Album/DVD-BluRay Review
Chicago, IL June 20th, 2011 Concert Review
Originally published on antiMUSIC
For an artist who is so sacred about his proper albums (he technically has released a mere seven solo albums in thirty-four years), it came as a surprise to me when he released Scratch My Back in 2010. Intended as a partnership where he covered certain artists' songs and they in turn would do one of his. While a handful of acts took Gabriel up on his offer and challenge, many did not due to schedules. I adore Peter Gabriel and he's one of the few acts I've ever met who I felt it was a necessity to tell him what his music meant to me and how it pulled me through the bottomless morass of gloom. I never ask for a picture or an autograph when I happen to be in the right place at the right time, but there was something inside of me that had to tell him the positive impact his body of work has had on my life and how I am a better person because of it. Fortunately I was clear eyed and sober and (hopefully) put my point across without venturing down the path of fandom. I tell you this because I found Scratch My Back a difficult album to digest. Nearly two years later I still don't enjoy listening to many of the songs and arrangements. Even more befuddling was that Gabriel reunited with producer Bob Ezrin who manned the boards for Gabriel's self-titled debut in 1977. When Gabriel has covered someone in the past, I often find the song definitive. His cover of Joseph Arthur's "In the Sun" is striking. So is Arthur's, but there's something hypnotic about the rhythm Gabriel brought to his adaptation that makes you feel dangerously alive, which leads to my main issues with Scratch My Back; the arrangements. In a daring and bold move Gabriel decided to record these songs with an orchestra and leave out all drums and guitars. Gabriel helped bring world music to the northern hemisphere's attention. He didn't just infuse his own work with it, but he opened Real World Records as a label so these distinctive and gifted groups could be heard. The rhythm and nuanced guitars that color by best work are absent on Scratch My Back and as breathtaking as his vocals are, I can't help but feel something is misplaced. Scratch My Back became the first Peter Gabriel album I admired more than loved.
As I mentioned earlier, there's the perfectionist in the studio and then the artist who takes the songs to the people on the road. Without long-time bassist/stick player Tony Levin and guitarist David Rhodes beside him, I wasn't sure what to expect or whether or not the show would be as spiritual as the one's I have previously seen before and yet the show was a high point of my concert going in 2011. The concert had an accomplished series of musicians (dubbed the New Blood Orchestra) bring his covers and many of his well known hits to the stage. It was the introduction of his originals that brought the shows to life. The emotive "Father, Son" was accentuated beautifully by the orchestra and several other deep album cuts proved to be an unexpected treat for many long time fans. I didn't expect to be moved by these renditions, but I was taken as deep into his music with the New Blood Orchestra. They embellished the songs with more beauty and horror than I could ever imagine. As I left the United Center in Chicago, there was a bit of pain within as I knew that this show deserved a far wider audience than turned up to see it. Fortunately now, they will have their chance with two stunning new releases that are more than mere stop gap releases and they magnificently showcase the patient perfectionist and the stage performer.
A live DVD and a CD of reinterpreted songs (done in the studio) share the title of New Blood. The DVD was shot over two nights at London's Hammersmith Apollo in March of 2011 with the New Blood Orchestra. There is a 3D version of the DVD that once again puts Gabriel ahead of his contemporaries in the home video market. Forever the innovator, Gabriel is always embracing new technologies to present his art. I unfortunately did not see the 3D presentation, but if the DVD release is any indicator, it probably stands alone from all other music video releases. Even on the standard DVD release the orchestra jumps out at you with Gabriel digging deep into his catalog for this special occasion. The sound is extraordinary; the pacing of the set exhilarating and the overall execution of the show carries an emotional resonance not found on a simple covers album. Surprisingly, only three songs from Scratch My Back make appearances here. When he came through the US, "'Heroes'" was riveting opener and is missed on the DVD/Blu-ray. That being said, the rest of the performance is near perfect with Gabriel weaving his way through three decades of cult hits. "Intruder" and "The Rhythm of the Heat" roar with the orchestra taking on a Godzilla like presence whereas "Mercy Street" and "Wallflower" perfectly compliment their studio cousins. Of the covers from Scratch the most wondrous was "The Book of Love" originally used in the US remake of Shall We Dance. Here the lovely orchestra embroiders the naked voices of Gabriel and his daughter Melanie. "Downside/Up" also features Melanie and Gabriel playing off one another in a arrangement that I would say surpasses the original found on the Millennium Dome project/album OVO from 2000. There was the unexpected performance of "The Drop" from 2002's Up. The solemn piano piece closed the record leaving a devastating atmosphere more shattered than before. Here the orchestra provides dimensions to the song that may be more appropriate.
