What's he on about now?

In case the articles, essays and opinions throughtout this site just weren't enough for you, here's my online diary (a.k.a. 'blog'). It's as close as you'll come to the inside of my head, so don't say I didn't warn you
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   Friday, September 27, 2002

LISTEN 'UP'

Having bought it days ago, I was finally able to sit down and settle back with the first album from Peter Gabriel in ten years. The suspense has been awful -- what if the new material is terrible? Or worse, dull? Well, I can at last say that 'Up' is not terrible, not dull, not even fine -- it's astonishing.

The new album is a collection of staggeringly inventive, rich soundscapes and easily the most ambitious production he's done. Each of the songs in turn are beautiful or spiky, uplifting or unsettling: "Growing Up" rivals his classic "Sledgehammer" for a muscular, grinding dance track, while "Darkness" takes the themes of "Digging in the Dirt" even deeper.

Also, Gabriel's singing voice is not only remarkably consistent with his classic 80's sound but occasionally evokes his earlier Genesis days as well. He has a unique quality of anguish in his singing, as if he's just within reach of everything he needs in his life but still has a bit to go. It's a voice of hope and pain, one that has inspired me for nearly twenty years.

I'm thrilled to hear an album that gets me so excited about music again (especially in such a robotic time) and more thrilled to know that he'll be doing a live show in Toronto this December. Check out www.petergabriel.com for info and song samples, or just do yourself a favour and get your own copy. Maybe I'll see you in Saturday's ticket line!

Labels: Trawna