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Kiss That Frog

"Kiss That Frog" is the fourth single from English rock musician Peter Gabriel's sixth album, Us (1992). It was written by Gabriel and produced by him with Daniel Lanois. The single was released in September 1993 by Real World, and narrowly failed to enter the UK top 40, peaking at number 46. However, the song did reach the top 40 in Canada, where it peaked at number 36. In the United States, the song missed the Billboard Hot 100 but reached number 18 on both the Billboard Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock charts.

"Kiss That Frog"
Single by Peter Gabriel
from the album Us
Released13 September 1993[1]
Length
  • 5:20 (album version)
  • 4:15 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)Peter Gabriel
Producer(s)
Peter Gabriel singles chronology
"Blood of Eden"
(1993) 		"Kiss That Frog"
(1993) 		"Lovetown"
(1994)
Music video
"Kiss That Frog" on YouTube

The song was issued as a 7 inch single, CD single, and a limited edition CD maxi single, with all editions featuring the "Mindblender Mix", which was produced by both Gabriel and William Orbit. Both the CD and CD maxi singles also included "Across the River", a song previously used as the b-side for Gabriel's 1982 "I Have the Touch" single.[2]

The single art for "Kiss That Frog" was created by Jim Atkinson and Jim Cahill.[3] Bili Bidjocka designed a separate piece of artwork for "Kiss That Frog" in the liner notes for Us; this piece of artwork depicts a frog in an aquarium and a blowup doll contained within a box.[4]

Background

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Gabriel developed the lyrics "Kiss That Frog" after reading Bruno Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment, a book that employed the use of Freudian psychology to analyze fairy tales. Further inspiration was taken from The Frog Prince, a fairy tale written by Brother Grimm. Gabriel transformed the fairy tale into a sexual metaphor that depicted the princess as an innocent woman and the frog as a lusting male.[2] The lyrics are sung from the frog's perspective and include euphemisms about being all puffed up, getting wet, and how the frog's tongue can kill.[5]

The song's rhythm track dates back to 1984 when Gabriel was working on his Birdy soundtrack album.[6] The Adzido Pan African Dance Ensemble supplied one of the percussion loops, Richard Blair was credited with programming, and Manny Elias, formerly of Tears for Fears, played Senegalese shakers. Some of these sounds comprise the song's intro, which also features soft keyboard chords that lead into an electric guitar riff played by David Rhodes.[5] Maryln McFarlane sang backing vocals during certain portions of the song, including the fade-out.[2] In his book Experiencing Peter Gabriel: A Listener's Companion, Durrell Bowman described the song as lacking a conventional chorus and said that the title-tag functioned as a mini-chorus.[5]

"Kiss That Frog" appeared on Gabriel's Secret World Tour and the accompanying Secret World Live concert film.[7][8] During live performances on this tour, Gabriel and his bandmates were filmed through a pool of water contained within a trapdoor.[6] In 2016, the song was revived for Gabriel's Rock, Paper, Scissors Tour, with Sting handling lead vocals.[9]

Critical reception

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Author Graeme Scarfe highlighted Gabriel's vocal delivery on "Kiss That Frog", drawing comparisons to Otis Redding, who was an early influence on Gabriel. Scarfe stated that Gabriel's "vocals have never been richer", describing them as amongst the "throatiest" and "croakiest" of his career.[2] Robert Christgau noted the sexual undertones of "Kiss That Frog" and identified it as the only fast song on Us other than "Steam".[10] Greg Kot also identified "Kiss That Frog" as one of the few uptempo tracks on Us, adding that the song provided "much needed humor" to the album.[11] In his review for Rolling Stone, Kot also thought the song was "instantly engaging and subversive", further commenting on the "queasy twist" that Gabriel gave to the fairy tale of The Frog Prince.[12] Record Collector labeled "Kiss That Frog" as a "pleasing reconnect with his [Gabirel's] bizarro side."[13]

