Peter Gabriel - New Blood

Tue 15th Nov, 2011 in Music Reviews

England’s own prolific stalwart Peter Gabriel has returned to the limelight with an ambitious project, New Blood. This brand new studio album – his ninth – revolves around orchestral re-interpretations of various tracks from throughout his acclaimed solo career. Typically, New Blood proves every bit as rewarding as its predecessor Scratch My Back, in which Gabriel covered the likes of Radiohead, David Bowie and Arcade Fire, revitalising past endeavours wonderfully.

The Rhythm Of The Heat is the first song re-imagined in Gabriel’s grand vision, the 1982 original subject to a comfortable metamorphosis. Gabriel’s impeccable 46-piece orchestra awakens with caution, delivering a simmering intensity. Less than two minutes into the record, Gabriel dazzles with a glorious vocal crescendo, the stunning release met with a rousing arrangement. Clearly, age has not wearied Gabriel. He remains a sublime vocalist, scaling the same dizzying heights as the album’s elaborate compositions.

Pleasingly, just as the album’s early pinnacle promises, Gabriel goes onto ensure that no moment is wasted throughout New Blood, every opportunity for astounding potency seized wholeheartedly. The merry Downside Up emerges a buoyant duet between Gabriel and his daughter Melanie, the latter taking the reigns for the most part. Meanwhile, the eerie Intruder is a clear highlight, distorted magnificently and skewed to secure an even creepier climate than the original professes. Gabriel’s portrayed malevolence intensifies considerably here, the track plunged into an irresistible melodrama. Intruder is only outdone by Darkness, the song a lumbering, schizophrenic terror. Its menace is made terrifically evocative by the sheer power of Gabriel’s accompaniment. Also among the highlights are the triumphant In Your Eyes and the majesty of Red Rain. Digging In The Dirt also works remarkably well, the emphatic treat retaining some semblance of pop charm.

In immersing oneself in the record’s splendours, it’s easy to indulge in the sneaky suspicion that little is beyond the masterful combination of Gabriel and arranger John Metcalfe. The vision is realised to absolute perfection, emerging considered, calculated and striking all at once. New Blood offers the most that any Gabriel enthusiast could hope for from the project, exuding vast imagination without sacrificing the charm or the key fundamentals that made the music great to begin with. Gabriel’s body of work is brought to life with sheer theatrical brilliance here, its new-found expression comprehensive and simply compelling. To share in its evocative grandeur is an absolute pleasure.