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passion released in june
1989music for the last temptation of christ
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For those who are more accustomed to the three minute verse-chorus-bridge pop song, the sound of a synthesiser drone is very worrying indeed. To many fans of So, who had already waited three years for new material, it is quite possible that Passion represents too radical a change to fully comprehend. Drones? Finger Cymbals? Armenian Doudouks? Surdu? Tabla? What the hell is going on? What is going on is a remarkable achievement and a triumph of marrying traditional "world" musics with Western forms and technology and applying the results to complex themes without compromise (if you think that sounds vaguely familiar, you're probably right).
Many would remember the controversy which surrounded Scorsese's film adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis's novel The Last Temptation of Christ, particularly the famously offending sequence depicting a delerious Christ climbing down from the cross and having sex with Mary Magdalene (amongst other things). Reports of this scene stirred up the expected reaction from people who are happy to admit that a film they have never seen is evil (on their way to a book-burning), and bans were enforced in several territories (including Queensland, dammit!). One interesting, if a little unfortunate, outcome of the controversy is the flaming the Wells Cathedral Choir endured for contributing to this soundtrack on the wonderful With This Love. At one stage this film was very difficult to come across in Brisbane, but the local ban was lifted by a subsequent government. It is interesting to note that a film which inspired bans and vicious protests is now readily available at the local video store with an "M15+" rating. Perhaps in the intervening years, the protesters busied themselves with cleaning their gun colections and murdering abortion-doctors.
The hypocrisy of those who protest the film without actually seeing it highlights the injustice this film has attracted. The film openly admits at the beginning to being fiction, a mere daydream based around historical fact and the common knowledge of documents of faith. The Last Temptation of Christ presents an interesting depiction of Jesus Christ as a man who gradually becomes aware of his divinity. Here is a man who struggles with his duality at every level before resigning himself to his destiny and saving the world in the process. This is not a film that will incite practising christians to doubt their faith, nor does it mock the established teachings of the christian church. On the contrary it is a film that should intrigue christians and non-christians alike and challenge the traditional depiction of a Christ that seems more god and less man. Unfortunately its its story requires thought and open-mindedness, two things evidently lacking in the film's critics.
While Peter's penchant for world music goes at least as far back as 1977 (see discussion of the fourth Peter Gabriel record), no previous record had sounded quite like this. Where previous influences largely centred around southern Africa and South America, Passion appropriately takes its cue from the sounds of north Africa and the middle east. Peter was careful to avoid the accusations of "cultural imperialism" that dogged the fourth Peter Gabriel album, choosing to simultaneously release a record of source material: Passion Sources. On Passion, essentially Peter has taken the moods and textures from Birdy, but in this instance he hasn't let this get in the way of a good old thumping beat. While the initial drone the the doudouk's traditional Armenian melody from The Feeling Begins may concern some listeners, the moment the drums commence their tumbling backdrop there is an awareness that we have arrived somewhere familiar. What follows is a journey through some of PG's finest moments, with momentary detours through some of his more questionable ones (the more conceptual aspirations of the song Passion is certainly lost- it sounds like a long winded version of Sketchpad with Trumpet, which was pretty uninteresting to start with). Lovers of a good kicking rhythm find themselves in drum and percussion heaven. Lovers of the slightly bizarre have enough to chew over. By the time the glorious pianos and celestial bells ring out on It is Accomplished, there is little doubt that we are in the presence of greatness.
Moments of goosebump-inducing revelation are aplenty on this record and Passion finds PG at his most stirring on The Feeling Begins, In Doubt/A Different Drum (two songs so complementary, they seem one song in disguise), Zaar and It is Accomplished. Some the record's more interesting diversions create the opportunity for Peter to explore areas outside the confines of a pop record, venturing into (gulp) experimental and Twentieth Century "art music" forms (this is most evident on Gethsemane, but creeps into Troubled, Disturbed and the particularly beautiful choral version of With This Love).
Passion was the first relase for the new label Real World Records, which was established between Womad and Peter Gabriel as an outlet for some of the more diverse sounds to emerge under the umbrella of "world music" (although the label is quick to point out that it does not limit itself purely to music in this category). Passion proudly bears the catalogue number RW1 (with variations for CD and cassette), although existing contracts with Virgin in Britain and Australia and Geffen in the US and Canada meant that distribution was still handled by the major companies. In the case of North America, the Real World label itself on the cover's spine was clumsily replaced with "Geffen", a situation which still applies to current PG releases in these territories. Along with the Real World label, Peter commisioned the conversion of the old flour mill at Box to be converted into Real World studios, an interesting structure in semi-rural England which has evolved into a popular commercial studio and the home of Womad and the lethargic, but ultimately remarkable brainstorm that is Real World multimedia.
The scene was set for commercially ominous things to follow.
Enter the synthesiser drone. Enter the doudouk. So far nothing suggests Peter Gabriel; more like Pink Floyd playing at a mosque. Then the drums [aaaahhhhhh!]. The tumbling polyrhythms and spacious atmosphere of this song take us into familiar Gabriel territory. It is simple to attach an image to this music and it was so disappointing to find that Scorsese didn't have the same idea: flying over the desert! The Feeling Begins is the perfect accompaniment to collosal footage of the desert from a helicopter. Truly goosebump inducing in classic Gabriel fashion. Evidently scarred by accusations of cultural imperialism on the fourth Peter Gabriel record, Peter took great pains to credit music to its origin and here the record sleve notes that the doudouk's meoldy is that of a traditional Armenian melody titled The Wind Subsides.
The film uses this music most extensively throughout, the title coming from the first line in the screenplay. The song's soaring climax in a lather of drumming with finger cymbals, dabla and dufs blending seamilessly into the mix seems to translate most effectively in Scorsese's bleak and dry but also rawly exciting impression of Judea. From around the three minute mark to the end of the song is one of the most exciting pieces of Peter Gabriel music in the catalogue. Not a mean feat considering its competition.
While Gabriel has used samplers since the early 1980s (he was one of the world's first artists to use a sampler on the fourth Peter Gabriel record, in particular using the Fairlight CMI). It is always interesting to observe his use of samples in comparison to other artists; in particular the earthy organic flavour of his samples avoids the mechanical, robotic leanings of this very 'manufactured' instrument. Here we find his first song with such an overt use of samples in the 'cut and paste' method that was not to gain popularity until the late 1990s. Until now the sampler had been used as an additional textural layer in Peter's music, occasionally lost in the dense multitracking that typifies his work. Gethsemane represents a shift in thinking. Actually basing an entire song around electronically altered samples was a masterstroke of inventiveness for its time and offers Passion's first technical highlight of many.
Gethsemane practically oozes spookiness from every note and it seems a fitting backdrop to the scene evoked in the title. Gethsemane was the garden where Christ prayed to God begging for his life one last time, and also where he was betrayed and handed over to the Romans. The desperation of such a scene perfectly complements the paranoid whooping flute samples. When these give way to large impersonal block chords and the quick buzzing wasps of cut up and sampled brass and woodwind instruments (at around 1.02), the pure spookiness is undercut by a sinister air of deviousness.
The film's use of this music sheds further light on its intention. There is no music in the scene in the garden until the Roman guards arrive to take Christ away to his death. This suggests far more violent overtones to the song and emphasise the "look over your shoulder!" type paranoia of the song's opening.
Written by Mercutio
while he had too much time
on his hands. Thankfully this has now been rectified.