<p> Peter Gabriel broke ground staging <em>The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway</em> on tour with Genesis in the '70s. Since then, every rinky-dink arena rock band has deployed lights, video and indoor fireworksoften to wrap threadbare performances in bright colors. Gabriel is one of the artists who knew how to paint pictures with the tools of rock stagecraft. </p> <p>His 1993 concert film <em>Secret World Live</em> (out on Blu-ray and DVD) brings rock theater to a peak of conception. While his band recreates with studio perfection the songs of <em>Us</em> (and a few older selections), Gabriel moves around stages whose architecture embodies the concepts of his lyrics. A changing lineup of films, projected on a looming overhead screen, comment on the songs. Making a dramatic entry, Gabriel emerges from a red British telephone booth singing “Come Talk to Me” into a receiver and dragging a heavy phone cable in a desperate entreaty with singer Paula Cole, who functions through much of the concert as more than a backup vocalist. </p> <p>The bonus material on the Blu-ray/DVD release includes an interview with Gabriel who describes the thinking behind <em>Secret World's</em> two stagesone round to represent the feminine and the other square for masculine. A narrow walkway connects them to each other and <em>Us'</em> themes of polarities and relationships. Purpose-built hardware was forged to enable to stunningly simple visuals to shine forth. Glimpses are seen of the world below the stages, where a large crew of hands manipulate the sets and pull the wires. </p> <p>“Rock people and theater people don't always speak the same language,” Gabriel says. In <em>Secret World Live</em>, they communicate fluently. </p>
