 Peter Gabriel Like many live albums, Secret World Live will appeal mainly to those who caught the tour it represents, along with huge fans of the artist, but in and of itself it's hardly an earth-shattering experience. However, it's no Roger Whittaker Live either. Peter Gabriel puts on a very involved show, playing up the drama in his music considerably, and exploring the songs deeply, so the live versions are very different (and generally quite a bit longer). The band on the Secret World tour (in support of the Us album) was characteristically good, mixing seasoned rock players like Tony Levin with international artists like Shankar, Papa Wemba and drummer Manu Katche. The presence of Paula Cole on vocals is marginally annoying, especially since she's doing parts originally sung by Kate Bush ("Don't Give Up") and Sinéad O'Connor ("Blood of Eden," "Come Talk to Me"), but then pretty much anyone singing those parts was bound to sound worse than the originals. Would have been cooler if Peter Gabriel had chosen Cher, but we all know that would never happen. Still, imagine Cher singing the female part on "Don't Give Up" … at least my interest level in that song increases exponentially. About half of the track listing comes from Us, an album that may be underrated, but in any case makes more sense as a studio album. Which is not to say that Secret World Live isn't a studio album – I'd bet that Peter Gabriel doctored it up heavily before releasing it. It sounds overly smooth, the main drawback being that lots of the sounds (especially keyboard sounds) are more suitable in a huge arena than on a CD you're playing in your bedroom while writing hundreds of record reviews that perhaps a dozen people will read. There's no graceful way to produce a live album – it's a losing proposition either way, whether you offer up a "warts and all" document or an enhanced version of the original show. I think the best ways to go about it are either straight, unedited performances a la the Grateful Dead Dick's Picks series, or a live album with the audience edited out, a la Oingo Boingo's Boingo Alive. This one is about as streamlined as a "virtual concert" CD can be, but the crowd noises just sound gratuitous after awhile, since you can't see what's going on. Plus, an average track length of like six minutes makes it a better CD to get high to than just listen to. But then you have noodly versions of songs like "Shaking the Tree," featuring Gabriel introducing the band (i.e. "Mr. Tony Levin … shaking his tree!" – that's a real quote). The performances are all good, and the songs are well chosen, although I wouldn't call "Kiss That Frog" or "Steam" favorite songs by any stretch of the definition. "Solsbury Hill" is limp, actually almost comical in places; "Red Rain" is pretty good. "Come Talk to Me" and "Digging in the Dirt" are phenomenal, "Across the River" is gripping, and the eleven-minute "In Your Eyes" is, though bloated, pretty inspiring. This won't convert any Peter Gabriel haters, though I wonder why such a person might buy a 2-disc Peter Gabriel live album. Fans will dig it immensely, and the slightly ambivalent, like myself, will enjoy it at about a 60% engagement level. Incidentally, I skipped "Sledgehammer," 'cause who the hell wants to hear that song again?
Review by Joanna Gas-Huffer |