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The subjects Peter Gabriel deals with in the eight songs found in “Security” point to the album’s general theme:
Rhythm of the Heat: African religions
San Jacinto: Native American mythology
The Family and the Fishing Net: Caribbean Santeria
And the subjects of modern western existence:
I have the touch: Craving for human contact
Shock the Monkey: The cruelty of scientific research
Lay your hands on me: A yearning for belief in a post-Christian world
Wallflower: Madness as resistance
Kiss of Life: an optimistic coda – a better tomorrow
The mysteries and substance of non-Western cultures are contrasted with the dispiriting, dispirited loneliness of modern life. “Lay your hands on me” is interesting because it expresses a yearning for religious rebirth, but within a western -- and I assume Christian -- context. That may shift the way you view the things being contrasted to one between ancient religious solace and unsatisfying modern rationality.
This was a favorite album of mine maybe two decades ago and I recently sat down to listen to it again, for the first time in over a decade. Gratifyingly, it’s held up quite well. The substance of the lyrics is matched by some inspired songwriting. And though it clearly sounds like 1980s music, it hasn’t dated or aged badly. The sounds are often intricate and rich. The spooky opening of what I think is probably the best song on the album, “The Family and the Fishing Net”, is a particularly good example, with (what I think are) synthesized flute sounds beginning almost inaudibly. Bassist Tony Levin’s “stick bass” work also adds a visceral and original element to the sound.
What are the flaws? I’ll name two: Gabriel is simply not a particularly skillful lyricist. “Security” is actually better than his other work in this respect but it’s really unfortunate in a terrific song like “Family and the Fishing Net” that there is a chorus-and-solo-response to the words “headless chickens.” Some of the lines are evocative and meaningful, but there are some clunkers included. The second flaw is a tendency towards over-repetitiveness. I found the second half of the album’s big hit “Shock the Monkey” mind-numbingly dull and would also point to “Kiss of Life” as too lengthy. (This is a criticism I’d make of a lot of rock music – it should be cut, cut, cut… Don’t even get me started on U2’s recent releases.)
But those flaws don’t negate some thoughtful and wonderful songwriting, a terrific back-up band and a very creditable sound engineering job. This looks to remain as one of the rock era’s best albums. 5 stars.
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