Big Blue Ball CD (2008) (CD)

Big Blue Ballis the long-awaited, much-anticipated collection of stand-out tracks culled from the all-star, pan-global collaborations that took place over three years of Peter Gabriel’s legendary “Recording Week” gatherings at his state-of-the-art Real World Studios in the English countryside. Produced by Peter Gabriel, Karl Wallinger(of World Party, Waterboys) and Stephen Hague( Pet Shop Boys, OMD), it’s a nonstop stream of poignant, sterling performances by a truly stellar lineup of artists-- including Gabriel, Wallinger, Sinead O’Connor, Natacha Atlas, Iarla O’Lionairdand James McNally(both of Afro Celt Sound System), Papa Wemba, Joseph Arthur, Tanzania’s late music legend Hukwe Zawose, Hungary’s Marta Sebestyen, Tim Finn, Cameroonian starFrancis Bebey, Vernon Reid, Justin Adams, Jah Wobble, Billy Cobham, Rupert Hine, gospel group the Holmes Brothers, flamenco guitarist Juan Canizares, Japanese percussionist Joji Hirota, and many more…in all totaling 75 artists from over 20 countries.Big Blue Ball’s songs were created and recorded between 1991 and 1995, but the album has been an active work-in-progress at Real World ever since, a labor of love with ace producer Stephen Hague working closely with Peter Gabriel and Karl Wallinger. Holding the disparate elements in place is the powerful backbone of big drum tracks underpinning many of the songs. Wallinger says, “Everyone was in orbit around this groove, and there is a universal language of dance, of dance grooves. That groove is the one bit that’s non-denominational on the album.”