antiMusic.com: Peter Gabriel - New Blood: Live in London (DVD)

Peter Gabriel - New Blood: Live in London (DVD)

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It's pretty safe to say that Peter Gabriel's fans are adventurous listeners; the singer has never been one to offer (with a few exceptions like "Solsbury Hill") simple pop tunes. Gabriel has always favored lush instrumentation and still does for this show, although it is present in a different form. Gabriel is backed here by a forty-six person orchestra and no rock band---no guitars, no bass and no drum kit. The result is often stunning, revealing a deeper beauty to already nearly perfect songs like "Blood of Eden" and "Washing of the Water." Gabriel works the swells and quiet moments of the orchestra passages like he's been doing it forever and in his head he probably has been. Fans looking for Gabriel's boisterous side won't find it here although "Solsbury Hill" and "Red Rain" do rock a little. Noticeable by its absence is "Sledgehammer;" clearly though that is one song in Gabriel's canon that is not appropriate for an orchestral version. The show closes with a take on the emotional "Don't Give Up" where the part originally sung by Kate Bush is handled by Ane Brun.

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Peter Gabriel - New Blood: Live in London (DVD)

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