PETER GABRIEL

OVO - THE MILLENIUM SHOW

REAL WORLD RWPG01

 

If a few months ago you would have told me that very soon we could be

listening to a CD of Peter Gabriel's new music, I would have thought you

were joking. You can therefore imagine with what pleasure, notwithstanding

the still uncertain previsions on the release of UP, I review this album in

which we can listen to new tracks sung also by Peter and written, as you

already know, for the Millennium Show.

 

In fact, only a part of the contents of the CD has actually been used for

the show: the disc has a total duration of one hour, whereas the show at the

Millennium Dome lasts about 40 minutes.

 

The graphic project

 

The graphic informative contents, consisting of a booklet separate from the

packaging of the CD entitled The Story of OVO, are remarkable. There are

more than 30 pages full of very colourful drawings, supported by captions,

which tell the story of the 3 phases of the human evolution through the life

of a family divided by changes and internal conflicts. You'll understand the

reason for the name OVO when reading the story and above all by looking at

the drawings!!

 

The CD booklet itself includes information on all the musicians who have

played in each of the 12 tracks and an enormous listing of all the persons

involved in the realisation and construction of the Millennium Dome. There

are also short comments by Mark Fischer (creative director), by Micha

Bergese (artistic director) and by Peter on the great challenge in composing

the music, as well as a brief outline of the significance of the story.

 

The musical project

 

If we may have had doubts about the musical quality of this project after

having heard 100 Days To Go, included in the CD of the Real World magazine

in a non-definitive version - here entitled The Tower That Ate People -,

listening to it in full takes away any perplexity, giving us a Gabriel in

top musical form.

 

We can discover musical pearls like The Time Of The Turning and Father Son,

to mention but a couple. The music of OVO The Millennium Show takes us on a

musical journey leading us from ethnic music, to folk, to rock up to more

contemporary musical worlds and at times, to atmospheres rich of very modern

sounds. All the tracks have been written by Peter, even if (unfortunately)

only a small part of them are sung by him.

 

The tracks of the audio CD:

 

1. Low Light

 

The introductory track begins with a musical suspension with mysterious and

slightly dark sounds taking us straight into the unmistakable Gabrielian

atmosphere. Slow and sombre notes are played on piano, on which are added

string instruments, loosening up the dramatic beginning. The splendid voice

of Iarla O Lionaird glides over this interesting sound mixture giving it a

sense of mellowness and a subtle "epic" feel with a distinctly Celtic

melody. A new, less dramatic, moment of stand-by takes us to the conclusion

of the track with some fleeting notes played by Richard Evans on electric

bass (called Nord Bass). Shankar's double violin and vocal support make the

track even more magical.

 

2. The Time of The Turning

 

A small jewel in terms of composition with a haunting and fascinating melody

beautifully sung by the great Richie Havens and the amazing and delicate

voice of Alison Goldfrapp who some of you may remember for her

collaborations with Tricky, Orbital and for her participation to some

sound-tracks. Also if obviously we would have preferred that Peter had sung

them, there is no doubt that The Time of The Turning remains a superb track.

Havens' dark and hoarse voice is effective and not so distant to that of

Gabriel. The sound of the dulcimer and of the flutes is splendid and at

moments gives the impression of returning (especially in the initial part of

the track) to the magical moments of Genesis at the times of Nursery

Crime/Trespass.

 

3. The Man Who Loved The Earth/The Hand That Sold Shadows

 

A voluntarily coarse and hard sound characterises this third purely

instrumental track. Energy in its pure form, rich in antique and primitive

percussion instruments, such as the Hurdy Gurdy and the Tabla, which manage

to infuse an even more intense force thanks to Richard Chappel's accurate

rhythmical programming. The inserts with David Rhodes' electric guitar in

the second part of the track are interesting.

 

4. The Time of the Turning (Repeat)/The Weavers Reel

 

Without Havens, the singer Goldfrapp retakes the delicate melody of the

second track with an ethereal and relaxed atmosphere giving it a folkloric

flavour. It concludes with a sudden change of beat with the track The

Weavers Wheel, a wild musical dance with a mainly Celtic influence but which

has also at times a middle-eastern hint, in which predominate the sounds of

whistles, bodhran and accordion brilliantly played by James McNally.

 

5. Father, Son

 

We finally get to hear Gabriel sing!!! A structurally simple track, also

from the point of view of orchestration, but with a stunning effect. A high

calibre encounter between the piano and the synth played by Peter along with

the Black Dyke Band on wind instruments. You can't miss it!

 

6. The Tower That Ate People

 

This track essentially revolves around an extreme use of the electric guitar

and a voluntarily obsessive and repetitive rhythm played by Manu Katche and

in the electronic part, programmed by Richard Chappel. The Tower That Ate

People is in the definitive form a good track with an aggressive and direct

sound. Distorted voices, sudden interruptions give way to a brief melody

which is like a bridge serving as a link to different musical situations.

The Tower That Ate People is also the first track in which appears the bass

player Tony Levin.

 

7. Revenge

 

A brief rhythmical/percussion intermezzo which is even more violent and

charged with emphasis than track 3. It's not particularly significant from

the composition point of view but has an extremely energetic crescendo and

conclusion.

 

8. White Ashes

 

A curious track which at times reminds us of Peter's vocal and instrumental

experiments in his 3rd and 4th albums. In the vocal part, Peter has used Omi

Hall. The musical structure is interesting and original, with a really

extensive vocal and sound research and avant-garde with regard to new

tendencies in rhythm thanks to the optimum work of Steve Gadd.

 

9. Downside-up

 

Another gem inside this CD. The voices apart from Peters (who in reality is

only heard in the refrains) are those of Havens, Paul Buchanan (singer and

founder of the 80s band Blue Niles) and the vocalist Elisabeth Fraser of the

Cocteau Twins. A great acoustic track in which stand out 12-chord guitars,

played by Richard Evans, which through light chords emphasise, in the first

part, the amazing voices of Elisabeth Fraser and of Paul Buchanan. All we

get from Peter is the vocal opening in the refrain. The rhythm takes a

decisively more energetic form with Manu Katche who increases his intensity

along with the electric guitars which are played in a more aggressive way.

 

10. The Nest That Sailed the Sky

 

We return to more a more tranquil atmosphere in which the wind instruments

of the Black Dyke Band predominate. Long and dilated stretches of sounds

with the magical effects of Shankar's violin make it even more evanescent.

 

11. The Tree That Went Up

 

To a circular and cyclical musical phrasing with strong Celtic references

are progressively added stretches of sound played on synth and rhythms which

speed up in a more insistent and frenetic way to reach the final high point

in which the music dissolves like a distant echo.

 

12. Make Tomorrow

 

With the voices of Buchanan, Fraser, Havens and Gabriel (who has an even

more reduced vocal presence), Make Tomorrow is a beautifully direct and

instinctive melody which does not have a particularly aggressive arrangement

but which, in the second part, allows us to hear a track in progressive

evolution. An always more intense instrumental crescendo slowly diminishes

leaving space to delicate string instruments which then softly and

discretely fade away.

 

The tracks of the CD-rom:

 

Rasco's Rap Version

 

The only criticism that could be made about the complete project is with

regard to the enclosed CD-rom entitled The Story of OVO. In fact, seeing the

credits to so many musicians and programmers gives you the hope to be able

to listen to new and interesting material. However, it's all wrapped up in

an audio track of approximately 5 minutes, called Rasco's Rap Version which,

however, is not particularly exciting from the composition point of view. A

track I can't even qualify as rap if not for the participation of an

anonymous character called Rasco who, for the whole length of the track,

declaims sentences with an almost obsessive insistence on a slow, quite

nasty musical base which has rather dark and corpulent shades. Peter appears

(as usual) only in the refrains for a maximum duration of 20 seconds. Really

nothing to rave on about!!!

 

OVO Time Lapse Video

 

The video includes a film of about 5 minutes in which are re-elaborated many

musical parts originating from the audio CD supported by slowed-down and

speeded-up images with a rather distorted visual as if you were watching the

show from above using a kaleidoscope. Unfortunately, the result doesn't give

an adequate idea of how the show really is. I think the creators of the

CD-rom intended above all to generate an interest to go and see the show in

London, rather that limit oneself to a simple vision of a video.

The best way to appreciate the music, as you may have understood, is to

listen to it whilst watching the show and therefore if you have the chance

to go to England before the end of the year, you must absolutely not lose

this opportunity. Apart from my personal judgment, the purchase of this new

musical project, which is for the time being (at least until the beginning

of June) only available through Real World or at the Millennium Dome, is

really recommended.

 

Stefano Tucciarelli aka Mr. Mozo Rising

translated by Nathalie Sutter

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