Of course I like Peter Gabriel. His era of Genesis was my favourite band as a teenager, and I thoroughly enjoyed his first four eponymous albums. His Real World label has produced some fine stuff, and his curation of the WOMAD festival did so much for World Music.
A later album, Up, was given to me by my brother, telling me "I think this is awful, see if you like it" (polite translation). He was right and it soon got moved on. So, why has this album been sitting in the upstairs drawer, rather than on the downstairs shelves with the good CDs?
It's well produced, it's polished, and it's frankly dull. So much of it feels over-serious and leaden, especially the opening tracks Come Talk To Me, and Love To be Loved.
But within this Blood Of Eden works, a good song which hasn't been over-complicated, and that's followed by the more upbeat Steam, which does liven the album up and sounds powerful. But beyond that, there's not much that makes one sit up and listen, and that's a pity. It's fine as background, but not much invites active listening.
2* - a disappointing album given some of the innovative work that preceded it.
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