Hear the new Peter Gabriel album

[Spudman]

For a limited time you can stream the new Peter Gabriel album "Scratch My Back" here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/feb/04/peter-gabriel-scratch-back

[sunvalleylaw]

Cool, I will stream that this afternoon. Thanks!

[msteeln]

Any Fripp to be heard?

[Robert]

Sounded like, hmm, whatever, to me. Maybe I need more bonding time?

[sunvalleylaw]

I may have to bond more too. I can recognize the covers, but the temp and somber tone is throwing me. Maybe if he broke it up in the songs with a tempo, volume or some other energy change. I am only into the second song so far though.

[Spudman]

It's art folks. That's all I can say. It's just Peter doing his interpretations of those songs. I kind of like it in a Muzak sort of way. Some of the production is pretty good as well.

[Robert]

Hey I'll start using that line when people piss all over my guitar lesson videos. I'll just say "It's art, folks." HEHE :D :D

[sunvalleylaw]

I think I could enjoy it as background that is better than Muzak sometimes. or as an alternative to the jazz i usually have on for that purpose. As I listen a bit more, I have to appreciate his talent, and his voice.

[tunghaichuan]

I really his Passion: Music For The Last Temptation Of Christ (http://www.amazon.com/Passion-Music-Last-Temptation-Christ/dp/B000000OR5/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1265929053&sr=8-6).

I'll have to check out the new album when I get home from work.

[Pickngrin]

Wow, cool, thanks! I am a huge Gabriel fan and had no idea he had new material coming out now.

just listened.... interesting. Looking forward to his next studio release ;-)

[Spudman]

CD Review: Peter Gabriel, "Scratch My Back"
by Dw. Dunphy

I have developed a reputation as someone who hedges his bets when it comes to criticism, and Peter Gabriel's first full album in a very long while (since 2002's Up, in fact) is no different. In fact, it will read like the script from the latest miracle drug commercial: Do not listen to Scratch My Back while driving, as side effects include sleepiness. Do not take if you have been diagnosed with, or are prone to, feelings of depression. If symptoms persist, contact your doctor or at least change the CD.

The new collection is very beautiful, in fact. It finds Gabriel reinterpreting songs from artists as diverse as Paul Simon, the Arcade Fire, David Bowie, the Magnetic Fields and Radiohead, and does so strictly with orchestral accompaniment. The goal is to spotlight the lyrics, and Gabriel does so remarkably well. The only problem is almost every song arrives dour, funereal, often the exact reverse of what you would expect from Gabriel's typically rhythm-centric world music ethos. A prime example is Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble," which becomes a polar opposite of the original, devoid of that strong pseudo-zydeco beat, and the key line, "These are the days of miracles and wonders," becomes damn near sarcastic in the translation.

Even so, it's still a well-crafted release, and shows a great deal of respect for the original performers even though the performances are drastically altered. The best way I can express why I'm so ambivalent about this album is that I love the "Here Comes the Flood" redux that appeared on his Shaking the Tree hits collection, but Scratch My Back, on the surface, smacks of being that sound repeated again and again. In the hands of someone less talented it would be irreconcilable, but in Gabriel's you get a disc's worth of meticulous, and sometimes disturbing, lullabies. I'd recommend it to only Gabriel fans and the most open-minded of listeners. The rest of you should take the doctor's advice: Do not listen while operating heavy machinery.

[steevc]

I really like some of the songs. My Body is a Cage is excellent. In general it reminds me a little of some of the covers of modern songs that Johnny Cash did, like Hurt and Personal Jesus. I'm also a sucker for a good orchestral arrangement.

When I heard PG was doing a tour with no guitars or drums it didn't sound appealing, but I wouldn't mind seeing the show. It looks like the London shows are sold out.