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Peter Gabriel
(Real World-Universal)
Hard to believe that it's been a whole decade since we've heard a studio album from the mighty Gabriel. The hugely respected British music star finally returns with his followup to 1992's Us on Tuesday.
The new collection is, not surprisingly, sophisticated, world-beat-driven pop with distorted drones and blips that range from the screeching opening track Darkness to more rhythmic songs like Growing Up and More Than This.
But the standout tracks -- with the exception of the optimistic and soaring More Than This with the Blind Boys Of Alabama on backing vocals and the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan-accompanied opus Signal To Noise -- are of the sombre variety.
There's the soulful and pretty Sky Blue, with wonderful backing vocals from the Blind Boys again, and suitably atmospheric guitar playing by Canadian producer/songwriter/artist Daniel Lanois; the incredibly sad I Grieve -- originally written for the City Of Angels soundtrack, which dramatically changes tempo about three-quarters of the way through into a joyous celebration of life; the gorgeously stripped-down, short-but-sweet The Drop; and the similarly mournful My Head Sounds Like That.
Gabriel also favours strings, horns and piano on many of the songs, which tend to run six minutes or longer, guaranteeing no radio play.
Among the weaker tunes are the uncharacteristically fluffy Burn You Up, Burn You Down, which is far too dependent on backing vocals, and the first single, The Barry Williams Show, which suffers from overproduction and tired subject matter -- tabloid TV. (More on Peter Gabriel)
Track Listing
1. Darkness
2. Growing Up
3. Sky Blue
4. No Way Out
5. I Grieve
6. The Barry Williams Show
7. My Head Sounds Like That
8. More Than This
9. Signal To Noise
10. The Drop