Scratch My Back (Special Edition)

iTunes Review

As always, even Peter Gabriel’s album of covers is conceptual. This isn’t just a collection of 12 covers, six from established veterans (David Bowie, Randy Newman, Neil Young) and six from newer artists (Radiohead, Bon Iver, Arcade Fire, etc.), but there’s to be a companion piece entitled I’ll Scratch Yours that features those artists covering Peter Gabriel songs. Gabriel slows everything down to a muted trickle. Paul Simon’s “The Boy In the Bubble” has its buoyant bounce removed leaving just piano and strings. David Bowie’s “Heroes” crawls with its sense of glam replaced by an end- of-the-world-solemnity. Randy Newman’s “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today” comes close to the original recording, but that’s about it. Bon Iver’s “Flume,” Magnetic Fields’ “The Book of Love,” Arcade Fire’s “My Body Is A Cage” sound more like modern classical pieces with orchestral arrangements filling the soundstage. It’s a brilliant, somber move by a man known for his great theatrics. The “Special Edition” features three remixes and a cover of Ray Davies and the Kinks’ classic “Waterloo Sunset” given the Gabriel twist.