Passion is Peter Gabriel’s soundtrack to the Martin Scorsese film The Last Temptation of Christ. Like much of Gabriel’s solo work, the album is a product of his continuing fascination with world music, which he employs here to create an exceptionally beautiful and atmospheric tapestry of sound perfectly evocative of the film’s resonant spiritual drama.

• Limited Edition
• Numbered Edition
• 3LP 180 Gram Vinyl 45rpm
• Mastered at Metropolis Studios
• Half-speed cut at Alchemy Studios
• Pressed at Optimal Media, Germany
• Download Code (Hi-res 24bit/96k or 16bit/44.1k)
• Gatefold Cover

The Vinyl Was Cut By Matt Colton At Alchemy Mastering, Mastered By Tony Cousins At Metropolis And Overseen By Peter’s main Sound Engineer Richard Chappell

Passion – Music for The Last Temptation of Christ was released a year after Martin Scorsese’s controversy-laden film and tends to be regarded as a work in its own right rather than just being a movie soundtrack. It features additional music than was included in the film; this extra material was the result of Peter continuing to record and to resolve “unfinished ideas,” hence the later arrival of the record.

"I was excited to be asked to work on the music. When I first discussed the project with Martin Scorsese in 1983 I wanted to find out how he was intending to film this controversial novel. He wanted to present the struggle between the humanity and the divinity of Christ in a powerful and original way, and I was convinced by his commitment to the spiritual content and message. He is an excellent and very musical director and working with him has been a great experience. After we finished mixing the film there were some unfinished ideas that needed developing and I took some extra time to complete this record. There are several pieces that were not able to be included in the film and I felt that the record should be able to stand as a separate body of work. I chose the working title for the film - Passion. We recorded some of the finest singers and soloists in the field of world music and we set the score on a backdrop of traditional North African rhythms and sounds. It was a wonderful experience working with such different and idiosyncratic musicians. They came from Pakistan, Turkey, India, Ivory Coast, Bahrain, Egypt, New Guinea, Morocco, Senegal and Ghana. For many of them working with this material was something quite new and they were very enthusiastic. The soundtrack is full of the spirit of their performances." Peter Gabriel

The LP looks amazing with a gatefold sleeve utilizing imagery from the original LP + additional images from the film and also contains printed inner bags. All images are newly re-scanned.

Released a year after Martin Scorsese’s controversy-laden film first hit the big screen in 1988, Passion tends to be regarded as a work in its own right rather than just being a movie soundtrack. It features additional music than was included in the film; this extra material was the result of Peter continuing to record and to resolve "unfinished ideas", hence the later arrival of the record.

Built on a foundation of Middle Eastern and North African rhythms and melodies, Passion is unsurprisingly Peter's most spiritual work, no more so than when the alternately ascending voices of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Youssou N'Dour and himself interweave on the title track. Nusrat and Youssou are far from the only notable guests; the cross-continental gathering of musicians also includes Senegalese griot Baaba Maal, jazz drummer Bill Cobham and avant-garde trumpeter Jon Hassell among many others.

"In my research for Passion, many people mentioned the wonderful resources of the National Sound Archive and in particular introduced me to Lucy Duran, who both understood what I was hoping to achieve and made lots of great suggestions. Scorsese had asked for a new type of score that was neither ancient nor modern, that was not a pastiche but had clear references to the region, traditions and atmospheres, but was in itself a living thing." - Peter Gabriel

"It has been heart warming to see the return of vinyl. Even though I loved being free of its limitations in the digital world, there is still a warmth and presence to vinyl that somehow makes it a more natural human companion. It is great to see a new generation learning the secrets of the grooves" – Peter Gabriel

Track Listing:

Side A
1. The Feeling Begins
2. Gethsemane
3. Of These, Hope
4. Lazarus Raised

Side B
5. In Doubt
6. A Different Drum
7. Zaar
8. Troubled

Side C
1. Open
2. Before Night Falls
3. With This Love
4. Sandstorm
5. Stigmata

Side D
6. Passion
7. With This Love (choir)
8. Wall of Breath

Side E
1. The Promise of Shadows
2. Disturbed
3. It Is Accomplished
4. Bread and Wine

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