Solsbury Hill (song)
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"Solsbury Hill" is the debut solo single by English rock musician
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
. He wrote the song about a
spiritual experience A religious experience (sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, or mystical experience) is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. The concept originated in the 19th century, as a defens ...
atop
Solsbury Hill Little Solsbury Hill (more commonly known as Solsbury Hill) is a small flat-topped hill and the site of an Iron Age hill fort, above the village of Batheaston in Somerset, England. The hill rises to above the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon ...
in
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
, England, after his departure from the
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
band
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
, of which he had been the lead vocalist 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. 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." The song is mostly written in time, an unusual
time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
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 B major (or the key of B) is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its ...
with a
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
of 102 beats per minute, with Gabriel's vocals ranging from F3 to G4.


Background

Recorded at The Soundstage studios in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, producer
Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezrin' ...
placed some restrictions on the
session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
s to give the song its distinctive sound. While earlier versions of the song featured more prominent electric guitar, Ezrin instructed guitarist
Steve Hunter Stephen John Hunter (born June 14, 1948) is an American guitarist, primarily a session player. He has worked with Lou Reed and Alice Cooper, acquiring the moniker "The Deacon". Hunter first played with Mitch Ryder's Detroit, beginning a long as ...
to instead perform the main riff on a
twelve-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...
, 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. Rather than employ a full drum kit,
Allan Schwartzberg Allan Schwartzberg (born December 28, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. He has been a member of the rock band Mountain, Peter Gabriel's first solo band, toured with Brecker Brothers' Dreams, B.J. Thomas, Linda Rondstadt, Stan Get ...
placed a shaker in one hand and a drum stick in another, which he used to strike a
telephone directory A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization tha ...
. For additional rhythmic textures,
Larry Fast Lawrence Roger Fast (born December 10, 1951) is an American synthesizer player and composer. He is best known for his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums (''Synergy'') and for his contributions to a number of popular music acts, inclu ...
constructed a fake drum kit on his keyboard, which he dubbed the "synthibam", although the liner notes credit percussionist
Jimmy Maelen Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...
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. The song originally had seven different parts, but Ezrin helped Gabriel pare it down to a shorter length. In a 1977 interview with
Barbara Charone Barbara Charone is a UK-based American public relations officer for musical artists and Board Member of Chelsea F.C. Formerly a journalist and music critic, she wrote regularly for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', the ''NME'' and ''Rolling Stone'' while s ...
, Gabriel revealed that "Solsbury Hill" was almost left off his first album. Ezrin attributed this to the final line of the chorus, which was originally "''make your life a taxi not a tomb''", which he refused to allow on the album. He commented that the song "was not going on the record until we found the proper last line". Several alternate lyrics were attempted, including "''does anyone here know Officer Muldoon?''"; the two also considered
backmasking Backmasking is a recording technique in which a message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. It is a deliberate process, whereas a message found through phonetic reversal may be unintentional. Artists have s ...
the lyric "''fool, you've got the record on backwards''". During the final day of mixing, Gabriel changed the line to "''grab your things I've come to take you home''", which Ezrin accepted. Gabriel ultimately expressed his approval of the song, placing particular attention on its 7/4 time signature. "It's got a kick time and that 7/4 rhythm works well because it feels like a normal rhythm but isn't quite right...If it's a hit, it'll be interesting to see how people dance to it."


Critical reception

''
Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' said that "its lighthearted feeling should go a long way in expanding his audience beyond the boundaries of so-called '
Progressive Rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
.'" ''
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...
'' said that "the folk flavored song has an interesting electronic undercurrent." ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' described "Solsbury Hill" as the "most overtly personal song on the album", further adding that "its simple and infectious melody" gave the feeling that Gabriel's departure from the band "was like having the proverbial weight lifted from his shoulders." ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' also gave the song a positive review, writing that "its beautifully syncopated rhythm is utterly addictive." They singled out further praise for Ezrin's production and the song's "perfectly developed riff." In 2021, it was listed at No. 472 on ''Rolling Stone''s "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".


Use in soundtracks

The song has been used in a number of films and television shows, including the 2001 film ''
Vanilla Sky ''Vanilla Sky'' is a 2001 American science fiction thriller film directed, written, and co-produced by Cameron Crowe. It is an English-language remake of Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 Spanish film '' Open Your Eyes'', which was written by Amenábar ...
'' and the 2004 film '' In Good Company''. It has also been used in the trailer of ''
Finding Dory ''Finding Dory'' is a 2016 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton, produced by Lindsey Collins and written by Stanton and Vict ...
'' (2016), and featured as the send-off song for the series finale of
AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** AM ...
's '' Halt and Catch Fire''. It was also used for the conclusion of an episode of Fox's ''
9-1-1 , usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...
''. It was used in a
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TV ad campaign, a
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
ad campaign, and a
Nespresso Nestlé Nespresso S.A., trading as Nespresso, is an operating unit of the Nestlé Group, based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Nespresso machines brew espresso and coffee from coffee capsules (or ''pods'' in machines for home or professional use), ...
TV ad campaign. Its prevalence in romantic comedy trailers has been called "ubiquitous", particularly its inclusion in a satirical
re-cut trailer A re-cut trailer, or retrailer is a mashup video that uses footage from a movie or its original trailers to create a completely new context or one different from the original source material. The mashups are parody trailers that derive humor from ...
of '' The Shining'' (1980).


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 "Shock the Monkey" is a song by English rock musician Peter Gabriel. It was released in September 1982 as the second single from his fourth self-titled album, issued in the US under the title ''Security''. The song peaked at number 29 on the US ...
" – 3:58


Personnel

* Peter Gabriel – vocals, flute, recorder *
Steve Hunter Stephen John Hunter (born June 14, 1948) is an American guitarist, primarily a session player. He has worked with Lou Reed and Alice Cooper, acquiring the moniker "The Deacon". Hunter first played with Mitch Ryder's Detroit, beginning a long as ...
– guitars *
Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 198 ...
– bass guitar *
Larry Fast Lawrence Roger Fast (born December 10, 1951) is an American synthesizer player and composer. He is best known for his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums (''Synergy'') and for his contributions to a number of popular music acts, inclu ...
– synths *
Allan Schwartzberg Allan Schwartzberg (born December 28, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. He has been a member of the rock band Mountain, Peter Gabriel's first solo band, toured with Brecker Brothers' Dreams, B.J. Thomas, Linda Rondstadt, Stan Get ...
– drums, shaker, telephone book *
Jimmy Maelen Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...
– synthibam *
London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...
is often credited as having played guitar on the track. However, he has written: "I had nothing to add to the track after Steve unters superb & fitting contribution, although I would love to be on it."


Charts


Certifications


Erasure version

"Solsbury Hill" was recorded by English
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...
duo
Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...
in 2003 for their
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s album ''
Other People's Songs ''Other People's Songs'' is a cover album by English synth-pop duo Erasure released on 27 January 2003. The album was originally conceived as a solo project for singer Andy Bell. Once Vince Clarke, the other member of Erasure, became involved ...
'' and released as a single in the United Kingdom on 6 January 2003. The single reached No. 10 on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, 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 Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...
. Clarke and lead vocalist Andy Bell turned the song into a mid-tempo
electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...
dance tune, displaying the signature Erasure sound. The band changed the structure of the song from the original
time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
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 A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for the cover which was released on Erasure's DVD compilation ''
Hits! the Videos ''Hits! the Videos'' is a DVD released by English synth-pop duo Erasure (duo), Erasure as a companion to their greatest hits album ''Hits! The Very Best of Erasure''. The double-disc set was released by Mute Records in 2003 and contained all musi ...
''.


Track listings

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 Manhattan Clique is a group composed of producers, remixers and songwriters Philip Larsen and Chris Smith, also known as "MHC". Their successes have been reflected in the ''Music Week'' Club and Pop charts in the UK, plus the Billboard dance chart ...
extended remix) # "
Ave Maria The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's s ...
" DVD Single (DVDMUTE275) # "Solsbury Hill" (radio mix) # "
Video Killed the Radio Star "Video Killed the Radio Star" is a song written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley in 1979. It was recorded concurrently by Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards) for their album '' English Garden'' an ...
" # "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


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Other cover versions

In 2013, an instrumental version of "Solsbury Hill" was included on guitarist
Steve Hunter Stephen John Hunter (born June 14, 1948) is an American guitarist, primarily a session player. He has worked with Lou Reed and Alice Cooper, acquiring the moniker "The Deacon". Hunter first played with Mitch Ryder's Detroit, beginning a long as ...
's studio album '' The Manhattan Blues Project''. Hunter had played on the original
Peter Gabriel (1977 album) ''Peter Gabriel'' is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter and producer Peter Gabriel, released on 25 February 1977 by Charisma Records. After his departure from the progressive rock band Genesis was made public in 1975, Gabrie ...
recording and he invited his friend and original "Solsbury Hill" bassist
Tony Levin Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (since 198 ...
to play bass on the track. In 1991 Canadian progressive rock band
Saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...
released a cover of "Solsbury Hill" on their greatest hits compilation called '' The Works''.


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1977 debut singles 2003 singles Peter Gabriel songs Erasure songs Song recordings produced by Gareth Jones Songs written by Peter Gabriel Song recordings produced by Bob Ezrin Mute Records singles 1977 songs Atco Records singles Charisma Records singles Geffen Records singles Progressive pop songs