#473: Peter Gabriel-Shock The Monkey (Top 500 Modern Rock Songs Of All Time)

#473

(Top Modern Rock Songs Of All Time)

Song: "Shock The Monkey"

Artist: Peter Gabriel

Release Date: September,1982

From the Album: Peter Gabriel (1982)

Quick Notes: It's clear why the song was a hit; besides the intriguing video, the song's rather gimmicky arrangement, cramming a ton of instruments into way too little sonic space and dominated by that stuttering four-note figure that's the relentlessly repeated hook, sounded nothing like anything else on the radio at the time. It's also one of Gabriel's finest vocal performances, with a palpable urgency that would be missing from most of his later albums. It's still kinda weird and arty, but "Shock the Monkey" is the first step towards Peter Gabriel's mid-'80s cultural domination.

Courtesy: Stewart Mason (allmusic.com) 

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