Customer Reviews

Scratch My Back

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"Scratch My Back" will doubtlessly go down as one of Peter Gabriel's most contentious albums. Known for thundering drums and uvula exposing vocal explosions, Gabriel evaded all expectations and instead released a mellow, all orchestral album. Reviews seem very mixed and even long time fans are divided on what to think about this puzzling release.

First off, Gabriel has never recorded a cover album. Sometimes these serve as stop gap distractions while performers prepare new batches of original material (naysayers would probably like to think that such is the case here). Many such albums become throwaways. Instead, Gabriel claims that this motley collection of somewhat contemporary tunes represents his most personal endeavor to date. A deeply personal cover album? Gabriel's oeuvre, burgeoning with passionate political and social statements from his own pen, would seem a more likely fountain of personal expression than orchestral covers. In any case, there it is.

Credit definitely goes to Gabriel for trying on new pants, so to say. "Scratch My Back" is completely unlike anything else the man has ever released. Taking his work as a whole, "So" arguably feels closer to "Foxtrot" than to this album. Here the Gabriel "wall of sound" has disappeared. Innovative cracking rhythms give way to flourishing strings. Vocals float in front of often sparse orchestral and piano arrangements. "Here Comes The Flood" and "Wallflower" approach such sparseness, but everything on "Scratch My Back" outdoes even these quiet ballads in this sense. Sparse, in fact, serves as an apt one word description of this album.

Then there's the song selection. Gabriel definitely mined some of the best: Talking Heads, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Radiohead, Randy Newman, David Bowie, etc. None of his interpretations outdo the originals. No one would replace Gabriel's version of "Listening Wind" on their copy of "Remain in Light," for example. But that doesn't really say much. The original versions of these selections are so entrenched in our collective psyches that any cover faces an obstinate wall of inertia and presupposition. But that doesn't mean these are good covers, either.

Some of the interpretations definitely work better than others. "Heroes" will definitely repulse some on a first listen. It will subsequently grow on some and off others. "Flume" soars with everything Gabriel has to offer. "The Power of the Heart" provides a decent alternate take to Lou Reed's love sonnet to his now wife, Laurie Anderson. "My Body is a Cage" drags along like carcasses on a Bruce Nauman carousel, as does "Street Spirit (Fade Out)." The rest of the album remains a little up in the air. Nonetheless, it delivers some genuine moving moments as well as some awkward moments. The bridge in "Philadelphia" contains some inchoate dissonant wailing. It's unpleasant. "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" falls a little flat, sounding less rich than Newman's 1968 arrangement. Also, Gabriel's voice seems a little unsteady and overly self-conscious at times. "Scratch My Back" is far from his best vocal performance. On the plus side, "The Book of Love," a simple ditty, provides a memorable track, though some may wince at the borderline corny lyrics.

Ultimately, "Scratch My Back" plays better in segments than as a whole. The full ride can get a little tiresome given some of the repetitive arrangements (silent and slow, rise to a crescendo, then silence to fade out). Nonetheless, the album does contain some memorable moments, but far fewer than most Gabriel albums offer."Scratch My Back" is not for everyone, not even for all Gabriel fans. It's way off of the radar from his other work, is often slow and brooding, and provides challenging interpretations of some very familiar songs. But many will appreciate the starkness and find themselves spinning this one in certain moods. Maybe time will reveal whether or not this album turns out as Gabriel's only dud or as an unappreciated masterpiece. In the present tense, it has some fans scratching their heads.

I cannot tell you how exciting this album is to me. I'm a bit shocked to be able to say that - considering that it is, at heart, a covers album and a Gabriel album without the percussion so essential to his other work. We hear only suggestions of the original songs in Gabriel's interpretations (with the exception of "I Think It's Going To Rain Today", which bares resemblance to Randy Newman's original) - and we certainly hear something very much like "Gabriel songs", regardless of the other songwriters and instrumentation.

Scratch My Back is as nakedly painful and loving and fragile and dark as almost anything Gabriel's done - by which I mean his voice, his performance, the brilliantly unpredictable arrangements are just out there between our eyes and in our chest, and we *feel* it. While it goes to a lot of places and sounds, there is no Sledgehammer here (which I don't say to slam Sledge or this album). It's not timid - it gets raucous, but it doesn't rock (it doesn't try to). Though the album may not dance with you, it will alternately hold you, grab and shake you and stare uncomfortably at you.

I could not make it through the album without replaying songs and then parts of songs again - and I'm dying to play the whole thing again as I write. That is a great thing to say (and something I can't pretend I say often). I don't want to take it apart bit by bit - take it in yourself. I do think it's outstanding.

