February's Full Moon sees the release of the second 'double A-side' - Digi 45 from the 'Scratch My Back' project on iTunes. Peter Gabriel's version of 'The Boy In The Bubble' and Paul Simon's reciprocal cover of 'Biko'Peter, Paul Simon, Bob Ezrin and John Metcalfe talk about the two songs and the process of recording the two tracks in the video below.
Peter Gabriel’s new album “Scratch My Back,” due out this week, is part of a set. The first installment features his covers of songs made famous by musical acts such as Radiohead, the Talking Heads and Neil Young. The companion volume, titled, “I’ll Scratch Yours” will showcase those same artists performing Gabriel’s work.
Gabriel’s renditions are all substantially altered from the originals. His cover versions employ orchestral arrangements–these are songs that sooth and seethe rather than rock and roll.
Gabriel’s song choices are idiosyncratic–of all the Talking Heads songs he picks “Listening Wind”; of all the Lou Reed songs, he zeroes in on “The Power of the Heart”; and of all the Neil Young songs, he settles on “Philadelphia.”
Some of the artists Gabriel picks to cover are also something of a surprise–David Bowie (”Heroes”), Paul Simon (”The Boy in the Bubble”) and Radiohead (”Street Spirit (Fade Out)”) are expected choices perhaps, but Regina Spektor (”Apres Moi”) and Arcade Fire (”My Body Is A Cage”) are refreshing, perhaps unexpected, but somehow fitting. In the beginning of his career, after all, Gabriel wasn’t a pop artist, he was rule-breaker.
While this album is an interesting experiment, the orchestral arrangements–with brass, woodwinds, strings and the like–tend to take the edge off the material. It will be interesting to hear which of Gabriel’s songs acts like Radiohead and Spektor choose to perform (Simon’s take on “Biko” is already out), and if they decide to take the numbers in radical new directions.
You can listen to Gabriel’s version of “The Boy in the Bubble” here:
