Artist: Gabriel, Peter
Label: Real World
Released: 2007
Releasing official bootlegs has been all the rage lately. Last year, for instance, Depeche Mode came up with something like it, one of the first bands to really start smashing taboos, arguing that official bootlegs don’t measure up in quality to proper official live releases; Pearl Jam did this kind of release too, etc… Peter Gabriel has also decided to treat his fans. The concert recordings from “The Warm Up Tour ’07”, can be bought individually or in a special box that holds all 22 official bootlegs, each one a two-CD set tucked into eco-friendly cardboard packaging. Evergreen Peter, thinking of every little detail again.
After last autumn’s big “boom” and the reunion of the legendary pioneering prog-rock outfit Genesis, whose founding spark, chief ideas man, visionary and indispensable part in its most fertile years was Peter Gabriel, curiously enough Peter didn’t join the band. So thanks to him, Genesis (once again) set off on a world tour as a stripped-down trio of Rutherford/Banks/Collins. The weighty reason he gave for sending his old mates packing was that his solo career matters far more to him right now and he wants to devote himself to that alone. Nothing new in Peter’s case, that’s been true for over 30 years of his musical career, ever since he walked out on Genesis at the end of 1975. While the old comrades were reviving memories around the world as Genesis after so long, Peter practically at the same time hit the road on a new solo European tour, which he called “The Warm Up Tour 2007”, a sort of dress rehearsal for a bigger one that will follow the release of Peter Gabriel’s new studio album, which he’s announcing for this fall.
Peter Gabriel smartly used the summer 2007 tour dates when it came to the makeup of the set list. He built it around his first four studio albums. There isn’t a single song from “Up” (2002) on the set list of the Brescia show. Instead we find as many as five songs from “III.”, three from “I.”, three from “II.” and two from “IV.” That’s thirteen out of the nineteen on the set list. Then there are the obligatory Sledgehammer, Big Time, In Your Eyes (all from “So”) and Steam and Blood Of Eden (both from “Us”), plus one of the set list’s biggest surprises and at the same time one of the peaks of this double official bootleg: the dark, bluesy-tinged Lovetown, which Gabriel contributed to the soundtrack of the film “Philadelphia” (1993) starring Tom Hanks.
The artist’s financial outlay for the tour was a bit lower than usual this time. He showed up on stage with mostly basic gear; the most attention went to the stage lighting, of course, which is a constant and a must for creating the unique atmosphere of Gabriel’s live shows. Peter also picked smaller open-air venues for these shows, with room for between 2000 and 4000 people.
So what’s sitting in my CD player is Gabriel’s chance to return to some songs that haven’t been on the set list in ages. The real treat is the inclusion of Humdrum from the debut “I.” and especially Moribound The Burgermeister from the self-titled album, which the band played live with Peter only three times across this tour’s 22 shows, and one of those three was caught on tape right in Brescia. Well, after hearing it you can’t help asking yourself, rhetorically, why only three times, because this very song shows that Peter’s voice is a bit chipped these days and that at moments the lines run out half a tone short, despite the otherwise unflappable backing crew. Gabriel even comes across as childishly naive for a moment, since the bootleg reveals that the guy didn’t rehearse his verses properly before the tour. He first trips up right at the opening, and again during the verses of The Rhythm Of The Heat (album “IV.”), where somewhere in the middle of the verses he audibly falls silent, and here we can freely admire the charms of the backing vocals. During Not One Of Us the band is even forced to stop the song and start over. Peter simply didn’t remember the right lyrics, so after two and a half minutes the crew cuts the song and takes it from the top. Gabriel tells the crowd: “This… this is as we know in a band as “Gabriel fucked up”!” That’s exactly why official bootlegs exist, reminding us that even the biggest names in the music business can slip up.
As ever, Gabriel is a truly respectful charmer with the crowd. He broke the ice the moment he greeted the people with “Buona sera” after Intruder and carried on with Italian banter linking the numbers. In a papal monotone, sure, but the man is trying, hats off.
Otherwise, no complaints. The interplay between audience and musicians is outstanding, the Italian temperament caught the dance step effectively and rewarded the band onstage with roaring enthusiasm throughout, and the crowd does a fantastic job nailing the lyrics. Gabriel is, well, standard. As always. With his top-notch crew he creates a one-of-a-kind, unforgettable magic that only he is capable of pulling off. As mentioned, his voice isn’t as fresh anymore, so at times he steers into lower registers, for instance deliberately skipping the word “sledgehammer” in the chorus of Sledgehammer, simply saving his voice during the show. But the whole thing, the working chemistry and the tightness between the musicians, runs flawlessly, so this mention is no obstacle at all to listening. The backing crew is magical, catches Gabriel’s vision of musical expression without a hitch and delivers it with devilish accents across many moods. They hit the right accents at the right moments. Intruder is downright chilling, while In Your Eyes, with its fantastic celebratory energy, more than obviously takes the place of the big finale, since Gabriel usually closes his shows with Biko.
The concert “02/07/07 Brescia – Italy” (recorded at Piazza Doumo) is a document proving that Gabriel is simply not giving up, a document with a special energy, a different kind of show, without the fluff and pomp, sailing on wings of total relaxation, and once again strikingly convincing in capturing a moment of unique interpretation of musical art in the hands of Peter Gabriel. All fans of the esteemed gentleman, don’t hesitate, just surf over to the online store and place your order. Oh, and by the way, with Peter Gabriel it’s no news anymore that the sound of this official bootleg is excellent!
Lineup
Peter Gabriel – vocals, keyboards
Melanie Gabriel – backing vocals, samples
Angie Pollock – keyboards, backing vocals
David Rhodes – guitar
Richard Evans – guitar, mandolin, flute
Tony Levin – bass guitar
Ged Lynch – drums
Production
Ben Findlay
Track list
CD 1.:
1. The Rhythm Of The Heat
2. On The Air
3. Intruder
4. D.I.Y.
5. Blood Of Eden
6. Moribound The Burgermeister
7. I Don’t Remember
8. No Self Control
9. Love Town
10. Family Snapshot
CD 2.:
1. Steam
2. Mother Of Violence
3. Humdrum
4. Big Time
5. Not One Of Us
6. Lay Your Hands On Me
7. Solsbury Hill
8. Sledgehammer
9. In Your Eyes
Running time: 119.19
