"Moribund the Burgermeister" is a song written and recorded by English musician Peter Gabriel. It is the opening song on his debut album, titled Peter Gabriel and was also issued as the B-side to "Solsbury Hill", the first single released from the album. Gabriel also performed the song on several of his first concert tours as a solo artist beginning in 1977. The song's lyrics relate to a nervous disorder that plagues a medieval village.

Composition

Gabriel wrote "Moribund the Burgermeister" about Vitus' Dance, a disease later known as Sydenham's chorea that was responsible for afflicting its victims with forcible and uncontrollable jerking movements. He had read about Vitus' Dance in a book discussing medieval diseases.[1][2] The namesake for Vitus' Dance, Saint Vitus, was a medieval patron saint of actors and dancers. On his feast day, Saint Vitus' followers would honor him by performing manic dances at his statue.[3]

In the song, Gabriel took on the role of the Burgermeister, a name for a European town official that carries similar responsibilities to a mayor. Gabriel named the Burgermeister "Moribund", a word that refers to declining health.[3][4] The Burgermeister is represented as a clueless authority figure who blames the source of the Vitus' Dance on external forces he is unable to understand; he eventually suggests in verse three that the mania is "the work of the devil".[3] The mayor offers up various suggestions on how to remedy the problem, including stricter policing of the city and the use of potions, both of which prove to be futile.[3][5] Gabriel delivered the lines of the Burgermeister in a processed and throaty voice through a harmoniser, as found on the "I will find out" lyric that caps off the second and third chorus.[3][4] During the recording sessions for Gabriel's first solo album, the song's working title was "I Will Find Out". Gabriel's lead vocals were amongst the final things added to the song. For the tracking session, Gabriel sang a guide vocal using a technique he dubbed "Gabrielese", where he substituted actual words with syllables as placeholders.[6]

The verses of the song consist of descending synthesiser chords and electronically manipulated percussion. Larry Fast recorded his parts on a Polymoog, Minimoog, and a Moog modular system. He recorded the synth response line to the "I Will Find Out" lyric as an overdub.[3][6] The song's percussion was played by Jimmy Maelen on a talking drum.[6] Fast captured the sound of the talking drum with a contact microphone and fed the signal through an envelope triggered through his modular synthesiser rack. Fast mixed the dry signal of the talking drum with the processed drum sound, which was treated with electronic oscillators, Moog filters, and delay to create what he described as a "percussive sound bed." He said that the Moog filters were responsible for the "fluid swirly drum sound".[6] Lyrically, the first verse details the mayhem unfurling in the market square where the townsfolk are "twistin' and turnin' in a thousand ways".[3][4]

Critical reception

Prior to the song's release on Gabriel's 1977 self-titled album, Allan Jones of Melody Maker praised Gabriel's "bitter humour and clever writing" on "Moribund the Burgermeister". He also described the song as a "disconcerting little affair, which projects a series of Bosch-like images of suffering and horror with an electroshock vocal arrangement."ref name="Success Trap"/> Writing for New Musical Express, Patrick Humphries singled out "Moribund the Burgermeister" as the best song on the album. He placed particular attention on abriel's "extraordinary" vocal delivery and the synthesised percussion, which he called "beautiful".[7] In his review for Rolling Stone Stephen Demorest noted the song's "playful synthesizer doodles, trollish vocals and orchestral outbursts."[8] Writing for the Winnipeg Free Press, Andy Mellen said that "Moribund the Burgermeister" as "the closest he comes to his former band". He described it as "one of his patented story-songs filled with unique characterisations and offbeat lyrics."[9] Janet Macoska wrote in the Trouser Press that the song showcased "Gabriel's eclectic sense of theatrics" and said that his vocals sounded "straight out of The Twilight Zone."[10] Daryl Easlea, a Peter Gabriel biographer, described "Moribund the Burgermeister" as the "most Genesis-esque" song on his first album. He compared sections of the song to "The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging" from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.[11]

