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Peter Gabriel releases “Courage”: a newly remixed “So” outtake

By Paul Sinclair

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29

courage
“Courage” has been worked on this year

Peter Gabriel today releases (digitally) an outtake from his 1986 classic album So.

The track Courage first saw the light of day last year when it was featured on twelve-inch vinyl as part of the So 25th Anniversary box.

Peter Gabriel has worked on it some more since then, and it now features new overdubs by himself and long-term guitarist David Rhodes. It has been newly mixed by Tchad Blake. This ‘Radio Edit’ version forms a ‘digital bundle’ with ‘The Hexidecimal Mix’ courtesy of remixer and producer Steve Osbourne.

Peter Gabriel: “When So drew to a close I didn’t feel the song was delivering in the way I had hoped, so decided not to include it. When we were reviewing all the material from that time, we wanted to take a fresh look at it and get it finished. I always liked the track and very much enjoyed the playing on it, especially the energy of the drums”.

We really have no desire to start the whole So box set rip-off debate again, but already this year we’ve had the Live In Athens blu-ray that there were ‘no plans’ to release separately, and now one of only three bonus tracks within the So box is issued separately as well. On Peter’s site the text reads “Finally, some 25+ years later, its finished” – a pity he didn’t finish it before putting in the £100 box set.

Three versions of Courage have now been commercially issued, but none of them are available on CD.

The Courage bundle can be purchased from Gabriel’s site here (no concessions for box owners!).

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29 Comments

29 thoughts on “Peter Gabriel releases “Courage”: a newly remixed “So” outtake”

  1. Let’s face it: Phil Collins had always been the creative brains behind everything Peter Gabriel. Phil is retired now. At least he made some believe he is. So…

    1. I’m sure this is a wind up, but just in case it’s not; In the time Gabriel was lead singer of Genesis, Collins’ contribution as a writer was almost non existant. He was a brilliant drummer though. After Gabriel left Genesis they were the last thing on earth he wished to sound like without wishing to dismiss them.
      In their solo careers there is very little comparison between the two and I am not aware of Gabriel being directly influenced by anything Phil Collins wrote. The discussion over the drum sound achieved in the sessions for PG3 has been well documented and Collins recieved a credit for the drum pattern used on Intruder. The sound was really the work of the recording engineer Hugh Padgham, who produced early Phil Collins solo albums and why there is a similarity in drum sound between their albums. After that – comparing the two is just like comparing apples and pears. Some people love Phil Collins and others prefer Peter Gabriel. Again it’s simply a matter of personal preference.

    1. Your curiosity is understandable, but no, I am not on the pay roll at Real World. I just find the reaction to certain aspects of the So Box and the Courage single somewhat bemusing and a turn off from what, on the whole, is an interesting site. My posts were intended to bring some balance to the (as I see it) generally negative reaction recorded on these pages to Peter Gabriel’s output. It’s no big deal, just don’t buy blind from the more expensive on line retailers – shop around!
      As for the point made by Paul that some people prefer not to order from an artist’s website, I can’t say I have had that type of experience myself and yes, Amazon’s customer service is probably unrivalled, but pg.com has served its customer’s well over the years and are all very committed to serving their customers in my experience. I accept though for those in the States postal costs and import duty on an expensive item may make Amazon as competitive for them. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

  3. I love PG’s catalogue and So remains one of my favourite albums of all time. But when is he going to stop wasting time releasing all these vanity projects based on previously released tracks instead of any new material? It’s been years since he bothered with a conventional album…really honestly totally bored by his career since Up #fedup

  5. Give it a rest will you?
    I think the point has been made with Live in Athens.
    Promo CDs are available for Courage Radio Mix for those that must have a physical version.

    The box set was available at the recent concerts for £50. That’s a bargain in my view. I don’t begrudge having paid a bit more on release. I certainly didn’t pay £100 for it. If you must have a go at PG take a minute to check your facts please. Thank you.

    1. No need to check facts, they are all correct.

      The So box set was £100 on amazon (and elsewhere) for a VERY long time. A year later, concert goers can pick it up for £50 – good for them, doesn’t change the FACT that fans had to pay £100 to purchase it when it first came out.

      Also, no versions of Courage are commercially available on CD. No promo CD is going to change that FACT either.

      Thank you.

      1. But the FACT that it was available for £70 from pg.com from the outset escapes your ‘fact filled’ article….that was the point I was making.

