(Credits: Far Out / Nadav Kander)
Mon 4 August 2025 18:36, UK
Is there really a right way to approach rock and roll singing? Sure, some people can find ways to work around different notes that they can’t hit or get by on charisma alone, but it’s not like everyone is expecting a singer to go up there with the same kind of muscle and precision as a Freddie Mercury or anything.
Even Peter Gabriel didn’t consider himself to be up there with the greatest of all time, but he definitely knew when a talent was once-in-a-generation when he heard one out in the wild.
But when it comes to Gabriel’s own approach to vocals, he was more acting than singing half the time he was in Genesis. A lot of the best moments with the prog-rock icons were when he started working outside the parameters of what rock and roll singing could be, which only managed to get more difficult whenever he donned his face with makeup or came up with those lavish costumes that made him look like everything from flowers to a fox whenever he performed.
When he struck out on his own, his career was no longer tied strictly to rock and roll. He could play that kind of music when he wanted to, but when he started leaning into the art rock side of things, he could start working in different areas that didn’t exactly cater to what pop music was supposed to be. So could be as much about world music as it could be about Otis Redding, but when on his next albums, things started to pivot a bit more.
He knew that pop music wasn’t where he wanted to be for the rest of his life, and while Us was a fantastic record for its time, Up was when he started moving beyond the charts. He knew there were a lot more avenues that he could go down, like ambient music, but in between the sleepy side of his music was a song like ‘Signal to Noise’, featuring the beautiful vocal talents of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Gabriel had known the kind of beauty that existed beyond his own culture when working on ‘In Your Eyes’, but he felt that he was working with a true genius when listening to Khan, saying, “Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was one of the most extraordinary singers, I think, of our time. It was very sad for us to lose him and I was very lucky that he’d worked on this track before he died. It was such a powerful thing that I was keen to finish it and make it a sort of centrepiece for the record.”
And looking at the pedigree of artists that Gabriel has worked with, it’s not like he’s saying that lightly. The whole point of him working on his solo career was to have the opportunity to work with talented singers, but whereas Kate Bush was raw beauty being unleashed in the studio on ‘Don’t Give Up’, Khan had a much more evocative delivery, even if not everything he sang was challenging.
His voice might not be everyone’s definition of what a fantastic singer is supposed to be, but when you hear his voice, it’s one that’s full of all of life’s struggles. There might have been an instrumental version of the tune that made its way into the movie Gangs of New York, but whenever listening to that version, it stings a little bit knowing that a crucial part of the song is missing with Khan’s performance.
Because as much as the guitars and synth padding are doing the heavy lifting, nothing’s ever going to replace the sound of someone that’s singing their heart out in the most natural way. There’s the mechanics of vocal training that can be taught, but this is something that you need to feel in your soul first.
Related Topics