Peter Gabriel announces vinyl reissue series

Peter Gabriel is to launch remastered, limited edition vinyl versions of his first four solo records – marking their return to the format for the first time since 2002.

It’s the first in a series that will see all his records available in vinyl.

The eponymous albums – referred to as 1 to 4 or Car, Scratch, Melt and Security, based on their cover art – followed his departure from Genesis in 1975, and established him as a solo artist.

Gabriel says: “I really wanted the first record to be different from what I’d done with Genesis, so we were trying to do things in different styles. A bit of barbershop, which Tony Levin helped with. There were more bluesy things, a variety of songs and arrangements that were consciously trying to provide something different.”

Each 180g double album is presented in gatefold sleeve in an individually-numbered run of 10,000 copies worldwide. Long out-of-print German vocal versions of Gabriel’s third and fourth albums will be limited to 3,000 copies each. Each pack will include a download cards with a choice of resolution: hi-res 24-bit/96k or 16-bit/44.1k.

They arrive on October 22 on Real World via Caroline International, and they’re available for pre-order now.

Gabriel re-released his 2004 Play DVD in May and contributed a track to the newly-issues The Art Of Peace: Songs For Tibet II, a compilation marking the 80th birthday of the Dalai Lama. His most recent album is 2011’s New Blood, which presented orchestral re-recordings of various tracks from his solo career. He’s currently working on new music.

Peter Gabriel 1 – CAR (1977)

A1: Moribund The Burgermeister A2: Solsbury Hill B1: Modern Love B2: Excuse Me B3: Humdrum C1: Slowburn C2: Waiting For The Big One D1: Down The Dolce Vita D2: Here Comes The Flood

Peter Gabriel 2 – Scratch (1978)

A1: On The Air A2: D.I.Y. A3: Mother of Violence B1: A Wonderful Day In A One-Way World B2: White Shadow C1: Indigo C2: Animal Magic C3: Exposure D1: Flotsam and Jetsam D2: Perspective D3: Home Sweet Home

Peter Gabriel 3 - Melt (1980)

A1: Intruder A2: No Self Control B1: Start B2: I Don’t Remember B3: Family Snapshot B4: And Through The Wire C1: Games Without Frontiers C2: Not One Of Us D1: Lead A Normal Life D2: Biko

Peter Gabriel 4 – Security (1982)

A1: The Rhythm Of The Heat A2: San Jacinto B1: I Have The Touch B2: The Family and The Fishing Net C1: Shock The Monkey C2: Lay Your Hands On Me D1: Wallflower D2: Kiss Of Life