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Passion (Peter Gabriel album)

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Passion
Soundtrack album / Studio album by
Peter Gabriel
Released5 June 1989
RecordedFebruary 1988 – March 1989
StudioReal World, Box, UK
Genre
Length67:03
LabelGeffen (US & Canada)
Virgin
Real World
ProducerPeter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel chronology
So
(1986) 		Passion
(1989) 		Shaking the Tree
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[4]
Los Angeles Times[5]
NME6/10[6]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[7]
Q[8]
Record Collector[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]

Passion (re-released as Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ) is an album released in 1989 by the English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel. It was the first Peter Gabriel album to be released on Real World Records, Gabriel's second soundtrack, and his eighth album overall.

Passion was originally composed as the soundtrack album for Martin Scorsese's film The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), but Gabriel spent several months after the film's release further developing the music, finally releasing it as a full-fledged album instead of a movie soundtrack. The album was released in June 1989 (almost a year after the theatrical release of The Last Temptation of Christ in August 1988) as a vinyl double album and a 1-disc CD.

Passion is seen as a landmark in the popularisation of world music, and won a Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 1990. It was remastered with most of Gabriel's catalogue in 2002.

Overview

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Peter Gabriel's first film soundtrack, Birdy (1985), contained instrumental rearrangements of songs from Gabriel's earlier albums. Passion, on the other hand, contained music entirely original to Gabriel's catalogue.

To record the soundtrack for The Last Temptation of Christ, Gabriel used the resources of WOMAD, an organization he founded, to bring together musicians from the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South Asia. He worked with them to create music meant to enhance the mood of the film, but he also added a modern ambient musical touch to the original pieces, producing a musical work that has influenced many musicians. Passion introduced many listeners to such artists as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Youssou N'Dour, L. Shankar, and Baaba Maal. N'Dour and Shankar had provided contributions to Gabriel's previous album, So (1986); Passion also features other musicians who had worked with Gabriel before, including David Rhodes, Manny Elias, David Bottrill, and Manu Katché.

The delay of the album's release was due to Gabriel’s schedule with the Human Rights Now! tour for Amnesty International in 1988 and to the truncated production time allotted by Universal Pictures for the soundtrack: Universal cut the recording time for Gabriel from 10 to three weeks, leaving Gabriel very little time to complete all the pieces he wanted. After the film's mix was finished, Gabriel had unfinished ideas he wanted to develop and took extra time to complete the album. Gabriel took a further four months to complete Passion, building the pieces and developing the musical textures as part of his stated desire for the album to stand as a piece of work in its own right.[12]

Later in the year a companion album was released, Passion – Sources, featuring additional songs on which Gabriel does not perform. Gabriel described this album as "a selection of some of the traditional music, sources of inspiration, and location recordings."

The cover art for the album, Drawing study for Self Image II (1987), is a mixed media composition by the artist Julian Grater.[13] When re-released, the album was titled Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ due to "legal barriers" according to Gabriel in its liner notes.[14]

Reception

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Upon its release, Passion received generally positive reviews from critics. Reviewing Passion for Rolling Stone, Jimmy Guterman wrote that "Gabriel’s journey is just as deeply felt as Scorsese's... [Passion] stands as a testament to the breadth of Gabriel's interests, as well as his talents." Noting songs which "successfully accommodate third-world melodies and cross-rhythms in a Western pop context," Guterman claimed, "Passion is stirring, stunning stuff: You won’t hear it on the radio like you heard ‘’Sledgehammer’’ or ‘’Big Time’’, but if you do search it out, you'll find a piece of work by an artist who remains idiosyncratic without being obtuse."[15]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Peter Gabriel except where noted

