Peter Gabriel – Scratch My Back
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Peter Gabriel – Scratch My Back (Real World)
First, I’ll give some very brief background. Peter Gabriel wrote lyrics and sang for Genesis at the band’s inception in 1967, through the "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" album, leaving the band in 1975. Genesis wasn’t so good after he left. Over the next decade Gabriel made several good to great records, culminating in his commercial breakthrough So and the mega-hit “Sledgehammer.” An evocative, moving film score for Martin Scorsese’s "Last Temptation of Christ" followed in 1989. Subsequently, his production slowed. An album called "Up" (2002) was Gabriel’s only release not attached to film work or concert recordings issued in the last two decades, having devoted much of his time to the promotion of world music and humanitarian concerns over the past several years.
Now comes "Scratch My Back," Gabriel’s highly conceptual “covers” album. "Scratch My Back" is defined by two essential conceits. First, as the title suggests, it was Gabriel’s intent that the artist’s whose songs he recorded for SMB would in turn record and release a song of his. Tricky business, that, since basically Gabriel was soliciting a tribute album. So far, the favors have been slow in returning; so hold your breath on Gabriel’s back getting scratched in response. The second conceit was essentially to not make a rock record, given the commitment to refrain from the use of drums and guitars. Art school geeks love to set up aesthetic strategies that limit their options. After the Beatles and their generation plucked the tree of knowledge bare, rock musicians with haute bourgeois backgrounds turned into little Franz Klines, pursuing their own version of the black and white canvas. Personally, whatever floats Peter’s boat, you know? I have no interest per se in his oblique strategies, only in the merits of the performances. And those are a mixed bag.
A word of caution regarding Scratch My Back: reconcile yourself to the reduction of practically every song to a dirge tempo. For some songs, like Paul Simon’s “Boy in the Bubble,” where the very essence of the song was tied to the arrangement’s propulsive syncopations, the torpid tempo is a drag. David Bowie’s “Heroes” isn’t destroyed by Gabriel’s lugubrious arrangement, but it’s not clear that it profits from it either. “My Body is a Cage” builds, climaxes, and resumes a few too many times for dramatic effect, losing much of the momentum of the Arcade Fire original. Gabriel’s version of “Philadelphia” robs much of the austere dignity from the Neil Young original. John Metcalfe, who arranges strings and horns throughout "Scratch My Back," engages in rather excessive orchestration, rendering the song as fevered and operatic as Tom Hank’s sufferings. Generally, Metcalfe serves these songs nobly, though, providing accompaniment that’s stirring and sympathetic.
Beyond Metcalf’s contributions, Gabriel himself delivers some great performances. His delivery of Talking Head’s “Listening Wind” does greater justice to the lyric’s narrative than David Byrne’s. Gabriel's performance of “Power of the Heart,” (previously available only as a download from Lou Reed) is a revelation. Gabriel caresses the words (“I went around the world to bring you back; it was the power of your heart”) and his melodious delivery deepens the humanity of Reed’s lyric. Stephen Merritt’s (Magnetic Fields) “Book of Love” is deprived of Merritt’s knowing humor, but Gabriel negotiates the melody soulfully and harmonizes sweetly with his daughter Melanie.
In the final analysis it’s not clear whether this program benefits from the absence of orthodox rock instrumentation. Seems to me it’s a gamble that pays off on certain songs and sabotages others. Taking virtuosic soloing out of the equation definitely puts more focus on the songs themselves — no bad thing. On the other hand, an entire program of orchestral arrangements becomes as absent surprise as any guitar-bass-drums recording.
Reverberating: 7.2
Steve Wilson is the manager of Kief's Downtown Music and a lifelong musician and music writer. His weekly bundle of music reviews, Reverberations, will be appearing in KCFreePress each Tuesday.
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