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Solsbury Hill (song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Solsbury Hill
| cover = Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel UK single sleeve.png
| alt =
| caption = Original 1977 UK vinyl single
| type = single
| artist = Peter Gabriel
| album = Peter Gabriel (Car)
| B-side = Moribund the Burgermeister
| released = 21 March 1977
| recorded = 1976
| studio =
| genre =
* Pop rock
* folk pop
* progressive pop
| length =
* 4:21 (album version)
* 3:24 (single edit version)
| label =
* Atco
* Charisma
| writer = Peter Gabriel
| producer = Bob Ezrin
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Modern Love
| next_year = 1977
| misc =
}}
"'Solsbury Hill'" is the debut solo single of English musician Peter Gabriel. He wrote the song about a spiritual experience atop Little Solsbury Hill in Somerset, England, after his departure from the progressive rock band Genesis, of which he had been the lead singer since its inception. The single was a Top 20 hit in the UK, peaking at number 13, and reached number 68 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart in 1977.[http://www.billboard.com/artist/329043/peter+gabriel/chart "Peter Gabriel Chart History"]. Billboard. Retrieved 3 February 2015
Gabriel has said of the song's meaning, "It's about being prepared to lose what you have for what you might get ... It's about letting go."Daryl Easlea (2013).[https://books.google.com/books?id=Azn_AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT204&lpg=PT204&dq=gabriel+solsbury+hill+-++letting+go&source=bl&ots=y_9BRlsthM&sig=yuDUM-SlVIEHfHZDyyHZDs3tytQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Il_QVLzkF4P8Uv-xguAM&ved=0CC8Q6AEwBzge#v=onepage&q=gabriel%20solsbury%20hill%20-%20%20letting%20go&f=false "Without Frontiers: The Life & Music of Peter Gabriel"]. Music Sales Group
The song is mostly written in time, an unusual time signature that has been described as "giving the song a constant sense of struggle". The meter settles into time only for the last two measures of each chorus. It is performed in the key of B major with a tempo of 102 beats per minute, with Gabriel's vocals ranging from F3 to G4.
Background
Producer Bob Ezrin placed some restrictions on the session musicians to give the song its distinctive sound. While earlier versions of the song featured more prominent electric guitar, Ezrin instructed guitarist Steve Hunter to instead perform the main riff on a 12 string guitar, an instrument "he hadn't played in a long time". However, Hunter states that he instead borrowed a Martin acoustic guitar, and Travis picked the voicings with a capo on the second fret. As Ezrin wanted the acoustic guitar to be tripled, Hunter was required to provide three satisfactory takes, all of which had to be aligned with one another. Bob Ezrin used the variable speed oscillator on guitar tracks to achieve the chorusing effect.
Rather than employing a full drum kit, Allan Schwartzberg made do with a shaker in one hand and a drum stick in another, which he used to strike a telephone book. For additional rhythmic textures, Larry Fast constructed a fake drum kit on his keyboard, which he dubbed the "synthibam", although the liner notes credit percussionist Jimmy Maelen with the instrument. After all of the session musicians departed, Fast also overdubbed some additional electronics, including the synth horn orchestration. From verse two onwards, a subdued four note flute riff, played by Gabriel himself, sounds-off the beginning of each section of the lyrics.
Use in soundtracks
It has been used in a number of films and television shows, including the 2001 film 'Vanilla Sky' and the 2004 film 'In Good Company'. It has also been used in the trailer of 'Finding Dory' and featured as the send-off song for the series finale of AMC's 'Halt and Catch Fire'. It was also used for the conclusion of an episode of Fox's '9-1-1'. It was used in a Cingular Wireless TV ad campaign, and a Nespresso TV ad campaign. Its prevalence in romantic comedy trailers has been called "ubiquitous", particularly its inclusion in a satirical re-cut trailer of 'The Shining'.
Track listing
Studio recording
'7" UK single (1977)'
# "Solsbury Hill" 3:24
# "Moribund the Burgermeister" 4:17
'7" "Old Gold" single (1982)'
# "Solsbury Hill" 3:26
# "Games Without Frontiers" 3:50
'UK maxi-single (1983, 1988)'
# "Solsbury Hill" 3:24
# "Moribund the Burgermeister" 4:17
# "Solsbury Hill (Full Length Live Version)" 5:45
'European single (1990 re-issue)'
# "Solsbury Hill" 4:24 / 4:22
# "Shaking the Tree" 5:06
# "Games Without Frontiers" (Live) 6:06
Live version
'7" US single (1983)'
# "Solsbury Hill" (Live) 3:58
# "I Go Swimming" (Live) 4:29
'7" Netherlands single (1983)'
# "Solsbury Hill" (Live) 4:41
# "Kiss of Life" (Live) 5:01
'7" US single (1983)'
# "Solsbury Hill" (Live) 3:58
# "Shock the Monkey" 3:58
Personnel
*Peter Gabriel vocals, flute, recorder
*Steve Hunter guitars
*Tony Levin bass guitar
*Larry Fast synths
*Allan Schwartzberg drums, shaker, telephone book
*Jimmy Maelen synthibam
* London Symphony Orchestra
Robert Fripp is often credited. However, he has written: "I had nothing to add to the track after Steve [Hunter]'s superb & fitting contribution, although I would love to be on it."
