I have to say I like the man. He was manager of my first band in the days just after leaving Genesis, and I still have friends working at Real World. He's a thoroughly decent bloke with some great past achievements, but this album is a stinker. I felt so strongly that I actually posted a review on Amazon (something I've never felt the need to do before). It reads:
"Imagine the scenario - you are approaching your 60's with your reputation assured but creativity waning. How do you pass the time? How about an album of covers? But that would be too obvious, so let's have a angle - a reciprocal deal with other artists. Bingo!
This album highlights all that is bad about Gabriel. It's lazy and it's showbiz. The tracks meld into each other - hardly surprising as they all receive almost exactly the same treatment. Start with tinkly piano or sparse strings and low voice and then get louder, usually with the voice going up an octave on verse 3.
The orchestral arrangements are absolutely bog standard - the kind of stuff that you pay someone to do by the minute. Together with Gabriel's synthetic-soul voice, this treatment manages to remove every last ounce of emotion from the songs. It is a pastiche of a format, sounding emotive but containing nothing.
Some are truly diabolical - for example Heroes, where the altered chordal progression purges the song of all it's power. Others are less disastrous, but as a whole, this is dreary, pretentious and lazy."
