Scratch My Back

Scratch My Back

Scratch My Back

Scratch My Back

CD

$17.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
    Choose Expedited Shipping at checkout for delivery by Wednesday, April 3
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

Considering the slow trickle of completed albums he has released since becoming a superstar in 1986 -- just two albums of songs with vocals, paired with two albums of soundtracks and two live records -- deliberate is expected from Peter Gabriel, so the slow, hushed crawl of Scratch My Back is no shock. What may be a shock is that Gabriel chose to follow 2002's Up with a covers album but, like all of his work, this 2010 record is highly conceptual no matter how minimal the end result may be. Designed as the first half of a two-part project where Gabriel would cover 12 different artists who would then return the favor by recording their own versions of Gabriel's compositions -- the counterpart album naturally bearing the title I'll Scratch Yours -- Scratch My Back divides neatly between six songs from his peers (Bowie, Paul Simon, Randy Newman, Neil Young, Lou Reed, David Byrne) and six songs from younger artists (Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Stephin Merritt, Bon Iver, Elbow, Regina Spektor). Gabriel doesn't dodge familiar tunes, choosing to sing "Heroes" and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)," but he twists each tune to his own needs, arranging everything with nothing more than piano and strings, a change that's almost jarring on Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble," yet it stays true to the undercurrent of melancholy in the melody. Indeed, all of Scratch My Back is stark, sober, and spare, delving ever deeper inward, a triumph of intellect over emotion -- a noted contrast to almost all cover albums that celebrate the visceral, not the cerebral. Immediate it may not be but fascinating it is, and after hearing Gabriel turn all 12 of these songs into something unmistakably his own, the appetite is surely whetted for its companion piece. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date: 03/02/2010
Label: Real World Records
UPC: 0180030000178
Rank: 79576

Tracks

  1. Heroes
  2. The Boy in the Bubble
  3. Mirrorball
  4. Flume
  5. Listening Wind
  6. The Power of the Heart
  7. My Body Is a Cage
  8. The Book of Love
  9. I Think It's Going to Rain Today
  10. Apr¿¿s Moi
  11. Philadelphia
  12. Street Spirit (Fade Out)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Peter Gabriel   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals
Hungarian Orchestrat   Primary Artist
John Metcalfe   Primary Artist,Viola,Orchestra Leader
Hungarian Orchestra   Primary Artist
London Scratch Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Andy Blyth   Vocals,Treble (Vocal),Vocals
Stephen Morris   Violin
Helen Kamminga   Viola
Everton Nelson   Violin
Paul Cassidy   Viola
Richard Henry   Trombone,Trombone (Bass)
David Powell   Tuba
Jeremy Morris   Violin
Nick Ingman   Orchestra Leader
Ben Foster   Conductor,Conductor
Jason Rebello   Piano
Melanie Gabriel   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Dan Jenkins   Trombone
Richard George   Violin
Chris Worsey   Cello
Chris Laurence   Double Bass
Dave Lee   Horn,Horn
Ian Humphries   Violin
Stoltz Adrienn   Violin
Tim Lines   Clarinet
Varasdi Tuende   Viola
Will Dawes   Bass,Bass (Vocal)
Alastair Carey   Vocals,Tenor (Vocal)
Richard Edwards   Trombone
Ian Burdge   Cello
Richard Pryce   Double Bass
Ian Belton   Violin
Richard Watkins   Horn
Mark Frost   Trombone,Trombone (Bass)
Bela Gal   Violin
Jason Robello   Piano
Richard Bissell   Horn
Fiona Bonds   Viola
William Schofield   Cello
Andrew Crowley   Trumpet
Helen Paterson   Violin
Gordon Laing   Bassoon,Contrabassoon
Martin Burgess   Violin
Daniel Newell   Trumpet
Clare Hayes   Violin
Peter Hanson   Violin
Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford   Choir/Chorus
Louisa Fuller   Violin,Orchestra Leader
Jonathan Stainsby   Bass,Bass (Vocal)
Alice Neary   Cello
Oliver Winstone   Vocals,Tenor (Vocal)
Matthew Scrivener   Violin
Ben Russell   Double Bass
Peter Pejtsik   Conductor
Richard Steggall   Horn
Elisabeth Varlow   Viola
Tom Cawley   Piano
Horvath Ildiko   Violin
Csampai Melinda   Violin
Dave Powell   Tuba
Liz Varlow   Viola
Steve Morris   Violin
Andy Crowley   Trumpet
Will Schofield   Cello
Molnar Zsofia   Violin
Jackie Thomas   Cello
Rick Koster   Violin
Sarah Burnett   Bassoon
Marta Melis   Viola
Clive Driskill-Smith   Conductor,Choir Conductor
Tracy Holloway   Trombone,Euphonium
Eliza Marshall   Flute
Bardos Bori   Violin
Ben Laxton   Vocals,Treble (Vocal)
Melinda Csampai   Violin
Ed Tarrant   Trombone,Euphonium
Hugo Janacek   Vocals,Counter Tenor (Vocal)
James Flewellen   Vocals,Counter Tenor (Vocal)
Jamie Blinko   Vocals,Treble (Vocal)
Janzso Gergely   Violin
Julian Hartley   Vocals,Treble (Vocal)
Kovacs Erika   Violin
Kurucz Krisztian   Violin
Lang Andras Vadak Katalin   Viola
Markocs Maria   Violin
Martha Zsuzsa   Violin
Mitchell Keeley   Vocals,Treble (Vocal)
Molnar Zsotia   Violin
Nagy Krisztina   Violin
Oesz Aletta   Violin
Paul Mayes   Trumpet
Ryota Sakai   Vocals,Treble (Vocal)
Rupert Harris   Vocals,Treble (Vocal)

Technical Credits

Peter Gabriel   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Development,Original Design Concept
John Metcalfe   Mixing,Arranger,Engineer,Musician,Recording,Orchestration
Tchad Blake   Mixing
Stephin Merritt   Composer
Paul Simon   Composer
Steve Orchard   Engineer,Recording
Bob Ezrin   Producer
Colin Greenwood   Composer
William Butler   Composer
Nick Ingman   Arranger,Orchestration
Will Gregory   Arranger
Ed O'Brien   Composer
Richard Parry   Composer
David Byrne   Composer
Lou Reed   Composer
Richard Chappell   Mixing,Engineer,Recording
Phil Selway   Composer
Ray Davies   Composer
Neil Young   Composer
Regina Spektor   Composer
Randy Newman   Arranger,Composer
David Bowie   Composer
Guy Garvey   Composer
Thom Yorke   Composer
Brian Eno   Composer
Attila Koelcseny   Engineer
Jeremy Gara   Composer
Tony Cousins   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Forere Motloheloa   Composer
Richard Reed Parry   Composer
Win Butler   Composer
Regine Chassagne   Composer
Jonny Greenwood   Composer
Rob Bozas   Publishing Coordinator
Justin Vernon   Composer
David Bates   Research,Repertoire
Richard Jupp   Composer
Mark Potter   Composer
Pete Turner   Composer
Craig Potter   Composer
Olga Fitzroy   Engineer,Assistant,Pro-Tools
Tim Kingsbury   Composer
Nadav Kander   Photography
Attila Kolcsenyi   Engineer,Recording
David Hiscock   Photography
Mark Claydon   Mixing,Mixing Assistant
Dave Foster   Copyist
Tamas Kurina   Engineer,Recording
Edward O'Brien   Composer
Annie Parsons   Project Coordinator
Laurence Greed   Engineer,Assistant
Marc Beesant   Graphic Design,Original Design Concept
Pete Sene   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Rachael Henley   Project Coordinator
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews