Rock's greatest resignation speech. Highly metaphoric (unless you really think it took an eagle in flight to clue Gabriel in to the fact that it was time to quit Genesis; it was actually Bruce Springsteen* at Hammersmith Odeon) but with a straightforward melody, carried on acoustic guitar and synthesizer and rhythm, "Solsbury Hill" is, however mystic its pretensions, finally one of the most nakedly emotional records anyone's ever created in the past twenty years. Using what he'd learned from tinkering with folk and classical forms as a member of Genesis, adding his own sense of pop and rock and roll, Gabriel also creates one of the most credible portraits of a star who hates his role.
What's perhaps just as extraordinary is that, from the lyrical opening to the monkeyshines at the end, "Solsbury Hill" encapsulates the next decade or so of Gabriel's career. This is a record that makes bold promises (and it started out powerful enough), it's not only because it offers such strong inspiration whenever you need to summon the courage to make a tough move yourself. It's because Gabriel has lent it further resonance with every move he's made.
*Note from the Editor: actually it wasn't Bruce Springsteen who inspired Gabriel to leave Genesis, as PG attributes many factors to his making that decision, although Springsteen is credited as being an overall inspiration to Gabriel's music career.