Live performances

Gabriel performed "Moribund the Burgermeister" as the third song of the set on his first solo tour..[12] During these performances, Barbara Charone of Sounds magazine observed that Gabriel sang into a wireless microphone as he "strut[ted]" across the stage.[13] Gabriel played the role of Moribund the Burgermeister by hunching his back and pulling the hood of his sweatshirt over his head at certain points of the song and performing a "slow-motion march".[14][15] For the European leg of the tour, "Moribund the Burgermeister" was retained in the setlist, with Allan Jones of Melody Maker noting the song's use of "subtle electronic effects".[16]

"Moribund the Burgermeister" was played again on Gabriel's Scratch Tour, which was in promotion of his 1978 self-titled album. Gabriel sang portions of the song for these performances "slithering belly-down" in front of Jerry Marotta's drum kit, with his movements being accompanied by a grid of flickering lights.[17] He also played the song on his 1980 tour, which also showcased songs from his third self-titled album. "Moribund the Burgermeister" was grouped together with "Mother of Violence" and "Humdrum" in the setlist, both of which were originally released on his first two solo albums.[18] Gabriel later revived the song for his 2007 Warm Up Tour, where he allowed fans registered to his Full Moon Club to contribute suggestions to the setlist.[6][19]

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Bright, Spencer (1988). Peter Gabriel: An Authorized Biography. London, UK: Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 85. ISBN 0-283-99498-3.
  2. ^ Jones, Allan (12 February 1977). "Gabriel: How I Escaped the Success Trap". Melody Maker. pp. 30, 35. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Bowman, Durrell (2 September 2016). Experiencing Peter Gabriel: A Listener's Companion. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 53–54. ISBN 9781442252004.
  4. ^ a b c Scarfe, Graeme (2021). Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. pp. 9–10. ISBN 978-1-78952-138-2.
  5. ^ Hegarty, Paul (2020). Peter Gabriel: Global Citizen. London, UK: Reaktion Books. ISBN 9781789140231.
  6. ^ a b c d e Marziano, Alfredo; Perasi, Luca (2024). Peter Gabriel: The Rhythm Has My Soul. Milan, Italy: L.I.L.Y Publishing. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-88-909122-5-2.
  7. ^ Humphries, Patrick (26 February 1977). "Master Gabriel and the Priestly Egg". New Musical Express. p. 32. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
  8. ^ Demorest, Stephen (5 May 1977). "Peter Gabriel". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 24 January 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  9. ^ Mellen, Andy (2 April 1977). "Genesis started his rise but Gabriel keeps it up". Winnipeg Free Press. p. 2. Retrieved 3 March 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
  10. ^ Mellen, Andy (1977). "The Second Coming of Peter Gabriel". Trouser Press. pp. 12–14. Retrieved 4 March 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
  11. ^ Easlea, Daryl (2013). Without Frontiers: The Life & Music of Peter Gabriel. London: Omnibus Press. pp. 133, 166. ISBN 978-1780383156.
  12. ^ KMET (10 April 1977), Peter Gabriel The Roxy LA 4.10.77 KMET FM, retrieved 5 March 2025
  13. ^ Charone, Barbara (26 March 1977). "Gabriel Knows What He Likes". Sounds. p. 40. Retrieved 2 March 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
  14. ^ Clarke, Steve (26 March 1977). "Gabriel freaks and Petty breaks: Tasty Toons in the Big Apple". New Musical Express. Retrieved 3 March 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
  15. ^ Prophet, Sheila (7 May 1977). "An Angel at Work". Record Mirror. Retrieved 3 March 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
  16. ^ Jones, Allan (30 April 1977). "Humdrum Gabriel". Melody Maker. Retrieved 3 March 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
  17. ^ MacKinnon, Angus (6 January 1979). "Peter Gabriel: Hammersmith Odeon". New Musical Express. p. 31. Retrieved 4 March 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
  18. ^ Fielder, Hugh (8 March 1980). "The Games People Play". Sounds. p. 51. Retrieved 4 March 2025 – via The Genesis Archive.
  19. ^ "The Warm Up Tour: Brescia, Italy 02/07/07". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moribund_the_Burgermeister
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