Olive Tree (song)
| "Olive Tree" | ||||
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| Single by Peter Gabriel | ||||
| from the album I/O | ||||
| Released |
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| Studio |
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| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 5:59 | |||
| Label |
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| Songwriter(s) | Peter Gabriel | |||
| Producer(s) | Peter Gabriel | |||
| Peter Gabriel singles chronology | ||||
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"Olive Tree" is a song by English musician Peter Gabriel, released in August 2023 as the eighth single in promotion of his tenth studio album I/O. Since August has a blue moon, this was the first of two tracks that was released in August, the other being "Love Can Heal". The track has been described by Louder as "uptempo" and "jaunty".[1] Gabriel said of the song, "I wanted it to have some speed to it but I also wanted some mystery, too. I think it is a celebration in a way and there's a real sense of being alive."[2] "Olive Tree" is "also part of a separate brain-related project" that Gabriel was working on at the time.[2][3]
Background
[edit]Similar to the title track, "i/o", Olive Tree is about being "plugged into nature and other minds".[4] Gabriel said that the song's message is about being "connected".[2] He said that people "only want to see and listen to the things that seem important and relevant to us and shut out the noise of everything else."[5] The narrative of the song is about being attuned to others' thoughts, which is expressed in Gabriel's hope that "we're no longer these islands that have our own private thoughts."[2][3]
The basic tracks for "Olive Tree" were recorded at Gabriel's Real World Studios around 2018, with additional overdubs taking place at The Beehive and the British Grove Studios in London. Josh Shpak recorded his trumpet parts at his home studio in Los Angeles. Gabriel began the song with some chord ideas built around an MPC groove, which yielded the song's pre-chorus. He said that the MPC added some "muscle" to the track, which augmented a shaker and various percussion instruments recorded by Ged Lynch, who overdubbed his parts early on in the recording process.[6]
The cover artwork was created by Barthélémy Toguo and titled Chroniques avec la Nature. Unlike most of the other artwork for i/o, this cover art is an original piece, created specifically for this track. Gabriel had first met Toguo in 2015 at WOMAD, where he was serving as an artist-in-residence. Toguo's Chroniques avec la Nature was also showcased onstage for Gabriel's live performances promoting the album.[2]
In 2025, a music video created by Oranguerillatan was released to coincide with the launch of Gabriel's 50:50 platform, which was meant to facilitate engagement with visual artists by showcasing their work. Gabriel had hosted a competition around the release of i/o enlisting other artists to create a music video for one of his songs using artifical intelligence, with Oranguerillatan being one of the winners of that competition.[7][8]
Critical reception
[edit]"Olive Tree" has received mostly positive reviews, with some critics taking note of the brass arrangement found on the song's chorus. In his review for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis highlighted the song's "hint of 80s brashness" in the horn orchestration.[9]. Steve Erikson of Slant Magazine felt that the song "recycle[d] similar sounds from 'Sledgehammer' and 'Big Time'", particularly with the horns.[10] Helen Brown of The Independent characterised the song as a "bombastic banger" that "peaks with a fanfare of brass parping out the glory of it all."[11]
Personnel
[edit]- Peter Gabriel – lead vocals, backing vocals, piano, synths, rhythm programming
- David Rhodes – electric, acoustic, and twelve-string guitars, backing vocals
- Tony Levin – bass
- Manu Katché – drums
- Ged Lynch – percussion
- Richard Evans – mandolin
- Evan Smith – saxophone
- Josh Shpak – trumpet
- John Metcalfe – orchestral conductor
- Richard Chappell – rhythm programming
- Oli Jacobs – engineering
- Katie May – engineering
Orchestra
- Orchestral arrangement: John Metcalfe
- Violins: Everton Nelson, Ian Humphries, Louisa Fuller, Charles Mutter, Cathy Thompson, Natalia Bonner, Richard George, Marianne Haynes, Martin Burgess, Clare Hayes, Debbie Widdup, and Odile Ollagnon
- Violas: Bruce White, Fiona Bonds, Peter Lale, and Rachel Roberts
- Cellos: Ian Burdge, Chris Worsey, Caroline Dale, William Schofield, Tony Woollard, and Chris Allan
- Double bass: Chris Laurence, Stacy Watton, and Lucy Shaw
- Orchestra conductor: John Metcalfe
- Orchestra leader: Everton Nelson
- Sheet music supervisor: Dave Foster
- Orchestra contractor: Lucy Whalley and Susie Gillis
Charts
[edit]| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[12] | 78 |
References
[edit]- ^ Ewing, Jerry (1 August 2023). "Listen to uptempo new Peter Gabriel single Olive Tree here". Louder. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Olive Tree". petergabriel.com. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ Gabriel. "Peter Gabriel Full Moon August 2023". YouTube. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ Brodssky, Rachel (August 2023). "Peter Gabriel – "Olive Tree"". Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ Marziano, Alfredo; Perasi, Luca (2024). Peter Gabriel: The Rhythm Has My Soul. Milan, Italy: L.I.L.Y Publishing. pp. 297–298. ISBN 978-88-909122-5-2.
- ^ "Peter Gabriel Launches 50:50: Empowering Visual Artists Through Music Collaboration | Hit Channel". 24 January 2025. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ "50:50". 50:50. Peter Gabriel Ltd. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (30 November 2023). "Peter Gabriel: i/o review – A beautiful comeback three decades in the making". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Erickson, Steve (29 November 2023). "Peter Gabriel i/o Review: A Heartfelt Album Muted by a Splintered Presentation". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Brown, Helen (30 November 2023). "Peter Gabriel makes his sublime, long-awaited return with i/o – review". The Independent. Archived from the original on 30 December 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
- ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2023.