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."The Feeling Begins"4:00
2."Gethsemane"1:26
3."Of These, Hope"3:55
4."Lazarus Raised"1:26
5."Of These, Hope – Reprise"2:44
6."In Doubt"1:33
7."A Different Drum"4:40
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."Zaar" 4:53
9."Troubled" 2:55
10."Open"Gabriel, L. Shankar3:27
11."Before Night Falls" 2:18
12."With This Love" 3:40
Side three
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Sandstorm" 3:02
14."Stigmata"Gabriel, Mahmoud Tabrizi Zadeh2:28
15."Passion" 7:39
16."With This Love (Choir)" 3:20
Side four
No.TitleLength
17."Wall of Breath"2:29
18."The Promise of Shadows"2:13
19."Disturbed"3:35
20."It Is Accomplished"2:55
21."Bread and Wine"2:21

Personnel

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  1. "The Feeling Begins"
    The doudouk is playing an Armenian melody, "The Wind Subsides". (Armenian doudouks recorded for Ocora Records under the direction of Robert Ataian.)
  2. "Gethsemane"
    • Peter Gabriel – flute samples, flute, voices
  3. "Of These, Hope"
    • Massamba Diop – talking drum
    • Peter Gabriel – bass, percussion, flute whistle, Prophet 5
    • L. Shankar – double violin
    • David Rhodes – guitar
    • Mustafa Abdel Aziz – arghul drone
  4. "Lazarus Raised"
    • (Players unknown) – Kurdish duduk & tanbur
    • David Rhodes – guitars
    • Peter Gabriel – piano, Akai S900
    This piece incorporates a traditional melody from Kurdistan telling of the unhappy love of a young girl for Bave Seyro, a legendary warrior. (Kurdish duduks are from UNESCO Collection – A Musical Anthology of the Orient, general editor Alain Danielou for Musicaphon Records.)
  5. "Of These, Hope – Reprise"
    • Massamba Diop – talking drum
    • Peter Gabriel – bass, percussion, flute whistle, Prophet 5
    • L. Shankar – double violin
    • David Rhodes – guitar
    • Mustafa Abdel Aziz – arghul drone
    • Baaba Maal – vocals
    • Fatala – additional percussion
  6. "In Doubt"
  7. "A Different Drum"
    • Doudou N'Diaye Rose – percussion loop (four bars)
    • Fatala – percussion loop (three bars)
    • Peter Gabriel – surdo, percussion, Audioframe, Prophet 5, voice
    • L. Shankar – double violin
    • Youssou N'Dour – voice
    • David Sancious – backing vocals
  8. "Zaar"
    • Hossam Ramzy – tambourines, dufs, tabla, finger cymbals, triangle
    • Peter Gabriel – surdo, additional percussion, Audioframe, Akai S900, voice
    • Nathan East – bass
    • David Rhodes – guitar
    • Mahmoud Tabrizi Zadeh – kementché
    • L. Shankar – double violin
  9. "Troubled"
    • Bill Cobham – drums, percussion
    • Hossam Ramzy – finger cymbals
    • Peter Gabriel – percussion, Fairlight, Emulator, backing vocals
    • David Sancious – backing vocals
  10. "Open"
    • Peter Gabriel – Prophet 5, Akai S900, vocals
    • L. Shankar – double violin, vocals
  11. "Before Night Falls"
    • Hossam Ramzy – finger cymbals, tabla, dufs
    • Kudsi Erguner – ney flute (playing a traditional Armenian melody)
    • L. Shankar – double violin
    The Ney flute is playing a traditional Armenian melody.
  12. "With This Love"
    • Robin Canter – oboe, cor Anglais
    • L. Shankar – double violin
    • David Sancious – Akai S900, synthesizer arrangement
    • Peter Gabriel – Audioframe, Fairlight, piano, Prophet 5, synthesizer arrangement
  13. "Sandstorm"
    • Location Recording – Moroccan percussion & vocals
    • Hossam Ramzy – surdo, tabla, tambourine dufs, mazhar
    • Manu Katché – additional percussion
    • Mahmoud Tabrizi Zadeh – kementché
    • L. Shankar – double violin
    • Peter Gabriel – Fairlight
  14. "Stigmata"
    • Mahmoud Tabrizi Zadeh – kementché
    • Peter Gabriel – Prophet 5, voice
    Based on an improvisation by Mahmoud and Peter Gabriel
  15. "Passion"
    • Djalma Correa – Brazilian percussion
    • Jon Hassell – trumpet
    • Peter Gabriel – Prophet 5, Akai S900, Fairlight, voice
    • Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Qawwali voice
    • L. Shankar – double violin
    • Youssou N'Dour – voice
    • Julian Wilkins – choirboy
  16. "With This Love (Choir)"
    • Robin Canter – cor anglais
    • Richard Evans – choir recording
  17. "Wall of Breath"
    • Kudsi Erguner – Turkish ney flute
    • L. Shankar – double violin
    • Musicians Du Nil – arghul
    • David Rhodes – Ebow guitar
    • Peter Gabriel – synthesizers
  18. "The Promise of Shadows"
    • Bill Cobham – drum kit
    • David Bottrill – lead tambourine
    • Peter Gabriel – Emulator, Prophet 5, Audioframe, additional percussion
    • David Rhodes – guitar
  19. "Disturbed"
    • Hossam Ramzy – surdo, tabla
    • Mustafa Abdel Aziz – percussion loop
    • Said Mohammad Aly – percussion loop
    • Fatala – African percussion
    • L. Shankar – double violin
    • Peter Gabriel – Fairlight, Prophet 5
  20. "It Is Accomplished"
    • Bill Cobham – drums, tambourine
    • David Bottrill – tambourine 2, distorted slide
    • Nathan East – bass
    • Mustafa Abdel Aziz – arghul drone
    • David Sancious – Hammond organ
    • David Rhodes – Steinberger guitar
    • Peter Gabriel – doholla, additional percussion, Roland D-50, piano, Prophet 5, voice
  21. "Bread and Wine"
    • Peter Gabriel – contrabass, Prophet 5, voice
    • David Rhodes – EBow guitar
    • Richard Evans – tin whistle
    • L. Shankar – double violin

