Peter Gabriel has pulled apart a handful of songs by other people, rebuilt them with the help of a symphony and rerecorded them in his voice. Most of the songs are almost unrecognizable from the original versions and that’s fine with me because this is a fantastic album – assuming you like orchestras and Peter Gabriel. This album is a lot of things but most of all Scratch My Back is a showcase for Peter Gabriel’s voice. The songs instrumentation is sparse and often quiet forcing Gabriel’s voice to do the heavy lifting. The result is a really wonderful album but one that will be hard for many to really enjoy. The songs are all very slow and earnest and if not in the mood for that very thing, the album will likely be either boring or annoying, possibly both. Despite the massive amount of wonder and beauty in the whole album, the true standout for me is Gabriel’s cover of Bon Iver’s “Flume.” Jesus, this is great. Already a fantastic song, Gabriel has delivered a bare version with some serious emotional strength. Other standouts include a take on The Magnetic Fields’ “The Book of Love” and the Talking Heads’ song “Listening Wind.” One miss on the album is the cover of Radiohead’s “Street Spirit” and that was a huge let down for me as when I saw the track listing, it was one of the tracks I wanted most to hear. In fact, when I first played the album I jumped forward to that song, not a good move and I don’t suggest doing this. The song doesn’t work. But eh, whatever… the rest of the album makes up for it. While I recommend the album, I’d suggest you check it out first to make sure it’s up your alley.
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