PETER GABRIELSCRATCH MY BACK (2010)
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No one can accuse Peter Gabriel of being short of a concept or three. The art rocker's latest wheeze is an album of cover versions, to be followed by an album of their composers covering his work (hence the title). The thought of that second album doubtless influenced the final cut from the 100 songs Gabriel shortlisted; among those interpreting his work will be Neil Young, Regina Spektor, David Bowie and Elbow. Handy!
Gabriel's own covers are theatrical pieces of baroque pop without guitars or drums. Gabriel's voice, grainier these days, takes centre stage, while arranger John Metcalfe spins rich, sometimes cinematic settings from his orchestra. The dominant mood is wistful and melancholic, the dominant pattern a slow beginning with big booming climaxes.
Mostly, it works well. Intriguingly, Gabriel fares better with more recent material. Elbow's Mirrorball becomes a hushed, midnight meditation with prog styling (the ghost of Genesis is never far away). Bon Iver's Flume is transformed from cabin folk to big ballad, while a sweet-sour take on the Magnetic Fields' Book of Love already has cult status following its role on the Scrubs soundtrack.
Less exciting are versions of Bowie's Heroes, Lou Reed's Power of the Heart, Randy Newman's I Think It's Going to Rain Today and Young's Philadelphia, all of which reprise, rather then re-create, the mood of the originals. At the other extreme, turning the enthused African pop of Paul Simon's The Boy in the Bubble into forlornness seems downright wilful, and even drastic deconstruction can't make much of the unconvincing angst of Radiohead's Street Spirit.
Still, there's more right than wrong about Gabriel's audacity. With Talking Heads' Listening Wind he hits his mark sweetly, turning David Byrne's jittery original into a dreamy, scary account of terrorism. For that, Dave owes Pete a good 'un.
Gabriel's own covers are theatrical pieces of baroque pop without guitars or drums. Gabriel's voice, grainier these days, takes centre stage, while arranger John Metcalfe spins rich, sometimes cinematic settings from his orchestra. The dominant mood is wistful and melancholic, the dominant pattern a slow beginning with big booming climaxes.
Mostly, it works well. Intriguingly, Gabriel fares better with more recent material. Elbow's Mirrorball becomes a hushed, midnight meditation with prog styling (the ghost of Genesis is never far away). Bon Iver's Flume is transformed from cabin folk to big ballad, while a sweet-sour take on the Magnetic Fields' Book of Love already has cult status following its role on the Scrubs soundtrack.
Less exciting are versions of Bowie's Heroes, Lou Reed's Power of the Heart, Randy Newman's I Think It's Going to Rain Today and Young's Philadelphia, all of which reprise, rather then re-create, the mood of the originals. At the other extreme, turning the enthused African pop of Paul Simon's The Boy in the Bubble into forlornness seems downright wilful, and even drastic deconstruction can't make much of the unconvincing angst of Radiohead's Street Spirit.
Still, there's more right than wrong about Gabriel's audacity. With Talking Heads' Listening Wind he hits his mark sweetly, turning David Byrne's jittery original into a dreamy, scary account of terrorism. For that, Dave owes Pete a good 'un.
1. Heroes
2. The Boy in the Bubble
3. Mirrorball
4. Flume
5. Listening Wind
6. The Power of the Heart
7. My Body Is a Cage
8. The Book of Love
9. I Think It's Going to Rain Today
10. Après Moi
11. Philadelphia
12. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
2. The Boy in the Bubble
3. Mirrorball
4. Flume
5. Listening Wind
6. The Power of the Heart
7. My Body Is a Cage
8. The Book of Love
9. I Think It's Going to Rain Today
10. Après Moi
11. Philadelphia
12. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
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