To call Peter Gabriel's Passion a pivotal recording in the development of the world music genre would be a significant understatement. What makes Passion so undeniably huge is, of course, its global reach but also its expert handling of what could've easily become polyglot babble. Vocalists Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Youssou N'Dour, and Baaba Mal bring strong Middle Eastern and African voicing to the project, and Balkan textures come via the ney flute and doudouk. But Gabriel is the glue, offering electronic ambient flows between the multiple streams. Gabriel also brings something even less tangible: an awesome visual imagination that takes often seamless sounds and makes them impress the listener with picturelike colors and phrasing. This is, however, far more than an ambient global mix. To be certain, the intertwined rhythms stand out but always do so both unto themselves and as brushstrokes on a larger canvas. Never mind that Passion helped launch North American careers for N'Dour and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, this is a stellar musical achievement by any standard. --Andrew Bartlett
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