Peter Gabriel performed this song during an Italian music festival called Sanremo and in the middle of the performance he took a rope attached to the ceiling and started swinging around the theater like Tarzan. This was 1982 I guess. He was so ahead of time
This song still rocks hard after 42 years! This did OK in the US and much better in the UK, but was held back on the charts because it dropped a month before Michael Jackson's mega-hit album Thriller, which dominated the charts for the next year. The video is one of Gabriel's best and you should watch it offline. It got lots of airtime on MTV which was getting big at the time. Thanks for listening and sharing! Peace from SF
It always seems to connect with me on some primal level. Especially when I watch the video. Like so many here have already said . . . watch the video. It came out early on in MTV's life, and EVERYONE was talking about it. A highlight when we saw this tour. Seeing him in the beautiful and acoustically perfect Oscar Mayer Theatre made it an absolutely perfect night out with my wife, sister and brother-in law. State Street in Madison in those days was a magical place to hang out at.
Peter Gabriel has always been a very visual artist and music videos were a perfect format and platform for him. At a time when MTV and music videos were big, Gabriel's were the biggest.
Ah ah ah ! So much fun ! It's extraordinary how things go. Always rediscovering a song you thought you'd know so well. Shock the monkey is to me the big brother of In your eyes. There are so much layers of sounds (I am speaking about the tracks). There is always a new thing to ear. Speaking about layers, should we talk about lyrics and interpretation ? Jealousy, yes it's not a legend : this is how Peter himself introduce the song to the audience in the Live in Athens, so it's approved. But the thing related to the fact that he wrote it because of his producer at the time (again, watch on RUclips the making of of PG IV - the southbank show) David Lords had an affair with Peter's wife during right the recording of this album... Thank you JP. I waited for a new PG reaction for so long.
Security was the very first CD I ever purchased, after getting my first CD player in late 1984. The digital dynamics were hard on my amp and speakers. CDs are evil.
When I realized the part of Games Without Frontiers I thought was “she’s so funky, yeah” was actually French, I started wondering if Shock the Monkey was supposed to be “Jacques, the monkey.”
Still holds up, love David Rhodes’s cold otherworldly tone. Another trancey song is The Tower That Ate People, come on, with a title like that, ya gotta hear it! It awesome.
First DDD (all digital) CD I purchased in 1982. Video got a lot of play on MTV. The whole album is great. Gabriel was unhappy the record company assigned the title "Security" to the album.
I'm just going to keep liking your Security reactions and recommending watching Alan Parker's "Birdy", which Peter created a soundtrack for using recycled material from PG3 and PG4. It's Gabriel at his most ambient, but also highlights how phenomenal the band that he assembled for the tour that was captured on "Plays Live" was. I love all his albums, but Plays Live and the Birdy soundtrack are both special. And don't get me started on the Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack. Absolutely agree with you on the combination of modern and ancient.
Masterpiece. Can't wait for you to listen to the next song, Lay your hands on me, my favorite song from the album, and my favorite song from Peter 😊 I wish you to listen to Passion, a movie soundtrack for Last temptation of Christ from Scorcese, in 1989. As a whole, an extraordinary album. The peak of Peter experimentation and melting of genres, the "World music", european, african and middle east culture and music.
It's about vivisection. How animals are used for scientific research. A recurring theme is the "cover me" and "darling" line. The testing of cosmetics on monkeys is a very common practice. A macabre subject matter, told in a very uplifting, groovy beat. Only Peter could pull that off!
Never knew what this song was about. Haven't heard it in a long time. I was pretty much discovering it with you. Would never have come up with the interpretation Gabriel gave.
To paraphrase Darth Vader: The falsetto is strong in this one. King Kong v Godzilla was a classic monster movie from the Japanese film company Toho. One of many released in the 1960s. These generally ended up with two or four monsters (guys in rubber suits) having a throw down, occasionally trashing (a model of) Tokyo in the process. Great mindless fun. Refreshingly, the monsters were sometimes the 'good guys'.
