Originally published by L.S. Media. February 16th 2010.

Peter Gabriel has never really been known for his prodigious output but he has rarely put a foot wrong when he has given his loyal fans a new album to digest and pick apart.

Scratch My Back is certainly no exception to that rule. It combines all the qualities you would expect from the former Genesis front man, beautiful arrangements, a haunting voice and stunning production with the added bonus of hearing songs made famous by other artists.

This is, unfortunately, not a new album with stirring thought provoking “Gabrielesque” lyrics but as the album title suggests an album that covers some of the great songs of all time.

The album opens with David Bowie’s Heroes. This superb song from the Thin White Duke was originally released in 1977, the same year that Peter Gabriel released his first solo album. Whereas the original was a jaunty, almost upbeat song, Peter manages, in his own unique way to down play the overall call to arms effect of the song and turn it into a reflection on battles and lives lost.

This opener is quickly followed by one of the best songs of the 1980’s in Paul Simon’s The Boy in the Bubble. Once more Peter manages to give a truly excellent reading and almost makes the song his own.

Cover albums are normally mundane affairs, they smack of unoriginality and laziness. Almost a cry for a much needed burst of creativity, however, as Tori Amos demonstrated with her critically acclaimed cover’s album Strange Little Girls, in the hands of a musical genius, they can turn into hidden gems.

An album of genuine brilliance and twelve tracks that deserve to be remembered for all the right reasons.

Ian D. Hall