"Steam" is a song by Englishrock musicianPeter Gabriel, released in January 1993 byReal World andVirgin Records as the second single from his sixth album,Us (1992). It was released as the second single from the album and charted in several countries. After its release as a single, "Steam" was performed on Gabriel'sSecret World Tour.
Gabriel, who wrote the song and produced it withDaniel Lanois, has said that the song is about a relationship in which the woman is sophisticated, bright, cultured, and knows everything about anything while the man knows nothing about anything; however, he does know about the woman, and she does not know much about herself.[2][3] On "Steam",Tony Levin played the bass part with set ofdrum sticks calledfunk fingers, which he attached to his digits to achieve a more percussive tone. Levin first used the technique on Gabriel's song "Big Time".[4]
In a 1992 interview, Gabriel mentioned that he advocated against the idea of releasing "Steam" as the first single fromUs. He called it the only song on the album that was "backward looking" and worried that it would be dismissed as a retread of "Sledgehammer".[5]
An alternative version of this song called "Quiet Steam" was a B-side on the "Digging in the Dirt" single. It is a lo-fi take on the version that appeared onUs.[6] OnSecret World Live, "Steam" is preceded by the "Quiet Steam" version.[7]
In his weekly UK chart commentary,James Masterton stated, that the correspondingly ingenious video for "Steam" "will propel this into the Top 10."[8] Alec Foege fromSpin felt the song, "with its pressure-cooked chorus (Give me steam / And how you feel can make you real) and greasy organ riff, practically parodiesPrince's 'Cream'."[9] Mike Joyce fromThe Washington Post named it "such sure-fire Top 40 ammo" and "a likable (if shamelessly obvious) sequel" to Gabriel's 1986 hit "Sledgehammer".[10]
"Steam" reached number 10 on theUK Singles Chart, number 32 on the USBillboard Hot 100, and number one on the USModern Rock Tracks chart. In Canada the single became a number-one hit, topping theRPM 100 Hit Tracks chart on the week of 27 February 1993, replacingWhitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" after a 10-week run. "Steam" also charted within the top 10 in Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand and Portugal.
The music video for "Steam" was directed byStephen R. Johnson, who also directed the videos for Gabriel's earlier hits "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time". Johnson said he wanted to cram the video with as many "things" as possible.[11] The music video features digital imagery and numerous instances of sexual symbolism.[12] Gabriel suggested the idea of appearing with a fake muscular physique in the music video, saying that "it was a lot quicker to put on a body like that than actually building up in a gym. I didn't quite have the discipline for that."[13] Douglas Jines, who edited the music video for "Steam", won theMTV Video Music Award for Best Editing at the1993 MTV Video Music Awards. At the same awards ceremony, the song also won theMTV Video Music Award for Best Visual Effects.[14] The music video was later shown on the 1994 videoComputer Animation Festival Vol. 2.0.[15]
^Scarfe, Graeme (2021).Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. p. 135.ISBN978-1-78952-138-2.
^Bowman, Durrell (2 September 2016).Experiencing Peter Gabriel: A Listener's Companion. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 161.ISBN9781442252004.
