The Details: With his first marketable album in ten years, Peter Gabriel’s Up proves that the old Brit hasn’t lost a step. The fact that the album’s recording sessions took place in seven different countries over the past seven years tells us that Gabriel wasn’t rushing this release to suit a pop audience, and it shows. He hosts a plethora of guests on the album, many of which are currently signed with his RealWorld label. Peter Green, Daniel Lanois, Shankar, The Blind Boys of Alabama, and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan all lend a hand. As always, bass phenomenon Tony Levin and guitarist David Rhodes are back to their respective roles. Drum icon Manu Katche gives a solid performance. Up is unique in its subject, as Gabriel tackles growth, death, and the tribulations of talk TV. For the most part, the album has a somber and developed sound, probably due to the rediculously large period of time that Peter had to record and mix each track to his liking. This album may be better suited for an older crowd, as it is closer in sound to 1992’s Up than the 80s PG that every mortal being on the planet subliminally knows.
The Highlights: The album starts with Darkness, an ominous track that is both hard-hitting and melodic. Maybe not single material, but possibly the best song on the album. Sky Blue is a gorgeous track featuring The Blind Boys of Alabama on backing vocals, and is a reprise taken from Gabriel’s recently released soundtrack Long Walk Home – Music From ‘The Rabbit Proof Fence’. No Way Out is a solid track as well, but the album’s centerpiece I Grieve is the most sincere and thoughtful track on the album. Originally released on 1998’s City Of Angels soundtrack, I Grieve is representative of what Peter does best – exploring unfamiliar and often uncomfortable topics with a sympathetic touch. The Barry Williams Show is the attempted single on the album, but it feels forced and out-of-place in the context of the album. It parodies trash TV’s “The Jerry Springer Show” in the single’s video and hence the up-tempo song may lose its message in the midst of a seemingly commercial grasp that is otherwise (thankfully) absent on the album. I didn’t even realize Springer was still on, let alone pissing Peter Gabriel off. My Head Sounds Like That is a very interesting display of new age tomfoolery that will likely appeal to only a select fan base. More Than This and Signal To Noise bring the album back to its more serious roots before The Drop, featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, provides a stunning finish.
The Bottom Line: All in all, this is one of Peter’s best albums. A far cry from his 80s pop and a little closer to his progressive roots. This isn’t the PG album to start your collection, but it does stand alone as a very solid piece of work. The key to Up is exposure, so let it spin a few times before burning yourself a copy and transforming it into a Christmas gift for your parents.
- Dustin Wall
