Performer Notes

Personnel includes: Peter Gabriel (various instruments); Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (vocals); David Rhodes (guitar); Vatche Housepian, Antranik Askarian (Armenian doudouk); Shankar (double violin); Kudsi Erguner (ney flute); Robin Canter (oboe, coranglais); Mustafa Abdel Aziz, Musicians Du Nil (arghul); John Hassell (trumpet); Nathan East (bass); Massamba Dlop (talking drum); Manny Elias (octabans, surdu, skins), Doudou N'Daiye Rose, Fatala, Billy Cobham, Manu Katche, Djalma Correa (percussion); Hossam Ramzy (finger cymbals, tabla, dufs, tambourines, triangle, mazhar); Mahmoud Tabrizi Zadeh (kementche); David Bottrill (drone mix); David Sancious (background vocals).
Recorded at Real World Studios, London, England.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Personnel includes: Peter Gabriel (vocals, arranger, flute, whistle, piano, synthesizer, bass, dohollah, shaker, surdu, percussion, samples); Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (vocals); David Rhodes (guitar, E-bow); Shankar (violin); Kudsi Erguner (ney); Robin Canter (oboe, coranglais); Jon Hassell (trumpet); David Sancious (Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards, background vocals); Nathan East (bass); Billy Cobham (drums, tambourine, percussion); Hossam Ramzy (tabla, cymbals, mazhar, tambourine, triangle); David Bottrill (tambourine); Manu Katche (percussion).
Recorded at Real World Studios, England. Includes liner notes by Peter Gabriel.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Personnel includes: Peter Gabriel (vocals, arranger, flute, whistle, piano, synthesizer, bass, dohollah, shaker, surdu, percussion, samples); Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (vocals); David Rhodes (guitar, E-bow); Shankar (violin); Kudsi Erguner (ney); Robin Canter (oboe, coranglais); Jon Hassell (trumpet); David Sancious (Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards, background vocals); Nathan East (bass); Billy Cobham (drums, tambourine, percussion); Hossam Ramzy (tabla, cymbals, mazhar, tambourine, triangle); David Bottrill (tambourine); Manu Katche (percussion).
Recorded at Real World Studios, England. Includes liner notes by Peter Gabriel.
With this landmark soundtrack for the controversial 1989 Martin Scorcese film, Peter Gabriel helped usher in a whole new genre: the electronic world music album. True, ambient producer Eno and the new-music trumpeter Jon Hassell pioneered the approach in the early '80s, but Gabriel didn't merely recreate traditional sounds in the studio. He actually helped create an ongoing collaborative community of modernist world musicians like violinist Shankar, singers Baaba Maal, Youssou N'Dour and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the Qawwali singer from Pakistan whose estactic wail most Western listeners heard for the first time on the title track.
PASSION effectively evokes the ancient wind-parched landscapes of Palestine and North Africa (where the film was actually shot). Though there is prodigious use of drones and percussive tonal "washes," the music is too rooted in history and local culture to be considered either minimalist or new-age. Much like the film, the soundtrack situates Jesus Of Nazareth in a specific time and place through the discerning use of "source" melodies and instruments. In turn, the viewer-listener is able to envision His original mission some 2000 years later. This is no small miracle Gabriel and Scorcese have wrought.

Professional Reviews

Entertainment Weekly (7/12/02, pp.84-5) - "...Nicely rounds out his catalog...revealing a surprisingly logical progression...Gabriel sharpens his writing and expands his sonic scope with every release..." Rating: B+

Q (6/02, p.137) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Beautiful...worthy of its subject..."

Muzik (12/00, p.59) - Included in Muzik's "Top 10 Electronic Soundtracks" - "...Mixes North African rhythms and exotic instrumentation through a Fairlight to create deeply evocative and original music..."

Mojo (Publisher) (6/02, p.126) - "...A cross-fertilisatory instrumental triumph..."