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Preview: Scratch My Back
For his first studio album in eight years, ex Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel decided to cover the work of his favourite artists and, in exchange, they would do the same for him.
Scratch My Back is the first instalment of this project, and sees the 59-year-old cover the likes of Radiohead, Talking Heads and David Bowie in an orchestral setting, with nary a guitar nor drumkit in sight.
The artists whose songs are covered will be returning the favour by performing Gabriel's songs on a forthcoming album, I'll Scratch Yours.
You can hear a preview of Scratch My Back here
Source: Guardian Online 
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Artist Biography
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career. His 1986 album, So, is his most commercially successful, and the album's biggest hit, "Sledgehammer", won a record nine MTV Awards at the 1987 MTV...
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Comments
I've not heard this album, so take it with a pinch of salt, but covers albums are usually what people do when they've run out of ideas. For me, Gabriel was the brilliant frontman with Genesis, and then produced possibly even better solo albums between 76 and 80 (highpoint being 'Melt' or the third solo album: the one with 'Games Without Frontiers'.)
After that it was downhill, AFAIC. The fourth album was decent ('Shock the Monkey') but 'So' sounded like he'd sold out, albeit in an interesting way (it wasn't hard to be interesting in the early to mid mid 80's, since there was so much rubbish around). I lost interest after that.
Everyone is capable of a mid or late life comeback - think Loudon Wainwright III, Johnny Cash or Graham Parker - but I'm a cynic here. I'll have to catch this album and see what I think.
(NB: check out 'Biko' (originally on 'Melt'), by Manu Dibango on 'Wakafrika' (94). So much irony you could move it about with magnets.
Loop
Ta for your thoughts...there was an interview with Gabriel recently where he seemed to be keen to revisit his Genesis days - and apparently as recently as 2007, there was serious talk of the original lineup reforming to perform The Lamb Lies Down again, though how well PG (60 tomorrow!) would cut it as a Puerto Rican teen these days is open to debate...
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