When singers get to a certain stage in their careers, they usually get the dreaded itch and do a covers album. Peter Gabriel's new CD is the first part of an intriguing project. "Scratch my back" comprises covers of 12 songs by 12 different artists. Eventually, a CD titled "I'll scratch yours" in which the 12 artists will cover different Peter Gabriel songs will be released.

Additionally, Gabriel's CD consists of orchestra only; no guitars or drums. Rod Stewart he ain't! Opening cut David Bowie's "Heroes" is a gradually ascending string-swathed piece, while Paul Simon's "The boy in the bubble" is transformed into a melancholic piano piece shorn of all its Afrocentric traces.

The remaining 10 songs comprise mostly more recent fare of which I only knew 5 originals; Elbow's "Mirrorball" (even more sublime here with just strings), Bon Iver's "Flume" (piano and strings unlike the original's folky guitar), Arcade Fire's "My body is a cage" (with icy strings replacing the original's drum/guitar bursts), Regina Spektor's "Apres moi" (a stunning swelling symphonic makeover), and a delicate piano reworking of Radiohead's "Street spirit ( Fade out)".

The other songs are Talking Heads' "Listening wind" (with a Celtic feel), Lou Reed's "The power of the heart", The Magnetic Field's "The book of love" (with some female harmonies - stirring and truly beautiful), Randy Newman's "I think it's going to rain today" (hymnal with a heartfelt quivering voiced delivery), and Neil Young's "Philadelphia".

Dark and forlorn yet beautiful, these already sound like Gabriel originals. It will be exciting to hear what Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Bowie and the rest do with the Peter Gabriel songs they select.

I have been a Peter Gabriel fan since I purchased my first record album ever in 1967 ... "From Genesis to Revelation." Last week I read that Peter was not going to attend the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction for Genesis because, "...it was like going back to high school." And he has moved on, or something like that. With "Scratch My Back" he has moved on to a nursing home. I'm not a musician, so I am not really sure what makes this disc so incredibly boring, but to me every song sounds nearly the same. Are they all in the same key? Not sure. Same timbre? Could be. Perhaps it's that what makes Peter Gabriel such an amazing artist for me is the music he writes. So I can partially blame it on his poor choice of artists and songs for which he will presumably get like treatment. Bottom line is this. I read the reviews and was skeptical. But I always think the price of the disc is worth it if there is just one song I can listen to over and over. Sorry, but not this time. Wish I had better news.

Of course it wasn't what I was expecting but it is SO GOOD and keeps getting better with each listen. It's not easy listening. It's not background music. Sometimes it's a little TOO intense. Mirrorball has to be the best track and it is a triumph (never heard the original). Anybody who would call this record "mellow" has a very limited understanding of music. This version of Heroes is cinematic and epic. Once again Mirrorball is the kind of piece that makes you want to take a big risk that will change the course of your life. I'm talking purely from the musical perspective, when you add the lyrics it feels like deeply reveling in the joys of the human experience.

Book of Love is Tender and deeply touching.
Boy in the bubble is contemplative and raw.

Just an amazing album. I never know what he's going to do next but he NEVER disappoints and always leaves me feeling like I have grown just by listening.

It goes way beyond rock and pop and to listen is to evolve, no wonder some listeners are scratching their heads unable to comprehend what this is.

Peter Gabriel is a true artist. In an era where American Idol assaults the senses with manufactured pop, it is refreshing to know that there is still sonic artistry in this world. I first saw Peter Gabriel in 1978, during the PG II tour. I've waited patiently for each album. I knew that new artistic ground would be broken with every release. Therefore, I appreciate Scratch My Back for what it is, not what it should be.

You cannot listen to this album lightly. The songs demand attention. Each song is crafted with a stunning degree of attention, and while this would not be the first album I would recommend to someone wanting to learn about Peter's music (that would be PG III), this album sits with Passion as a milestone in growth and potential.

For an artist in a genera where innovation is only as good as the package you can sell, Peter Gabriel shines as someone who is true to his art. That is why Scratch My Back is an excellent album. The artestry is uncomprimising. Very few in the industry can be held to that ideal, and I applaud Mr. Gabriel for a beautiful work, that grows with every listen.

An orchestral covers album from an aging prog rocker? Not surprisingly, "Scratch My Back" is, by turns, brilliant and odd. It's a sparse, stark, elegiac album of minimalist compositions that deliberately takes the listener out of his comfort zone. With Peter's cracked, soulful vocals hanging on John Metcalfe's sharp, aural landscapes, "Back" wears its concept like a fragile exoskeleton. It's a mournful and sometimes-thrilling performance that sacrifices synth for strings, easy hooks for meditation and gloss for exposure.

