Secret World Live

I first saw this video a few years ago and, though I hadn't listened to Peter Gabriel much before that, I became an instant fan. Now that I have attended a Peter Gabriel concert, I think that this video accurately portrays the experience of attending a Peter Gabriel concert and also documents one the greatest audio visual experiences of the century. His concerts are a conceptual art piece more then a musical gathering. I recommend this video to everybody.

Peter Gabriel has always been known for highly theatrical concerts - with Genesis, and then as a solo artist...and his costumes have ranged from a fox to a flower. For this concert, filmed in Italy in 1994 as part of his Secret World/"Us" album world tour, there are no costumes, but an elaborate set on a stage "in the round," to give all musicians access to all parts of the stage, much to the delight of the audience. He goes through most of the songs from the "Us" album, a highly underrated record that fans and non-fans alike unfairly compared to his 1986 commercial breakthrough "So." Each song features an amazing display of singing, lighting, camera work, choreography by not only Gabriel but the rest of his band (including a then-unknown Paula Cole), and stage sets ranging from a phone booth to a giant suitcase (where the band "disappears" into near the end of the concert) to a jellyfish-shaped dome that covers the stage at various points of the show.

There are no Genesis songs to be heard here, and very few from his pre-1986 albums - songs like Games Without Frontiers and the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway probably would not have worked with this set up, although Shock the Monkey might have worked. The combination of the music, the sets, and the powerful enthusiasm of the band brought me to tears several times. The duet Don't Give Up, where Cole steps in for Kate Bush to beguiling effect (her voice is much different than Bush's, making for an interesting, but just as powerful, interpretation), is just one highlight.

The BluRay was a bit pricy at $35 (currently on Amazon) but as a concert I think I will re-watch several times, worth it. I'm proud to have it on my shelf in my "Concert" section, next to Sting's 2001 "All This Time," the Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense," Neil Young's "Heart of Gold," and Elton John's "One Night Only" Madison Square Garden concert from 2000.

I have watched Secret World several times, and it continues to entertain. It is in my opinion one of the very best concert videos I have seen. I say that without having been a great fan of Gabriel to begin with. The band he chose is not remarkably large, but somehow they create a large canvas of music. Visually, the stage props and sets are essentially simple. A phone booth, a tree, suitcase, etc. But are all that are needed. Though their is a wonderful shaped stage, and a conveyor belt that gets plenty of use. The lighting is also excellent, particularily during Secret World. The only other thing I wish to mention is that Paula Cole looks amazing in a black dress.

I am not a fan of concert videos at all. I feel they can not provide anywhere near the amount of energy one gets from a live show, and since all concerts are designed for the stimulation of the live audience, most video/dvd concerts fall rather flat.

This, however, is one of those rare viewing experiences that transcends the medium. Gabriel weaves so much stimulation into his concerts that you can't help but be impacted by all the happenings. Etched forever in my mind is his performance of "Come Talk To Me," which might be one of the most intense and passionate performances ever captured on film/video/anything.

If you're not a Peter Gabriel fan, watch this and you will be. If you're a Peter Gabriel fan and you haven't seen this, then you're not the fan you think you are. Almost a religous experience.

It was my good fortune to attend a Gabriel concert in 1980 just after he had left Genesis and embarked on a solo tour in the town of Taunton, England. What luck to travel 1/2 a world and find him. Even more astonishing to sit in a darkened theatre and exchange words with a latecomer over the concert and the support act and when the lights went up to discover it was Peter himself as he rose from the seat to take his place on the stage. It was memorable for a stripped down stage show, a baby who wailed at an appropriate moment in Mother of Violence, and a rapturous applause from the audience for the show. From that to this, full on stage effects, marvelous music, astounding camera work, and don't i just love the way that Peter does not hog the show. What an extraordinary group of musicians he has and how they enjoy each other and playing the music. You Europeans are damn lucky to get to go, pity us down the bottom of the world 12500 miles away, But this DVD brings them into your room, and as Jon Anderson sings 'It's almost like being there' .Oh yes! Go you bald men go. Glad Peter joined Tony and David in the head department, and now the drummer as well.