Taking The Pulse - [Blu-ray]

Taking The Pulse sees Peter Gabriel performing many of the best-loved songs from his own catalog with the New Blood Orchestra. Each song is remolded by Peter and arranger John Metcalfe using the self-imposed diktat of no guitars, no drums, just orchestra. Directed by Anna Gabriel, Taking The Pulse captures the spectacle as 50 musicians (conducted by Ben Foster) performed these re-worked Gabriel classics in the magnificent open-air setting of the Arena di Verona on September 26, 2010 in Verona, Italy. Peter and the orchestra are bathed in light from huge screens projecting animations and graphics that contrast starkly with the darkness of the night sky to build an incredible sense of drama and occasion. The orchestra change gear and mood effortlessly, building to the furious maelstrom that concludes the opening track "The Rhythm Of The Heat," accentuating the creeping melancholy inherent in "Intruder," and bursting into joyous abandon for a triumphantly upbeat "Solsbury Hill.