Passion: Music for the Last Temptation of Christ

Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ is a musical album released in 1989 by Peter Gabriel. It is his second soundtrack and eighth album overall. It was originally composed as the soundtrack for the film The Last Temptation of Christ, but Gabriel spent several months after the film’s release further developing the music, finally releasing it as a full-fledged album instead of a “movie soundtrack”. It is seen as a landmark in the popularisation of world music, and it won a Grammy in 1990 for Best New Age Album. It was remastered with most of Gabriel’s catalogue in 2002.

Overview:
As the soundtrack for the film, Gabriel used the resources of the organisation he founded, WOMAD, to bring together musicians from the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. He worked with them to create music meant to enhance the mood of the film, but also added a modern ambient musical touch to the original pieces, producing a musical work that has influenced many musicians in the years since its release. Passion introduced many listeners to such artists as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Youssou N’Dour, L. Shankar, and Baaba Maal.
Later in the year a companion album was released, Passion - Sources, featuring additional songs on which Gabriel does not perform. Gabriel described this album as “a selection of some of the traditional music, sources of inspiration, and location recordings.”
The cover art for the album, Drawing study for Self Image II (1987), is a mixed media composition by the artist Julian Grater.[1]

Track listing: