Peter Gabriel – Scratch My Back (Real World) ***1/2

Peter Gabriel is one of the more original artists, and a veteran of the music scene. This album however is a collection of covers. Gabriel attacks some of his favorite songs here with varied results. Some of the tracks really do get a new lease on life; others don’t really bring anything new to the already established originals.

The approach of the record is very different from your typical covers album. Gabriel certainly went for originality eliminating guitar and drums out of the context. He definitely focused on vocals, and achieved magic on many occasions. There is no point disputing Gabriel’s vocals. He is the master of his craft. The songs are orchestrated with Gabriel taking the center of the stage, and delivering the goods. The arrangements certainly pump a lot of new life into these songs. On several occasions you hear things you never heard before when listening to the originals.

Tracks like Paul Simon’s The Boy in the Bubble, and Neil Young’s Philadelphia (a much underrated track from the film of the same name) really stand out. Gabriel really brought out that something magical here. It’s also interesting to see Gabriel take on Lou Reed’s The Power of the Heart, or Radiohead’s Street Spirit. David Bowie’s Heroes sounds hauntingly eerie, and really builds up a momentum. You can tell Gabriel spent a lot of time getting this project ready, and putting his stamp all over the place.

Scratch My Back is an interesting concept. The artists Peter Gabriel is covering here are repaying the favor and covering his songs in return. Most of these songs will be released for digital download only for now, so keep your eyes open for that. All in all, Scratch My Back is a great record, but probably not one his fans anticipated. It has a very special mood which will satisfy many of the fans, but what about some original material?

Mark Kadzielawa