        If you said the box set ranged in price from £x…. to £y…. that might be fairer – as consumers in the modern age it is always worth shopping around. Amazon are generally more expensive than most on line retailers and given their employment practices people would do well to shop around anyway IMO.

        This fuss over Courage is pretty lame stuff. He relased the demo (because it came from the So Sessions) in the So 25 Box. He added a few overdubs and finished it off recently. What’s the problem? Some fans appreciate the chance to have multiple versions.

        Peter Gabriel does what he wants when he wants. I can’t see a blog of this nature making much difference to that. But if you have nothing better to report then go ahead…..

        1. I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on the pricing. Most people after all shop on Amazon where customer service and taking money from your account are at least a known quantity. Band’s own online shops are notorious for terrible customer service, taking your money upfront, and poor communication. I’m not claiming this is the case for PG, but the fear of this is enough to put many people off.

          Not sure how much ‘fuss’ was being made with this post, anyway? We simply pointed out that it’s a strange thing to do to ‘finish off’ a track and charge fans for it, when it was previously included as part of the box set.

          I don’t find that massively reactionary. Of course we are going to report on the issue, since it is related to the box set.

          Naturally, PG can do what he wants. As for ‘a blog of this nature’ making a difference – it already has. PG responded to this blog directly in 2012 and explained his reasoning behind content decisions on the box set. He also added hi-res video downloads for people who bought the box set, again, as a direct result of this blog’s reporting.

          1. On the subject of acts’ own webstores, I couldn’t even get the PG site to work properly when I tried to buy the Courage bundle! I’d much rather be able to download a lossless version from iTunes or amazon, but only PG’s site appears to offer the choice.

  6. This is a first.
    I.don’t.know.what.to.say.

    I want it, but I’m afraid to admit it. Then again, I still haven’t heard the non-finished version yet. Loved the tour, like the bonus material (even sans b-sides … not that I wouldn’t want them) even just the box iteself…

    In a year where he might actually go into the RRHOF – it would have been great to have had this all squared away …sadly…

  7. The So DNA CD is probably of the best bonus I’ve ever heard in a commemorative box set.

    Nice to see that Courage is now available to those who were not interested in buying the whole package.

  8. ‘So’ is definitely not finished. For example, where is the outstanding b-side from ‘So’ era ‘Don’t Break This Rhythm’. This is probably will be included od 30th Anniversary of ‘So’.

      2. To Neil. I know that ‘Don’t Break This Rhythm’ is on single of Sledgehammer. I don’t know reason why this track is not included on ‘So’-25 Anniversary CD.

  9. I recently discovered this website and I love it. I used to subscribe to ICE Magazine before it met it’s demise and this website does a reasonable job taking it’s place, albeit in a limited fashion. Thank you for posting this article on Peter Gabriel’s Courage release. Thanks for the link on how to purchase it. I am a huge fan of Peter Gabriel’s work and this song is awesome. As for the definitive version of anything… I think most of the deluxe and super deluxe box sets are failing in that respect. The new Nirvana set is out and I love it; however it misses the videos that came out at that time. The upcoming super deluxe of The Who’s Tommy is missing an entire disc of music that was included in the regular deluxe version of Tommy. So you have to keep the original deluxe version and still purchase the super deluxe version to have a somewhat ultimate version of Tommy. Anyways… I could go on and on, but suffice to say. Thank you Mr. Paul Sinclair for posting this article and providing the link. I have already purchased and downloaded the Apple Lossless version of Courage and it is outstanding.

  10. If this was all new stuff i could understand this release policy.
    But with the fact he only sells the old material i consider all this a ripoff.
    I considered visiting a 2014 concert but made up my mind…
    PG stood for a curious look into the future, now he’s only looking back. I’m not interested any longer, sorry Peter!

  14. …1,45€ for a lossless format of these two bonus cuts is ok. Interesting is, that Gabriel sold the “So” box set at his recent concerts for only 60€! I also hoped for more content of the box set, but it would be nearly impossible to include all the material we know of (and I’m sure there’s much more in the archive). For example there are at least 24(!) versions/mixes of the Track “Big Time” (excluding live cuts)…to offer all the rarities as lossless downloads would be a nice thing…

  15. In a word: frustrating. Considering he has consistently refused to do anything Genesis related because he “does not want to look back” he has spent the better part of the last 10 years just looking back: constant hits tours, re-imagining his back catalogue, endless covers, and the granddaddy of them all is this horrible So release which continues to haunt anyone who has supported his music. I’m afraid to think what will be next. My guess: Play receives a blu-ray release coupled with a DVD of the Athens concert.

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