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Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back CD (album) cover

SCRATCH MY BACK

Peter Gabriel

 

Crossover Prog

2.87 | 270 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

chopper
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Those of you familiar with Gabriel's cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever" or the piano version of "Here Comes the Flood" will have some idea of what this CD sounds like. The concept behind the album is that Gabriel records a variety of songs by other artists and the others record one of his songs in return (hence the title). The other artists' songs have yet to appear, so Gabriel's cover versions are the only ones available at the moment.

The songs vary from classics by well-known artists (such as "Heroes" and "The Boy In the Bubble") to songs by lesser known artists such as Bon Iver. All the songs are recorded without guitars and drums and with orchestral backing. In most cases the songs have been slowed down and are sometimes almost unrecognisable - "Heroes" being one example that is barely recognisable apart from the lyrics.

What is recognisable is the quality of Gabriel's voice and it is this quality that sets this album apart. He has chosen a collection of songs which he can apply his emotive vocals to and the outcome is nothing but a triumph - the version of Elbow's "Mirrorball" is one of the most successful. This is an album to sit down and listen to, I would say a "chillout" album but that implies it may be background music, but it is far worthier than that. Highly recommended for fans of the Gabriel voice.

Note that the special edition 2-CD set includes some remixes, a great version of "Waterloo Sunset" and access to 24-bit downloads of the album next month.

chopper | 4/5 |

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