Mother of Violence

Last updated
"Mother of Violence"
Song by Peter Gabriel
from the album Peter Gabriel
A-side "D.I.Y"
Released1978
Length3:10
Label Charisma
Songwriter(s) Peter Gabriel
Producer(s) Robert Fripp

"Mother of Violence" is a song written and recorded by English musician Peter Gabriel. The song appeared on his 1978 solo album Peter Gabriel and was also issued as a B-side to the re-release of "D.I.Y", the only single lifted from the album.

Contents

Background

Gabriel decided to open the song with the sound of insects after listening to a wildlife programme on BBC Radio 4. The programme covered a tape recording competition, which among other things, featured the sounds of clicking insects. Gabriel found these noises appealing and decided to incorporate them into "Mother of Violence". [1] As the song progresses, the cricket chirps were later replaced by buzzing noise, which was achieved through guitar feedback. [2] The insect noises were removed from the single mix of "Mother of Violence", which was one of the B-sides to the September 1978 re-release of "D.I.Y". [2] [3] This mix was later included on Gabriel's 2019 Flotsam and Jetsam compilation album. [2]

Gabriel envisioned a "rural-sounding arrangement" for "Mother of Violence", which he wanted to juxtapose with urban imagery. [1] It is largely built around piano accompaniment from Roy Bittan and acoustic/pedal steel guitar playing from Sid McGinnis. [3] [4]

The song carries a co-writing credit from Jill Gabriel, who was Peter's wife at the time. The two were members of a local drama group when they created the song, which was intended for a children's Christmas carol at their village church. Jill was responsible for the melody, which Peter wanted to use on his second solo album. [5] [6] Peter crafted some of the lyrics on a day when he was eating "junk food" and "trapped in a negative state of mind" while watching television. [6] Gabriel later acknowledged that he was "very conscious of the P&L (Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney) vibe" with the musical partnership between himself and Jill on the song. [7]

Gabriel remarked in an interview with Steve Clarke of NME that he thought of himself "as an optimist with pessimistic tendencies" and said that he wrote the song on a day where those tendencies had surfaced. [6] He believed that the lyrics reflected a "negative state of mind" when compounded by fear propagated on the news. [1] For the TV dinner lyric, Gabriel envisioned himself "in periods of depression when moccasin shoes sounded better than bedroom slippers." [1]

Critical reception

In his review of Gabriel's 1978 self-titled album, Steve Clarke of NME described "Mother of Violence" as a "gentle song with acoustic guitar and piano" that capitalised on the more "mellifluous side of [Gabriel's] voice". He also thought that the song's instrumentation concealed its darker and more foreboding lyrics. [8] Also in NME, Nick Kent wrote that Roy Bittan 's piano playing on "Mother of Violence" "outstripp[ed] anything he's turned out for either Bruce Springsteen or David Bowie." [9] Uncut also highlighted the piano playing of Bittan, saying that it contributed to the "distinctive texture" on the "airy 'Mother of Violence'". [10] Mick Brown of The Guardian felt that Robert Fripp 's production work was effective at demonstrating the subtleties found in the musical arrangement, which Brown described as "chillingly beautiful". [11]

Live performances

Gabriel later performed "Mother of Violence" during his 1978–1979 Scratch tour. For his 14 December show, Lloyd Sachs of Rolling Stone said that Gabriel sang a "rather moving" performance of the song at the foot of the crowd, but believed that he "quickly wasted that mood at the song's conclusion with a series of infantile la la las and a spastic look on his face." [12] On 26 August 1979, he performed the song as a duet with Phil Collins in Reading, Berkshire. [3]

Bill Provick characterised "Mother of Violence" as a "traditional, melodic song" that focused on lyricism and said that Gabriel's live performance of the song in Ottawa was a "pleasing panorama of moods." [13] Writing for The Guardian, Robin Denselow identified "Mother of Violence" as a song in Gabriel's set that possessed "bleak lyrics that contrasted so strangely with his boyish, amiable approach. [14] Reviewing his performance at the Hammersmith Apollo, Tim Lott singled out "Mother of Violence" as a "soft and direct ballad that impressed, simply because Gabriel's voice fits that approach." [15] "Mother of Violence" was later played for Gabrie's 2007 Warm Up Tour, with his daughter Melanie handling lead vocals. [3]

