The storied and precious friendship of Peter Gabriel and his prolific bassist Tony Levin — who will be in Cleveland together when the former headlines Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Sept. 27 —
goes back nearly a half-century.
The year was 1976, and Gabriel — fresh from leaving Genesis — was working on what would become his self-titled debut effort.
As for Levin, the studio musician was already highly sought after, having recorded with everyone from Paul Simon, Chuck Mangione and Alice Cooper to Judy Collins and Phoebe Snow.
What he didn’t know was getting the call to play on Gabriel’s project — on which he’d also meet Robert Fripp, who years later would recruit him into King Crimson — would change his life.
“Peter does stand out amongst giants,” Levin said during a recent video interview. “Looking back, of course, I admired his artistry. He’s made a huge impression on the musical style that he plays in. Genesis was sort of the birth of prog rock, which I’ve been involved in ever since. I’m just lucky I got to meet him in 1976 when we were recording that album.
“At that time, I was a studio player, meaning I mostly stayed in New York and did record sessions. Having the chance to tour with Peter I knew was sort of saying goodbye to that profession of being a studio musician only. I happily took that job because I was much more gratified not only playing live, which is my favorite thing to do, but playing with Peter, who is a great performer in addition to being a great recording artist.”
While Levin has thousands of touring dates behind him, he does have memories of playing Cleveland and staying at famed rock ’n’ roll hotel Swingos.
Gabriel’s Rock Hall City show will be in support of the upcoming album “i/o,” which the imaginative artist has slowly been releasing — one song at a time every full moon.
So far, nine tracks are out there with many getting stage time.
“Leave it to Peter to release an album in a different way than anyone else,” Levin laughed. “How unusual but usual for Peter thinking outside of the box. The tour has a lot of the new material — a little bit more than most tours do. It’s a bold step that’s typical of Peter.”
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While Levin stressed he doesn’t have any favorites off “i/o,” the bassist did mention a ballad, “Love Can Heal,” which just so happens to be the latest full-moon release.
“It’s not a heavy rock piece, but it’s very special to me,” he said. “He began playing it on the 2016 tour with Sting. It was shocking to see the audience’s reaction to this very poignant ballad in the middle of one hit after another kind of show.
“It was special then. Now that’s been recorded in really high quality; it’s even more of a special song to me. If I have to pick an iconic song that represents the album, that’s it for me.”
Considering Levin is 77 years young while Gabriel is a spry 73, one has to ask how long these friends can continue to tour.
“Where Peter is in his career, it’s hard to say,” he said. “He’s singing better than ever. His voice is fantastic but, realistically, I don’t know how many more tours there are going to be, so that makes this tour all the more special, all the more precious.”
Peter Gabriel
When: 8 p.m. Sept. 27.
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, One Center Court, Cleveland.
Tickets: $50 to $275.
Info: 888-894-9424 or Rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
