"That Voice Again" | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Promotional single by Peter Gabriel | |
from the album So | |
Released | 1986 |
Length | 4:52 |
Label |
Charisma Geffen |
Songwriter(s) | Peter Gabriel and David Rhodes |
Producer(s) | Peter Gabriel and Daniel Lanois |
"That Voice Again" is a song by English rock musician Peter Gabriel from his 1986 album So. The song was released as a promotional single and reached No. 14 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. Gabriel identified "That Voice Again" as one of his favorite songs on the album. [1]
In 1983, Gabriel was approached by Martin Scorsese to develop the soundtrack for The Last Temptation of Christ, although the release date of the film was ultimately pushed back to 1988. [2] Under the working title "The First Stone", Gabriel originally incorporated biblical themes from the Old Testament into the lyrics, specifically referencing the line "let him first cast a stone" from John 8:7. [3] He later altered the lyrics to be less religious and more introspective to reflect his attempts at being less judgemental. These lyrics pertained to judgment on a personal and global scale, but Gabriel remained dissatisfied with some of the words. [1]
After attempting three different sets of lyrics, Gabriel solicited the assistance of guitarist David Rhodes, who helped him "loosen a few syllables here and there." [1] [4] He ultimately settled on lyrics that examined "the parental voice in our heads that either helps or defeats us". [5] [6]
"That Voice Again" is about judgmental attitudes being a barrier between people. The voice is the voice of judgment. A haunting internal voice that instead of accepting experience is always analyzing, moralizing and evaluating it. [7]
"That Voice Again" is Gabriel's final song to be associated with his aborted story surrounding the fictional character of Mozo, a "mercurial stranger" loosely based on Moses and the alchemical treatise Aurora consurgens. Gabriel dispersed several songs related to Mozo on his albums up through So in 1986, with " Here Comes the Flood" and "Down the Dolce Vita" first referencing the character on Gabriel's 1977 debut solo album. He intended for his Mozo songs to comprise a complete story when assembled together. Within the context of the Mozo story, "That Voice Again" represented the attribute of judgment. In 1987, Gabriel considered developing a one-hour video revolving around Mozo, but he ultimately never brought this idea to fruition. [7]
Gabriel gravitated toward the 12-string guitar during the recording sessions; the instrument had not appeared on any of his compositions since the 1974 release of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, which was his final album with Genesis. [8] After his departure from Genesis, Gabriel opted against the use of the 12-string guitar on his solo material, but he later decided that "ten years was long enough". [9]
Gabriel took some musical inspiration from The Byrds when creating some of the song's instrumentation. [9] The song's 12-string guitar was played by Daniel Lanois and Rhodes covered the electric guitar parts. [8] [10] Similar to " Red Rain", the first song on So, "That Voice Again" begins with an instrumental interlude followed by the chorus, which features multitracked vocals overdubbed by Gabriel. [8] For the line "Only love can make love", Gabriel sustained the final syllable for over ten seconds. [5] Following another chorus, the song concludes with a percussion figure and a "sudden chord" as described by music critic Durrell Bowman. [8]
Louder identified "That Voice Again" as a "beautiful, Byrds-like pop song that often gets overlooked amid the album's plentiful highlights." [10] The Quietus called the song "far from subdued" and highlighted the drumming of Manu Katché. [5] Pitchfork said that apart from " Sledgehammer", "That Voice Again" had the strongest chorus on So and the "most biting lyric". [11]
Ultimate Classic Rock thought that Gabriel demonstrated an "exquisite vocal delicacy on the yearning, piano-dazzled 'That Voice Again' — a love song torn apart by self-doubt." [12] Uncut was more critical of the production choices, saying that some of the song's keyboard sounds detracted from the listening experience. [13]
Chart (1986) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard) [14] | 14 |
{{
cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
"That Voice Again" | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Promotional single by Peter Gabriel | |
from the album So | |
Released | 1986 |
Length | 4:52 |
Label |
Charisma Geffen |
Songwriter(s) | Peter Gabriel and David Rhodes |
Producer(s) | Peter Gabriel and Daniel Lanois |
"That Voice Again" is a song by English rock musician Peter Gabriel from his 1986 album So. The song was released as a promotional single and reached No. 14 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. Gabriel identified "That Voice Again" as one of his favorite songs on the album. [1]
In 1983, Gabriel was approached by Martin Scorsese to develop the soundtrack for The Last Temptation of Christ, although the release date of the film was ultimately pushed back to 1988. [2] Under the working title "The First Stone", Gabriel originally incorporated biblical themes from the Old Testament into the lyrics, specifically referencing the line "let him first cast a stone" from John 8:7. [3] He later altered the lyrics to be less religious and more introspective to reflect his attempts at being less judgemental. These lyrics pertained to judgment on a personal and global scale, but Gabriel remained dissatisfied with some of the words. [1]
After attempting three different sets of lyrics, Gabriel solicited the assistance of guitarist David Rhodes, who helped him "loosen a few syllables here and there." [1] [4] He ultimately settled on lyrics that examined "the parental voice in our heads that either helps or defeats us". [5] [6]
"That Voice Again" is about judgmental attitudes being a barrier between people. The voice is the voice of judgment. A haunting internal voice that instead of accepting experience is always analyzing, moralizing and evaluating it. [7]
"That Voice Again" is Gabriel's final song to be associated with his aborted story surrounding the fictional character of Mozo, a "mercurial stranger" loosely based on Moses and the alchemical treatise Aurora consurgens. Gabriel dispersed several songs related to Mozo on his albums up through So in 1986, with " Here Comes the Flood" and "Down the Dolce Vita" first referencing the character on Gabriel's 1977 debut solo album. He intended for his Mozo songs to comprise a complete story when assembled together. Within the context of the Mozo story, "That Voice Again" represented the attribute of judgment. In 1987, Gabriel considered developing a one-hour video revolving around Mozo, but he ultimately never brought this idea to fruition. [7]
Gabriel gravitated toward the 12-string guitar during the recording sessions; the instrument had not appeared on any of his compositions since the 1974 release of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, which was his final album with Genesis. [8] After his departure from Genesis, Gabriel opted against the use of the 12-string guitar on his solo material, but he later decided that "ten years was long enough". [9]
Gabriel took some musical inspiration from The Byrds when creating some of the song's instrumentation. [9] The song's 12-string guitar was played by Daniel Lanois and Rhodes covered the electric guitar parts. [8] [10] Similar to " Red Rain", the first song on So, "That Voice Again" begins with an instrumental interlude followed by the chorus, which features multitracked vocals overdubbed by Gabriel. [8] For the line "Only love can make love", Gabriel sustained the final syllable for over ten seconds. [5] Following another chorus, the song concludes with a percussion figure and a "sudden chord" as described by music critic Durrell Bowman. [8]
Louder identified "That Voice Again" as a "beautiful, Byrds-like pop song that often gets overlooked amid the album's plentiful highlights." [10] The Quietus called the song "far from subdued" and highlighted the drumming of Manu Katché. [5] Pitchfork said that apart from " Sledgehammer", "That Voice Again" had the strongest chorus on So and the "most biting lyric". [11]
Ultimate Classic Rock thought that Gabriel demonstrated an "exquisite vocal delicacy on the yearning, piano-dazzled 'That Voice Again' — a love song torn apart by self-doubt." [12] Uncut was more critical of the production choices, saying that some of the song's keyboard sounds detracted from the listening experience. [13]
Chart (1986) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard) [14] | 14 |
{{
cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)