Peter Gabriel has just finished his North American dates in support of Scratch My Back, a conceptual album that has the former Genesis frontman recording covers, a move which will in turn give him some covers back. The aptly named 11th solo album from the London native has captured a deal with artists like David Bowie, Radiohead, Neil Young, Paul Simon and others. In return, the album I’ll Scratch Yours will feature those same artists from Scratch My Back recording some of Gabriel’s most classic work. The collaborations will help to open Gabriel’s audience as he tours the world in support of this “scratching” affair, as websites feature Peter Gabriel tickets.

The latest set with Gabriel’s name on it is a Bob Ezrin produced full length featuring orchestral backing. Even with a reworking of lyrics, Gabriel put composer John Metcalife to the test, working on new arrangements for every single. “I really liked [Metcalfe’s] scores,” Gabriel said on his website, “which seemed original, soulful and fresh.” The album is full of familiar tracks that are highly unusual in their conception – always one to make things intricately melodic, the 12 covers on this twist fit easily into Gabriel’s collection. The album, which was released in March 2010, made the Top 30 on Billboard’s 200 chart and second on the Top Independent Albums.

While such collaboration for Gabriel might be farfetched, the exchange remains an incentive for all. “The intention was that we would each do the songs in our own idiosyncratic way,” he continues on his website, adding that the artists he covers can take their own interpretations of his own hits. The result was another bold feature from Gabriel, who selected singles that he knew he could reinterpret successfully. Choosing artists that weren’t just veteran musicians like himself, he looked to all genres and acts to find covers that spanned Gabriel’s own musical freedom.

Though for followers of Gabriel another covers album might be a surprise, as Scratch My Back follows 1994’s Us, it has easily been accepted by millions of his fans. As Gabriel puts it, “It’s easier to find holes in the wall than it is trying to build one out of nothing.” Tadalis SX

Gabriel started to make a name for himself outside of Genesis in 1976 when he released three consecutive solo albums all with the name Peter Gabriel. The third album was the most well-received, featuring the political single “Biko” and “Games Without Frontiers.” Two years following the self-titled release, Gabriel released Security.

If fans thought 1980’s album was a success, they had another thing coming – Security had critics raving and fans purchasing, as “Shock the Monkey” found a new audience. That same year Gabriel started his WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) Festival, which he helped to fund with a Genesis tour. During this time Gabriel also started writing scores, including the piece for Alan Parker’s Birdy. In 1986, the album So appeared that led to Gabriel’s commercial breakthrough – with “In Your Eyes” and “Sledgehammer” doing well on the Billboard charts.

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Category: Music
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