Peter Gabriel – “Taking The Pulse – Live in Verona” [DVD Review]

This new release of Peter Gabriel’s September 2010 concert from Verona (pre-order here) finds the ex-Genesis frontman on his finest form, and the crisp blu ray print paired with excellent direction from Gabriel’s daughter Anna Gabriel, puts the viewer firmly in the audience.

As Gabriel fans will know, his shows are every bit as much about the visuals as the music. I witnessed this when I reviewed his i/o tour for V13 in 2023. This show, however, Taking the Pulse, puts more emphasis on the orchestra that accompanies Gabriel’s sonic adventures, and video inserts on this release serve to add narrative for those watching at home. 

There is a strong sense of narrative throughout, in fact, as each song is accompanied by a glance at the music sheets in front of the musicians, and we see striking ideas played out, like the burning music sheets in the opening “Rhythm of Heat.” The visuals are warm but sinister, setting the tone for the ancient Arena Di Verona venue. Glances of a metronome back up Gabriel’s moody, spoken intro, where he discusses the importance of rhythm and pulse.  The music is tremendous, starting small and building to an incredible crescendo.

Arranged by John Metcalfe and conducted by Ben Foster, the orchestra is mighty but contains no guitars or formal drums. Rich in brass, classical strings and powerful percussion, they never drown out Gabriel’s impassioned vocals. 

Fire is replaced by glistening pebbles and falling leaves for “San Jacinto”. The moods change rapidly throughout the set. That the first two songs are taken from 1982’s Fourth album (Security in the USA), predicts that this is going to be a career spanning set, and we are not disappointed. The bulk however does come from 1992’s US and 2002’s UP throughout the first half of the set. 

The orchestra is used to startling effect at times, particularly in the shrieking strings of “Digging in the Dirt,” but also takes a dramatic downward turn into the elegiac “The Drop,” where we really hear the influences taken for Guy Garvey’s trademark style in Elbow. 

More casual fans will enjoy the second half of the set as Gabriel ploughs deep into SO, his chartbusting 1986 album, which for the first time brought him into the mainstream.

Big ballsy hits “Sledgehammer” and “Big Time” are avoided and would indeed feel out of place, but we do hear beautiful renditions of “Mercy Street” and “Red Rain” with “In Your Eyes” and “Don’t Give Up” offered as an encore. Kate Bush’s vocals on the latter are ably handled by Ane Brun. Elsewhere Gabriel’s daughter Melanie also adds backing vocals. Its a family affair. 

The set is not exactly solemn, but the choices are certainly low-key, avoiding Gabriel’s pop output. Only debut single and evergreen favourite “Solsbury Hill” makes an appearance, closing the main set on a high, with the audience participating and, on Gabriel’s insistence, keeping warm.

Releasing this show fifteen years on is a curious but not unwelcome choice and my only criticism is that we only get half the gig. On the night, this set was preceded by a covers set including tributes to amongst others Radiohead, Paul Simon, Talking Heads, Bowie and unsurprisingly Elbow. These can be seen on YouTube, but it would have been good to see them in clarity and in one place.

That said, this is an excellent release and an absolute must for fans of Peter Gabriel. The music is breathtaking and the visuals epic.

Director: Anna Gabriel
Producer: Dawn Christy
Starring: Peter Gabriel
Production Company: Nylon Films
Distributed by: Mercury Studios
Release Date: October 10, 2025
Run Time: 97 minutes