OVO is classic Peter Gabriel
It still smacks of cheesy musical on a few brief occasions, and that's the only thing preventing me from giving it 5 stars. OVO shows all the signs of Peter Gabriel's musical genius. If you're a fan of Gabriel's later work, you'll enjoy OVO plenty.
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One of Peter Gabriel's finest
Except for the first song (which others may find as having a purpose, I didn't, it's musically poor), this is some of PG's best work, equal to the best moments of "The Lamb. . ", it has sort of a story running through the songs (it was music for a show after all), kind of like with Rael in The Lamb, with some sequential narrative development. This album is more like a "concept" album in that sense, except that the music is not "progressive rock", it's the music that we might expect from a Peter Gabriel album, contemporary pop/rock, with some recurring musical themes that are integrated in the development of several songs. In its quieter passages (even in the early days, it was always in the quieter moments where PG and Genesis transcended the limits of pop/rock) it has the beauty, depth, and magic that we should expect from an artist of this caliber. A couple of Irish folk touches in there are nice, the singers are all qood, although PG still shines when he sings. It makes me wonder how much better of a "concept" album this would have been if PG would have his old Genesis pals contributiting some musical ideas too. But we are not in 1974 anymore, so the music that we get reflects PG's current style. This is one album PG fans will enjoy.
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Thought I knew Gabriel
While I consider his latest album _Up_ to be his crowning achievement, I'd overlooked this side project at my peril. But not quite. As a stage show, anyone can tell you that this thing flopped. The storyline's a mess, and you're probably better off not troubling yourself with it too much. But the music. . . ah, the music. That's what we're here for, right?
In addition to the three Big Tracks that have gotten the most well-justified attention -- namely "The Tower That Ate People" (which turns up in a much-improved rendition on the _Red Planet_ soundtrack), "Father, Son," and "Downside Up" -- it just so happens that Gabriel also had the phenomenal "Make Tomorrow" in his system. The combined effect tips the scales from take-or-leave into must-own territory for fans of this unnaturally gifted and important artist.
Meh...
I did however, like Birdy and did like quite a few of the tracks from The Last Temptation. I've been a huge Peter Gabriel fan for quite awhile now, and I'm honestly not much of a person who likes soundtracks fully loaded with instrumentals (though some thoughtfully placed instrumentals do wonders on vocal albums). When I read the reviews on Amazon. com for OVO (generally praising this album as an underrated gem) - which apparently isn't very easy to find in stores in the USA - I knew I had to check this album out.
Well, as soon as I got it I popped the songs into my IPod and took some time to listen. As I expected from the reviews, I found "Story of OVO" somewhat unlistenable so I skipped it. "Low Light", I found was a rather bland instrumental, nothing stellar. "ime of the Turning" was decent but again, nothing outstanding. "The Man" I wasn't very fond of. "Weaver's Reel" was the first track that I really enjoyed, I love the Celtic-dance kind of thing going on with this song, although its not as interesting to listen to now that I've listened to it so much. "Father, Son" was a really nice track though I heard it a couple of times before. I honestly had greater hopes for "Tower", and found that it wasn't as good as the Red Planet version. In my opinion, the distorted voice doesn't really match the rhythm and feel of the song. The drum that comes after the first minute is pretty good though, and this version definitely gets an honorable mention. "Revenge" is just kind of a bridge song that is okay, but nothing more than a bridge song. I was really disappointed with "White Ashes". I loved the version Peter Gabriel sang during the tour, but this version is just completely unlistenable to me. It sounds messy and the vocals don't really do it for me. "Downside-Up" is one of my favorite tracks from this album with great energy and sound, this might have been worth the purchase alone. "Nest" is okay, but not amazing. Finally, "Make Tomorrow" is a pretty good closure but a little long and perhaps more stretched out than necessary. Overall, I would say the album had its moments but the share of mediocre tracks went a little beyond mediocre.
Considering my opinion, I think there are quite a few songs that are definitely worth the purchase of the album, but don't expect quite a few of the songs to keep you interested. I was a little disappointed with this soundtrack to OVO and expected a lot more. It's definitely a unique album but its not what I expected from one of my favorite artists. .
PG's best work to date
Its important to remember when listening that the album tells a story. This is an exquisite album. Its more akin to listening to opera, where each piece is a part of a continuous tale. It will sound very different to fans accustomed to his more traditional rock albums, but if listen to it with an open ear, you'll love it. When I first got it, it didn't leave my CD player for 4 months.
You can see a complete list of all Peter Gabriel discography, or go back to the Peter Gabriel tabs
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