Peter Gabriel: New Blood – Live in London

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A recent poll in a respected music magazine rated the most unique singing voices in rock and roll. The usual icons were on there: Dylan, Young, Mercury, Joplin, Vedder and others.  But where was Peter Gabriel?  Other than maybe TV on the Radio’ s Tunde Adebimpe….. there aint too many that sound like him.  With his extravagant Genesis era costumes that would make Lady Gaga blush and his ground-breaking 80’s MTV videos, Gabriel has always found new canvases to convey his art. 

Recently Gabriel found a new medium by touring with the new 46 piece New Blood Orchestra –mixing cover versions from his Scratch My Back album with classic tracks from across his solo career in brand new orchestral arrangements. New Blood Live was also released as a live album and serves as a continuation of Scratch My Back, which featured covers of songs from: Bon Iver, Magnetic Fields, Regina Spektor, Arcade Fire, Talking Heads and more. 

Filmed at  London’s Hammersmith Apollo in March of 2011, New Blood Live In London captures Gabriel performing live with the 46 piece New Blood Orchestra.  While most orchestrated versions of rock songs fail to garner the power and purpose of the originals, these compositions, courtesy of arranger John Metcalfe reinterpret Gabriel’s material in its most pure form – with all the instruments available and utilizing the frontman’s colorful vocals that are simultaneously both sinister and angelic.

Bald and a bit heavy-set at 61, Gabriel  almost resembles Anthony Hopkins as he strolls out for the opener “Intruder,” but his voice never sounded better  on the multi-rhythms of “ “San Jacinto,” “Darkness” and “Digging in the Dirt.”  The compositions are arranged with a purpose that makes Gabriel’s songs fit effortlessly into the orchestra setting rather than feel forced.   It can be argued that some of the softer numbers like “Red Rain,” “In Your Eyes” and  “Mercy Street” are better cut for the cello, violin and upright bass then for longtime Gabriel cohorts Tony Levin and Jerry Marotta.  New Blood Live in London does what any worthy live concert feature film should: deliver a brand new experience to songs you already know by heart.

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