I've always thought that it would fit in nicely, with a different arrangement, somewhere on the Lamb album. Or else it could've been on Genesis' follow-up to the Lamb, had Peter chosen to stay.
I remember the first time I heard this song. I have been a fan ever since. I was sitting on the floor of a friend's dorm room in college (in 1979) and he played this - wow!
As far as an artist is concerned, Peter is it, he voice changes in so many ways. Him or his female counterpart Kate Bush, I am now overcome, with such brilliance.
"Growing Up Live" opens up with this song. It's just Peter and his piano. It is the best version I know of. In today's world, it is a prophetic masterpiece.
In 1986 he gave an insight into what drove the writing of the song: “When I wrote this song I had an obsession with short-wave radio and I was always amazed at the way in which the radio signals would become stronger as daylight faded. I felt as if psychic energy levels would also increase in the night. I had had an apocalyptic dream in which the psychic barriers which normally prevent us from seeing into each others’ thoughts had been completely eroded producing a mental flood. Those that had been used to having their innermost thoughts exposed would handle this torrent and those inclined to concealment would drown in it.”
Oddly enough, Anthony Phillips (original Genesis guitarist) helped produce the demos for many of these tracks before the actual album was created and produced. PG wanted someone he was familiar with and could trust but who was also mild-mannered and wouldn’t put his own stamp on PG’s songs while creating his debut album. Phillips also played keyboards on Mike Rutherford’s outstanding 1980 album Smallcreep’s Day and he also plays 12-string on Hackett’s 2009 song Emerald and Ash. They all love him.
Anthony Phillips: The guy who plays keyboard you turn to instead of Tony Banks when you don't want to make a Genesis album. (Notice that Tony doesn't guest on anyone else's albums?)
Hackett said he almost had Banks convinced to work on a project with him (after Genesis was finished, I think) but that Banks eventually decided to pass.
I like that version too, but I don't like that it's replaced the album cut on all future compilations. But there's all sorts of niggling things about PG's greatest hits records that just made me track down all his albums anyway. (No Scratch/PG2 songs or "In Your Eyes" on 'Shaking the Tree', etc.)
Some people prefer the more stripped-down "Fripp version". But I have always loved this grand, bombastic and emotional chorus, it sounds like a national anthem. This was probably the Grande Final for Gabriel's symphonic side / legacy from Genesis. On the next record everything was more stripped down, with a rawer sound and a darker atmosphere
I've probably said this before but when he left Genesis us fans waited to see what he's do next and we weren't disappointed. 'Car' is a very good album and I still play it today. Nice review BTW.
The build up and release before the chorus always makes me think of Peter standing on a cliff with his arms spread and the second the chorus starts a gigantic wave starts to roll behinds him as he sings "Here comes the flood". Also I read somewhere that this song may be about a world where everyone can read everybody elses mind and the flood represents the mass of thoughts everybody now has to witness. In this context I especially love the line: "The actor's gone, there's only you and me"
"When the nails sunk in the cloud..." is the line when it really hits for me. I've mentioned transition Genesis songs that make the jump between Gabriel and Collins. Well, I'd call this Gabriel's transitional song from Genesis to solo because it's grandeur could easily have been used on a Genesis album. I wonder if this was a song he had ready for Genesis before going solo.
A complete artist. Deep lyrics, magnificent compositions, owner of a unique and special style, thank you Peter for putting moments of musical pleasure into our lives.
For me the best Here Comes the Flood version is in the Robert Fripp album Exposure, just Peter Gabriel in the voice and Piano and Fripp in the fripptronics.
His debut album has a wonderful assortment of great songs. There's Solsbury Hill of course, but Down the Dolce Vita, Morribund the Burgermeister Modern love to name a few are all strong songs. I can't imagine any Genesis / Gabriel fans would have been disappointed with this album. I certainly wasn't! BTW Apparently the car on the cover is a1974 Lancia Flavia owned by Storm Thorgerson the cover designer.
Water has always been a metaphor for Peter Gabriel, most notably on "A Firth of Fifth" and "Here Comes the Flood". "A thousand minds within a flash", "Easter Tide", "And as the nails sunk in the cloud"... These lines describe the flight of nuclear missiles and the instantaneous immolation of millions of living beings. "Early Warning" was an oft-used term during the Cold War; people hoped to have enough time to reach the safety of their underground atomic shelters, those who had them. "Sons and daughters getting older" is the most tragic notion ever expressed in Popular Music.
Definitive version of that song can be found on Robert Fripp's Exposure. Many of the songs on that first solo album were overproduced (courtesy of Bob Ezrin of Alice Cooper fame at the time), i think that's why he went to the dryer sound of the second album, before he found HIS sound on Intruder (or 3rd) and recorded five great albums in a row.
The version from Robert Fripp's Exposure album is stronger, IMO. A bit slower tempo, but less bombastic, with PG on piano, Fripp on guitar, and Eno on synths/textures: ua-cam.com/video/7wS8V8vCUqw/v-deo.html
Regarding meaning, I read that the flood refers to a mental deluge that occurs where suddenly everyone can read each other's minds. There's no hiding of thoughts and all is exposed.
Saw Peter Gabriel twice and both times I was amazed at his showmanship and ability to get the crowd into the show. Am hopeful he can tour just one more time in the US Northeast.
I’ve been a fan of peter gabriel since the early 80s. This song has always had a special place in my heart. When I first bought this album I remember playing it… all night… on an endless loop. From 10 in the evening to the dawn of the next day. Listening to it now, as a song it’s perfect, but it was recorded in 76-77. Recording technology has come so far since then. As an analogue recording it is really really good but it lacks the real clarity that a modern recording could give it. That is my only criticism of it. Such a perfect song needs the perfect clarity that modern recording could give it. But I love Peter Gabriel’s output, he has always been, and always will be a true musical artist.