The presentation of these songs often reminds me of avenues Bruce Springsteen has ventured down where he dramatically reinterprets his songs for certain tours. Many acts do this usually at least once in their career, but few truly succeed in creating something as gripping as the original. Gabriel has achieved a rare feat as he has managed to create alternate universes for these compositions. His meticulous presentation of these songs within the album context is undeniable, but he found the right arrangements and presentation for several of these songs and thirteen of them made it to the album, New Blood, not to be confused with the DVD/Blu-ray release of the same name. After shifting through much of his catalog over the last year where he reinterpreted his songs for the orchestra, Gabriel and conductor John Metcalfe went into the studio and re-cut fourteen songs. Thirteen appear on the standard version of the album and the deluxe edition has a disc full of instrumentals with a bonus track of the unfurling ache of "Blood of Eden", which I really wish had found its way onto the standard album. "Digging in the Dirt" was one of the toughest songs for the New Blood Orchestra but they found a way to reinterpret it and the sting of "to find the places where I got hurt" is as burly as ever. "San Jacinto" begins with a grave piano flourish and around the three-minute mark, he begins to hoist his voice in a performance where the strings compliment the rippling emotions he stirs up. The orchestral and vocal arrangement of "Intruder" calls to mind paranoia. When I saw the concert in Chicago, "Wallflower" was the song that made me realize this was more than a simple ego trip but an artist painting in different hues. The New Blood rendition of "Wallflower" is definitive. It originally appeared on his 1982 record Security (Peter Gabriel 4 around the world except for the US). The computerized drum track on Security dates the track a bit where as on New Blood the orchestra compliments the song but never overpowers it. The inner poignancy with two backing voices finds the heart of the song. With his inventive concerts, flashy state-of-the-art videos and adventurous studio creations his gift as a lyricist is often overlooked. "Wallflower" reminds us of this hidden and often unappreciated talent. One track isn't exactly a song, "A Quiet Moment" features the sound of nature, birds and what feels like a breeze off an ocean before "Solsbury Hill" comes on. Gabriel didn't want to include this song here but did so for the long-time fans that would most likely scream bloody murder if he didn't, so he separated from the other twelve cuts so it appears at the end like a true encore.
In a weird twist of fate, there's once again oddly nothing from Peter Gabriel II his sophomore disc which often goes unrepresented in when it comes to live performance and compilations. However every other album is represented with four songs represented by his best selling record, So. "In Your Eyes" is the album's most jovial arrangement with the strings hailing the sun to reveal itself even on what could be the cloudiest of days. "Mercy Street" features an arrangement of great relaxation while "Red Rain" is feverish with piano and violins scurrying across the speakers like a storm in the sky. "Darkness" from 2002's Up is ominous in its arrangement but this time around, Gabriel's lyrics (arguably one of his five best as a lyricist) can be discerned. On Up they're disguised by frenzied distortion. "Darkness" is a prime example of where both renditions are integral and offer the listener two different but equally riveting glimpses of his heart and mind. There are two songs from OVO, the soundtrack to the Millennium Dome Show in London released in 2000. Despite being under the radar to virtually everyone except Peter Gabriel fans, he has continued to perform many of the songs in concert. This release of "Downside-Up" is actually the song's third as it was on OVO and then a live version was on 2003's Hit. I'll go on record that the New Blood version is warranted and definitive. "The Nest That Sailed the Sky" was the only instrumental orchestral song performed on the tour, often as the evening's final version with Gabriel behind a piano. It's inclusion on New Blood makes complete sense as he was striving to give New Blood a album feel however there is little difference between the OVO cut and this one.If I had one minor reservation about the studio release of New Blood it would be its length. With so many of the arrangements previously worked out on stage, I long for more. "The Drop", "Biko" and "Washing of the Water" all are stunning eye-openers on the DVD/Blu-ray. Reinvention is rare these days but Peter Gabriel makes it look easy on New Blood.
Peter Gabriel may take his time with his studio records but New Blood is every bit as invigorating as his best solo work. It's a cue to the incredible vastness his small body of work possesses. There's no time frame on when he will next tour or release new material and New Blood is more than a stop gap release or footnote in his career but a bold and critical reinterpretation of one of music's greatest songbooks. Throughout both the live DVD and studio album, Gabriel's naked voice shines through on these cuts reminding us that his ghostly voice is one of rock's greatest instruments. The voice alone is enough to make you stand up and take notice. To Gabriel's credit, he didn't go for a streamlined greatest hits approach. Instead, he took the songs that benefitted the most from the New Blood Orchestra arrangements and cut them in the studio. As a result, the New Blood album is an extraordinary reintroduction for much of his audience and a celestial detour for his most staunch and devout followers.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
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