"I Have the Touch"
Single by Peter Gabriel
from the album Peter Gabriel (Security)
B-side"Across the River"
ReleasedDecember 1982 (1982-12)[1]
Recorded1981–1982
Genre
Length
  • 4:30 (album version)
  • 3:45 (1982 single edit)
  • 5:08 (1983 remix)
  • 4:19 (1996 Robbie Robertson mix)
Label
Songwriter(s)Peter Gabriel
Producer(s)
Peter Gabriel singles chronology
"Shock the Monkey"
(1982) 		"I Have the Touch"
(1982) 		"I Don't Remember (Live)"
(1983)

"I Have the Touch" is a song by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel from his fourth eponymous studio album released in 1982. The song's working title during the recording sessions was "Hands".[4] This song was featured in the film The Chocolate War (1988). The 1996 remix was used in the film Phenomenon of the same year. In 1996, Heather Nova recorded a cover version of the song for the teen-witch horror film The Craft.[5]

Background

Musically, the song is built around a processed drum machine pattern and various synthesisers, including a Prophet-5 played by Larry Fast.[5] The lyrics deal with the desire for human contact, which Gabriel sought to explore after reading about the importance of touch, citing an example of how the amount of physical contact can influence newborn brain development.[1] During the penultimate lines of each verse, the vocals reach the highest note, after which the tension releases at the title line: 'I have the touch'.[6]

At the end of the song, Gabriel lists off several activities that he believes are insufficient to human contact, including arm folding, scratching, and finger tapping.[5] A German re-recording, titled "Kon Takt!", was included on the Deutsches Album. This version features an added refrain with shouted gibberish.[7]

The B-side of the single, "Across the River", was an instrumental which came from a session between Gabriel, Stewart Copeland, L. Shankar, and long-time Gabriel guitarist David Rhodes, recorded for on a WOMAD benefit album, Music and Rhythm, that had been released six months earlier.[7] The single cover art is a still frame from the "Shock the Monkey" music video.[1]

Alternate versions

In 1983, Gabriel and Peter Walsh re-recorded the track featuring an extended instrumental section, first released as a B-side to the 12" single of "Walk Through the Fire", a non-album track from the motion picture Against All Odds (1984). An edited remix of this version was later released on the 12" single of "Sledgehammer" and the compilation album Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats (1990).

In 1996, Gabriel remixed "I Have the Touch" with Robbie Robertson for the movie Phenomenon. This version was included on the 2003 compilation album Hit.[7]

Personnel

Chart performance

Chart (1982) Peak
position
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[8] 46

References

  1. ^ a b c "I Have The Touch". PeterGabriel.com.
  2. ^ Reed, Ryan (19 July 2013). "Peter Gabriel Albums From Worst To Best". Stereogum. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b Leas, Ryan (18 May 2018). "A Beginner's Guide To Peter Gabriel: 27 Essential Tracks". Stereogum. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  4. ^ Peter Gabriel - The South Bank on YouTube
  5. ^ a b c Bowman, Durrell (2 September 2016). Experiencing Peter Gabriel: A Listener's Companion. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 105–107. ISBN 9781442252004.
  6. ^ Fiori, Umberto (1987). "Listening to Peter Gabriel's 'I Have the Touch'". Popular Music. 6 (1): 37–43. ISSN 0261-1430.
  7. ^ a b c Scarfe, Graeme (2021). Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. pp. 35, 39, 124. ISBN 978-1-78952-138-2.
  8. ^ "Peter Gabriel Chart History: Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
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