produced the album Gabriel briefly considered working again with the producer of his first album,
Bob Ezrin, but ultimately decided against it. Gabriel instead selected
Robert Fripp. Compared to Ezrin, who was more insistent on dictating the arrangements, Fripp favoured a more spontaneous work process that allowed Gabriel to contribute his own musical ideas. Gabriel credited Fripp with creating a studio environment that was conducive to creativity. Robert's approach to the process of recording was very good. He likes situations to happen rather than make them happen. On the first album I wasn't confident of my own ability in arrangement, whereas on the last one I was a lot more confident and had definite ideas. Several members of Gabriel's touring band participated in the recording of his second solo album. Gabriel told Dale Kawashima of
Cashbox that the rapport he developed with these musicians during his solo tours contributed to a more comfortable recording environment, saying that "they were no longer just session men to me, but friends." He commented that the arrangements on his second solo album "flowed very naturally" and that it was a "much easier LP to record" compared to his first solo release. Fripp utilised his
Frippertronics technique on the track "Exposure", which he and Gabriel co-wrote. He later recorded a version of the song as the title track of his 1979 solo album
Exposure. Fripp also
pitch shifted Gabriel's vocals with an
Eventide Harmonizer, which created a "slightly off key" vocal effect according to Stephen W Tayler, who served as an
audio engineer for the album.
Stephen Short was originally tasked with mixing the album at
Trident Studios after previously serving as a
tape op at the facility. Tayler recalled that Short was a relatively recent hire at Trident Studios and observed that he encountered difficulties in managing disagreements between Fripp and Gabriel over the album's production. The remainder of the album was mixed by Tayler, who described the album as "very dry sounding". He partially attributed this to Fripp's preference to minimise the use of reverb. "He had a concept called 'secret reverb,' which meant if you could hear it, then it was too loud." In a 1980 interview with
Smash Hits, Gabriel stated that he failed to attain the results he desired on his second solo release in part because of his creative differences with Fripp. Gabriel believed that Fripp lacked an understanding on how to effectively record synthesisers and said that the two "spent too much time on theoretical arguments." He also expressed his opinion that "
On the Air" and "White Shadow" were the only songs on the album that received sufficient attention in the recording studio.
Larry Fast, who played synthesisers on the album, thought that Fripp's production choices did not adversely impact his contributions and felt that the drier arrangements dictated the "sonic colors and textures" that he worked with. == Artwork ==