Geffen A&R; executive Tony Berg was quoted a few years back as suggesting that Peter Gabriel should call his next album Peter Gabriel Makes Grown Men Cry. To this day, I'm not exactly sure what he was referring to. Two scenarios come to mind:

#1: Gabriel's songs have apparently continued to be so heart-wrenchingly emotional that men still shed tears simply at the sound of his voice.

#2: He's such an anal perfectionist that it's taken him years to craft his latest studio album, and fans, as well as record execs, weep with frustration.

As for the second hypothetical situation, it's been eight years, and he still hasn't finished it. Still, 2000 saw the release of a new UK-only Peter Gabriel record titled OVO: The Millennium Show. The album is technically a soundtrack to the Millennium Dome show that occurred in England exactly a year ago. Therefore, in the similar way that Geffen attempted to convince the public that Beck's Mutations was not an "official" follow-up to Odelay, OVO is not the official follow-up to 1992's Us. So, what's a fan to do, except simply take this as consolation for 4/5 of a decade of waiting?

Well, they can hope that the real album is better. That's not to say OVO doesn't have its moments, but it's also fairly inconsistent. The sentiment and plot-- yes, there's a plot-- is often so hackneyed it's hard to believe that the aforementioned first situation could be the case. The record runs pretty much 50/50; a little over half of it is on par with his early '90s work, and the rest comes nowhere near. By removing its weak spots, Gabriel could have easily cut OVO's running time by 20 minutes; its pitfalls prevent it from gaining the consistency and cohesiveness it lacks.

For OVO, Gabriel has recruited some of his "favourite voices," according to the liner notes, to sing the bulk of the songs. The female presence is welcome; like Kate Bush and Sinéad O'Connor before them, Iarla O Lionaird and the Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser provide a lovely, sensual atmosphere to their tracks. But when Richie Havens and Paul Buchanan arrive, it's unclear why when Gabriel's voice would have lent themselves infinitely better to these songs.

"The Story of OVO" opens the album with ethnically rich, promising accompaniment, until Rasco (who?) and Neneh Cherry start rapping. In the more than 30 years Peter Gabriel has been recording, he's never before written a rap, and it becomes clear immediately: "A long time ago in a far away land/ There was a man/ Who learned to understand." The Gabriel-sung chorus and the rhythmic closing almost make the trite lyrics worth enduring, but not quite.

The first half's only major standout, "Low Light," follows with a beautiful ambient feel and an intro previewing the orchestral melody of a later track, the musically brilliant "Downside-Up." "The Time of the Turning" sounds nice initially, but reveals itself as ultimately mediocre, with Havens and Fraser taking lead vocals on a generally forgettable melody. "The Weavers' Reel" pairs a reprise of "Turning" with a formulaic, lifeless Celtic reel, augmented with an unforgivably cheesy dance beat. And "Father, Son" attempts to go the way of Gabriel's previous ballads, but with such a saccharine sentiment and ordinary melody, it goes the way of elevator music.

It's after this track that the line of demarcation from indifference to actual greatness becomes apparent, since the next song sets a new standard of quality which is ultimately fulfilled by OVO's remainder. "The Tower That Ate People" is Gabriel's funkiest track since "Sledgehammer," with growling verse vocals, phased guitars, overdriven organ, and a gorgeously haunting bridge melody. "Revenge" follows flawlessly with a breathtakingly strong, layered rhythm by African drummer group the Dhol Foundation. And the 10-minute closing collaboration with electronic artist BT, "Make Tomorrow," is consistently good throughout its extravagant running time, bearing enough melodic and tonal changes to keep the listener interested.

But the best track by far arrives just before the ending. "Downside-Up" is one of the most musically and melodically brilliant songs Gabriel has written. In the case of this track, the somewhat cliched lyrics can be forgiven twice over for the fluidity and richness of the chorus melody and the skilled, outstanding guitar line that enters at the bridge. The only fault here is Buchanan's vocals-- they do the job nicely, but Gabriel is sorely missed-- although even this setback is minor for such a splendidly crafted song.

OVO is appropriate waiting fodder to hold off the rabid longtime fans of Gabriel's work. It's pretty inconsistent, hence the lower-than-excellent rating, and at times, it's overbearingly trite, but it contains some nearly perfect material, otherwise. And after all, the $30 import tag is a much better bargain for the crazed fan than a plane ticket to Britain.

-Spencer Owen