Music video

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The music video for "Kiss That Frog" was directed by Brett Leonard and produced by Angel Studios.[14][15] Rather than distribute the music video to MTV, the music video was instead played in a mobile 18-seat mini-theater installed at various theme parks across the country to coincide with Gabriel's Secret World Tour, with the first airing of the music video occurring at Raging Waters in San Dimas, California.[16] Gabriel and Leonard collaborated with Iwerks Entertainment to develop the mini-theater's motion technology, including seat movements that synchronised with the images on the 9-by-16-foot screen.[14] The audio for the music video was pulled from the "Mindblender Mix" created by William Orbit.[5] The music video is filmed from the perspective of an animated frog that navigates through various environments in pursuit of a brunette princess, who eventually falls down the innards of the frog and a series of psychedelic tunnels.[16]

During the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards, the music video won an award for Best Visual Effects, beating out songs from Tool, Björk, and Aerosmith. It was also nominated for an MTV award for Best Editing, but lost to "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M..[17]

Accolades

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
1994 MTV Award[17] Best Special Effects in a Video Won
Best Editing in a Video Nominated

Track listing

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  • 7 inch single[3]
  1. "Kiss That Frog" (album edit) – 4:15
  2. "Kiss That Frog" (Mindblender Mix [edit]) – 3:56
  1. "Kiss That Frog" (album edit) – 4:15
  2. "Digging in the Dirt" (Rich E Mix) – 7:20
  3. "Kiss That Frog" (Mindblender Mix) – 6:45
  • CD digipak single[3]
  1. "Kiss That Frog" (album edit) – 4:15
  2. "Across the River" – 7:10
  3. "Kiss That Frog" (Mindblender Mix [edit]) – 3:56
  4. "Shaking the Tree" (Botrill remix) – 5:59

Personnel

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Credits from the Us liner notes.[18]

  • Peter Gabriel – vocals, programming, keyboards, synth bass, percussion, harmonica
  • David Rhodes – guitar, backing vocals
  • Manny Elias – Senegalese shakers
  • Richard Blair – programming
  • David Bottrill – additional programming
  • Adzido Pan African Dance Ensemble – additional percussion loop
  • Marilyn McFarlane – vocals

Charts

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Chart (1993) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[19] 36
UK Singles (OCC)[20] 46
UK Airplay (Music Week)[21] 30
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[22] 18
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[23] 18

References

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  1. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 11 September 1993. p. 23.
  2. ^ a b c d Scarfe, Graeme (2021). Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. pp. 69–70 133, 135. ISBN 978-1-78952-138-2.
  3. ^ a b c d "Kiss That Frog". PeterGabriel.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Art From US". PeterGabriel.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Bowman, Durrell (2 September 2016). Experiencing Peter Gabriel: A Listener's Companion. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 166–168. ISBN 9781442252004.
  6. ^ a b Easlea, Daryl (2014). Without Frontiers: The Life and Music of Peter Gabriel. London, UK: Omnibus Press. pp. 294, 302. ISBN 978-1-4683-0964-5.
  7. ^ Keough, Kevin (15 July 1993). "Peter Gabriel's performance art rock". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Disc info" (PDF). www.genesis-movement.org. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  9. ^ Zaleski, Annie (22 June 2016). "Peter Gabriel and Sting Kick Off U.S. Tour With Exuberant, Inspired Collaborations: Concert Review". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  10. ^ Christgau, Robert (1 December 1992). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  11. ^ Kot, Greg (24 September 1992). "'Us' Rewarding, But It's Work For Listener". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  12. ^ Kot, Greg (1 October 1992). "Us". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  13. ^ Atkins, Jamie (August 2016). "So, Us, Up Peter Gabriel". Record Collector. No. 456. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  14. ^ a b Russell, Deborah (10 July 1993). "Gabriel Takes Music Vid For A Ride: Full-Motion Clip Screens at Tour Stops". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  15. ^ Hester, Blake (April 16, 2020). "Two days in Colombia with the founder of Rockstar San Diego". Polygon. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Willman, Chris (30 July 1993). "Peter Gabriel Video: Real Rock & Roll : Amusements: 'Kiss the Frog,' a five-minute short, takes viewers on a lily-pad romp during a theater/ride called 'the Mindblender.'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  17. ^ a b "MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS 1994". MTV. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  18. ^ U Liner Notes (Liner Notes). Peter Gabriel. USA: Real World Records. 1992.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1195." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  21. ^ "The Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week. 25 September 1993. p. 30. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  22. ^ "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  23. ^ "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
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