Here is Gabriel's most distinctive and scariest album. Just look at the cover. Here lies the first warning. The nightmarish washed out photo negative image of what looks like a ritualistic African mask seems trapped in an eternal primordial hiss. Next listen to the sounds. The big drums on Gabriel's previous album sounded big, but on "Security" they become even bigger and pound directly into your being. Like African rhythms on steriods the beats creshendo and diminish in waves akin to a psychotic roller coaster ride. The effect makes for a disturbing gut-wrenching and beautiful listen.

Most, if not all, of the drums receive electronic treatments. Gabriel didn't perform field recordings of Ghanese drummers and overdub vocals for a reason. The primordial meets the modern on this album. We in the west are modern and seemingly "civilized" but under all of our efforts, technology and supposed progress lie the deep ineffable mysteries of human nature. African drumming in general can evoke the preternatural (which makes some sense considering that many theorize the beginning of humanity in the continent of Africa) and on "Security" Gabriel attempts to bridge electronic music with those blurry elements of existence. An homage to our unavoidable humanity that underlies all we do. The businessman in the jungle. The warrior in the Board room. Gabriel arguably succeeded in evoking such things with amazing success.

Right from the first almost silent noises of "The Rhythm of the Heat" (the long fade up could represent a creation or a birth; Gabriel's first wail could be humanity arriving on the scene). The song moves along like a musical sweat lodge building building until the intensity stretches beyond the envelope and suddenly... release. Quick breaths to a prolonged sigh. A journal entry of Carl Jung's supposedly inspired this track. An exhausting opener. "San Jacinto" seems to depict the fading of Native American culture from the inside perspective. It shares the theme of perserverance in seemingly insurmoutable challeneges with "Wallflower". "I Have The Touch" and "Lay Your Hands on Me" both scream out for physical contact with other human beings. The modern imagery juxtaposed with the yearning for contact evoke our modern dilemma of isolation and almost irrational fear of rubbing flesh with others in every day situations. "Shock the Monkey" was a surprising hit. It sounded like almost nothing else on the radio waves in 1982, but it introduced Gabriel to a large audience. MTV nearly wore out the amazing music video (which still stands up today) which couldnt've hurt sales and exposure. Somewhat strange considering that "Security" doesn't ring like a sell-out or an obvious or ostentatious commercial effort in any way. The happiest and most hopeful song ends the album. "Kiss of Life" celebrates life and will get any pair of indolent feet moving.

"Security" stands strong beside Gabriel's best work. The album may take some time to sink in, but once it does it will never emerge again. It's a hard one to shake off. Gabriel would not explore such territory until "Up" many years later. "Security" has to be one of the darkest, most unnerving but uplifting, catchy and unforgettable pop albums ever.

Here's the simplest way to "get" this record:
1) Buy it.
2) Turn off the lights (candles would be fine)
3) Crank it up.
4) Beginning to end.
5) And you'll be SO glad you did.

Security is eight tracks of the most lush and thunderous perfection ever recorded, a momentous journey of rhythm, sound and passion likely unparalleled in the history of music. I simply cannot imagine any human being with taste not being blown away by this album. (And, in fact, I've never encountered one - people who were initially annoyed have then thanked me profusely for forcing them to shut up and LISTEN to this. And then raced out and bought their own copies.)

If lyrics are your thing, there's plenty to enjoy here - it's actually a very political record, but think "human" politics rather than "government" politics. Perhaps "existential" would be a better word? And yet, rather amazingly, the album actually provides a wonderful "happy ending" that entirely works.

But it's the music that makes this. It's thick and lush, tribal and primal, and esquisitely percussive. It's more about the bottom end, down in the bass range, than the thinner top above (left largely to his voice), a record you will FEEL as it alternately thunders and crawls and soars. The detail in the remaster does this recording fine justice - the bells in "San Jacinto" are utterly heavenly.

My favorite music, personally, is music rife with tension that builds to fabulous crescendo. Some other reviewers below have pointed out that some tracks are "too long." I'd earnestly disagree. Each of the eight tracks is a perfectly-paced escalation of tension into release, and their length should be savored as exactly that. ("Family and the Fishing Net" would perhaps be THE standout, but you've got to LISTEN to it, as a process of brilliant congealing, to "get it.")

