''Big Blue Ball'' is an album by multiple artists which "grew from 3 recording weeks" at

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

's Real World Studios in the summers of 1991, 1992, and 1995. It is Peter Gabriel's fourteenth album project overall.

Background

In production for more than 18 years, "Big Blue Ball" is a project featuring several artists from all around the world working together. Gabriel said that although the initial recording was finished by 1995, "the tapes were left in a mess and it's taken this long to sort out." Producer

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine, in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session ...

was finally called in to sort out the project. Guests on the album include

Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band the Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...

Wendy & Lisa Wendy & Lisa (briefly known as Girl Bros.) is a music duo consisting of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. They began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were part of his band the Revolution, before branching out on their own and releasi ...

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; , ; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023) was an Irish singer, songwriter, record producer and activist. Her debut studio album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and achieve ...

Karl Wallinger Karl Edmond De Vere Wallinger (19 October 1957 – 10 March 2024) was a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He was best known for leading the band World Party and for his mid-1980s membership of the Waterboys (contributing in parti ...

(of

World Party World Party was a musical group, predominantly the solo project of its sole consistent member, the songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger.

Natacha Atlas Natacha Atlas (, , ; born 20 March 1964) is an Egyptian-Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic and Western music, particularly hip-hop. She once termed her music "'' cha'abi moderne''" (modern folk music). Her music has been influenced by ...

, and

Papa Wemba Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba (14 June 1949 – 24 April 2016), known professionally as Papa Wemba (), was a Congolese singer and musician who played Congolese rumba, soukous, and ndombolo. Dubbed the "King of Rumba Rock", he was one of ...

. Gabriel takes the lead vocals on several tracks on the album. A mix of western, African, and Asian musicians are also included.''Gabriel Has A 'Ball' With Long-Gestating Album''
by Nigel Williamson, 4 August 2006. ''billboard.com'' ''Big Blue Ball'' was launched in the United States in June, 24th, 2008. The European premiere took place 13 days previously on June, 11th, 2008 in the city of Aachen, Germany in collaboration with the Ludwig Forum Museum of Modern Art and the city's cultural director Richard Takvorian. "After all these years, it's a fine wine ready to be drunk," says Peter Gabriel, "It was the most fun music making I've ever had." It was released thanks to a venture-capital trust initiative. Bosses at London-based firm Ingenious raised more than $4 million ( £2 million) to help promote the release in the US. The venture capitalists, Gabriel, and his Real World Limited partners, created a new joint venture company, High Level Recordings Limited, to oversee the release of the album. The new album deal covers the North America territory, where Gabriel is currently out of contract. The worldwide distribution of the album will be dealt by Proper Music Distribution.''Gabriel Deals a Blow to the Record Business''
by Paul Durman, 21 January 2007. ''timesonline.co.uk''''Gabriel Calls on Venture Capitalists to Help Album Launch''
— 24 January 2007. ''contactmusic.com'' The first track released from the project was "Whole Thing", included on the soundtrack album for the TV series '' Long Way Down''. A version of "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" was also included on Gabriel's 2003 compilation album '' Hit'', with a radio edit released as a single. There are two CD editions of the album with different covers; the music is the same on both. A limited edition of 1000 copies of the album was released on blue vinyl, from

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...

. — ''rykodistribution.com'' The digital download versions of the album contain different bonus content depending on the country. UK download stores include the track "Whole Thing (Adrian Sherwood & Jazzwad Remix)". US download stores include the track "Habibe (Stefan Goodchild Remix)" and a digital booklet. Both versions include the "Story of the Big Blue Ball, Pt. 1" video.

Track listing

Personnel

Produced by

, Steven Hague and

. Original recordings produced by Peter Gabriel and Karl Wallinger except "Altus silva" by Eric Mouquet and Michel Sanchez. Mixed by

Tchad Blake Tchad Blake (born 1955) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician. A native of Baytown, Texas, he has worked with artists and musicians including Al Green, American Music Club, Ani DiFranco, Apartment 26, Arctic Monke ...

except "Habibe" by Stephen Hague and "Everything Comes from You" by Richard Chappell.Gabriel Real World News: Big Blue Ball's Credits
/ref> ; 1. "Whole Thing" (original mix) * Lead vocal, keyboards: Peter Gabriel * Guitars: Karl Wallinger, Paul Allen * Nord brass, backing vocals: Alex Faku * Flutes: Francis Bebey * Backing vocals: Tim Finn, Andy White * Programming: Chuck Norman * Toms: Tchad Blake Published by Gallo Music Publishers/Mushroom Music Pty/Real World Music Ltd/WOMAD Music Ltd/Universal Music Publishing/Reverb Music Ltd ; 2. "Habibe" * Vocals: Natacha Atlas * Drums and percussion: Hossam Ramzy, Neil Sparkes * Strings: The Hossam Ramzy Egyptian Ensemble (Wael Abu Bakr, Adel Eskander, Momtaz Talaat) * Saz: Tim Whelan * Keyboards: Stephen Hague * Programming: Chuck Norman Published by Annie Reed Music/Hossam Ramzy PRS, MCPS & PAMRA/copyright control/Real World Music Ltd ; 3. "Shadow" * Vocals: Papa Wemba * Backing vocals: Reddy Amisi * Guitar: Juan Manuel Cañizares * Percussion: The Papa Wemba Band, Alan Gyorffy * Bongos: Laurent Coatalen * Frame drums: Tchad Blake Published by JMC Music Productions S.L./Real World Music Ltd/Universal Music Publishing/Real World Works Ltd ; 4. "Altus silva" * Vocals: Joseph Arthur, Iarla Ó Lionáird * Bass: Noel Ekwabi * Conga: The Papa Wemba Band * Piano, keyboards: Eric Mouquet and Michel Sanchez * Guitar synth: Vernon Reid * Whistle, low whistle: James McNally * Uilleann pipes: Ronan Browne * Programming: Chuck Norman * Keyboards, harmonium and flute like body bells: Tchad Blake Published by Real World Music Ltd/ WOMAD Music Ltd/Editions La Paya (Catalogue YEAA Music)/Michel Sanchez Music (MSM) ; 5. "Exit Through You" * Vocals: Joseph Arthur, Peter Gabriel * Guitar: Joseph Arthur, Karl Wallinger * Bass: Peter Gabriel * Keyboards: Peter Gabriel * Backing Vocals: Justin Adams, Karl Wallinger * Programming: Chuck Norman * Shaker, tambourine, bass: Tchad Blake Published by Real World Music Ltd ; 6. "Everything Comes from You" * Vocals: Sinead O'Connor * Backing vocals: Sevara Nazarkhan * Drums, percussion, Chinese drum: Joji Hirota * Drums: Ged Lynch * Flutes: Guo Yue * Keyboards: Rupert Hine * Piano: Angie Pollock * Guitar, mandolin and recorder: Richard Evans Published by WOMAD Music Ltd/EMI Music Publishing ; 7. "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" * Vocals, keyboards: Peter Gabriel * Backing vocals: The Holmes Brothers: Wendell, Sherman & Popsi; Jules Shear; Karl Wallinger * Guitar: Justin Adams, David Rhodes * Bass: Jah Wobble, Wendy Melvoin * Djembe, sabar: Arona N'Diaye * Drums: Billy Cobham * Programming: Chuck Norman * Guitar synth, organ, skin shake, hi hat, frame drum: Tchad Blake Published by Real World Music/Universal Publishing Ltd ; 8. "Forest" * Vocals: Hukwe Zawose * Guitar: Vernon Reid * Percussion: Arona N'Diaye * Doudouk: Levon Minassian * Programming: Chuck Norman and Stephen Hague Published by Explorians/Copyright Control/WOMAD Music Ltd ; 9. "Rivers" * Lead vocal, flute: Marta Sebestyen * Bass: Karl Wallinger * Drones, river pad, general programming: Chuck Norman * Guitar synth: Vernon Reid * Accordion: Stephen Hague * Drones: Peter Gabriel Published by Kismet Bt. ; 10. "Jijy" * Vocals: Rossy * Programming: Chuck Norman and Stephen Hague * Percussion: Arona N'Diaye * Drums and vibes: Alan Gyorffy * Bass: Jah Wobble Published by Real World Music Ltd/Heaven Music PRS MCPS/Universal Music Publishing/Copyright Control ; 11. "Big Blue Ball" * Vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards: Karl Wallinger * Piano, organ, keyboards, solo keyboards: Peter Gabriel * Drums: Manu Katché * Accordion: Stephen Hague * Programming: Chuck Norman * Kick drum, bells: Tchad Blake Published by Universal Music Publishing

References

External links

Big Blue Ball
— official site at Real World Records
NPR's "Weekend Edition Sunday"
— interview with Peter Gabriel, Stephen Hague and Karl Wallinger {{Authority control 2008 albums Albums produced by Peter Gabriel Albums produced by Stephen Hague Real World Records albums