Recommended Music

Peter Gabriel reveals a single from an album that’s been in the works for twenty years

Peter Gabriel fans have been waiting for a new album for a couple of decades. His most recent record featuring new material was Up, which came on September 23, 2002. Yeah, there have been two albums since–the covers collections Scratch My Back (2010) and New Blood (2011)–but this is really what fans want.

The long-teased album entitled I/O should be out this year–after all, the man’s going on tour through Europe and North America this year–but there’s no release date yet. However, we do have a single from the record.

“Panopticon” is sounds like…well, Peter Gabriel. It has melodic elements and arrangements reminiscent of what we heard on the “melt” album (his third solo record from 1980) as well as his fourth solo album (1981). I even hear bits of So in the mix. Bassist Tony Levin, drummer Manu Katché, and guitarist David Rhodes are back for the ride.

So what’s it about? Gabriel says “The first song is based on an idea I have been working on to initiate the creation of an infinitely expandable accessible data globe: The Panopticom. We are beginning to connect a like-minded group of people who might be able to bring this to life, to allow the world to see itself better and understand more of what’s really going on.”

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 37974 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

5 thoughts on “Peter Gabriel reveals a single from an album that’s been in the works for twenty years

  • GREAT SONG I LOVE THE SOUND

    Reply
  • There’s a typo at the beginning of the article: “Up” came out in September of 2002, not 2022!

    Reply
  • Wonderful sounds. Looking very forward to this album with Input/Output being 15 years in the making.

    Reply
  • Typo Alan – it’s PanopticoM. Cheers

    Reply
  • Absolutely floored by this new song. Vintage Peter Gabriel. Has so many interesting melodic bits and great production. You can tell he has poured over every second of this to get it right. So excited for the rest of I/O.

    Reply

Let us know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.