Justin, I’m sure many have probably said this already, but there are some other versions of this song on UA-cam that are incredible, and well worth your time! Kate Bush Christmas special Version with Brian Eno There’s a studio version from a greatest hits album - just Pete (with his mature 90s voice) and piano Look around at some other live versions, usually just Pete and the piano. He always sings it so powerfully and it always gives me gooseflesh!
This is one of that handful of songs that I cannot hear without goosebumps, and cannot sing without my voice cracking because I didn't notice the tears were already drowning me! Even before the song ended, I saw JP look back at the camera and I knew he was going to say it was his new favorite Peter Gabriel song! ;-] I suspected as much already from the title, but that look really confirmed it! lol
There is another version that Peter Gabriel recorded with Robert Fripp (on Fripp's first solo album "Exposure") that has a more stripped down arrangement with just piano and Fripp's Frippertronics, that is just as good as this version, but for different reasons. It's well worth looking up. (That album has another Peter Gabriel song as well, "Exposure" from Gabriel's second album. That Peter Gabriel album was also produced by Robert Fripp, and the artistic choices made on it are very daring indeed.) I do encourage exploring this album (the first one) more, as it's really quite wonderful. to me it feels like he's try different styles on for size as he goes solo. That he made such a coherent album while trying different things shows what a great artist he is. Glad you really liked this one!
short story ... saw this tour at the HOLLYWOOD BOWL ..... first, just listening to a PG show live was already magic .... but then , during this song as soon as he sang the line the rain was warm and soaked the crowd ..... it started lightly raining
I can remember singing this at the top of my lungs at the Montreal Forum on his 1987 So Tour, one of my first ever concerts! Beautiful song.J.P your reaction reminds me of your Firth of fifth reaction, chills....
I was at the Forum for Gabriel's 1987 tour, and the previous (or following?) night at the Ottawa Civic Centre, the show was that good. And did you notice that the PA system was relatively quiet for a Rock show, not painfully loud, so that the audio quality was amazing, even for the Forum? No audible distortion.
I can always tell when you love a song, when you have that ‘Cheshire Cat” smile as you look directly as the camera. Great reaction and your comments are spot on. One of the best PG tracks.
That organ effect is common in the Hammond B3 with a Leslie internal rotating speaker. Very well known in Rock and the Blues. Note that Peter and Fripp both hated how overblown and grandiose this song is, which I like about it. So when Fripp produced Gabriel's second, 1978 solo album, they reworked "Flood" in a minimalist/Avant-Garde mode. This version was released on Fripp's own solo album, "Exposure". Ever since then, in concert, it's always been played just Peter and his piano. A great place to see it is in Kate Bush's 1979 Christmas TV Special, on UA-cam. They also do a heartbreaking duet at a small dining table. Compare "Flood" with Genesis' "Afterglow, both from 1977, both about nuclear war, both beautiful. Only listen to the live "Seconds Out" version of "Afterglow". It is superbly played and recorded in ways that the original and subsequent live recordings lack.
On the first tour he opened with the piano version of this song. The full band version was 3 songs from the end followed by Modern Love, and Down The Dolce Vita.
I’m sure by now you already know this, but Peter’s idea was to keep the song simple, so he wasn’t too satisfied with the production in the album version, so he always played it live as he conceived it in his mind. Two excellent versions are the one he did with Robert Fripp for his album “Exposure” and the Guitar Center live version. I really love all versions of the song, the advantage of the simpler versions is that you can hear Peter’s vocals more clearly, but they’re all great. If you haven’t already, you should check them out.
Peter Hated Bob Ezrin production on this album and re recording this song on Robert Fripps first album Exposure with a nice piano melody. Both versions are great.
Never knew this. Will listen to the version on Robert Fripp’s album. Interesting though that he disapproved his own album version as he appears to be in control of his songs
Best part of this song is he has recorded it many times with different arrangements and artists. Each phenomenal in it's own right. If you notice there are no cymbals. Peter doesn't allow his drummer to use them, anything else.
The no cymbals rule was for Gabriel's 1980 and 1982 albums, his African-influenced albums, both highly experimental. The 1980 sessions ended up with the invention of the gated-reverb drum sound that became famous as Phil Collins' sound, and became The Sound of the 1980s.
The heavy guitar riff comes from Dick Wagner who is well known to people from Michigan, he played with Alice Cooper and other hard rock acts in Michigan in the late 60's-70's. He died in 2014.
my three fav PG songs ... Humdrum, San Jacinto, and Here comes the flood ..... he does a good unplugged version of this when he was a guest on one of Kate Bush' Christmas specials on BBC
True poetry admits multiple interpretations and this song is no exception. That said, the story behind this one is interesting. From an interview with Gabriel: When I wrote this song [Here Comes The Flood] I had an obsession with short-wave radio and I was always amazed at the way in which the radio signals would become stronger as daylight faded. I felt as if psychic energy levels would also increase in the night. I had had an apocalyptic dream in which the psychic barriers which normally prevent us from seeing into each others' thoughts had been completely eroded producing a mental flood. Those that had been used to having their innermost thoughts exposed would handle this torrent and those inclined to concealment would drown in it.
I think here in Los Angeles - Here Comes The Flood was either the show closer or the first encore. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (song) was the encore or the second encore. Peter Gabriel's first two albums stand above the others to me.
@@michaelhernandez6446 I think Flood to close set, then LLDoB and then Back in NYC. What great tours these were; them all. I think he is peerless live when on his game. And he/the bands is ALWAYS on his game. Haha so good. Remember him/the band coming out of the audience? And marching out on as drummers from audience #4. Love him
@@stephenderraugh5248 I do remember to all of your Aboves. Lucky Me, I received a free Ticket days before that 78' Chicago Uptown Theater Concert. I was sitting on the Main Floor Inner Left Aisle, when "Gabriel's Angels" started slowly walking from behind us, carrying Handheld Search Lights, all the while, the beginning of an ebbing cascade of Frippertronics off the beginning of 'On the Air', started to come into a Sonic and Magestic Crescendo. (In 07', on Peter Gabriel.com, I described that Opening Scene, quite Graphically. Also as an fyi here, both the 78' and 80' Chicago Uptown Peter Gabriel Tours, have on UA-cam, Stills of both Shows. Shows I was fortunate to be able to attend. Check them out.)
