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Scratch My Back

Scratch My Back
Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back.jpg
Studio album by Peter Gabriel
Released 12 February 2010
Recorded 2009
Studio Air Lyndhurst and Real World Studios
Genre Symphonic rock
Length 53:26
Label Real World/Virgin
Producer Peter Gabriel, Bob Ezrin
Peter Gabriel chronology
Big Blue Ball
(2008)
Scratch My Back
(2010)
New Blood
(2011)
Singles from Scratch My Back
  1. "The Book of Love" / "Not One of Us"
    Released: 30 January 2010
  2. "The Boy in the Bubble" / "Biko"
    Released: 28 February 2010
  3. "Flume" / "Come Talk to Me"
    Released: 30 March 2010
  4. "The Power of the Heart" / "Solsbury Hill"
    Released: 28 April 2010
  5. "Mirrorball" / "Mercy Street"
    Released: 27 May 2010
  6. "Listening Wind" / "I Don't Remember"
    Released: 26 June 2010
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 67/100
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3.5/5 stars
BBC (favourable)
The Daily Telegraph 4/5 stars
Drowned in Sound 6/10 stars
Entertainment Weekly B
The Guardian 4/5 stars
Mojo 4/5 stars
MusicOMH 3/5 stars
The Observer 3/5 stars
Pitchfork Media (4.5/10)
Robert Christgau (choice cut)
Rolling Stone 2.5/5 stars
Slant Magazine 2.5/5 stars
The Times 2/5 stars
Uncut 4/5 stars

Scratch My Back is the eighth studio album (and fifteenth album overall) by English musician Peter Gabriel, his first in eight years. It was released in February 2010. The album, recorded at Air Lyndhurst and Real World Studios during 2009, consists of cover versions of twelve songs by various artists, using only orchestra and voice. It is produced by Gabriel himself with Bob Ezrin.

The album generally received favourable reviews by music journalists and performed well on the album charts around the world, peaking at No. 1 in Belgium, No. 2 in Germany and Canada, and No. 3 in the Czech Republic, Italy and Switzerland. It also reached the top 5 in France and Sweden. In Gabriel's native United Kingdom it peaked at No. 12 on the UK Albums Chart on 21 February 2010, the week following its release. In the United States it peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard 200, No. 2 on the Independent Albums chart and No. 3 on the Rock Albums chart on 12 March 2010.

Scratch My Back was initially released on compact disc and as music download; a vinyl album edition was subsequently released in late March 2010.

The idea behind the Scratch My Back project is a song exchange where each artist would cover one of Gabriel's songs in return for his covering one of theirs; the other artists' renditions of Gabriel's songs were to appear on an album entitled I'll Scratch Yours. Initially planned to be released simultaneously with Scratch My Back in 2010, several artists were late in delivering their songs or ultimately declined to participate, necessitating changes to the companion album's concept. With several new artists aboard, the slightly retitled And I'll Scratch Yours was released in September 2013.

According to Gabriel, although he and arranger John Metcalfe had talked about Arvo Pärt and Steve Reich as inspiration, it was the work that Metcalfe did on "Heroes" that "gave us the confidence to be bold in the way in which we were going to approach the record." "Heroes" became the opening track because "without any of the drive of guitar and drums...it builds an enormous tension that bursts open."


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