Peter Gabriel s Scratch My Back album project is the first part of a series of song
exchanges in which Gabriel and other leading artists reinterpret each other s songs.
To help craft his recording of the album s eclectic array of cult favorites and classic
tracks, Gabriel enlisted former Durutti Column member John Metcalfe, composer,
arranger and the expertise of producer Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd s The Wall , Lou
Reed s Berlin ) and engineer, mixer and producer Tchad Blake (Suzanne Vega,
Sheryl Crow, Tom Waits).
Gabriel describes this as a very personal record with twelve songs performed only
with orchestral instruments and voice. He made the choice not to include guitar or
drums. The album s richly diverse sounds include the sparse romance of Lou Reed s
The Power of the Heart , the powerful musical journey of David Bowie s Heroes
and an epic arrangement of Arcade Fire s My Body Is A Cage. Gabriel and his
collaborators recorded the album at George Martin s Air Lyndhurst Studios and the
Real World Temple with further editing and mixing at his own Real Worlds Studio in
Wiltshire. The Scratch My Back release is one of the most creative and engaging
records from an iconic artist in a long time. The marketing focus is to penetrate
Peter Gabriel s core fan base as well as fans of all genres and in all demographics
given the scope of artists being covered as well as its depth of composition. |
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 Music for grown-ups |
| Review Date: March 11, 2010 |
| Reviewer: G. Varner, |
| Peter Gabriel selected a group of songs by some of pop music's finest writers (among them veterans like Neil Young, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, and Randy Newman, as well as younger writers like Arcade Fire, Regina Spektor, and Bon Iver). The songs work well together, and focus on subjects like terrorism, love, and death. Most are beautifully arranged for chamber ensemble by the talented John Metcalfe. A really stunning cover of Elbow's love song "Mirrorball" achieves something very rare -- serious, moving art about joy. Lovely stuff. |
Different but great as usual
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| Review Date: March 5, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Bryan D. Uslick, Fayetteville, NC United States |
| This is not your typical Peter Gabriel album. No drums, no guitars. Orchestra as backup. Sparse vocals. Yet still he works his magic on every song and makes each one his own. I highly recommend it to Peter Gabriel fans. I will post a follow up as I spend more time with it. |
Bowie, Talking Heads Paul Simon as only Peter Gabriel could do them!
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| Review Date: March 5, 2010 |
| Reviewer: K. Tucker, St. Charles, MO USA |
| Always great to here Peter's vocals, and this album definitely features his vocal interpretations. The orchestration adds a lot, especially on Listening Wind. Heroes is the highlight for me... it's such a great song, but the urgency of Peter's vocals is really special. |
Trust his vision
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| Review Date: March 5, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Pete W, |
When you love an artist's work you trust their vision. I almost feel that no one should be writing a review right now because the music on this CD is so subtle and elusive. Only time will allow it to sink in.
Ultimately though, what Gabriel has done is an unselfish act of admiration. I'm sure he is benefiting financially, but I feel that the music on this CD is a gift to the artists who wrote these songs and nothing more. |
Thank You Peter!
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| Review Date: March 5, 2010 |
| Reviewer: T. Martin, Yewtah, USA |
| No, it's not Supper's Ready or anything off Us, but what a wonderful CD (can't wait for the vinyl version!). Great arrangements, full or the 'textures' that Peter is so well know for creating over the years. He has brought a uniquely new and different life to all of these songs. I hope the original artists are proud of what he has done with their songs. Looking forward to the Hollywood Bowl show! |
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