# Steam (Peter Gabriel song)

"Steam" is a song by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, released in January 1993 by Geffen Records as the second single from his sixth album, Us (1992). Gabriel, who wrote the song and produced it with Daniel 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.
"Steam" reached number ten on the UK Singles Chart, number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number one on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. In Canada the single became a number-one hit, topping the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart on the week of 27 February 1993, replacing Whitney 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.
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 on Us. On Secret World Live, "Steam" is preceded by the "Quiet Steam" version.

## Critical reception

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton stated, that the correspondingly ingenious video for "Steam" "will propel this into the Top 10." Alec Foege from Spin felt that the song, "with its pressure-cooked chorus (Give me steam / And how you feel can make you real) and greasy organ riff, practically parodies Prince's 'Cream'." Mike Joyce from The Washington Post viewed it as "such sure-fire Top 40 ammo" and "a likable (if shamelessly obvious) sequel" to Gabriel's 1986 hit 'Sledgehammer'.

## Music video

The music video for "Steam" was directed by Stephen R. Johnson, who also directed the videos for Gabriel's earlier hits "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time". The director said he wanted to cram the video with as many "things" as possible. The video features digital imagery and numerous instances of sexual symbolism. This video was later shown on the 1994 video Computer Animation Festival Vol. 2.0.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 1993 | MTV Video Music Award | Best Male Video | Nominated |
| 1993 | MTV Video Music Award | Best Visual Effects | Won |
| 1993 | MTV Video Music Award | Best Editing | Won |
| 1994 | Grammy Award | Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 1994 | Grammy Award | Best Music Video | Won |

## Track listing

All songs written by Peter Gabriel.
* "Steam" (LP version) – 6:02
* "Games Without Frontiers" (Massive / DB mix) – 5:19
* "Steam" (Oh, Oh, Let Off Steam mix 12") – 6:44
* "Steam" (Oh, Oh, Let Off Steam mix dub) – 5:44

## Personnel

Producers
* Peter Gabriel
* Daniel Lanois
* Massive Attack / David Bottrill (remix and extra production on "Games without Frontiers")
* Hank Shocklee and The Bomb Squad (remix on "Oh, Oh, Let Off Steam" versions)
Musicians
* Peter Gabriel: vocals, keyboards, percussion, horn arrangement
* Manu Katché: electronic drums
* Tony Levin: bass guitar
* David Rhodes: guitar
* Daniel Lanois: horn arrangement
* David Bottrill: programming
* Richard Blair: programming
* The Babacar Faye Drummers: Sabar drums
* Leo Nocentelli: guitar (Epiphone)
* Tim Green: tenor saxophone
* Reggie Houston: baritone saxophone
* Wayne Jackson: trumpet
* Renard Poche: trombone