There’s nothing wrong in expressing one’s love for certain artists via performing their music, but while most of those who play covers outgrow it and become musicians in their own right, some entertainers, in addition to original material, find fresh ways to interpret their heroes’ oeuvre. That’s what happened with two former members of ReGENESIS, Tony Patterson and Doug Melbourne, who, over the last six years, recorded a triplet of remarkable albums, yet still return, over and over again, to the collection of Peter Gabriel‘s solo songs they first laid down almost two decades ago. Out in 2007, “Excellent Words” saw a remastered and expanded reissue in 2018, and will reappear as a definitive version, subtitled “Peter Gabriel Reimagined” – with extra tracks, although without “Here Comes The Flood” – on May 9th.
“Just after I’d left ReGENESIS in 2006, I got a call out of the blue from Doug, asking me how I felt about doing a Gabriel covers album.” says Tony. “The idea would be to record the songs in our own way and not try to copy the originals too closely. We wanted to give the album a stark sound – avoiding over-production whenever possible – and also to concentrate on some of the more obscure songs while still including some of the classics. In the end, we did go overboard with the production on a few tracks, but I think we did what was required. We also had Doug’s wife Carrie, who’d worked with Tricky and Mike Oldfield on board, doing some Chapman Stick and backing vocals.
“At the time of release, the album didn’t do particularly well because we just couldn’t reach the right people – remember this was back in 2007. I thought it was a bit of a shame that we didn’t get it to reach its potential and always harbored the idea of re-releasing it one day.
Last year, I discussed with Doug the idea of adding some tracks to it: ‘Moribund The Burgermeister’ had already been recorded back in 2018, we also decided on an unreleased Gabriel track, ‘Firebirds,’ and just recently we recorded ‘Washing Of The Water’ for inclusion on the album too.
“So we got to work on compiling the tracks and I remastered the album. I think we did s good job. The album has a demo feel to it with a lot of the tracks, which was intentional. My favorites are probably ‘Moribund’ which is monstrous, ‘White Shadow’ featuring some fabulous Chapman Stick from Carrie, ‘Family Snapshot’ which I think really captures the essence of the original, and ‘The Washing Of The Water.’ We had a great time recording it and we’re looking forward to the reaction!”
“Tony and I discovered a great compatibility with our creative sides,” adds Doug, “and have gone on to produce three albums together, of which we are very proud. In between playing in a tribute band and doing our own thing, there was this: ‘Excellent Words,’ a recorded tribute to our mutual hero Peter Gabriel. Some of the songs here quite closely follow elements of his original recordings – we have deliberately used Yamaha CP70 piano on some songs, for instance, a distinctive part of Gabriel’s sonic arsenal – but other songs are very different, often stripped back from all the complex arrangements.
“When I listen to this album now, two things occur to me: one is that I am still proud of our achievements on it, and the other, that if we hadn’t done it, I’m not sure we’d have gone on to record three albums of original material. It was definitely the fun we had on ‘Excellent Words’ and the relative ease with which we made it that made us think that we could take the next step.
“Now we’ve added some songs which we’ve recorded subsequently and of which ‘Moribund The Burgermeister’ is definitely a favorite. Altogether, it represents a comprehensive look at the amazing songbook of Peter Gabriel So I’m proud of this album and hope you enjoy it!”
& DOUG MELBOURNE –
Excellent Words:
Peter Gabriel Reimagined
1. Moribund The Burgermeister
2. Games Without Frontiers
3. No Self Control
4. Humdrum
5. Family Snapshot
6. Red Rain
7. Shock The Monkey
8. Home Sweet Home
9. Firebirds
10. Darkness
11. Don’t Give Up
12. Washing Of The Water
13. White Shadow