When Peter decided to do this first album he knew he needed a top producer like Bob Ezrin. He pretty much hounded Bob to produce him. After hearing the demo of "Flood" a few times Ezrin found himself going to bed with this song on his mind over Kiss tunes he had been doing . It was Ezrin who bought in the Hunter / Wagner guitar combo he had used with Alice Cooper and many others and Bass man Tony Levin . Tony also bought his Chapman Stick and Ezrin told him to just put it away. This album wasn't nearly as experimental as future Gabriel albums. Still playing by the rules it was a great beginning for Peter.
This is too weird. This morning while in the shower, the little known song, “We’re Only Making Plans for Nigel” came into my head. Now I tune in to Just JP and you’re singing THAT SONG. Whaaaaaat???? So Peter Gabriel. Just incredible.
As I'm sure others have said, this version is way over the top courtesy of Bob Ezrin's production values. I think it's one of Gabriel's finest moments in pure songwriting terms. Practically any other version available is simply Gabriel at the piano (with one or two occasional embellishments), and they're all outstanding. Having said that, I do love this up to the guitar solo - and it all goes askew from then on.
I totally recommend Down the Dolce Vita from the same album, along with HCtF, Modern Love and Solsbury Hill they are highlights of this very underrated LP
@@ComeOnIsSuchAJoy I like it too, just a bit less than the ones I have mentioned. Generally this is a great record, Waiting for the Big One is just not among my favourite songs there. But it's great nonetheless
Speaking of Robert Fripp, The Peter Gabriel II version of Exposure featuring Robert's Frippatronics on guitar is a stunning darkly funky track with three time signatures running simultaneously (drums - 4/4, bass 5/4, rhythm guitar 3/4). The bass by Tony Levin, in particular, is spectacular.
The first time I've listened to that song, many years ago, I thought that the chorus was one of the best things I'd heard in my entire life. Twenty years later, I still think it is. Suffice to say that this studio version is the ONLY version, imo.
This has always been a favourite song of mine. You caught all the things that make this song special --- Peter's vocals, the guitar work and, of course, those perfect drum fills.
I personally prefer this version, but the more intimate piano versions out there are amazing also, even peter himself thinks this is bombastic, don't think it is at all, but we are all different, some like this & some like the sparse versions, Heck they are all brilliant! 😊
The official flood forecaster for Manitoba (yes we have one because the Red River Valley used to be a lake bottom) says no floods this spring so all is good. No 1997 for us this year though the weather is being very strange. Good song. Good reveiw. Flood makes me think of Wake of the Flood by the Grateful Dead which made me think of the Elvis Costello cover of Ship Of Fools. iirc "all those who could not sink or swim, were just left there to float". My best to you all.
This album should be apart of all PG listening experiences. Not my favorite, but an important part of his journey. I agree, this is one of PG's great vocal performances. And that's great among the greats Btw, whose the "wise guy" that gives you a thumbs down no matter what? Is their point made? (I probably shouldn't give notice)
This is a vision of humans breaking down into pure thought and colliding into a single consciousness. The question seems to be whether this is a good thing or not.
The first two albums are full of great heavy rock jams. This song, Modern Love, On The Air, Slow Burn, Down The Dolce Vita... Waiting For The Big One is more bluesy but it definitely sounds great at max volume.
I can't think of too many singers who could sing a song like this and not come across as sounding pretentious. Peter just has one of those voices that make you instantly listen to everything he has to say. And the fact that he knows how to "act" songs as well, makes it impossible to not only enjoy what he does, but to also not take him seriously. He has the gravitas to pull off this sort of stuff with ease.
On a very few number of dates on the tour for this album, PG performed a song called Why Don't We. It was never put onto any album, but a small bit of it is somewhat similar to part of Family Snapshot. Yours truly posted the most popular version of it on youtube ages ago. It is better than many of the songs on his first two albums, I think. My favorite versions of Here Comes The Flood are the version on the Robert Fripp - Exposure album, and the version he played on the Kate Bush 1979 Christmas TV special "Kate".
I’ve always thought the lyrics had to do with the German “Blitz” attacks on Great Britain during WWII. As so many others have suggested, do the Fripp version from “Exposure.”
I saw this song in his first solo tour, in Gothenburg, Sweden, many many moons ago - the dynamic difference from verse to chorus, strong as it is in the record, was shattering in the concert, a veritable sound wall, ...
The organ effect was a Leslie Cabinet Two speakers..1 up 1 down with the sound steered through a spinning twin horn device of which' the speed can be controlled
His remake is the version I prefer though his original is awesome. I saw him live in 1992/93, and he came out after the band left the stage and played it on piano as an encore. This song is in my top 10 favorite Gabriel songs.
Wow I had only heard the slow version on his shaking the tree greatest hits album not knowing the "real" version was this amazing! I have been listening to the other version for almost 25 years. I was missing soooo much!
Ok, Mr. Justin you are forgetting that "heavier" side again. There are so many great jams that you would totally dig. Led Boots, by Jeff Beck will give you that jazz fusion side and the rhythm section on that song is epic. My favorite Beck album, Wired, has lots of GREAT tunes to enjoy. Might want to try that whole album if you have the opening in ur hectic schedule. Cheers, and I am off to another workshop for the weekend. Thanks for the muse.
I've been listening to this track ever since I bought the album when it came out.... After the LP ended it was straight on again and has been one of the staples of my music collection ever since. The fabulous thing about this song is that it has never got stale in all those 45 years.
