Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1992
Steam (Peter Gabriel song)
Buy Steam (Peter Gabriel song) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
"'Steam'" is the second single from English rock musician Peter Gabriel's 1992 album 'Us'. Gabriel has said that the song is about a relationship in which the woman is sophisticated, bright, cultured, and knows everything about anything while the man knows nothing about anything; however, he does know about the woman, and she does not know much about herself.'All About us' video compilation, Peter Gabriel, 1993 (VHS format only)[http://www.petergabriel.com/features/All_About..._Us/ All about... us] header 'Steam'
"Steam" reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, number 32 on the US 'Billboard' Hot 100, and number one on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. In Canada the single became a number-one hit, topping the 'RPM' Top Singles chart on the week of 27 February 1993, knocking Whitney Houston's hit "I Will Always Love You" off the top spot after a 10-week run. "Steam" also charted within the top 10 in Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand and Portugal.
An alternative version of this song called "Quiet Steam" was a B-side on the "Digging in the Dirt" single. It is a very lo-fi take on the popular version that appeared on the album. On 'Secret World Live', "Steam" is preceded for a minute or so by the "Quiet Steam" version.
Critical reception
Music writer James Masterton stated in his weekly UK chart commentary, that "the correspondingly ingenious video will propel this into the Top 10."
Music video
The surreal video for "Steam" was directed by Stephen R. Johnson, who also directed the videos for Gabriel's earlier hits "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time". The director said he wanted to cram the video with as many "things" as possible. The video features digital imagery and numerous instances of sexual symbolism.
Awards and nominations
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1993
| rowspan="3" | MTV Video Music Award
| Best Male Video
|
|-
| Best Visual Effects
|
|-
| Best Editing
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1994
| rowspan="2" | Grammy Award
| Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
|
|-
| Best Music Video
|
|}
Track listing
All songs written by Peter Gabriel.
# "Steam" (LP version) 6:02
# "Games Without Frontiers" (Massive / DB mix) 5:19
# "Steam" (Oh, Oh, Let Off Steam mix 12") 6:44
# "Steam" (Oh, Oh, Let Off Steam mix dub) 5:44
Personnel
'Producers'
* Peter Gabriel
* Daniel Lanois
* Massive Attack / David Bottrill (remix and extra production on "Games without Frontiers")
* Hank Shocklee and The Bomb Squad (remix on "Oh, Oh, Let Off Steam" versions)
'Musicians'
* Peter Gabriel: vocals, keyboards, percussion, horn arrangement
* Manu Katch: electronic drums
* Tony Levin: bass guitar
* David Rhodes: guitar
* Daniel Lanois: horn arrangement
* David Bottrill: programming
* Richard Blair: programming
* The Babacar Faye Drummers: Sabar drums
* Leon Nocentelli: guitar (Epiphone)
* Tim Green: tenor saxophone
* Reggie Houston: baritone saxophone
* Wayne Jackson: trumpet
* Renard Poche: trombone
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
See also
*Number-one 'Billboard' modern rock hits of 1992
*List of RPM number-one singles of 1993
References
Category:1992 songs
Category:1993 singles
Category:Animated music videos
Category:Funk rock songs
Category:Geffen Records singles
Category:Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video
Category:Music videos directed by Stephen R. Johnson
Category:Peter Gabriel songs
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Daniel Lanois
Category:Songs written by Peter Gabriel
Buy Steam (Peter Gabriel song) now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1992