Peter Gabriel

As a complete album, that is.

All the mixes are the ones he's already released! There's zero leaking here, there's more "I have assembled the previously existing songs as a playlist oh and here's the one other one."

he should have released all the stems and had a fan mix contest, and then released the best mixes submitted by his fans.

Well it leaked in an organised form at least

He's released a lot of tracks in the last year, we're all aware here. Many acts do this. Now [i/o is out in, to quote PaulTMA, in its full form as a downloadable thing. Whether you care about this form is another question.

Which mix tho

All the bright and dark mixes, apparently.

yeah he's releasing both and you can choose which one you want so I assume the preview versions shipped and that's how the final song got out. hasn't shown up for me in my regular places yet though.

When you reach his age, leaking is almost inevitable

Did that entire Scratch My Back/I'll Scratch Yours project produce a single good song?

I liked his cover of Elbow's Mirrorball, Bon Iver's Flume, Arcade Fire's My Body Is A Cage, and Radiohead's Street Spirit. So almost half the album. The other tracks are alright but I never felt like revisiting them; I particularly dislike the very very slow take on Heroes (which I thin is the one song that has gotten some traction, I remember hearing it in at least one movie or movie trailer).

The covers by other people: I liked Eno doing Mother of Violence, Elbow's Mercy Street, and that was about it.

The bigger problem with that project was the endless New Blood Orchestra stuff he did, all of which was boring

his "the book of love" has been in so many movies and shows (not exactly answering your question tbf)

i got a kick of randy newman's very silly version of "big time"

*out of

oh right, yes book of love keeps getting reused and in fact I think it predated the rest of Scratch My Back. It's also kind of dull to me.

The "Book of Love" version in movies is the 2004 version not the Scratch My Back version afaik

That whole orchestra era of like Scratch My Back/New Blood/Live Blood then with the capper of I'll Scratch Yours is so dire

I gotta say, even after listening to the released tracks I wasn't expecting his voice to sound this un-gravelly.

no he sounds great on this; but maybe the vocals were all recorded 15 years ago.

He sounded great live!

He claims that finishing the lyrics is what prevents him from completing anything, so...

Studio rats like him and Bryan Ferry share that complaint.

I mean, they have to sing the songs, so I guess it makes sense. Just like singers choosing the setlist live. But Pete, like Ferry, also likes to fiddle, forming the songs as he goes, which adds an extra few years (apparently) to everything before he even gets around to the lyrics.

Was it here or somewhere else where I saw that anecdote about Gabriel taking just about any opportunity to procrastinate? It might have been an interview with Lanois or Lillywhite. They said things were already running way behind, but when someone had to go the airport, Gabriel offered to drive them himself. The producer had to intervene. "No! You stay behind and keep working!"

ha i no wonder i appreciate gabriel so much.

i woke up and realized i missed his show here and i'm seriously p crushed. never seen him. he's going around again soon it think i read here, so...

unconfirmed but I did hear that he was planning on touring again next year (this was someone on the hoffman board who heard this from tony levin's touring manager).

I'm positive Gabriel will tour again ASAP. Pete's gotta eat.

Anyway, final song is out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huUgfDhS6Ko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNUvHa0xfhc

I didn't realize he was using Nick Cave's sound suits for artwork. (Not the musician Nick Cave.) I know someone who works with him and introduced me to his work many years ago - basically I'd go see him and he'd be working on an exhibit, and Cave was often there, but it's been amazing to gradually see his profile grow so much over the course of that time.

His retrospective here a couple of years ago was great. The right kind of whimsy, very thoughtful.

he has a different artist for each song

Listening now, it's better than I expected, honestly, even having heard some of the recordings and heard most of the songs live. Good for you, Peter Gabriel.

The whole thing is very Peter Gabriel-by-numbers, but I’m glad to get a piece of fan service if it’s going to be the most enjoyable PG-related release in like 30 years

EYE OH EYEOH

I can't think of anyone better suited to sound like Peter Gabriel in 2023 than Peter Gabriel. That it sounds like Peter Gabriel is icing on the cake.

He said in the latest NYTimes interview that he has a bunch more in the can and that the next album should come quicker. Here’s hoping he brings on a producer who’ll nudge him out of his familiar grooves a little.

the next album should come quicker

lol. Well, it couldn't come any slower!

I, for one, look forward to his next release at 93.

2093.

its weird how this full album finally being out has made me reassess the whole thing even though I kept a running playlist of every song as they came out and listened to it all year. I'd been 'meh' on some of it which is often the case when an act like this that was so important to me musically when I was younger releases something after a long time; I'd thought the same about Up when it came out (whereas I'd obsessively loved Us on the day of release). I eventually came around on Up but it took years. I'm inclined to think this is every bit as good as Up and some tracks are superior. When it works it really works; when it doesn't quite work, its really only barely missing...nothing makes me cringe here. Anyway, very happy with the album in the end.

Some of the lyrics are little cringy, but he's been in introspective new age self-help mode since "Us."

Only skippers for me after a few listens to the Darkside mix are "The Court" and "Road To Joy"

"Four Kinds of Horses" is sublime

Wild that this isn’t making any Year End Lists

"Four Kinds of Horses" is sublime

yes! when these were trickling out I was worried there wasn't a standout track, a "mercy street" or "I grieve" etc, but I was wrong, Horses is it.

I love that song.

"And Still" gets me every time I hear it.

Yeah that is also a profoundly moving song for me, having lost my mom this year.

I’m really enjoying the inside mix of the album via AirPods btw. The dark side mix is what I listen to in the car and on vinyl, and it sounds great there. But the inside mix is really rewarding and I like having to listen to it closely via headphones to appreciate it, it makes for a more intimate listening experience.

This album is pretty great. I guess what happens when you take 22 years between records is that a lot of people move on and stop paying attention?

There's at least a handful of albums I can think of that are like that, where I immediately enjoy them and wonder if I'm misjudging the quality, only to realize that it's been over a full decade, maybe even two, and it's likely the artist was able to stockpile or carefully sculpt an album's worth of solid material thanks to the extra time.

I still don't know how to respond to this album

Which in and of itself is an intriguing response.