Customer Reviews

Long Walk Home: Music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Gabriel doesn't dissapoint his fans or anyone else who is willing to step into the circle where his music can be heard. This time around, almost two years after his comeback recording "OVO" PG has yet another score to offer. He had previously done an outstanding work -his best in my opinion- with "Passion," the music to the Scorcese movie "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Birdy" the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, directed by Alan Parker. "Long Walk Home" is, like its predecessors, a highly charged ethnic album, where Gabriel blends influences from several corners of the world, including this time also samples from aboriginal Australian tribes in the closing tracks. The album is packed with layers and layers of sound, but the two most remarkable moments in it are, without any doubt, "Running To The Rain" (whose theme is repeated throughout the album) and the three-part track "The Return," both of which promise to give you Gabriel's "shiver," that same sensation you felt when you "experienced" songs such as "It Is Accomplished," "Bread and Wine" (Passion) and "Wallflower" (Security) in the past. Long story short: buy it. True PG fans cannot afford to miss this work and casual PG listeners will get a kick of this, his most recent work.

Before I review this, let's get one thing absolutely clear: Do not buy this album expecting another "Us" or "So" or Afro-Celt Sound System. If you're waiting for Peter Gabriel's next pop smash, I can guarantee that you will be disappointed by this disc.

Having said that, this is still a tremendous album, easily on par with (and instantly comparable to) Gabriel's "Passion", the soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ. Gabriel has again brought together a host of musicians to collaborate on a soundtrack, succeeding in meshing disparate sounds into a cohesive whole that never sounds belabored or muddled. Ngankarrparni is an excellent example of this as aboriginal chanting is overlaid by dhobro, strings and vocals by the Blind Boys of Alabama.

If I had any complaint about this album, it's that Peter Gabriel did it again. But this is tempered by the fact that this is only the second soundtrack Gabriel has done like this and that, honestly, I'd rather hear Gabriel noodling around with world beats than most other artists who set out to compose with a mission in mind.

I find that I get lost to this music, losing track of time as it plays in the background. The simplest review? If you liked Passion, you'll like this. Simple.

"Rabbit Proof Fence" is the new Australian film by Philip Noyce, telling the true story of three aboriginal girls who are kidnapped from their home in order to be sold as slave workers. But the three girls escape, and must travel alongside a 1500 mile-long "rabbit proof" fence that stretches across the Australian outback in order to get home. Peter Gabriel's new soundtrack album for the film, appropriately titled "The Long Walk Home," is a beautiful instrumental album that picks up where his classic previous instrumental album, "Passion: Music From The Last Temptation Of Christ," left off. This is a mostly quieter soundtrack album than "Passion," but it's no less powerful. Gabriel effortlessly infuses traditional Australian musical elements to the soundtrack's aural soundscapes, such as didgeridoo and tribal chant. He plays various keyboards, and also pitches in on background vocals for a couple of tracks. Credit must also be given to guest artists The Blind Boys Of Alabama, who contribute memorable, haunting vocals to the equally-haunting tracks, "Ngankarrparni," & "Cloudless." Wonderful stuff.While we still wait for the new "proper" solo album from Gabriel--10 years & counting now--"The Long Walk Home: Music From The Rabbit Proof Fence" is an incredible, beautiful, essential "stop-gap" Peter Gabriel album to add to your collection. Filled with gorgeous lushness & atmosphere, "The Long Walk Home" should succeed in holding you over until the new "proper" Gabriel album is released later this year. Enjoy. :-)

While the public patiently waits for his first proper album since "Us" (1992) and the story themed "Ovo" (2000, from a show presented at the Millenium Dome outside of London), we're offered another film score from Mr. Gabriel. The liner notes reveal that "The Rabbit Proof Fence" is an Austrailian film based on a true story of a 14 year old aboriginal girl who is taken, along with her younger sister and cousin, 1500 miles from their home to a government institution to be trained as domestic workers for white society. The girl leads an escape to find the fence that could lead them across the outback back to their home. The film is due to have a US release later this year.