Hi, JP. Dave from London, loving The Old Songs. Such a great reaction to one of my PG favourites. Despite the huge disappointment of him leaving Genesis, this album made up for it big time. It had many of the Genesis hallmarks, whilst hinting at his ambition to forge a new path. This song for me is the stand out, and you are so right that it is the ideal show closer, because when I saw him on tour at the Hammy Odeon in London in 1977, I'm pretty sure that it was just that. Brilliant band he had with him; some from the album including the brilliant Steve Hunter from Alice Cooper's band.
The first 4 solo albums were all titled Peter Gabriel. They are nicknamed Car, Scratch, Melt and Security based on the album covers. Obviously, this is from Car.
It's a stand-out track - what more can you say? Hard to believe he recorded this just a couple of years after his Genesis departure. It's so mature and confident. He still plays this live, often just a piano version, and it still makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck! You should definitely check out his second album (PG2, aka Scratch) - it builds on this sound, and is a much more cohesive album than first, imo.
Really? Whats the stand out track on PG2? PG1 has Solsbury Hill and Here comes the flood PG3 has Games without Frontiers, Biko, I don't remember and Family Snapshot PG4 and So - basically both whole albums are a classic Us has Steam, Come talk to me, Blood of Eden and Digging in the dirt PG2 and Up are my two least favourite Peter Gabriel albums, and strangely, I own both on CD so can still listen to them, while 1,2, 4 and So are in my loft with the record collection.
@@EwanV there isn't necessarily a stand-out track on PG2, it's just a great album. Very understated and atmospheric. Mother of Violence is wonderful, as is White Shadow and Animal Magic, and the Fripp-esque Exposure, and Perspective. The only track I'm not keen on is the final Home Sweet Home, but that's just because it's a heart-breaking story, and gets me down, not a bad track musically. Listen again, my friend, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Absolutely wonderful album beginning to end. On this album, Peter begins to experiment with what would eventually be called “world music”. Humdrum is probably my favorite song on the album the audio textures and lyrics are soul rending. I love Robert Fripp and you are very aware of his talent. I would love for you to listen to Fracture off of Starless and Bible Black
The organ is being played through a Leslie cabinet which is a speaker that has a rotating drum beneath it that sends out sound waves at different positions as its spun. It was design to emulate the sound of a large church/cathedral pipe organ and was often used in conjunction with a Hammond Organ
I have a recommendation, but first, thanks for the song review on Flood. It’s literally been a decade or more since I’ve heard this. I had forgotten how great this work is. Peter’s voice! Awesome! 👍🏻👍🏻 Now, I’d like to recommend the album Wasteland, by Riverside. It’s a concept album with layers of meaning. In the wake of losing their guitarist and friend, the feeling of loss is palpable. The album is a story of survival in a post apocalyptic sense. I re-listened to it yesterday and thought of you. There’s not a dud on this album. Please consider this 🙏 Thanks
Cool stuff, i gave it a listen at your suggestion. Floydish I thought, which is a good thing. Relaxing, mesmerizing and then some heavy chords. 5 songs in, nice production.
Sorry I forgot to say how magnificent this song is. It wouldn’t have even gone a miss, on a Genesis album. There’s no one like him. Absolutely no one.
I've always thought that it would fit in nicely, with a different arrangement, somewhere on the Lamb album.
Or else it could've been on Genesis' follow-up to the Lamb, had Peter chosen to stay.
I remember the first time I heard this song. I have been a fan ever since. I was sitting on the floor of a friend's dorm room in college (in 1979) and he played this - wow!
An encore track live for many years. Peter's voice and piano. Nothing better.
That's the way Peter performed it on the Kate Bush Xmas TV Special in 1979 ua-cam.com/video/ohOEu9R-v0c/v-deo.html
As far as an artist is concerned, Peter is it, he voice changes in so many ways. Him or his female counterpart Kate Bush, I am now overcome, with such brilliance.
@@silgen That's the best one!
@@silgen Odd coincidence. I was just thinking on this playthrough how Kate Bush-like the arrangement is.
"Growing Up Live" opens up with this song. It's just Peter and his piano. It is the best version I know of.
In today's world, it is a prophetic masterpiece.
In 1986 he gave an insight into what drove the writing of the song: “When I wrote this song I had an obsession with short-wave radio and I was always amazed at the way in which the radio signals would become stronger as daylight faded. I felt as if psychic energy levels would also increase in the night. I had had an apocalyptic dream in which the psychic barriers which normally prevent us from seeing into each others’ thoughts had been completely eroded producing a mental flood. Those that had been used to having their innermost thoughts exposed would handle this torrent and those inclined to concealment would drown in it.”
Straordinario
Humdrum is great too from this album
One of the best!
That and Moribund The Burgermeister are top quality.
Oddly enough, Anthony Phillips (original Genesis guitarist) helped produce the demos for many of these tracks before the actual album was created and produced. PG wanted someone he was familiar with and could trust but who was also mild-mannered and wouldn’t put his own stamp on PG’s songs while creating his debut album. Phillips also played keyboards on Mike Rutherford’s outstanding 1980 album Smallcreep’s Day and he also plays 12-string on Hackett’s 2009 song Emerald and Ash. They all love him.
Wow, That is so cool! Never knew that, thanks!
Anthony Phillips: The guy who plays keyboard you turn to instead of Tony Banks when you don't want to make a Genesis album.
(Notice that Tony doesn't guest on anyone else's albums?)
@@RubesGoodBrainCoffee Telling point, your last one.
@@RubesGoodBrainCoffee That would be because Tony Banks *IS* Genesis. He sounds like himself.
Hackett said he almost had Banks convinced to work on a project with him (after Genesis was finished, I think) but that Banks eventually decided to pass.
A very special song. I would put it in his top five all time songs.
Amen brother
There's a great version of this on the Robert Fripp album "Exposure". Also there's a version with Peter singing in German.
Justin, do the Fripp version!
I love the Version from Robert Fripp#s album "Exposure"@@markdrechsler5660
The version on the album of his greatest hits is a wonderful ethereal ballad with just voice and piano.
Was going to recommend it!! It’s a must hear.