Reception
'Cash Box' said that "its lighthearted feeling should go a long way in expanding his audience beyond the boundaries of so-called 'Progressive Rock.'" In 2021, it was listed at No. 472 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1977)
!Peak
position
|-
|Belgium (Wallonia)
|style="text-align:center;"|17
|-
|-
|Germany (Official German Charts)
|style="text-align:center;"|16
|-
|Netherlands
|style="text-align:center;"|13
|-
|UK Singles (Official Charts Company)
|style="text-align:center;"|13
|-
|US 'Billboard' Hot 100
|style="text-align:center;"|68
|}
Certifications
Erasure version
{{Infobox song
| name = Solsbury Hill
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Erasure
| album = Other People's Songs
| B-side =
| released =
| recorded = 2002
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Synth-pop
| length = 3:57
| label = Mute
| writer = Peter Gabriel
| producer =
| prev_title = Moon & the Sky
| prev_year = 2001
| next_title = Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)
| next_year = 2003
| misc =
}}
"Solsbury Hill" was recorded by British synthpop duo Erasure in 2003 for their cover versions album 'Other People's Songs' and released as a single in the United Kingdom on 6 January 2003. This Erasure single became a hit, reaching No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 7 in Denmark, No. 29 in Germany, No. 39 in Sweden, and No. 41 in Ireland. The track was chosen for the album by Erasure member Vince Clarke.
Clarke and singer Andy Bell turned the song into a mid-tempo electronic dance tune, displaying the signature Erasure sound. The band changed the structure of the song from the original time signature to except for the chorus, which slips back into time for one line. This also results in the vocals in the verses effectively being shifted forward in comparison to Gabriel's (which start on beat 5 of each bar) to start on beat 1 of bars 1 and 3.
Clarke directed a music video for the cover which was released on Erasure's DVD compilation 'Hits! the Videos.'
Track listing
'CD Single No. 1 (CDMUTE275)'# "Solsbury Hill"
# "Tell It To Me"
# "Searching"
'CD Single No. 2 (LCDMUTE275)'
# "Solsbury Hill" (37B Mix)
# "Solsbury Hill" (Manhattan Clique Extended Remix)
# "Ave Maria"
'DVD Single (DVDMUTE275)'
# "Solsbury Hill" (Radio Mix)
# "Video Killed the Radio Star"
# "Dr Jeckyll and Mistress Hyde" (Short Film)
'US CD Maxi Single (9200-2)'
# "Solsbury Hill" (Radio Mix)
# "Solsbury Hill"
# "Tell It To Me"
# "Searching"
# "Video Killed the Radio Star" (37B Mix)
# "Solsbury Hill" (37B Mix)
# "Solsbury Hill" (Manhattan Clique Extended Remix)
# "Ave Maria"
# "Dr. Jeckyll And Mistress Hyde" (Short Film)
Charts
Other cover versions
In 1989, Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan released a cover version on her cd single for "Steaming".
In 1991, Canadian progressive rock band Saga released a cover version of the song in the second disc of the double compilation LP The Works.
In 2010, Lou Reed released a version of the song as part of the project 'Scratch My Back', with Peter Gabriel recording cover versions of other artists and letting them provide covers of his songs in return. Many of the versions were very different from the original recordings. Lou Reed's version, like Erasure's, changes the time signature to , and shifts the vocals in the verses to start on beat 2 of bars 1 and 3.
In April 2013, an instrumental version of Solsbury Hill was included in guitar player Steve Hunter's album 'The Manhattan Blues Project'. Hunter had played on the original Peter Gabriel (1977 album) recording and he invited his friend and original Solsbury Hill bass player Tony Levin to play bass on the track. In the 2014 biography by Daryl Easley 'Without Frontiers' Gabriel gave Hunter credit for coming up with the guitar parts which became a signature for the song.
References
Category:1977 debut singles
Category:2003 singles
Category:Peter Gabriel songs
Category:Erasure songs
Category:Song recordings produced by Gareth Jones
Category:Songs written by Peter Gabriel
Category:Song recordings produced by Bob Ezrin
Category:Mute Records singles
Category:1977 songs
Category:Atco Records singles
Category:Charisma Records singles
Category:Geffen Records singles
Category:Progressive pop songs
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