So are their any caveats? Yeah, it's not nearly so practical for "casual" listening (though great for nighttime driving). And definitely do NOT settle for a used copy of the pre-remastered version. The previous master had grown really long-in-the-tooth, almost to an unlistenable extent, and the remaster brings it back up to speed with the recording quality you're used to, and that this record deserves.

Ultimately, if you take the plunge, you will find this truly an unforgettable and irreplacable experience. Eight tracks of flawlessness, and one of the most visionary and utterly perfect albums ever made.

You don't have a well-rounded CD collection if you haven't got 'Passion' and 'Security', both by Peter Gabriel. Why is 'Security' -- known as 'Peter Gabriel 4' in Europe -- so important?

1. It is a definitive hi-fi test album. If ever you buy a new component for your hi-fi, take this CD along to the shop, and test the opening track, 'Rhythm of the Heat'. Many low-quality components cannot cope with the bass boom that invades after the first Gabriel wail. This music, which first appeared on LP, had been waiting for the added clarity and impact of CD.

2. Gabriel was one of the first artists to master the complex Fairlight synthesizer. Here he creates a whirlpool of musical disorientation -- for example, the overwhelming swirling drums and percussion of the opening track, the modified marimba and eerie woodwind sounds in 'San Jacinto'.

3. This album is the fulfilment of Gabriel's departure from Genesis, some eight years earlier. Gabriel could never have stayed within the band and trodden the psychological path that took him to this masterpiece.

If you've seen the film 'Birdy', some of this album will seem strangely familiar. Gabriel took the best tunes from this and the third album, re-worked them into instrumental versions, and created, in at least one reviewer's view, an even better album.

At the time of writing this review, only 14 other reviews of the album are filed here on amazon. I don't understand why it gets so little attention when Passion, his other masterpiece, has 103 reviews. Both are equally magnificent.

That's exactly what I did the first time I picked up the remastered copy, and even though I'd long since burned every note into my neurons by playing my original disc to death, I still wasn't prepared for the sound this new edition offers. "Rhythm of the Heat" started out quiet and spooky, then built and built, and when the thundering finale came pounding out of my speakers at the end it still had me shaking. I could have sworn the entire Ekome dance company had snuck into my living room and started whaling away on their drums right there.

As with all the Gabriel remasters, the sound here is phenomenal - and since Security stands out as possibly the most rhythmic and bass-heavy album he's made, you can imagine the earth-shaking treatment your stereo will get from this disc. Peter's first explorations into exotic African sounds (which bore more fruit later with Passion and Us) begin here, not only musically but lyrically. "San Jacinto" is the story of a native American slowly watching his way of life change before his eyes. "Family and the Fishing Net," more weird and creepy than ever, gives snapshots of a third-world wedding in a dark sepia tone, while the upbeat closer "Kiss of Life" almost sounds like a celebration song that would be played at such a ceremony. If "Shock the Monkey" is the only part of Security you've heard before, then just be warned that it's the most 'normal' track to be found here.

Though it's not the disturbing mind-trip PG3 was, Security is still plenty heavy, emotionally and intellectually. Pick it up after So, Passion and Us.. then if you're brave enough, work your way back. And watch the bass - be careful not to crack some windows.

...and you never will again. "Shock the Monkey," a great song to be sure, is dwarfed by most of the songs on this album, none of which are anything similar to it. This album was far ahead of its time, and would still be groundbreaking if released today. "The Rhythm of the Heat," "San Jacinto," and "Wallflower" raise the bar to a whole new level. Some have made the horrible mistake of giving up on this album after one or two listens, because it is so different from anything anyone has ever heard. Don't expect "Sledgehammer," "Games Without Frontiers," or "Big Time" at all. This is a genius at his very best, making an album on his own terms. If the sonic experience of "The Rhythm of the Heat" doesn't capture and keep your attention, I don't know what to tell you. A must for true audiophiles.