I like that version too, but I don't like that it's replaced the album cut on all future compilations.
But there's all sorts of niggling things about PG's greatest hits records that just made me track down all his albums anyway. (No Scratch/PG2 songs or "In Your Eyes" on 'Shaking the Tree', etc.)
Some people prefer the more stripped-down "Fripp version".
But I have always loved this grand, bombastic and emotional chorus, it sounds like a national anthem.
This was probably the Grande Final for Gabriel's symphonic side / legacy from Genesis. On the next record everything was more stripped down, with a rawer sound and a darker atmosphere
I agree, Connie. Grandiose was what I loved about early Genesis, so Peter following through was a joy for my ears.
Fripped version? ...I'll get my coat... ;-)
@@willrichardson519 Yep, I think Mr Fripp himself prefers both the "Stripped / Fripped" versions before the free ripped version :)
I've probably said this before but when he left Genesis us fans waited to see what he's do next and we weren't disappointed. 'Car' is a very good album and I still play it today. Nice review BTW.
It's still my favourite of his.
@@keithjones6023 Because it seemed with him leaving that the golden era of Genesis was probably over this album became a very special one for me.
It’s actually great when driving, Excuse me!
The build up and release before the chorus always makes me think of Peter standing on a cliff with his arms spread and the second the chorus starts a gigantic wave starts to roll behinds him as he sings "Here comes the flood".
Also I read somewhere that this song may be about a world where everyone can read everybody elses mind and the flood represents the mass of thoughts everybody now has to witness. In this context I especially love the line: "The actor's gone, there's only you and me"
A lot of the sound of this recording can be explained by Bob Ezrin's production.
"When the nails sunk in the cloud..." is the line when it really hits for me.
I've mentioned transition Genesis songs that make the jump between Gabriel and Collins. Well, I'd call this Gabriel's transitional song from Genesis to solo because it's grandeur could easily have been used on a Genesis album. I wonder if this was a song he had ready for Genesis before going solo.
A complete artist. Deep lyrics, magnificent compositions, owner of a unique and special style, thank you Peter for putting moments of musical pleasure into our lives.
For me the best Here Comes the Flood version is in the Robert Fripp album Exposure, just Peter Gabriel in the voice and Piano and Fripp in the fripptronics.
Best version of this is on Robert Fripp's "Exposure" solo album, with the Frippertronics intro
His debut album has a wonderful assortment of great songs. There's Solsbury Hill of course, but Down the Dolce Vita, Morribund the Burgermeister Modern love to name a few are all strong songs. I can't imagine any Genesis / Gabriel fans would have been disappointed with this album. I certainly wasn't! BTW Apparently the car on the cover is a1974 Lancia Flavia owned by Storm Thorgerson the cover designer.
Water has always been a metaphor for Peter Gabriel, most notably on "A Firth of Fifth" and "Here Comes the Flood".
"A thousand minds within a flash", "Easter Tide", "And as the nails sunk in the cloud"... These lines describe the flight of nuclear missiles and the instantaneous immolation of millions of living beings. "Early Warning" was an oft-used term during the Cold War; people hoped to have enough time to reach the safety of their underground atomic shelters, those who had them. "Sons and daughters getting older" is the most tragic notion ever expressed in Popular Music.
Definitive version of that song can be found on Robert Fripp's Exposure. Many of the songs on that first solo album were overproduced (courtesy of Bob Ezrin of Alice Cooper fame at the time), i think that's why he went to the dryer sound of the second album, before he found HIS sound on Intruder (or 3rd) and recorded five great albums in a row.
This!
The version from Robert Fripp's Exposure album is stronger, IMO. A bit slower tempo, but less bombastic, with PG on piano, Fripp on guitar, and Eno on synths/textures: ua-cam.com/video/7wS8V8vCUqw/v-deo.html
Amen to that.
yeah, I love that version the best too. The Frippertronics really add a nice touch .
I just wanted to write this. My favorite version of this immense song !
Couldn't agree more.
And don't forget the final version fro the PG compilations: only Gabriel and the Bösendorfer. Breathtaking
Regarding meaning, I read that the flood refers to a mental deluge that occurs where suddenly everyone can read each other's minds. There's no hiding of thoughts and all is exposed.
Saw Peter Gabriel twice and both times I was amazed at his showmanship and ability to get the crowd into the show. Am hopeful he can tour just one more time in the US Northeast.
I’ve been a fan of peter gabriel since the early 80s. This song has always had a special place in my heart. When I first bought this album I remember playing it… all night… on an endless loop. From 10 in the evening to the dawn of the next day. Listening to it now, as a song it’s perfect, but it was recorded in 76-77. Recording technology has come so far since then. As an analogue recording it is really really good but it lacks the real clarity that a modern recording could give it. That is my only criticism of it. Such a perfect song needs the perfect clarity that modern recording could give it. But I love Peter Gabriel’s output, he has always been, and always will be a true musical artist.
Beautiful he’s got a voice that always resonated with me since i was a child
Justin, I’m sure many have probably said this already, but there are some other versions of this song on UA-cam that are incredible, and well worth your time!
Kate Bush Christmas special
Version with Brian Eno
There’s a studio version from a greatest hits album - just Pete (with his mature 90s voice) and piano
Look around at some other live versions, usually just Pete and the piano. He always sings it so powerfully and it always gives me gooseflesh!
This is one of that handful of songs that I cannot hear without goosebumps, and cannot sing without my voice cracking because I didn't notice the tears were already drowning me!
Even before the song ended, I saw JP look back at the camera and I knew he was going to say it was his new favorite Peter Gabriel song! ;-]
I suspected as much already from the title, but that look really confirmed it! lol
Haha its "the look"😃
What can one say just a f***ing great song from a f***ing great album by an absolute genius.
This is best heard live where it’s just Peter alone on keyboard. Brilliant.
Used to great effect (as was Pete’s “Games Without Frontiers”) in one of the earlier seasons of the show, The Americans.
