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Peter Gabriel: OVO

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Real World Records
Released: 2000
Time:
 60:02
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Peter Gabriel
Rating: ******.... (6/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.petergabriel.com
Appears with: Genesis, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, Tony Levin, David Rhodes
Purchase date: 2000.06.17
Price in €: 12,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


1. The Story Of OVO.
Rap: Neneh Cherry & Rasco.
Vox: PG & Omi.
Synths: Richard Evans.
Didgeridoo: Ganga Giri.
Dhol drums: The Dhol Foundation.
Master drummer: Johnny Kalsi.
Keyboards, percussion: PG.
Bass: Jim Barr.
Treatments, drum programming: Richard Chappell.
Finger cymbals, dufs: Hossam Ramzy.
Bodhran: James McNally.
Mixed by Richard Evans with Richard Chappell.

2. Low Light.
Vox: Iarla Ó Lionáird.
Additional vocal: Shankar.
Double violin: Shankar.
Ney flute: Kudsi Erguner.
Drone treatments, tanpura, piano, synths: PG.
Nord bass: Richard Evans.
String arrangements: PG & Jocelyn Pook.
Strings: Electra Strings.
Mixed by Richard Evans.

3. The Time Of The Turning.
Vox: Richie Havens.
String arrangements: PG & Jocelyn Pook.
Strings: Electra Strings.
Piano loops, keyboards, hammer dulcimer treatments, crotales, African percussion: PG.
Treatments, guitar loops, mandola, flute, hammer dulcimer: Richard Evans.
Drum programming: Richard Chappell.
Shakers: Ged Lynch.
Mixed by David Bottrill with Richard Evans.

4. The Man Who Loved The Earth/The Hand That Sold Shadows.
Vox: PG & Omi.
Guitar: David Rhodes.
Didgeridoo: Ganga Giri.
Hurdy gurdy: Nigel Eaton.
Dhol drums: The Dhol Foundation.
Master drummer: Johnny Kalsi.
Keyboards, percussion, crotales, claps: PG.
Bass: Jim Barr. Treatments, drum programming: Richard Chappell.
Finger cymbals, tabla, dufs, crotales: Hossam Ramzy.
Bodhran & whistle: James McNally.
Crotales, claps: Richard Evans.
The Man Who Loved the Earth mixed by Richard Chappell.
The Hand That Sold Shadows mixed by Richard Evans.

5. The Time Of The Turning (Reprise)/The Weavers Reel.
Whistles, bodhran, piano accordion: James McNally.
Fiddle & viola: Stuart Gordon.
Hurdy gurdy: Nigel Eaton.
Hammer dulcimer: Jim Couza.
Mandola, bass, flute, drum programming, shaker: Richard Evans.
Strings: PG & Jocelyn Pook.
String arrangements: Electra Strings.
Dhol drum & tabla: Johnny Kalsi.
Dhol drums: The Dhol Foundation.
Keyboards, African percussion, synth bass: PG.
Brass: The Black Dyke Band conducted by James Watson.
Brass arrangements: Will Gregory & PG.
Brass orchestration: Elizabeth Purnell.
Drum programming, bells, finger cymbals: Simon Emmerson.
Mixed by Richard Evans.

6. Father, Son.
Piano, synths, vox: PG.
Bass: Tony Levin.
Brass: The Black Dyke Band conducted by James Watson.
Brass arrangements: Will Gregory & PG.
Brass orchestration: Elizabeth Purnell.
Mixed by Richard Evans.

7. The Tower That Ate People.
Vox: PG.
Keyboards, treatments, keyboard bass: PG.
Guitar: David Rhodes.
Bass: Tony Levin.
Drums: Manu Katche.
Programming, fills, chorus guitar: BT.
Drum programming, loops, treatments, end toms: Richard Chappell.
Mixed by David Bottrill with Richard Chappell.

8. Revenge.
Keyboard treatments: PG.
Drums: Adzido.
Master drummer: George Dzikunu.
Dhol drums: The Dhol Foundation.
Master drummer: Johnny Kalsi.
Drum programming: Richard Chappell.
Mixed by Richard Chappell.

9. White Ashes.
Vox: PG & Omi Hall.
Screams: Sussan Deyhim.
Bass & keyboards: PG.
Drums: Steve Gadd.
Drum programming, treatments: Richard Chappell.
Mixed by Richard Chappell.

10. Downside-Up.
Vox: Elizabeth Fraser, Paul Buchanan.
Backing vox: PG.
Guitars: David Rhodes.
12 string electric & acoustic guitars, bass: Richard Evans.
Keyboards, programming, synth bass, surdu, Peruvian drum, synth guitar: PG.
Bass: Tony Levin.
Brass: The Black Dyke Band conducted by James Watson.
Brass arrangements: Will Gregory & Elizabeth Purnell.
Brass orchestration: Elizabeth Purnell.
String arrangements: PG & Jocelyn Pook.
Strings: Electra Strings.
Dhol drums: The Dhol Foundation.
Master drummer: Johnny Kalsi.
Sabar: Babacar Faye.
Talking drum: Assane Thiam.
Shaker, congas: Carol Steel.
Drums: Manu Katche.
Mixed by David Bottrill with Tchad Blake* & Richard Evans.
End rhythm section recorded by Daniel Lanois & David Bottrill assisted by Richard Blair.
*Assisted by Jacquie Turner.

11. The Nest That Sailed The Sky.
Double violin: Shankar.
Synths: PG.
String arrangements: PG & Jocelyn Pook.
Brass: The Black Dyke Band conducted by James Watson.
Brass arrangements & orchestration: Elizabeth Purnell.
Strings: Electra Strings.
Treatments: Richard Evans.
Mixed by Richard Evans.

12. Make Tomorrow.
Vox: Elizabeth Fraser, Paul Buchanan, Richie Havens, PG.
Guitars: David Rhodes.
Electric guitar, 12 string guitar, mandola, percussion: Richard Evans.
Piano, synths, keyboard bass, caliope, programming: PG.
Upright bass, 12 string acoustic guitar: Jim Barr.
Mid section bass: Tony Levin.
Strings: Electra Strings.
String arrangements: BT & PG.
Drum & nord programming, bass: BT.
Drums: Ged Lynch.
Additional percussion session by Markus Dravs & Jacquie Turner.
Flutey section recorded by Daniel Lanois & David Bascombe.
Mixed by David Bottrill with Tchad Blake* & Richard Evans.
*Assisted by Jacquie Turner.

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


see Compositions ...

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


On June 12th, Peter Gabriel releases OVO, his haunting music to the Millennium Dome Show on Real World/Virgin Records.

Written and produced by Gabriel, OVO is the end result of two years of work and brings together a multitude of different musical origins, cultures, instruments and guest vocalists. OVO tells the story of three stages of human evolution through the lives of three generations of a family. It is about a family in transition, divided by internal conflict and by the changes going on around them.

Background

Over the past year, Peter Gabriel has been working with a team of people to create The Millennium Show, the central attraction at the heart of the Millennium Dome in Greenwich. This year has seen intense activity and determination to bring the show to life and marry the technology and many varied skills of the creators and performers.

The show combines specially developed and created show equipment: rocketing bungee stilts and sail diver rigs that enable amazing feats of skill and daring, designed to thrill and amaze the audience. Every few hours, a crowd of up to 12,000 people will gather in the central arena, a vast entertainment space the size of Trafalgar Square at the heart of the dome, one of the largest undercover performance spaces in the world.

As they gather for the 20 minute preshow, they will be entertained by performers moving amongst the audience inside incredible contraptions, while the crew move the equipment into place, in readiness for the show to begin. What follows is a 28 minute live aerial and acrobatic spectacle that involves 61 performers at any one time, utilising the full 50 metres of the dome's interior height. The show has been conceived for the dome by Mark Fisher and Peter Gabriel.

Impressive Structures

A unique feature of the Millennium show is the impressive architectural structures that dominate the space, becoming vehicles for the characters and the story. Three moving lightweight aerial mobiles will enable performers to inhabit the air and establish a link between the earth and the sky. As the human drama unfolds the narrative is communicated through the cast's physical movements and dramatised by Peter Gabriel's powerful music, specially composed for the show.

The story, designs, costumes and music for the show have delved deep for their references - from the past, the present and the future. Fisher and Gabriel have created a timeless piece of visual storytelling, a contemporary fable.

The Music

As well as drawing on many references within our own folk traditions, the music also draws on the cultural origins of the many peoples that now comprise contemporary British culture. It layers Asian, African, Middle Eastern, Australian and European elements against a mostly contemporary British backdrop. From 12th century hurdy gurdy to didgeridoo, from the pulsing rhythms of the Dhol Foundation and the nostalgic brass of the Black Dyke Band, from Arab laments over drum and bass to meditative moments with string section - the soundtrack is a really eclectic mix. It is also a story of forbidden love.

I have really enjoyed working with the singers, all of whom have added a lot to the music. Elizabeth Fraser, Paul Buchanan, Alison Goldfrapp, Iarla Ó Lionáird and Richie Havens are some of my long time favorite voices and I was delighted that they were willing to take a part. Their performances covered a real range of emotions that brought the OVO family to life.

Peter Gabriel 14/4/00


The Music Makers

Richard Chappell and Richard Evans talking about the show two weeks prior to it's first public viewing. Originally published in Real World Notes #9.

Richard Chappell: "When we started off eighteen months ago, the original plan was to work on Peter's record and to do the Millennium music at the same time. Initially the work was split between Richard Evans and me - Richard was going to do the Millennium stuff and I was going to carry on working on the album. The projects had been crossing over for months. But we found that, from a concentration point of view, it became easier to just work on the Millennium stuff together. That was about a year ago, in November '98.

We were spending a lot of time auditioning different music - stuff that we'd worked on that hadn't been used, songs from the archive, work in progress, that sort of thing. It was paramount for Peter and Mark Fisher to write the story for the show and they spent a lot of time in meetings figuring it out. The first piece we finalised, which came together in March, became the last piece in the show. We sort of worked in reverse order. From there on in, we've been working on fitting in music around the story."

The Story

The show tells the story of three stages of our evolution, through the lives of three generations of a family. It is the story of a family in transition, divided by internal conflict and by the great changes going on around them. It is also a story of forbidden love.

A father who loves the earth and everything that grows from it finds a way to work with nature, even though he only knows one way - his way. The mother, who sits at her loom and sees the future emerging in the patterns she weaves, is unable to reconcile her feuding family and eventually turns against her own son.

The son, with a passion for machines, starts a revolution, which was designed to liberate his people, but ends up enslaving them. And the daughter, whose quiet and enchanted childhood ends when she falls in love with one of the mysterious skypeople, an outsider, eventually defies both her father and brother for the Skyboy's love. The Skyboy turns from romeo to rebel, as he watches his people being excluded and oppressed. Their baby, OVO, born in the time of the flood, is sent in a floating nest that sails the sky, into an uncertain future.

Quotes on OVO

Mark Fisher, Creative Director: "There have been immense challenges connected to creating such an emotional and powerful show, both in the round and largely in daylight - so the story is told in the style of a very large piece of physical street theatre - it's a really high energy experience - everybody is pushing at the boundaries of what has been done before. That's exciting."

www.petergabriel.com



Multitalent Peter Gabriel erlag wieder einmal der Faszination des Multimedialen: Für den zum Jahr 2000 an der Londoner Themse erstellten Millennium-Dome konzipierte er die Millennium-Show, gemeinsam mit Mark Fisher, seit seinen Liveshow-Konzepten für Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones oder U2 ausgewiesener Experte fürs Gigantische. Dem Fan der reinen Pop-Rock-Hits aus Gabriels Mühlen-Songschmiede in Bath mag Ovo eine durchwachsene Angelegenheit sein: Zwar hat Gabriel die Musik komplett geschrieben, doch ist für die zirkusähnliche Londoner Artisten-Show im Stil des Cirque Du Soleil etliches eher als atmosphärischer Soundtrack angelegt, der die Wechselfälle einer Familie im ausgehenden 20. Jahrhundert über drei Generationen spiegelt. Zudem hält Gabriel sich gern vornehm zurück und lässt Vokal-Akteuren wie Woodstock-Veteran Richie Havens, Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins) oder Paul Buchanan (The Blue Nile) zumindest partiell den Vortritt. Andererseits verknüpft er Pop, Folklore, Rock, Ethno und Electronica bis hin zu Industrial-nahen Heavy-Sounds zu komplex genialen, mal lyrischen, mal brachialeren Klangkonstrukten, die Hörer mit offenen Ohren durch vielfältige Entdeckungen belohnen.

So beeindruckt "The Man Who Loved The Earth/The Hand That Sold Shadows" als eine dynamisch faszinierende, rein instrumentale Sound-Collage aus Elektronik, archaischen Drum-Rhythmen und Didgeridoo-Klängen, rollt "Revenge" kurz und knackig zu donnernden Tribal-Rhythms dahin. "Make Tomorrow" schlüpft ins Gewand eines kraftvollen Elektro-Rock-Songs, bei dem alle Vokalisten den Gesangspart teilen, ebenso in "Downside-Up", das zwischen Pop-Melancholie und orchestraler Inszenierung schwankt. Gabriel pur, soft und brüchig gibt‘s im elegischen Keyboard-Song "Father, Son", wie im Rock-elektronischen Powerstück "The Tower That Ate People", mit vertraut wirkenden Steam-Anklängen. Aus der Reihe tanzt als Opener das "The Story Of Ovo", in dem Hit-Hip-Hopperin Neneh Cherry und Rasco die Millennium Show-Thematik im verzögerten Rap-Raffer auf den Punkt bringen und dem kolosalen Soundspektrum noch eine feine Facette hinzufügen. So ist Ovo für klassische Gabriel-Fans sicher nicht der erhoffte große Wurf, aber allemal ein spannungsreiches Konzeptalbum. Und das bietet als enhanced CD-Bonus auch noch das fantasievolle Video zu "The Nest That Sailed The Sky" plus in kindlicher Comic-Bilderbuch-Manier "The Story Of Ovo".

Claus Böhm,. Amazon.de



OVO ist nicht PGs neues Studioalbum, was man beim Hören stets bedenken sollte, denn ähnlich einem Soundtrack ergeben einige Stücke nur Sinn im Zusammenspiel mit der Millenium-Dome-Show. Trotzdem finde auch ich, der nicht in London war, äußerst nahrhafte Zuckerl in den 60 Minuten Musik: sehr schöne Melodien & Hooklines in "The Time Of The Turning" & "Downside-Up", ein sehr emotionales Ich-und-mein-Papa-Stück "Father, Son" (als einziges komplett von PG gesungen), beeindruckende Ambientübungen mit viel Streichereinsatz, einen tollen Refrain im sonst strukturlastigen "The Tower That Ate People" & vor allem gewohnt originelle Arrangementideen mit satten Prisen Ethno und Industrial-Beats, letztere oft vergleichbar mit Björks "Homogenic". Die übrigen Songs werden sehr anständig von Gastsängern bestritten, die jedoch zuweilen an Low-Budget-Versionen von Peters & Kate Bushs Stimme gemahnen. Trotzdem stellt sich nach mehrmaligem Hören wieder die Gabriel-Faszination ein, die mich das Album regelmäßig in den Player schieben lässt. 'Up', quasi zeitgleich entstanden, erwarte ich nun mit mächtig viel Spannung.
 

 L y r i c s


The Story of OVO

(Only available on some editions)

A long time ago, in a far away land
Theo was the man who learned to understand
The riches of the earth
And all that it was worth
The first man that ever tried to stand with his own plan
Now this man was all about the wind rain and trees
He knew that it would take care of all of his families

Now Ion was the son who spent his nights and days
Looking for all kinds of ways to get his father's praise
In all daddy's ways he just wanted to impress
Make it faster, stronger is what he tried to stress

Sofia was the girl
Living in her own world
She found love and joy with a young sky boy
Sky boys were seen as less to the rest
So it would seem
Sofia went into the woods to daydream
With love in her eyes
Her own father would despise
Her love for the young sky boy he would destroy

Feet in the earth
Heads in the sky
We watch the world go by
Feet in the earth
Heads in the sky
We watch as life goes by

When Theo was gone, his son Ion took the power
And in his daddy's name, he built the biggest strongest tower
The earth people and sky people divided by machines
And the ones who had nothing were the ones who had the wings

The sky boy just wanted everything to be equal
From full-time lover to now fighting for his people

Now Beth was the mom
Who really loved to weave
She couldn't believe her own son would decieve
The sky people got hungry and their welfare was ignored
She let them in the tower and the bloody battle roared
Down came iron and the tower fell as well
The dark days were over and the sky people's hell

Feet in the earth
Heads in the sky
We watch the world go by
Feet in the earth
Heads in the sky
We watch as life goes by

Sofia and the sky boy had long been kept apart
Sofia grief was faded it was joy that filled her heart
Wrapped in his loving wings Sofia took her man
So the earth and sky united
It was all father's plan

Theo kept an acorn
Sofia had carefully safely saved
It was planted in the ground that her brother had once paved
With a rustling and a creaking an unearthly sound
Something big started growing right out of the fertile ground

It was the biggest tree that any of the people ever seen
And it covered up the sky with a layer of leafy green
Then it rained and it rained and they watched the waters rise
Then Sofia led her people to the safety of the skies

Feet in the earth
Heads in the sky
We watch the world go by
Feet in the earth
Heads in the sky
We watch as life goes by

She climbed and she climbed
But never giving up
So pregnant and exhausted
Finally made it to the top
She looked into the sky and the world began to turn
And with a single cry a new baby had arrived

With OVO in his nest, everyone one had done their best
To prepare for the world and every single test
Soon he was blessed and as his mother stood by
He was soon released and sailed off into the sky


Low Light

(Instrumental)


The Time of the Turning

In the big house
Where the sun lives
With the walls so white and blue
In the red soil
All the green grows
And the winds blow across your face
They blow across your heart

It's the time of the turning and there's something stirring outside
It's the time of turning and we'd better learn to say our goodbyes

All the earth breaks
Like a stale bread
And the seeds are folded in the soil
Oh the sun pours
Then the rains fall
While the roots reach out right through the ground
They reach out through the ground

It's the time of turning and there's something stirring outside
It's the time of turning and the old world's falling
Nothing you can do can stop the next emerging
Time of the turning and we'd better learn to say our goodbyes
If we can stand up
When all else falls down
We'll last through the winter
We'll last through the storms
We'll last through the north winds
That bring down the ice and snow
We'll last through the long nights
Till the green field's growing again
Growing again


The Man Who Loved the Earth / The Hand That Sold Shadows

(Instrumental)


The Time Of The Turning (Reprise) / The Weavers Reel

Did you see it move
There's something there
It's in this very cloth that I weave
In the most peculiar ways that we behave

It's the time of the turning and the old world's falling
Nothing you can do can stop the next emerging
The time of the turning and we'd better learn to say our goodbyes

It's the time of the turning and there's something stirring outside
If you stop for a moment you can feel it all slipping away
It's the time of the turning and the old world's falling
Nothing you can do can stop the next emerging
Time of the turning and we'd better learn to say our goodbyes


Father, Son

Father, son
Locked as one
In this empty room
Spine against spine
Yours against mine
Till the warmth comes through

Remember the breakwaters down by the waves
I first found my courage
Knowing daddy could save
I could hold back the tide
With my dad by my side

Dogs, plows and bows
We move through each pose
Struggling in our seperate ways
Mantras and hymns
Unfolding limbs
Looking for release through the pain

And the yogi's eyes are open
Looking up above
He too is dreaming of his daddy's love
With his dad by his side
Got his dad by his side

Can you recall
How you took me to school
We couldn't talk much at all
It's been so many years
And now these tears
Guess I'm still a child

Out on the moors
We take a pause
See how far we have come
You're moving quite slow
How far can we go
Father and son

With my dad by my side
With my dad by my side
Got my dad by my side
With me


The Tower That Ate People

Brick by brick by brick by brick we're building
Brick by brick by brick by brick we're building
Brick by brick by brick by brick we're building
Brick by brick by brick by brick we're building

There's a bump in the basement
There's a knocking on the wall
In the pumping of the pistons
I swear I heard your call
There's a bump in the basement
There's a hole in the floor
There's a guard in the garden
Locking up the door

There's a rumble in the floorboards
No shutting out the sound
And the workers are below me digging underground
Feel the building all around me
Like a wrap of armoured skin
But the more we are protected
The more we're trapped within

We're building up and up
We're building up and up
We're building up and up
We're building up and up
Till we can touch the sky

Tell it like it is
Till there's no misunderstanding
When you strip it right back
Man feed machine
Machine feed man
Tell it like it is
Till there's no misunderstanding
Make up what you like
Man fed machine
Machine feed man


Revenge

(Instrumental)


White Ashes

(Instrumental)


Downside-Up

I looked up at the tallest building
Felt it falling down
I could feel my balance shifting
Everything was moving around
These streets so fixed and solid
Ah shimmering haze
And everything that I relied on disappeared

Downside up, upside down
Take my weight from the ground
Falling deep in the sky
Slipping in the unknonwn
All the strangers look like family
All the family looks so strange
The only constant I am sure of
Is this accelerating rate of change

Downside up, upside down
Take my weight off the ground
Falling deep in the sky
Slipping in the unknown

I stand here
Watch you spinning
Until I am drawn in
A centripetal force
You pull me in

Pull me in
Pull me in
Pull me in
Pull me in
Pull me in

ovo ovo ovo
ovo ovo ovo
ovo ovo ovo

ovo ovo ovo
ovo ovo ovo
ovo ovo ovo

Downside up
Upside down
Take my weight off the ground
Falling deep in the sky
Slipping into the unknown


The Nest That Sailed The Sky

(Instrumental)


The Tree That Went Up

(Only available on some editions)
(Instrumental)


Make Tomorrow

Put on the dress in which you were married
Pull down the veil til your eyes are hid
Can you remember where we both came from
Let us do as we did

Look at tomorrow today
Making tomorrow today
Making tomorrow today
Making tomorrow today
Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow today
Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow today

Put back the photo under your window
Put down the phone that you hold in your hand
Put away these things that stand in between us
Let us be what we can
When it seems
Hopeless
When it seems
Hopeless

Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow today
Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow today
Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow today

What better measure of what you were doing here
Then what you can leave behind
All the children of your children's children
Do you ever think what they're going to find
Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow
Where the sacred meet the scared
Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow
Where the dreamer's dream is dared

In each of us
A dream can burn like the sun
Let's try it all one more time
To get this lesson learned

Sitting up in a spaceship
Looking down at the earth
You wonder what they all stuggling for
What's it all really worth
Making tomorrow today
Making tomorrow today
Make tomorrow
Make tomorrow
 

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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