The music is a combination of elements from his previous efforts. Due to the film's subject matter, the music is darker in tone like the "Birdy" score, but is still rooted in aboriginal and Australian culture, bringing to mind the moody droning passages of "Passion", the album of music from his score to "The Last Temptation of Christ." It's a hypnotic blend of synthesized and natural instrumentation, with recorded birds providing atmosphere and melody on several tracks. "Ngankarrparni" and "Cloudless" feature the Blind Boys of Alabama and Ningali & Myarn Lawford on gospel and chanting vocals respectively, the latter not unlike something found on a Dead Can Dance recording. (Mr. Gabriel only has minor vocal effects on 3 tracks, as there are no 'songs' on this CD.)

While not as immediately arresting as "Passion", the music is still beautiful and interresting, and will be enjoyed by fans of that album and Gabriel's work overall until his new album is released later this year. More information can be found on his website at petergabriel.com.

I don't know why, but I totally connect with Peter Gabriels soundtrack work... Passion, his soundtrack to the movie The Last Temptation of Christ has been my favorite album for a few years... and ever since I heard about this new soundtrack, I have been searching for it... well, I found it, and I must say it's excellent... Peter's ability to create music which spawns visual images in the listener is amazing... just like Passion, I am transported to the particular setting with this album... this time around it is Australia... it's amazing, when I listen to Passion I am filled with images of Middle Eastern deserts, and villages... this music however creates distinct images of australian desert areas in the outback... it's amazing to me how the music can be so specific like that... plus, just like Passion there is an emotional bass running through the music which makes it more personal... not only do you see the images, but you also feel particular feelings... it's a gorgeous piece of music... and definitely an amazing piece of work...

It's not better then Passion... Passion is the pinnacle for me... but this one is definitely a stellar piece of music... Fans of Passion NEED this... if you don't have it, get it... Even if you aren't a fan of passion already, you should listen to either of these, and I just know you will be converted!

After the two powerful haunting soundtracks, 1985s Birdy & 1989s Passion, Peter Gabriel has once again put out a fascinating soundtrack to the movie, Rabbit-Proof Fence. The movie is about three Aboriginal children being captured and sent to a white society where they were put to labor. They escape and go on a nine week trek that takes them 1500 miles across the Australian outback and make it home.

This soundtrack to that movie has the perfect kind of music that sets the mood of the movie.

While I've never seen the movie I must say that the soundtrack to it is enough to bring up images out of that movie.

Those of you who enjoyed Passion will love this soundtrack too as it contains little of Peters vocals and more tribal sounds with some modern sounds except this record has a very Australian Aboriginal sound. Long Walk Home is mellower than The Last Temptation Of Christ but in my opinion it's the mellowness that sometimes makes this soundtrack more spooky than most of the Passion album. Also what makes this soundtrack so intense is that some songs start of as very quiet but all of a sudden it blasts into loud, rumbling beats as is evidenced on Stealing The Children. The song title couldn't have been better. I'm guessing this song was playing during the movie when Molly and her two siblings were taken from their home and sent to the settlements.

My favorites are The Sense Of Home, Moodoos Secret & Cloudless.

Sense Of Home reminds me of Kiss That Frog with that similar percussion instrument sounds and it's mournful melody. SOH to me is a track that gives a feeling of strong emotions with its airy breezy voice. My only complaint is that its only two minutes.

There are a lot of things to say about this soundtrack but I don't want to spoil the surprises that this soundtrack will offer but one thing for sure is that for those who might have been scared by the darkness of 1980s Melting Face record, come and enjoy the darkness and fright that this dark soundtrack has to offer. Those who are confined to just Sledgehammer or Big Time will need to slowly listening to this one over time and maybe not even care for it but I strongly recommend this soundtrack for those who like Peter Gabriels more adventurous works like Birdy & Passion.

Moodos Se

The single word that went through my mind most while listening to Peter Gabriel's soundtrack to "Rabbit Proof Fence" was "arbitrary." While his earlier revolutionary soundtrack album "Passion" wove beautiful melodies with intricate and textural rhythms, the only thread of musicality continuous throughout RPF is the sonic palette of the instruments Peter uses. They are occasionally interesting, rarely melodic, rhythmically uninteresting, and often indistinguishable. While the droning bass note is common throughout "Passion", it was an additive foundation to the melodies and grooves. RPF uses the bass drone in nearly every song, nearly the same note, and when stripped of the beautiful and inspired compositions of "Passion", just sat there reminding you how random (arbitrary) the entire album is. It reminded me of the much less talented Stewart Copeland's soundtracks, and really just soundtracks in general: lovely, perhaps inspired while watching the movie, but not strong enough to stand up on its own as a musical composition. I actually found "Passion" to be so musically involving that I think it's a worse soundtrack - that is while watching The Last Temptation of Christ, while Peter's music was fitting it was distracting to the movie. I wanted occasionally to turn the movie off and lose myself in the soundtrack. The opposite is true with RPF. I haven't seen the movie, but the PRF soundtrack seems lost (wandering throughout the Outback?) without something else carrying it. RPF seems to perform the impossible: keeping Manu Katche's drumming simplistic and boring, and the Blind Boys of Alabama annoying and inappropriate.

Sonically, this is an exquisitely well recorded album. If you're an audiophile with a Stereo of the Gods, then several cuts of this album will make your reference demo list. There are tones that are foundation-shaking deep, and a couple notes that step below my system's 22Hz limit. But like too many audiophile recordings of interesting sounds, I will instead look forward to playing the inferior recording of "Passion" (haven't heard the remastered version, though.) Sonically, it gets 5 stars. Musically, it gets 2 stars and since that's what's really important, the result is 3 stars.

First heard elements of this composition on the pre-marketed "Passion of the Christ" trailer released by Icon Films in late 2003, prior to Newmarket sponsorship.
The music in many of these tracks will bring one to tears, and musically there are fewer more talented than Peter Gabriel. His skill beams thru in this pensive, dark, and triumphant film score. A must-have for those who appreciate modern classics.

I admit that it isn't a "typical" Peter Gabriel album. Not very "pop" and no lyrics, so if you are looking for something like UP or SO you are out of luck here. But one thing that this sound track has going for it is that the music is...big. I don't know how exactly to describe it, but listening to the music I hear great expanses of lonely land under the wide burning blue skies. I hear the heat of the outback, I hear the desolation felt by the children traveling across a wilderness on their own, I hear the fear that they may never make it, I hear the determination that they will. It is BIG music.

I enjoy the studio modifications that Peter has made to creat the album. The bird sounds slowed and warped, the digeridoo, the chanting, and the voices all come together to work wonderfully with the film as well as a stand alone piece of music (as long as you understand that it is a soundtrack!).

Even though (or perhaps because) Peter has made a career as an adventurous songwriter with a nice knack for melody, it's been pretty easy to overlook the other side of his catalogue: his movie scores, of which this is the third. These have been instrumental exercises, allowing him to stretch beyond the song format that dominates his other albums. This time the setting shifts to Australia and the songcrafting method shifts more into ambient territory than ever before. If someone was to reveal that Brian Eno was an equal (though uncredited) collaborator on Long Walk Home, I wouldn't really be surprised. This soundtrack is a haze of airy synths and low bass rumblings with some simple muted percussion beats; it says its piece without the threat of a coherent tune to stick in your head until the very end.

The disc is a challenge to really listen to in-depth because it's more atmosphere than melody, and it's a challenge to review because any attempt is like trying to verbally describe some vague featureless clouds. (Is it a coincidence that the finale is called "Cloudless"? Maybe.) All I can really give are overall impressions: haunting, airy, forbidding, rugged, serene. There are hardly any obvious variations between pieces until the disc starts drawing to a close, at which point the Blind Boys of Alabama drop in chanting through "Ngankarrparni (Sky Blue Reprise)." As you may expect, that's the same "Sky Blue" that just popped up on Peter's Up album, sans lyrics here. "Cloudless" reprises the chant theme and starts building layers.. some drums here, more backing vocals here, some quiet piano.. to come to a sweepingly grand yet fittingly subdued ending. The track is as simple and understated as it can get, and yet somehow sounds crowded after the minimalist approach of the album preceding it.

As has been pointed out, this is a work likely to appeal to fans of Passion and Birdy. It's encompassing and dynamic as an hour of background atmospherics, probably less so as listening material on its own, but it's not meant to demand your attention as much as one of Peter's 'proper' albums. I don't listen to this nearly as much as my other PG discs and I can't give it the perfect rating I give Passion.. but that's a heck of an album to compete with. Take it on its own merits, and Long Walk Home is still worth a good four stars.