"The Tower That Ate People'" is a song written and recorded by English musician Peter Gabriel. It is the seventh track on Gabriel's soundtrack album OVO, which was released in 2000 as the commissioned work to the Millennium Dome Show. Whereas several songs on OVO were sung by different vocalists, "The Tower That Ate People" is one of the few songs on the album where Gabriel handled lead vocals.
Since its release, "The Tower That Ate People" has received two remixes and has been performed on several tours. Pitchfork described the song as "Gabriel's funkiest track since "Sledgehammer", with growling verse vocals, phased guitars, overdriven organ, and a gorgeously haunting bridge melody."
Background
The basis of "The Tower That Ate People" derived from a groove that Gabriel was working on. The three note riff found on the song originated from a flute part, which was later processed with distortion to resemble an electric guitar. Its working title was "100 Days to Go", which first appeared on the Real World Notes series, a publication of multimedia CDs from Real World Records that were distributed from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. Musically, the song derives elements from industrial music with loud dynamics and an extensive use of looping; the song's bridge is comparatively softer and more subdued.
The song's lyrics relate to the intertwining of humans and technology. Within the context of the OVO story, "The Tower That Ate People" appears in Act 2, which is described in the liner notes as the industrialised period of the plot. Gabriel adopted the character of Ion in the story, who Gabriel described as an "industrial megalomaniac". To achieve the voice of Ion, Gabriel delivered his lines in a distorted and bluesy voice that he likened to the work of Dr. John. With the exception of the lines "we're building up and up", which Gabriel sings four times in the original recording found on OVO, most of the remaining vocals were processed with fuzz and distortion. Some conceptual aspects of "The Tower That Ate People" mirror the Tower of Babel, a structure found in Christian theocracy that is destroyed by Yahweh to punish mankind for their attempts at constructing a building that could reach the sky.
Remixes and live performances
The song was remixed by Steve Osbourne for the Red Planet soundtrack in 2000. This remix was also included on the promo sampler issued on a 12-inch disc. An edit of the remix appeared on Gabriel's Hit compilation album in 2003. The Red Planet Remix was also included on Gabriel's Flotsam and Jetsam digital compilation album in 2019.
Gabriel performed "The Tower That Ate People" on his tours promoting his 2002 Up album, starting in 2003 and extending into his 2004 Still Growing Up Tour. Performances of the song were illuminated with eight Martin Atomic 3000s, which also provided strobe effects. Gabriel played the song in 2009 for some performances in South America. A live recording of "The Tower That Ate People" was included on Gabriel's 2014 Back to Front: Live in London live album/DVD, which was recorded from two shows at The O2 Arena in October 2013. On Gabriel's Back to Front Tour, which started in 2012 and ended in 2014, "The Tower That Ate People" was performed as one of the encores in the setlist along with "Biko". Stuart Arnold, who reviewed Gabriel's 2014 in Glastonbury for The Northern Echo, highlighted the lighting effects for the song and praised its "spectacular staging". Gabriel also occasionally played the song on his North American leg of the 2023 I/O The Tour.
Personnel
- Peter Gabriel – vocals, keyboards, treatments, synth bass
- David Rhodes – guitar
- Tony Levin – bass
- Manu Katché – drums
- Richard Chappell – drum programming, loops, end toms
- Brian Transeau – programming, fills, chorus guitar
References