I heard that at some point he didn't even let the drummers (Phil/Jerry/Manu) set up cymbals, just the high hat. He thought they competed with his vocals too much and muddied up the mix.
@SF_Bud yup.....and it's a very aggressive sound hit hard........ cymbals should be seen as something you control the sound of..... not something you just hammer a stick on. Can do that in the finale. The cymbals motion should also be controlled unless it's the smallest splash.
I guess I'm showing my age by mentioning how this song reminds me of South Park when Stan is trying to do the boombox bit from Say Anything but he plays this instead of "In Your Eyes" ruclips.net/video/hmcWDjOO3A4/видео.html
Actually, Justin, the song you are referring to in regard to a man meeting a tribe in the desert and being sucked into ancient rites is Gabriel's song " The Rhythm of the Heat" from the same album.
Really? After all this time you've *never* heard this before? But yeah, this is one of PG's first BIG solo artist hits. You can sort of hear how this led to "Sledgehammer". Also check out the (multiple) videos that got a ton of MTV plays back in the day. BTW, Fish ripped off a lot of PG mannerisms (the "Shock!" outbursts, etc.) on those early Marillion albums.
Like "I Have the Touch" and "Kiss of Life", you could say that "Shock the Monkey" has aged badly with its pronounced 80s sound. That said, unlike the first two, "Shock the Monkey" is much more convincing and stands up quite well. That said, it's far from my favourite track on PG's fourth album. For me, it's "San Jacinto" and "Wallflower" that come off best! Frankly, PG3 will always be my favourite.
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Peter Gabriel performed this song during an Italian music festival called Sanremo and in the middle of the performance he took a rope attached to the ceiling and started swinging around the theater like Tarzan. This was 1982 I guess. He was so ahead of time
Yup. Peter Gabriel was a pop diva way before it was a thing. 😄
This is my #1 song of all time when it comes to songs about shocking monkeys. 10/10
Great audio, but the video is a must see. I always loved it when the video popped up on MTV back in the day.
Tony Levin is the secret sauce of PG's songs sounding so incredible.
You are probably right.
One of the first Gabriel songs that I ever heard and opened a beautiful door for me musically.
The Security album is full of gems.
Peter is so very talented.
Definitely!
The video is everything
This song still rocks hard after 42 years! This did OK in the US and much better in the UK, but was held back on the charts because it dropped a month before Michael Jackson's mega-hit album Thriller, which dominated the charts for the next year. The video is one of Gabriel's best and you should watch it offline. It got lots of airtime on MTV which was getting big at the time. Thanks for listening and sharing!
Peace from SF
I love this song. It was the first Peter Gabriel song I heard. It does still sound fresh and new. Love it!
Hammill appears at the end of the song responding to Gabriel in a high-pitched voice to the phrase "shock the monkey".
This is the track that really crossed Gabriel over in the US. But the tracks that do it most for me are I Have The Touch and especially Kiss Of Life.
I’m on the same page with you!
It always seems to connect with me on some primal level. Especially when I watch the video. Like so many here have already said . . . watch the video. It came out early on in MTV's life, and EVERYONE was talking about it.
A highlight when we saw this tour. Seeing him in the beautiful and acoustically perfect Oscar Mayer Theatre made it an absolutely perfect night out with my wife, sister and brother-in law. State Street in Madison in those days was a magical place to hang out at.
You really should hear the live version on Peter Gabriel plays live. Great album by the way.
Gabriel’s masterpiece IMHO.
Peter at his most 80s and energetic- Really like this track.
Peter Gabriel has always been a very visual artist and music videos were a perfect format and platform for him. At a time when MTV and music videos were big, Gabriel's were the biggest.
Shock the Monkey was used in the soundtrack for the 1987 movie, Project X, which was about experiments on chimpanzees.
Chimpanzees aren't monkeys.
