Peter Gabriel's second double-disc live album doesn't have the energy of Plays Live, which isn't surprising; his newer material is more subtle and doesn't easily lend itself to live performances. That's part of the reason why the Secret World tour was filled with cutting-edge visuals and stage effects. Unfortunately, it's very hard to record a light show, and the result is a thoroughly bland album.
An aural postcard of Gabriel's 1993-1994 "Us World Tour", SECRET WORLD LIVE is demonstrative of this studio perfectionist's ability to produce singular, textured works in any setting. He has always surrounded himself with first-class players who shared his vision of incorporating world music into the Western pop vocabulary (guitarist David Rhodes, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Manu Katche have been with Gabriel thebetter part of ten years). To expand the music's breadth, for the "Us" tour he added noted jazz violinist Shankar and vocalist Paula Cole to the band and restructured the songs toreflect the more celebratory aspects of live performances. This mix provides SECRET WORLD LIVE with its world-beat meets new age jazz meets English art-soul sound. Created in the wake of U2's extravagant "Zoo TV", the "Us" shows were also multi-media blow outs, thematically connected to Gabriel's then-current explorations of psychotherapy. In fact, the second half of the album incorporates previous hits--the sexually charged "Sledgehammer", the elegiac "Don't Give Up" (with Cole playing Kate Bush's part), and the anthemic "In YourEyes"--into a song-cycle that explores the consequences of the inner fears of youth and love's ability to insulate one from that pain. It all makes Gabriel's SECRET WORLD LIVE addup to a musical stew that is equal parts William Gibson, Carl Jung and Fela Kuti.

Track List:

CD1
01. Come Talk To Me 6.13
02. Steam 7.45
03. Across The River 6.00
04. Slow Marimbas 1.41
05. Shaking The Tree 9.18
06. Red Rain 6.15
07. Blood Of Eden 6.58
08. Kiss That Frog 5.58
09. Washing Of The water 4.07
10. Solsbury Hill 4.42
CD2
01. Digging In The Dirt 7.36
02. Sledgehammer 4.58
03. Secret World 9.10
04. Don't Give Up 7.35
05. In Your Eyes 11.32

Download links: