The man with the Sledgehammer preps audiophile reissues of his early solo work.

Peter Gabriel is to reissue his first four self-titled albums on vinyl cut to 45rpm for extra oomph. Commonly referred to by their sleeves, all created by cult design agency Hipgnosis, the reissue will see Car (1977), Scratch (1978), Melt (1980) and Security (1982) appear on vinyl for the first time since 2002.

The original recordings have been remastered by Tony Cousins and cut to lacquers at 45rpm by Matt Colton, ensuring a volume boost for Gabriel’s acclaimed prog-rock experiments.

“I really wanted the first record to be different from what I’d done with Genesis so we were trying to do things in different styles,” said Gabriel in a press release. “A bit of barbershop, which Tony Levin helped with, there were more bluesy things, a variety of songs and arrangements that were consciously trying to provide something different than what I’d done before.”

Each reissue will come as a double 180g LP in a gatefold sleeves and is “limited” to 10,000 individually numbered copies, so you’ve got a decent chance of tracking one down. The out-of-print German vocal versions of Gabriel’s third and fourth albums will be limited to 3,000 copies each. All of them will come with a download card with a choice of resolution (hi-res 24-bit/96k or 16-bit/44.1k) and all arrive on October 2 through Gabriel’s own label, Real World – have a closer look.

The rest of Gabriel’s catalogue is expected to be remastered at 45rpm in the coming months. [via Exclaim]

Tracklists:

Car (1977)

A1: Moribund The Burgermeister
A2: Solsbury Hill
B1: Modern Love
B2: Excuse Me
B3: Humdrum
C1: Slowburn
C2: Waiting For The Big One
D1: Down The Dolce Vita
D2: Here Comes The Flood

Scratch (1978)

A1: On The Air
A2: D.I.Y.
A3: Mother of Violence
B1: A Wonderful Day In A One-Way World
B2: White Shadow
C1: Indigo
C2: Animal Magic
C3: Exposure
D1: Flotsam and Jetsam
D2: Perspective
D3: Home Sweet Home

Melt (1980)

A1: Intruder
A2: No Self Control
B1: Start
B2: I Don’t Remember
B3: Family Snapshot
B4: And Through The Wire
C1: Games Without Frontiers
C2: Not One Of Us
D1: Lead A Normal Life
D2: Biko

Security (1982)

A1: The Rhythm Of The Heat
A2: San Jacinto
B1: I Have The Touch
B2: The Family and The Fishing Net
C1: Shock The Monkey
C2: Lay Your Hands On Me
D1: Wallflower
D2: Kiss Of Life