This is one of my kids’ favorite “Dad Songs”. I’m pretty fond of it, too.
There exist a german version of this song and album, too!
Peter is a master of percussion instrumentation.
Awesome track, even now. That harsh 80s sound makes it even more hard-hittingly funky and rhythmic.
Ah ah ah ! So much fun !
It's extraordinary how things go. Always rediscovering a song you thought you'd know so well. Shock the monkey is to me the big brother of In your eyes. There are so much layers of sounds (I am speaking about the tracks). There is always a new thing to ear.
Speaking about layers, should we talk about lyrics and interpretation ? Jealousy, yes it's not a legend : this is how Peter himself introduce the song to the audience in the Live in Athens, so it's approved. But the thing related to the fact that he wrote it because of his producer at the time (again, watch on RUclips the making of of PG IV - the southbank show) David Lords had an affair with Peter's wife during right the recording of this album...
Thank you JP. I waited for a new PG reaction for so long.
This album in the record stores, that year. None of us had EVER heard anything like it. It was startling and exciting and bizarre.
I always feel that the summit of the song is the lyric ‘and the news is breaking’.
And the great album cover reminds me of this song
Security was the very first CD I ever purchased, after getting my first CD player in late 1984.
The digital dynamics were hard on my amp and speakers.
CDs are evil.
Superb song, great live. Genius.
Superb Gabriel tune & video. Great reaction.
I don’t know for sure, but it’s likely Tony Levin on Chapman stick (bass).
It sure is! ❤
Nominee for the most overplayed MTV video of the eighties.
My friends used to refer to this song as "Spank the Monkey" :)
That's what I always thought it was about! Too much "self-love" until the monkey gets hurt...
When I realized the part of Games Without Frontiers I thought was “she’s so funky, yeah” was actually French, I started wondering if Shock the Monkey was supposed to be “Jacques, the monkey.”
@@jadawa85 In the South, it's "Jacques, the honky".
My nominee is I Want My MTV by Dire Straits. I loathed that song. 😂
David Rhodes is so underrated… I love his sound, and those angular chords…
Still holds up, love David Rhodes’s cold otherworldly tone. Another trancey song is The Tower That Ate People, come on, with a title like that, ya gotta hear it! It awesome.
First DDD (all digital) CD I purchased in 1982. Video got a lot of play on MTV. The whole album is great. Gabriel was unhappy the record company assigned the title "Security" to the album.
I love this track, the hard sequenced beats. Sounds great at high volumes. 🙉
I'm just going to keep liking your Security reactions and recommending watching Alan Parker's "Birdy", which Peter created a soundtrack for using recycled material from PG3 and PG4. It's Gabriel at his most ambient, but also highlights how phenomenal the band that he assembled for the tour that was captured on "Plays Live" was. I love all his albums, but Plays Live and the Birdy soundtrack are both special. And don't get me started on the Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack. Absolutely agree with you on the combination of modern and ancient.
Birdy is great but its ambient, repeating patterns may not lend to an engaging video.
Birdy is one of my favourite movies of the 80s. Modine and Cage are amazing, in it.
@@OronOfMontreal I love any movie like A Boy And His Dog, Ferris Bueller, or Silence Of The Lambs... Birdy has one of the best.
Masterpiece. Can't wait for you to listen to the next song, Lay your hands on me, my favorite song from the album, and my favorite song from Peter 😊
I wish you to listen to Passion, a movie soundtrack for Last temptation of Christ from Scorcese, in 1989. As a whole, an extraordinary album. The peak of Peter experimentation and melting of genres, the "World music", european, african and middle east culture and music.
It's about vivisection. How animals are used for scientific research. A recurring theme is the "cover me" and "darling" line. The testing of cosmetics on monkeys is a very common practice. A macabre subject matter, told in a very uplifting, groovy beat. Only Peter could pull that off!
