Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel is, without doubt, a lover and peddler of the unique, but he also knows how to deliver perfect, chart-hugging pop. On the album So, from 1986, he sets the driven, upbeat "Sledgehammer" alongside the compassionate pop hymn "Don't Give Up" (a gorgeous duet with Kate Bush) and his signature love song, "In Your Eyes."

As the front man in Genesis during the early '70s, Peter Gabriel hinted that progressive rock could never contain him . . . by dressing up as a flower. So it was that, in 1977, he went solo and began one of the most remarkable experiments in rock innovation, both in the mainstream and on the darker fringes.

The late '80s and early '90s were a time of fierce creativity (and humanitarian work) for Peter Gabriel: Passion, his haunting soundtrack for the Martin Scorsese movie The Last Temptation of Christ, appeared in '89, followed by Us in '92, coproduced by Daniel Lanois who, as it happens, plays the guitar and the shaker on "Come Talk to Me."

It's hard to frame the big picture of Peter Gabriel, because there's too much good stuff to fit in. As a social activist he's always stayed true to the ideals and passions that spawned "Biko" on his third solo album. He's not just tapped into world music; he's also supported and preserved it by financing WOMAD (the World of Music, Arts and Dance Festival). When he's not recording music, he's a pioneer of multimedia art and technology. Open more frontiers — here's Peter Gabriel.