PETER GABRIEL

PETER GABRIEL
PASSION:
MUSIC FOR THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1989)
320 KBPS

To call Passion a pivotal recording in the development of world music would be a significant understatement. What makes Passion so undeniably important is its global reach and expert handling of what could've easily become polyglot babble. Vocalists Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Youssou N'Dour, and Baaba Maal bring strong Middle Eastern and African voices to the project, and Balkan textures come via the ney flute and doudouk. But Gabriel is the glue, offering electronic ambient flows between the multiple streams. Gabriel also brings something even less tangible: an awesome visual imagination that takes often seamless sounds and makes them impress the listener with picturelike colors and phrasing. This is, however, far more than an ambient global mix. The intertwined rhythms stand out, both on their own and as brushstrokes on a larger canvas. Never mind that Passion helped launch North American careers for N'Dour and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan--this is a stellar musical achievement by any standard.

1. The Feeling Begins
2. Gethsemane
3. Of These, Hope
4. Lazarus Raised
5. Of These, Hope - Reprise
6. In Doubt
7. A Different Drum
8. Zaar
9. Troubled
10. Open
11. Before Night Falls
12. With This Love
13. Sandstorm
14. Stigmata
15. Passion
16. With This Love - Choir
17. Wall Of Breath
18. The Promise Of Shadows
19. Disturbed
20. It Is Accomplished
21. Bread And Wine