petergabriel.com

It now nearly a year since SMB and I would like to post a review of my experience seeing SMB live as well the CD Many artists chose to do cover versions of other artists that sound almost the same. Some artists chose to re-arrange other artists work. A few chose to put their own music to classical composition. Almost none chose to do an album of cover versions with different arrangements and with an orchestra. One person who has done just that is Peter Gabriel. SMB, if we are all honest is an album you love or hate (there has been many comments in here about that!). On first listening there were a couple of tracks that I could not listen to and stuggled to want to like them, but hearing them live was so much better. Of the many outstanding tracks, Heroes is, in "my opinion" fantastic .It will be played very loudly at my funeral (haha!). SMB then is an album for people who want to sit and listen to the music and to try and understand why Peter chose this particular track and imagining all those other choices of artist and music he discarded on the way to making what for me is an outstanding and unique album, reflecting the MAN himself (always expect the unexpected!) I was lucky to be able to see SMB live twice (london and Cologne) each time it was an experience I will never forget. Tracks such as Signal to Noise are made for an orchestra. Well I want to finish this long (sorry!) post with one thought. Right at the end of the concert ("the nest that sailed the sky"), as the last notes died away and the concert finished, I got the very uneasy feeling that this is what it could be like at the end of the very last live appearance that Peter Gabriel does. It gave me a sense of the fact that we are all growing old and it will be a matter of time when Peter finally stops touring.and I would feel desolate and immensely sad.

A well-written and wonderfully appreciative post Del, thanks very much. Though I didn't get to see SMB I share your delight in it. I hate to agree with your last paragraph, but I had something of that sense last year at WOMAD. Still - that was proved wrong :-] Whenever PG does stop we'll have a great body of work to play and some fantastic memories, even if memories are not what the heart desires. To my mind he always brings more poetry and beauty into the world.

Thanks Del! . . . i add that some pepople have changed idea about S.M.B. after seeing live version,because with Peter live dimensio is very important. . . .in my opinion,of course

I LOVE "SMB". "Street Spirit" is my favourite track. greetings, C.