Charts

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Chart (1989) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[16] 62
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 59
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[18] 38
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 30
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 34
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 29
US Billboard 200[22] 60

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[23] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

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  1. ^ Ramos, Dante E.A. (1 October 1992). "Peter Gabriel Abandons Role as King of PC Pop". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  2. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ – Peter Gabriel". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  3. ^ Heim, Chris (29 June 1989). "Peter Gabriel: Passion (Geffen)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  4. ^ Brunner, Rob (12 July 2002). "Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel 1 / Peter Gabriel 2 / Peter Gabriel 3 / Security / Plays Live / Birdy / So / Passion / Us". Entertainment Weekly. No. 662. pp. 84–85.
  5. ^ Willman, Chris (4 June 1989). "Peter Gabriel 'Passion.' Geffen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  6. ^ Romney, Jonathan (17 June 1989). "Gabriel World Domination Enterprise". NME. p. 34.
  7. ^ Moon, Tom (11 June 1989). "Peter Gabriel: Passion (Geffen)". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  8. ^ "Peter Gabriel: Passion". Q. No. 191. June 2002. p. 137.
  9. ^ Easlea, Daryl (August 2017). "Birdy, Passion: Music From The Last Temptation Of Christ, The Long Road Home: Music From Rabbit Proof Fence | Peter Gabriel". Record Collector. No. 469. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  10. ^ Guterman, Jimmy (29 June 1989). "Passion". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  11. ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "Peter Gabriel". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 319–320. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  12. ^ Asregadoo, Ted (15 June 2015). "How Peter Gabriel told his own story with the 'Passion' soundtrack". Prog.
  13. ^ "Artist's home page". JulianGrater.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2008.
  14. ^ Peter, Gabriel (2002). Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ (remastered, reissued) (booklet). Europe: Real World, Virgin. p. 2. RWCDR1.
  15. ^ Guterman, Jimmy (29 June 1989). "Passion". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  16. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6410". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Peter Gabriel – Passion" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  18. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  19. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Peter Gabriel – Passion" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Peter Gabriel – Passion". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  23. ^ "American album certifications – Peter Gabriel – Passion: Music for the Last Temptation Of Christ". Recording Industry Association of America.
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