A great pop track from my favourite Peter Gabriel album. Thanks for the review! 😎😎❤❤😊😊
Whoa, I forgot Peter Hammill was on this song. It does kinda sound like him doing those "Shock!" hits on the bridge, doesn't it?
Flawless album. My favourite PG.
Well, it's about time!!!
I remember this coming out, now I was aware of Peter Gabriel before this but this is the one where a barely teen me finally started to click with him.
Play this song to woo the ladies,.
Never knew what this song was about. Haven't heard it in a long time. I was pretty much discovering it with you. Would never have come up with the interpretation Gabriel gave.
The Hot Tracks 8'12" versionexcursion is bananas!
Say what you want about "Sledgehammer" but the video for this song is PG's best
I still can't believe you're just now getting around to this album.
To paraphrase Darth Vader: The falsetto is strong in this one.
King Kong v Godzilla was a classic monster movie from the Japanese film company Toho. One of many released in the 1960s. These generally ended up with two or four monsters (guys in rubber suits) having a throw down, occasionally trashing (a model of) Tokyo in the process. Great mindless fun. Refreshingly, the monsters were sometimes the 'good guys'.
The phase "Shock the Monkey" originated in the advertising industry, too disturb the market. 😮
You should listen to Adrian Belew's "Young Lions".
I'm surprised you never heard this.
The video on this tune is pretty epic.......but not quite shocking.
Gabriels filmmusic to Birdy is fantastic for a drummer.
By the way... Gabriel tried often to get cymbals less noisy. Agree with him there.
I heard that at some point he didn't even let the drummers (Phil/Jerry/Manu) set up cymbals, just the high hat. He thought they competed with his vocals too much and muddied up the mix.
@SF_Bud yup.....and it's a very aggressive sound hit hard........
cymbals should be seen as something you control the sound of..... not something you just hammer a stick on. Can do that in the finale.
The cymbals motion should also be controlled unless it's the smallest splash.
@@SF_Bud This was already the case on Peter Gabriel 3. Peter had banned the cymbals on his third album, recorded in 1979/80.
I guess I'm showing my age by mentioning how this song reminds me of South Park when Stan is trying to do the boombox bit from Say Anything but he plays this instead of "In Your Eyes"
ruclips.net/video/hmcWDjOO3A4/видео.html
Is this the first Mtv MV with dwarves and a Capuchin monkey?
No. I believe it is the third. ☺
@@brucedillinger9448So... Peter Gabriel isn't quite the innovator we fancy him to be.
Actually, Justin, the song you are referring to in regard to a man meeting a tribe in the desert and being sucked into ancient rites is Gabriel's song " The Rhythm of the Heat" from the same album.
I heard about the Ozzy Osbourne cover of the song and that the video was hilarious. I personally never watched it though.
Why not continue the monkey theme with “Monkey” by Low - or “The Smartest Monkeys” by XTC?
Really? After all this time you've *never* heard this before? But yeah, this is one of PG's first BIG solo artist hits. You can sort of hear how this led to "Sledgehammer". Also check out the (multiple) videos that got a ton of MTV plays back in the day. BTW, Fish ripped off a lot of PG mannerisms (the "Shock!" outbursts, etc.) on those early Marillion albums.
Tony Levin....
Although this is a good song, and was a big hit, I think most of the other songs on this album are better than “StM.”
please do me a favour and don't call this album "security"
Coal Chamber is a very forgettable nu metal band. They were big in the late 90s to early 00s
Like "I Have the Touch" and "Kiss of Life", you could say that "Shock the Monkey" has aged badly with its pronounced 80s sound. That said, unlike the first two, "Shock the Monkey" is much more convincing and stands up quite well. That said, it's far from my favourite track on PG's fourth album. For me, it's "San Jacinto" and "Wallflower" that come off best! Frankly, PG3 will always be my favourite.
One of Peter's best singles. Terrible title, though.
The Coal Chamber (w/ Ozzy) cover is really cool
It’s about animal experiments.