MUSIC REVIEWS

PETER GABRIEL’S UP

Reviewed by R. A. Pearson

Peter Gabriel fans are in for a real treat with his new release Up. The opening cut of this 10 song CD, “Darkness,” produces a unique mind set for the listener almost unfelt since The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway or Foxtrot releases by Genesis during the 1970s. “Darkness,” “Growing Up,” “Blue Sky” and all the songs on this remarkable CD take the listener on a musical odyssey that can only be created by Peter Gabriel. Throughout the CD, Gabriel uses water images and analogies to create a peaceful, feel good sensation. One critic has labeled this effort “brilliant, sophisticated, and soulful,” and I totally agree. Other cuts of curiosity are “No Way Out,” “I Grieve,”

“The Barry Williams Show,” and “The Drop.”

Gabriel uses several guests on Up including: The Blind Boys of Alabama, Youssou N’Dour, Peter Green, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Other musicians on this CD include Manu Katche on Drums, Tony Levin on Bass, and David Rhodes on guitar. Gabriel also utilizes the London Session Orchestra on this unique CD. Up was produced in most part by Peter Gabriel. If you liked the music of Genesis during the 70s, you will love Up.

While Up is Peter Gabriel’s first major rock effort in almost ten years, he has not been in the outback with his head in the sand. Gabriel was the primary composer and creative genius behind the soundtrack to Phillip Noyce’s 2002 movie Rabbit Proof Fence. The movie, set in the wilds of Australia’s outback, captures the trials and challenges of Australia’s Aboriginal population as they struggle to maintain a connection with their culture in the 21st Century. Gabriel uses many Aboriginal instruments, sounds, beats, and rhythms in his major work Long Walk Home, Music from the Movie Rabbit Proof Fence. Long Walk Home contains 15 songs and is a great exposure to the music of Australia’s outback and Aboriginal culture.

Another interesting release from 2002 is David Bowie’s CD Heathen. This 12 cut CD is an interesting follow up to Bowie’s 1999 work All Saints, Collected Instrumentals 1977-1999. Heathen is a unique collection of tunes that can baffle the listener at times due to the ambiguity of the lyrics. While “Cactus,” the second song on the CD, has a good rock sound and meaningful (although a little risqué) lyrics, “Slow Burn,” the forth cut on the CD, has a good rock beat, but the lyrics tend to take the listener nowhere. There are strong cuts on the CD including “Sunday,” and the title cut “Heathen.” There are also several songs that take the listener to Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and Space Oddity days. Songs such as “Slip Away” and “I Took A Ride On A Gemini Spaceship” are reminders of the youthful Bowie, but with modern tech style instrumentation and mix. This CD is sort of a “Ziggy Stardust meets DJ Freaky’s Techno Mix” CD. It is definitely Bowie and definitely different, but then Bowie always was a little different.