It's an effect that works stunningly on the album's most transformative tracks -- Arcade Fire's "My Body is a Cage" and Talking Heads' "Listening Wind." The instruments simmer and soar under, not over, the rhythmic gravel of Peter's voice. In fact, "Cage" probably deserves comparison to Johnny Cash's "Hurt" in terms of passion and performance. No longer a tale of youth-fed angst, the song becomes an explosion of aged apprehension and disquiet. Peter's voice is so clear and fearlessly imperfect that he could be singing in a dark, haunted wood or in your own hallway.

Yes, the concept here is tenuous, but "Back's" successes are many. "Mirrorball" and "Book of Love" are gorgeous and lush, and "Heroes" is a wonderful, slow burn. The album's biggest revelation, though, might be "The Power of the Heart." A mostly unknown and beautifully written Lou Reed song, "Heart" was ripe for discovery. Once you've heard Peter's rendition, you'll wonder why you've never heard it before.

But the album's imperfections are hard to ignore. It's difficult to sustain an entire disc of mostly-morose chamber music. In fact, I guarantee that many of these songs will reveal themselves most fully when thrown onto a mix tape, shuffled into a playlist or featured among the rock and electronica on a movie soundtrack. And it doesn't help that the last two songs, "Philadelphia" and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)," seem less like thread-bare confessions and more like off-key whimpers. Only in the final 8 or 9 minutes of this stunning, one-hour album does the exoskeleton finally start to buckle.

For every person who calls "Scratch My Back" moving, meditative and poignant, there will be someone who calls it overwrought, ponderous and contrived. You may absolutely adore these lovely bones, or you might resent them. Just do yourself a favor and shuffle a few of these tracks into your playlist. You might be surprised.

BEST TRACKS: "My Body is a Cage," "Listening Wind," "The Power of the Heart," "Mirrorball"

Who really expects Peter Gabriel records to be fun? Even upbeat tunes have always been dark humor at best - Shock the Monkey, Big Time, Sledgehammer, etc. I'm not familiar with any of these songs save Boy in the Bubble and I Think It's Going To Rain Today, so maybe that makes me less critical than others. To me this is a beautifully orchestrated disk with Gabriel doing great job of expressing lyrics. Perfect for late night/rainy day listening. Relax and dig.

If you just looked at the song titles presented on "Scratch My Back", you might expect a medley of re-treads from songs you probably liked best in their original form. It is, in fact, a 'covers' album. But Peter Gabriel is not one to give us that kind of performance. Instead, he effectively locked the drummer and guitarist out of the studio, and bared his soul through the lyrics of some of the most memorable (and yes, forgettable) pop songs from the last 35 years or so.

With a large orchestra to support him, Gabriel gives us a recording closer to a classical collection of famous arias than it is to any arrangement of any song here you've probably heard. The difference is that Gabriel does not keep his distance. It is as if he whispers secrets in your ear. Then, tells you things about the songs you never realized. And then wailing out over the orchestra with that voice everyone knows, just to remind you it's still him. Some of these songs, like Simon's "Boy in the Bubble" are a revelation (the non-ironic version is here to display Paul's brilliant lyric work). Others are tunes I frankly could not stand in their 'original' form (I won't mention those out of courtesy), but are now receiving much attention in my CD player, thanks to his newly overhauled renditions. I'm guessing that if you don't know the words to some of these songs, you simply will not recognize them.

Peter Gabriel turned 60 this year. But he knows better than to attempt the embarrassing over-the-hill rock star routine. This is a mature work, not to be found on American pop radio, I'm sure. He has once again struck out into new territory, and he never ceases to surprise me. Don't expect to find another "Sledgehammer" here. Brace yourself for something truly personal, and involving.

Those folks looking for another big beat pop album like "So" might as well move along already. This release is nearly 180 degrees in the opposite direction. However, if one is willing to remain open-minded about how an album of cover tunes should sound like, then there are some unearthed treasures to be found here.

I find it interesting that Gabriel seems to consider this collection of tunes he didn't write as one of his most personal statements. Certainly most of these covers are pretty radical reinterpretations from what these tunes originally sounded like, which is a definite plus. On the other hand, the virtual similarity of orchestral and vocal arrangements on many tunes begin to bog down the proceedings in a lot of sonic "sameness", for lack of a better term. The lack of any percussive beat throughout also doesn't help with breaking up the tempo monotony. One can rightly accuse this album of simply droning on too long.

Despite those valid criticisms, one might find that this release sort of combines together all of the quieter moments from previous Gabriel releases (such as "Father, Son", "Here Comes the Flood", et al.), and adds another refrain to this particular song cycle. "Listening Wind" seems to transform into a companion piece to "San Jacinto". "My Body is a Cage" reminds me of previous material like "Darkness" and "No Self Control" in themes on personal paranoia and fears.

So overall, an interesting experiment, even if not entirely successful. Devoted Peter Gabriel enthusiasts should give it a try, and others probably should wait to hear some tracks first (which one can do by simply venturing over to Gabriel's own website for some samples), then decide.