More than This (Peter Gabriel song)

"More Than This"
Single by Peter Gabriel
from the album Up
ReleasedDecember 2002
Length
  • 6:02 (album version)
  • 4:30 (single edit)
Label
SongwriterPeter Gabriel
Producer
  • Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel singles chronology
"The Barry Williams Show"
(2002) 		"More Than This"
(2002) 		"Growing Up"
(2003)

"More Than This" is a song by English rock musician Peter Gabriel from his 2002 album, Up.[1] The song was released as the second single from Up and became the only song from the album to chart in the UK, reaching number 47. It was also included on the Growing Up Live concert film in 2003. Live performances of the song featured projections of a balloon suspended above the stage.[2]

Background

Work on "More Than This" began late in the development process for Up.[3] Daniel Lanois, who previously worked as a co-producer on some of Gabriel's previous albums, left a Fender Telecaster guitar behind at Real World Studios, so Gabriel decided to sample the instrument on a keyboard.[2] Gabriel quipped that he "can't play guitar to save my life, but I can make noises on it."[3] He drew further inspiration from a groove on a cassette that he encountered while traveling the Italian Alps.[2]

The song begins with manipulated guitar sounds from Gabriel's keyboard, after which the first verse starts. These guitar samples also return in the song's second verse.[4] Lyrically, the verses describe a long walk to an unfamiliar place and a vision of people struggling at sea. After the second chorus, which describes the narrator feeling 'alone and so connected', a quieter bridge emerges that borrows some of the lyrical motifs from the preceding section.[2] Several electronic devices were used on the song, including a Mutator, which engineer Richard Chappell described as a filter box. Chappell explained that the terms "Mutator" and "Wonky Nord" were listed in the song's liner notes because of Gabriel's preference to credit instruments in a particular way that convey their utility.[5]

Release

Philippe Ascoli, who served as the managing director for Virgin UK when Up was released, said in an interview published in October 2002 that "More Than This" would be the second single released from the album after "The Barry Williams Show". He commented that "More Than This" would be primarily promoted on BBC Radio 2 "and other adult stations".[6] Music Week reviewed the single in its 21 December 2002 edition of the magazine, which covered music scheduled for release between 30 December 2002 and 6 January 2003. The publication said that it was "arguably the standout track" from Up and served as "a return to the sleepy, organic textures of old, punctuated by a crystal-clear voice".[7]

The single artwork was a photo taken by NASA. Marc Bessant, who designed the single art, received a book from Gabriel titled Full Moon, which featured over 30,000 negative images from the Apollo 11 moon landing. From those images, Bessant selected a picture of a footprint on the moon's surface.[3] In the liner notes of Up, Susan Derge's photo Hermetica was included instead, which depicts nine objects resembling buttons in a circular formation.[2]

"More Than This" was serviced to US adult album alternative radio stations for the week of 11 November 2002.[8] By the end of the month, it was the most added song in that format according to Radio & Records.[9] It debuted on the Radio & Records Triple A listing at No. 27, having received a total of 157 plays from 27 adult album alternative radio stations during the week of 11 December 2002, for a total of 1,562,700 audience gross impressions.[10] For the week dated 28 December 2002, the song debuted and peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard 'Adult Alternative Airplay chart.[11]

Track listing

CD – PGSCD14
  1. More Than This – Radio Edit – 4:30
  2. More Than This – (The Polyphonic Spree Mix) – 5:08
  3. More Than This – (Elbow Mix) – 5:05[3]
12 inch single – PGST14
  1. More Than This – (The Polyphonic Spree Mix) – 5:08
  2. More Than This – (Elbow Mix) – 5:05
  3. My Head Sounds Like That (Röyksopp Remix) – 8:24[3]

Personnel

Credits from the Up liner notes.[12]

Charts

Chart performance for "More Than This"
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Italy (FIMI)[13] 39
UK Singles (OCC)[14] 47
US Adult Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[11] 20

References

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Up - Peter Gabriel". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Bowman, Durrell (2 September 2016). Experiencing Peter Gabriel: A Listener's Companion. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 191–192. ISBN 9781442252004.
  3. ^ a b c d e "More Than This". PeterGabriel.com. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  4. ^ Scarfe, Graeme (2021). Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-78952-138-2.
  5. ^ Tingen, Paul (May 2003). "Richard Chappell: Recording Peter Gabriel's Up". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  6. ^ Legrand, Emmanuel (5 October 2002). "Gabriel opens Up to select few" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 41. pp. 1, 21. Retrieved 4 October 2025 – via World Radio History.
  7. ^ "Single reviews" (PDF). Music Week. 21 December 2002. p. 6. Retrieved 4 October 2025 – via World Radio History.
  8. ^ "R&R Going For Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. 8 November 2002. p. 34. Retrieved 15 March 2026 – via World Radio History.
  9. ^ "The Back Pages | Monitored Airplay Overview: November 29, 2002" (PDF). Radio & Records. 29 November 2002. p. 87. Retrieved 15 March 2026 – via World Radio History.
  10. ^ "Triple A Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. 11 December 2002. p. 107. Retrieved 15 March 2026 – via World Radio History.
  11. ^ a b "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Adult Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  12. ^ Up Liner Notes (Liner Notes). Peter Gabriel. USA: Real World Records. 2002.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ "Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 5" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart on 5/1/2003 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
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