There is another version that Peter Gabriel recorded with Robert Fripp (on Fripp's first solo album "Exposure") that has a more stripped down arrangement with just piano and Fripp's Frippertronics, that is just as good as this version, but for different reasons. It's well worth looking up. (That album has another Peter Gabriel song as well, "Exposure" from Gabriel's second album. That Peter Gabriel album was also produced by Robert Fripp, and the artistic choices made on it are very daring indeed.) I do encourage exploring this album (the first one) more, as it's really quite wonderful. to me it feels like he's try different styles on for size as he goes solo. That he made such a coherent album while trying different things shows what a great artist he is. Glad you really liked this one!
short story ... saw this tour at the HOLLYWOOD BOWL ..... first, just listening to a PG show live was already magic .... but then , during this song as soon as he sang the line the rain was warm and soaked the crowd ..... it started lightly raining
Beautiful ballad by Peter Gabriel!
Genius is genius. I cry each and every time I hear this.
So... it's not just me? :-)
I can remember singing this at the top of my lungs at the Montreal Forum on his 1987 So Tour, one of my first ever concerts! Beautiful song.J.P your reaction reminds me of your Firth of fifth reaction, chills....
I was at the Forum for Gabriel's 1987 tour, and the previous (or following?) night at the Ottawa Civic Centre, the show was that good. And did you notice that the PA system was relatively quiet for a Rock show, not painfully loud, so that the audio quality was amazing, even for the Forum? No audible distortion.
I got the same impression of JP; I thought he was going to exclaim,
"I'm shwitzing! I'm shwitzing!"
@@oronmendel2451 the forum was a special place ☺.
I can always tell when you love a song, when you have that ‘Cheshire Cat” smile as you look directly as the camera. Great reaction and your comments are spot on. One of the best PG tracks.
Haha ty PO!😁😁
That organ effect is common in the Hammond B3 with a Leslie internal rotating speaker. Very well known in Rock and the Blues.
Note that Peter and Fripp both hated how overblown and grandiose this song is, which I like about it. So when Fripp produced Gabriel's second, 1978 solo album, they reworked "Flood" in a minimalist/Avant-Garde mode. This version was released on Fripp's own solo album, "Exposure". Ever since then, in concert, it's always been played just Peter and his piano. A great place to see it is in Kate Bush's 1979 Christmas TV Special, on UA-cam. They also do a heartbreaking duet at a small dining table.
Compare "Flood" with Genesis' "Afterglow, both from 1977, both about nuclear war, both beautiful. Only listen to the live "Seconds Out" version of "Afterglow". It is superbly played and recorded in ways that the original and subsequent live recordings lack.
On the first tour he opened with the piano version of this song. The full band version was 3 songs from the end followed by Modern Love, and Down The Dolce Vita.
Simply a beautiful song. No more to say.
I’m sure by now you already know this, but Peter’s idea was to keep the song simple, so he wasn’t too satisfied with the production in the album version, so he always played it live as he conceived it in his mind. Two excellent versions are the one he did with Robert Fripp for his album “Exposure” and the Guitar Center live version. I really love all versions of the song, the advantage of the simpler versions is that you can hear Peter’s vocals more clearly, but they’re all great. If you haven’t already, you should check them out.
The advertising slogan for the release of this album was "Expect the Unexpected". I did and I wasn't disappointed.
Peter Hated Bob Ezrin production on this album and re recording this song on Robert Fripps first album Exposure with a nice piano melody. Both versions are great.
Bob Ezrin produced this.
@@Meanstoend thanks for the correction 👍🏻
Never knew this. Will listen to the version on Robert Fripp’s album. Interesting though that he disapproved his own album version as he appears to be in control of his songs
He actually opened up with this song during his 2003 Growing Up tour. Just him and a piano. It's a great version, definitely check it out on youtube.
Best part of this song is he has recorded it many times with different arrangements and artists. Each phenomenal in it's own right. If you notice there are no cymbals. Peter doesn't allow his drummer to use them, anything else.
The no cymbals rule was for Gabriel's 1980 and 1982 albums, his African-influenced albums, both highly experimental. The 1980 sessions ended up with the invention of the gated-reverb drum sound that became famous as Phil Collins' sound, and became The Sound of the 1980s.
The heavy guitar riff comes from Dick Wagner who is well known to people from Michigan, he played with Alice Cooper and other hard rock acts in Michigan in the late 60's-70's. He died in 2014.
my three fav PG songs ... Humdrum, San Jacinto, and Here comes the flood ..... he does a good unplugged version of this when he was a guest on one of Kate Bush' Christmas specials on BBC
True poetry admits multiple interpretations and this song is no exception. That said, the story behind this one is interesting. From an interview with Gabriel:
When I wrote this song [Here Comes The Flood] I had an obsession with short-wave radio and I was always amazed at the way in which the radio signals would become stronger as daylight faded. I felt as if psychic energy levels would also increase in the night. I had had an apocalyptic dream in which the psychic barriers which normally prevent us from seeing into each others' thoughts had been completely eroded producing a mental flood. Those that had been used to having their innermost thoughts exposed would handle this torrent and those inclined to concealment would drown in it.
I think here in Los Angeles - Here Comes The Flood was either the show closer or the first encore. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (song) was the encore or the second encore. Peter Gabriel's first two albums stand above the others to me.
In Chicago, on his 78' Tour, I believe that was correct to Memory. Lamb, was either the first or the second Encore.
@@michaelhernandez6446
I think Flood to close set, then LLDoB and then Back in NYC. What great tours these were; them all. I think he is peerless live when on his game. And he/the bands is ALWAYS on his game. Haha so good.
