UP

Death is a general theme for humans, because we are all subject to it. Our lives are ephemeral, made ​​up of moments that are lost in the infinite - and ending on the said death. This is certainly a reason to feel fear.

How to translate this feeling dark and gloomy for music? It makes it Up. After ten years without releasing a single album Peter Gabriel came back with his late masterpiece, unlike anything he had done. Life and death, light and shadow, joy and sorrow - that is the antithesis of conceptions that dominates this album.

And I'm captivated. In my review of his previous album Us I wondered if there was a Peter Gabriel album that I would call a true masterpiece, because with the exception of So and Melt (which I gave 4 stars) it had no other album really "pulled "(if you know what I mean). I threw the question: Is Up? The answer is: yes.

The opener ,Darkness has set the general mood of the album and its potential. An introduction is broken by a quiet guitar frighteningly aggressive and that's how the music follows. The letters were darkly personal? Not know, but they reflect a little of the overall theme of the album: life and death.

Growing Up is a much more optimistic, with its electronic beats that I won, letters talking about the challenges of growing both physically and emotionally. Sky Blue is another gem, guided by a piano that is eclipsed by the various textures and wonderful union of the voices of Peter and The Blind Boys of Alabama.

The next two songs, No Way Out and I Grieve and are probably the centerpiece of the album. However I do not care much for them two, as are songs that do not offer anything new. On the other hand The Barry Williams Show is another strong point of the album, even if his lyrics are out of context - especially its shocking, bizarre and funny clip (well, at least I liked). My Heads Sounds Like That is another highlight, with some soft music create a relaxing background metals - only one section aggressive (like the first track) breaks the mood, and More Than This is another weak song without anything significant.

That's where we come to Signal to Noise.

This song is just 7 minutes and an epic that follows the typical structure of "accumulation" - that is, the song starts calm down, calm down and grows until it culminates in a bombastic climax with a powerful orchestration. This song was a little difficult for Peter to conclude, because its singer, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (vocals responsible for the incredible support of the music), died in 1998. but he went all the way and the result is this fantastic work.

Finally there is the short The Drop, which, unlike other parts of the album, whose durations are between 6 and 7 minutes and are covered with layers and textures is just a short 3-minute song composed by the voice of Peter and a simple piano. It is as if he is stripped of everything that has been done, which reminds me of the verse in Job 1:20-21: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither. God gave me, and God took : Blessed be the name of the Lord. "

Well, after everything was said here, except to say that Up is definitely the best album of Peter Gabriel, and I give it 5 stars. A modern masterpiece.

Share this PETER GABRIEL review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to voliveira
• Report this review (#531239)
• Buy PETER GABRIEL music online with PA partners
• Show all PETER GABRIEL MP3/Stream
• Go to PETER GABRIEL page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Up page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for PETER GABRIEL related discussions