 by Charisma Records. After his departure from the progressive rock band Genesis was made public in 1975, Gabriel took a break to concentrate on his family life. In 1976, he began writing material for a solo album and met producer Bob Ezrin, who agreed to produce it. Gabriel hired several additional musicians to play on the album, including guitarist Robert Fripp and bassist Tony Levin. The album was later known as Peter Gabriel I or Car, referring to the album's artwork produced by Hipgnosis. Some music streaming services, including Gabriel's own Bandcamp page, refer to it as Peter Gabriel 1: Car.
Spot the Pigeon is the first EP by English progressive rock band Genesis, released on 20 May 1977. Its three songs were originally written for the group's eighth studio album Wind & Wuthering (1976), but were not included in the final track selection. It was the final studio release to feature guitarist Steve Hackett prior to his departure from Genesis.
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".
Birdy is a 1984 American drama film based on William Wharton's 1978 novel of the same name. Directed by Alan Parker, it stars Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage. Set in 1960s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the film focuses on the friendship between two teenage boys, Birdy (Modine) and Al Columbato (Cage). The story is presented in flashbacks, with a frame narrative depicting their traumatic experiences upon serving in the Vietnam War.
"Shock the Monkey" is a song by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel. It was released in September 1982 as the first single from his fourth self-titled studio album, issued in the US under the title Security.
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"Solsbury Hill" is the debut solo single by English rock musician Peter Gabriel. He wrote the song about a spiritual experience atop Solsbury Hill in Somerset, England, after his departure from the progressive rock band Genesis, of which he had been the lead vocalist since its inception. The single was a Top 20 hit in the UK, peaking at number 13, and reached number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1977.
"Red Rain" is the first track on English rock musician Peter Gabriel's fifth solo studio album So (1986). In the United States, it was initially only released as a promotional single and reached number three on Billboard magazine's Mainstream Rock chart in June 1986, where it stayed for three weeks between July and August. A year later, in June 1987, it was released as a commercial single in parts of Europe, Australia and the United States, peaking at 46 in the UK Singles Chart after entering the chart in July of that year. A live version also charted in the US and the UK in 1994.
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Labyrinth is a soundtrack album by David Bowie and composer Trevor Jones, released in 1986 for the film Labyrinth. It was the second of three soundtrack releases in which Bowie had a major role, following Christiane F. (1981) and preceding The Buddha of Suburbia (1993). The soundtrack album features Jones' score, which is split into six tracks for the soundtrack: "Into the Labyrinth", "Sarah", "Hallucination", "The Goblin Battle", "Thirteen O'Clock", and "Home at Last".
"Burn You Up, Burn You Down" is a song co-written and performed by English rock musician Peter Gabriel. Early recording was conducted at Gabriel's Real World Studios in 1991, although the song would remain unreleased for another decade. The song was originally intended to appear on Gabriel's 2002 Up, but was ultimately pulled from the track list shortly before the album's release. It was instead included on Gabriel's Hit compilation album the following year and released as a single, where it charted in both Italy and the UK. An alternate mix of "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" was also included on Big Blue Ball in 2008.
"Come Talk to Me" is the opening song from English rock musician Peter Gabriel's sixth album, Us (1992). It was written by Gabriel and recorded as a duet with Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor. The song was released as a promotional single and also received a music video directed by Matt Mahurin. The music video also included the involvement of Michael Coulson, the creative director from Real World, and British visual artist Nichola Bruce.
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