Search - Peter Gabriel :: Ovo

Thought I knew Gabriel

Ethan Straffin | Palo Alto, CA USA | 08/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"But not quite. While I consider his latest album _Up_ to be his crowning achievement, I'd overlooked this side project at my peril. As a stage show, anyone can tell you that this thing flopped. The storyline's a mess, and you're probably better off not troubling yourself with it too much. But the music...ah, the music. That's what we're here for, right?



In addition to the three Big Tracks that have gotten the most well-justified attention -- namely "The Tower That Ate People" (which turns up in a much-improved rendition on the _Red Planet_ soundtrack), "Father, Son," and "Downside Up" -- it just so happens that Gabriel also had the phenomenal "Make Tomorrow" in his system. The combined effect tips the scales from take-or-leave into must-own territory for fans of this unnaturally gifted and important artist."

One of Peter Gabriel's finest

Music Fan | Los Angeles, CA | 06/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Except for the first song (which others may find as having a purpose, I didn't, it's musically poor), this is some of PG's best work, equal to the best moments of "The Lamb...", it has sort of a story running through the songs (it was music for a show after all), kind of like with Rael in The Lamb, with some sequential narrative development. This album is more like a "concept" album in that sense, except that the music is not "progressive rock", it's the music that we might expect from a Peter Gabriel album, contemporary pop/rock, with some recurring musical themes that are integrated in the development of several songs. In its quieter passages (even in the early days, it was always in the quieter moments where PG and Genesis transcended the limits of pop/rock) it has the beauty, depth, and magic that we should expect from an artist of this caliber. A couple of Irish folk touches in there are nice, the singers are all qood, although PG still shines when he sings. It makes me wonder how much better of a "concept" album this would have been if PG would have his old Genesis pals contributiting some musical ideas too. But we are not in 1974 anymore, so the music that we get reflects PG's current style. This is one album PG fans will enjoy.

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