Peter Gabriel – I O

I/O (typeset as i/o) is the tenth studio album[a] by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, released on 1 December 2023 through Real World Records. It is Gabriel's first album of new original material in over 21 years since Up (2002), marking the longest gap between two studio albums in his solo career. Additionally, I/O is his longest studio album to date. I/O had been in the works for nearly three decades, with its initial production dating back to 1995, at around the same time Gabriel began recording Up. He began planning the follow-up to Up as early as 2000 and had originally intended to release it in 2004, but the album was repeatedly delayed, reworked and re-recorded at seven recording studios (and one arena during soundchecks while on tour with Sting in 2016) before its completion in 2022. This was due to Gabriel focusing on other projects such as his two orchestral albums Scratch My Back (2010) and New Blood (2011), which contained covers of songs by other artists and rearrangements of his older material, respectively. Beginning in January 2023, Gabriel released a new single every full moon, with its alternate mix released on the following new moon, eventually culminating in the album's release at the end of the year; this replicates the 2010 double-sided single releases in promotion of And I'll Scratch Yours (2013). He has stated that he will release more songs in this format following the album's release. I/O received positive reviews from music critics, with praise being particularly directed towards Gabriel's vocals and songwriting.

I/O (typeset as i/o) is the tenth studio album[a] by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, released on 1 December 2023 through Real World Records. It is Gabriel's first album of new original material in over 21 years since Up (2002), marking the longest gap between two studio albums in his solo career. Additionally, I/O is his longest studio album to date. I/O had been in the works for nearly three decades, with its initial production dating back to 1995, at around the same time Gabriel began recording Up. He began planning the follow-up to Up as early as 2000 and had originally intended to release it in 2004, but the album was repeatedly delayed, reworked and re-recorded at seven recording studios (and one arena during soundchecks while on tour with Sting in 2016) before its completion in 2022. This was due to Gabriel focusing on other projects such as his two orchestral albums Scratch My Back (2010) and New Blood (2011), which contained covers of songs by other artists and rearrangements of his older material, respectively.

I/O (typeset as i/o) is the tenth studio album[a] by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, released on 1 December 2023 through Real World Records. It is Gabriel's first album of new original material in over 21 years since Up (2002), marking the longest gap between two studio albums in his solo career. Additionally, I/O is his longest studio album to date. I/O had been in the works for nearly three decades, with its initial production dating back to 1995, at around the same time Gabriel began recording Up. He began planning the follow-up to Up as early as 2000 and had originally intended to release it in 2004, but the album was repeatedly delayed, reworked and re-recorded at seven recording studios (and one arena during soundchecks while on tour with Sting in 2016) before its completion in 2022. This was due to Gabriel focusing on other projects such as his two orchestral albums Scratch My Back (2010) and New Blood (2011), which contained covers of songs by other artists and rearrangements of his older material, respectively.

Part three of the B-Sides and Rarities set is fronted with some quite bizarre sleeve work and contains quite a few rare live numbers which Gabriel fans will thoroughly enjoy. The opening Here Comes The Flood with Robert Fripp is a stunner and there are two good remixes, firstly of Sledgehammer which is maybe even better than the original, and In Your Eyes. Two of the live tracks I mention were taken from 1983 and performed with Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford. Another essential utility bootleg instalment.

Peter Gabriel has been working on i/o—shorthand for input/output—for 20 years now, reworking and re-recording and workshopping songs on the road. The final result is a sprawling head trip: two albums of the same songs mixed differently by, Gabriel has said, "two of the world's best mix engineers." Spike Stent (Ed Sheeran, Björk, Madonna) handles the so-called "Bright Side" and Tchad Blake (Sheryl Crow, Fiona Apple, the Black Keys) is the "Dark Side." Comparing the two can feel like an Easter-egg hunt; choosing an overall favorite is hard and the best bet here may be to make a personal playlist combo.

More than 20 years in the making, this December finally sees the release of i/o, Peter Gabriel’s first album of new material since 2002’s Up. During 2023, Peter has been releasing a new song from the album on the occasion of every full moon. Being revealed roughly every four weeks, each track has been allowed to find its own time and space, to enjoy its own orbit. “It’s a little like getting a Lego piece each month,” Peter explains.

'Plays Live' was compiled from live recordings made at four venues across the American Midwest in late 1982. It is effectively a sign-off to the first phase of Peter Gabriel the solo artist. As such, it's a celebration of all that was achieved on that opening quartet of self-titled long-players, while also standing as confirmation that Peter was an engaged and engaging frontman. At the time, all bar one of the tracks would be familiar to the Gabriel completist, the exception being the previously unreleased 'I Go Swimming'. A studio vocal version of the song has still never been released. The touring band captured by the recordings consists of Peter, alongside Jerry Marrotta (drums and percussion), Tony Levin (bass and stick), David Rhodes (guitar) and Larry Fast (synthesizer and piano), whilst the iconic cover image of Peter in 'monkey mask' make-up was taken by long-time collaborator Armando Gallo.

Peter Gabriel has been working on i/o—shorthand for input/output—for 20 years now, reworking and re-recording and workshopping songs on the road. The final result is a sprawling head trip: two albums of the same songs mixed differently by, Gabriel has said, "two of the world's best mix engineers." Spike Stent (Ed Sheeran, Björk, Madonna) handles the so-called "Bright Side" and Tchad Blake (Sheryl Crow, Fiona Apple, the Black Keys) is the "Dark Side." Comparing the two can feel like an Easter-egg hunt; choosing an overall favorite is hard and the best bet here may be to make a personal playlist combo.

Plays Live is the first live and fifth album overall released by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel. This album was originally released as a double album and longplay cassette in 1983, with sixteen songs. It was re-released in 1985, as a single CD version called Plays Live (Highlights) with only twelve songs, some of which are edited from their full-length versions, so that the album could fit on a single CD. It was eventually re-released in its entirety as a double CD set in 1987. In 2002, a remastered version of the Highlights version was re-released.