Brian Eno cover

In 2010, Gabriel released an album of orchestral covers titled Scratch My Back , which included a cover of David Bowie 's "Heroes". The original concept of this project was to engage in a song exchange where the artists covered on Scratch My Back would return the favour by recording their rendition of a Gabriel composition, which would be released the companion album And I'll Scratch Yours . Bowie ultimately did not contribute to this project, so Brian Eno, who co-wrote "Heroes", tackled this responsibility instead. [16] Eno's planned to cover Gabriel's "In Your Eyes", but then settled on "Mother of Violence" after he ruled out "Don't Break This Rhythm", the B-side to "Sledgehammer". [17] For his rendition, Eno primarily handled the vocal delivery with a spoken word approach. [4]

Personnel

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Birch, Ian (1 July 1978). "Peter Gabriel, Latest Edition: Gabriel's World of Mystery". Melody Maker . pp. 10, 46. Retrieved 8 January 2025– via World Radio History.
  2. 1 2 3 Scarfe, Graeme (2021). Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. pp. 131–132. ISBN   978-1-78952-138-2.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Marziano, Alfredo; Perasi, Luca (2024). Peter Gabriel: The Rhythm Has My Soul. Milan, Italy: L.I.L.Y Publishing. pp. 37–38. ISBN   978-88-909122-5-2.
  4. 1 2 Bowman, Durrell (2 September 2016). Experiencing Peter Gabriel: A Listener's Companion. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 65. ISBN   9781442252004.
  5. ↑ Bright, Spencer (1988). Peter Gabriel: An Authorized Biography. London, UK: Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 89. ISBN   0-283-99498-3.
  6. 1 2 3 Clarke, Steve (20 January 1979). "The Technology of Being Gabriel". NME . p. 23. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2025– via The Genesis Archive.
  7. ↑ Valentine, Penny (23 December 1978). "The lamb brought down in Parisl". Melody Maker . pp. 13–14. Archived from the original on 11 September 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2025– via The Genesis Archive.
  8. ↑ Clarke, Steve (3 June 1978). "Through the Dark, Brightly". NME . p. 39. Retrieved 5 January 2025– via The Genesis Archives.
  9. ↑ Kent, Nick (10 June 1978). "Gabriel: The Image Gets a Tweak". NME . p. 33. Retrieved 5 January 2025– via The Genesis Archives.
  10. ↑ Thomson, Graeme (30 October 2015). "Peter Gabriel - the first four solo albums remastered". UNCUT. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  11. ↑ Brown, Mick (19 August 1978). "The clean-cut approach". The Guardian . Retrieved 5 January 2025– via The Genesis Archives.
  12. ↑ Sachs, Lloyd (14 December 1978). "Peter Gabriel: Wacky But WonderfulMystery". Rolling Stone . p. 108. Archived from the original on 16 August 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2025– via The Genesis Archive.
  13. ↑ Provick, Bill (16 October 1978). "Rock Star Makes Unusual Music". Ottawa Citizen . p. 36. Retrieved 14 August 2024– via The Genesis Archive.
  14. ↑ Denselow, Robin (22 December 1978). "Hammersmith: Peter Gabriel". The Guardian . Retrieved 10 January 2025– via The Genesis Archive.
  15. ↑ Lott, Tim (30 December 1978). "Peter Gabriel, Hammersmith Odeon, London". Record Mirror . Retrieved 10 January 2025– via The Genesis Archive.
  16. ↑ "Peter Gabriel covers album tracklisting and release date confirmed". UNCUT. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  17. ↑ Easlea, Daryl (March 23, 2018). Without Frontiers: The Life & Music of Peter Gabriel . 14-15 Berners Street, London: Omnibus Press. p. 355. ISBN   978-0-85712-860-7 . Retrieved 7 January 2025.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
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