Up
by Peter Gabriel
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    Those who value the emotional nakedness of his best work will find much to treasure here. [27 Sep 2002, p.86]
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  2. Launch.com
    90
    Full of the obscure and deranged moods that made Security alternately delightful and demented, this album revels in craggy vocals, thumping beats, esoteric instrumental sounds and a general feeling of beautiful dread.
  3. Mojo
    80
    A sometimes disturbing, but often breathtakingly lovely record. [Oct 2002, p.98]
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  5. Uncut
    80
    After a couple of plays, you're struck by Up's sonic cleverness. Three or four listens and the lyrical complexity begins to bite. Finally, and insidiously, after perhaps six or seven plays, the melodies bury themselves in your head. [Oct 2002, p.112]
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  6. Salon
    80
    Gabriel's greatest achievement is that his technical sophistication actually encourages a fully organic and man-made sound.
  7. Billboard
    80
    The veteran artiste holds his ground on a collection that is sure to earn him the respect of not only his old fans but a new generation of listeners raised on sonic provocateurs like Beck, Nine Inch Nails, and Moby.
  8. Q Magazine
    80
    Gabriel is mesmerising, his plaintive rasp never more gorgeous. [Oct 2002, p.107]
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  9. Austin Chronicle
    78
    While Up isn't stylistically different from his canon, it proves that Peter Gabriel is back in the big time.
  10. Pitchfork
    72
    The first five tracks here are on par with anything you loved about Us.
  11. CDNow
    70
    It's not likely that Up will have the same kind of cultural significance as a milestone like So, but there is no way that fans can write Up off as a disappointment, either.
  12. The A.V. Club
    70
    For the most part, it's a bleak, deliberate, decidedly mature meditation on death and grief.
  13. PopMatters
    70
    It's challenging stuff, and often brilliant, but it's sometimes hard to tell whether Gabriel has deliberately abandoned songcraft or just forgotten how to do it.
  14. E! Online
    67
    This is an eerie meditation on aging, death and the corruption of popular culture.

Awards & Rankings

45
#45 Most Discussed Album of 2002
40
#40 Most Shared Album of 2002

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 40
  3. Negative: 4 out of 40
  1. MauricioT
    Aug 17, 2006
    10
    Superb CD!!! I LOVE IT!! It's a masterpiece
  2. MarcoR
    Sep 21, 2005
    10
    The Master Remains Himself Grewing Up.
  3. IainL
    Sep 7, 2005
    10
    A seriously good CD for those who're serious about their music. Also recommended, the DVD of the tour (Growinh Up Live).
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