Remember him/the band coming out of the audience? And marching out on as drummers from audience #4. Love him
@@stephenderraugh5248 I do remember to all of your Aboves. Lucky Me, I received a free Ticket days before that 78' Chicago Uptown Theater Concert. I was sitting on the Main Floor Inner Left Aisle, when "Gabriel's Angels" started slowly walking from behind us, carrying Handheld Search Lights, all the while, the beginning of an ebbing cascade of Frippertronics off the beginning of 'On the Air', started to come into a Sonic and Magestic Crescendo. (In 07', on Peter Gabriel.com, I described that Opening Scene, quite Graphically. Also as an fyi here, both the 78' and 80' Chicago Uptown Peter Gabriel Tours, have on UA-cam, Stills of both Shows. Shows I was fortunate to be able to attend. Check them out.)
When Peter decided to do this first album he knew he needed a top producer like Bob Ezrin. He pretty much hounded Bob to produce him. After hearing the demo of "Flood" a few times Ezrin found himself going to bed with this song on his mind over Kiss tunes he had been doing . It was Ezrin who bought in the Hunter / Wagner guitar combo he had used with Alice Cooper and many others and Bass man Tony Levin . Tony also bought his Chapman Stick and Ezrin told him to just put it away. This album wasn't nearly as experimental as future Gabriel albums. Still playing by the rules it was a great beginning for Peter.
This is too weird. This morning while in the shower, the little known song, “We’re Only Making Plans for Nigel” came into my head. Now I tune in to Just JP and you’re singing THAT SONG. Whaaaaaat???? So Peter Gabriel. Just incredible.
Lol! Its just so catchy!
@@JustJP that's XTC for ya...Then she appeared is an overlooked classic of theirs, just saying :-)
As I'm sure others have said, this version is way over the top courtesy of Bob Ezrin's production values. I think it's one of Gabriel's finest moments in pure songwriting terms. Practically any other version available is simply Gabriel at the piano (with one or two occasional embellishments), and they're all outstanding. Having said that, I do love this up to the guitar solo - and it all goes askew from then on.
Only ever played on the first gabriel tour as a full band version..in fact played twice both ways on each set.
I think it's power is immense..
You'll have to do the other version. It is quieter, but more powerful.
Yes, I just bought this album so I wasn't as familiar with this version.. I like the other one better. When was that recorded ?
I totally recommend Down the Dolce Vita from the same album, along with HCtF, Modern Love and Solsbury Hill they are highlights of this very underrated LP
I like "Waiting for the Big One" myself.
@@ComeOnIsSuchAJoy I like it too, just a bit less than the ones I have mentioned. Generally this is a great record, Waiting for the Big One is just not among my favourite songs there. But it's great nonetheless
I love Down the Dolce Vita, seems like a very underrated track
The entire album is masterful.
If you want to hear Robert Fripp's guitar work on a Peter Gabriel song, try "White Shadow". Haunting song, enigmatic lyrics, and pure Peter Gabriel.
My mum who's in her eighties and a fine musician loves this song.
She said the chord structure is similar to hymns from the 1800's
Note so much water, Gabriel was inspired by a dream he had in which people could see each other's thoughts, producing a psychic flood.
Speaking of Robert Fripp, The Peter Gabriel II version of Exposure featuring Robert's Frippatronics on guitar is a stunning darkly funky track with three time signatures running simultaneously (drums - 4/4, bass 5/4, rhythm guitar 3/4). The bass by Tony Levin, in particular, is spectacular.
The first time I've listened to that song, many years ago, I thought that the chorus was one of the best things I'd heard in my entire life. Twenty years later, I still think it is. Suffice to say that this studio version is the ONLY version, imo.
This has always been a favourite song of mine. You caught all the things that make this song special --- Peter's vocals, the guitar work and, of course, those perfect drum fills.
I think the guitar was Dick Wagner, bass by Tony Levin, both of them used to play with Alice Cooper.
I personally prefer this version, but the more intimate piano versions out there are amazing also, even peter himself thinks this is bombastic, don't think it is at all, but we are all different, some like this & some like the sparse versions, Heck they are all brilliant! 😊
Bought this album when I was 15, still have it and listen to it still at 57, thank you for the up-load.
Happily Jim! Ty
This won some polls of PGs favorite song. Peter said the song was about the flood of radio and other waves that increase at night
I saw Peter Gabriel in 1978 perform this song as an encore at the Roxy Theater in West Hollywood following his second solo album. Such a great memory.
The album was produced by Bob Ezrin who also produced Pink Floyd's The Wall a couple years later. You can really hear the influence.
One of the all time great rock vocalist. Justin you are probably the best reviewer on UA-cam
Peter Gabriel - a legend, a master....what a great song - his voice is unique, powerful, sometimes vulnerable...outstanding
Saw him perform this tune live in the 80’s . This and Lay your hands on me...Fan faves.
Thanks again for diving in to Gabriel. It's a small thing that feels enormous.
Can’t go wrong with Peter Gabriel. The man is amazing. A force of nature.
The official flood forecaster for Manitoba (yes we have one because the Red River Valley used to be a lake bottom) says no floods this spring so all is good. No 1997 for us this year though the weather is being very strange.
Good song. Good reveiw.
Flood makes me think of Wake of the Flood by the Grateful Dead which made me think of the Elvis Costello cover of Ship Of Fools. iirc "all those who could not sink or swim, were just left there to float".
My best to you all.
Yep, not much snow...but as a fellow Manitoban I guess we both know there's always that late storm to consider. and then....Here Comes that Flood.
Damn how good Peter Gabriel is at making music and how good you are at making reactions.
This album should be apart of all PG listening experiences. Not my favorite, but an important part of his journey. I agree, this is one of PG's great vocal performances. And that's great among the greats
Btw, whose the "wise guy" that gives you a thumbs down no matter what? Is their point made? (I probably shouldn't give notice)
This is a vision of humans breaking down into pure thought and colliding into a single consciousness. The question seems to be whether this is a good thing or not.
The first two albums are full of great heavy rock jams. This song, Modern Love, On The Air, Slow Burn, Down The Dolce Vita... Waiting For The Big One is more bluesy but it definitely sounds great at max volume.
“We’re only making plans for Justin” lol wonderful. You the best, always cheers me up.
