“A transfusion of live blood” - Peter Gabriel’s Live Blood album reviewed by Alan Hewitt.

Otherwise known as the one that got away. Almost a year had elapsed before I became aware of this album’s existence such was the low key nature of its release.

Ostensibly what we have here is the soundtrack to the recent Live In London DVD which perhaps makes this the cheapest live album Peter has ever released in terms of effort. The show itself has already been reviewed elsewhere within the pages of TWR but what can be said here is that Peter has continued to push the envelope in terms of musical performance.

The real strengths of this recording lie in the sheer quality of the music itself. Peter’s back catalogue is interpreted here in a manner which brings previously unsuspected nuances to the fore simply by the expedient of performing it without the trimmings of a rock band. This works incredibly well on tracks such as Intruder and Wallflower and on some of the “covers” which feature as part of this project such as The Book Of Love and The Power Of The Heart, where the orchestral treatment brings an immediacy to the tracks making them surprisingly vibrant throughout.

An intriguing album, which existing fans will enjoy. I don’t think this project will gain Peter any new fans however, it is simply too insular for that but for those prepared to embark on the journey, the end results more than justify the expenditure.

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