I can't think of too many singers who could sing a song like this and not come across as sounding pretentious.
Peter just has one of those voices that make you instantly listen to everything he has to say. And the fact that he knows how to "act" songs as well,
makes it impossible to not only enjoy what he does, but to also not take him seriously. He has the gravitas to pull off this sort of stuff with ease.
On a very few number of dates on the tour for this album, PG performed a song called Why Don't We. It was never put onto any album, but a small bit of it is somewhat similar to part of Family Snapshot. Yours truly posted the most popular version of it on youtube ages ago. It is better than many of the songs on his first two albums, I think. My favorite versions of Here Comes The Flood are the version on the Robert Fripp - Exposure album, and the version he played on the Kate Bush 1979 Christmas TV special "Kate".
This bombastic production is a good one from Bob Ezrin. In the 90´s and after, he sang it more softly and acoustic.
Remember hearing this live in a packed house at the fabled Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto as an encore in the early 80's. Amazing !!!
I’ve always thought the lyrics had to do with the German “Blitz” attacks on Great Britain during WWII. As so many others have suggested, do the Fripp version from “Exposure.”
I saw this song in his first solo tour, in Gothenburg, Sweden, many many moons ago - the dynamic difference from verse to chorus, strong as it is in the record, was shattering in the concert, a veritable sound wall, ...
The organ effect was a Leslie Cabinet Two speakers..1 up 1 down with the sound steered through a spinning twin horn device of which' the speed can be controlled
this song has actually brought me to tears as I listen to the story of lose and survival
His remake is the version I prefer though his original is awesome. I saw him live in 1992/93, and he came out after the band left the stage and played it on piano as an encore. This song is in my top 10 favorite Gabriel songs.
Wow I had only heard the slow version on his shaking the tree greatest hits album not knowing the "real" version was this amazing! I have been listening to the other version for almost 25 years. I was missing soooo much!
Ok, Mr. Justin you are forgetting that "heavier" side again. There are so many great jams that you would totally dig. Led Boots, by Jeff Beck will give you that jazz fusion side and the rhythm section on that song is epic. My favorite Beck album, Wired, has lots of GREAT tunes to enjoy. Might want to try that whole album if you have the opening in ur hectic schedule. Cheers, and I am off to another workshop for the weekend. Thanks for the muse.
I've been listening to this track ever since I bought the album when it came out.... After the LP ended it was straight on again and has been one of the staples of my music collection ever since. The fabulous thing about this song is that it has never got stale in all those 45 years.
Love that you have gone so deep into Peter. I feel his fans each have a deep and meaningful relationship to his art.
Without a doubt.
Majestic. That's the word.
Anthony Phillips „ the geese and the ghost“ 🙋♂️👍
Hi, JP. Dave from London, loving The Old Songs. Such a great reaction to one of my PG favourites. Despite the huge disappointment of him leaving Genesis, this album made up for it big time. It had many of the Genesis hallmarks, whilst hinting at his ambition to forge a new path. This song for me is the stand out, and you are so right that it is the ideal show closer, because when I saw him on tour at the Hammy Odeon in London in 1977, I'm pretty sure that it was just that. Brilliant band he had with him; some from the album including the brilliant Steve Hunter from Alice Cooper's band.
The first 4 solo albums were all titled Peter Gabriel. They are nicknamed Car, Scratch, Melt and Security based on the album covers. Obviously, this is from Car.
It's a stand-out track - what more can you say? Hard to believe he recorded this just a couple of years after his Genesis departure. It's so mature and confident. He still plays this live, often just a piano version, and it still makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck! You should definitely check out his second album (PG2, aka Scratch) - it builds on this sound, and is a much more cohesive album than first, imo.
Really?
Whats the stand out track on PG2?
PG1 has Solsbury Hill and Here comes the flood
PG3 has Games without Frontiers, Biko, I don't remember and Family Snapshot
PG4 and So - basically both whole albums are a classic
Us has Steam, Come talk to me, Blood of Eden and Digging in the dirt
PG2 and Up are my two least favourite Peter Gabriel albums, and strangely, I own both on CD so can still listen to them, while 1,2, 4 and So are in my loft with the record collection.
@@EwanV there isn't necessarily a stand-out track on PG2, it's just a great album. Very understated and atmospheric. Mother of Violence is wonderful, as is White Shadow and Animal Magic, and the Fripp-esque Exposure, and Perspective. The only track I'm not keen on is the final Home Sweet Home, but that's just because it's a heart-breaking story, and gets me down, not a bad track musically. Listen again, my friend, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Absolutely wonderful album beginning to end. On this album, Peter begins to experiment with what would eventually be called “world music”. Humdrum is probably my favorite song on the album the audio textures and lyrics are soul rending. I love Robert Fripp and you are very aware of his talent. I would love for you to listen to Fracture off of Starless and Bible Black
It starts so simple and it builds up to a great outburst. And then things start all over again. Excellent song.
The organ is being played through a Leslie cabinet which is a speaker that has a rotating drum beneath it that sends out sound waves at different positions as its spun. It was design to emulate the sound of a large church/cathedral pipe organ and was often used in conjunction with a Hammond Organ
"When the nails sunk in the cloud..." is the line when it really hits for me.
I have a recommendation, but first, thanks for the song review on Flood. It’s literally been a decade or more since I’ve heard this. I had forgotten how great this work is. Peter’s voice! Awesome! 👍🏻👍🏻
Now, I’d like to recommend the album Wasteland, by Riverside. It’s a concept album with layers of meaning. In the wake of losing their guitarist and friend, the feeling of loss is palpable. The album is a story of survival in a post apocalyptic sense. I re-listened to it yesterday and thought of you. There’s not a dud on this album.
Please consider this 🙏
Thanks
Cool stuff, i gave it a listen at your suggestion. Floydish I thought, which is a good thing. Relaxing, mesmerizing and then some heavy chords. 5 songs in, nice production.