Burn You Up, Burn You Down

"Burn You Up, Burn You Down" is a song co-written and performed by English rock musician Peter Gabriel. Early recording was conducted at Gabriel's Real World Studios in 1991, although the song would remain unreleased for another decade. The song was originally intended to appear on Gabriel's 2002 Up, but was ultimately pulled from the track list shortly before the album's release. It was instead included on Gabriel's Hit compilation album the following year and released as a single, where it charted in both Italy and the UK. An alternate mix of "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" was also included on Big Blue Ball in 2008.

Background
The origins of "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" date back to the summer of 1991 during the first of three Real World Recording Weeks. The recording sessions took place in the workroom of Real World Studios, with Billy Cobham playing drums. Gabriel commissioned the help of multiple musicians around the world for this project, including western, Asian, and African artists. However, the tapes from these sessions took several years to organize, delaying the release of the song. Members of The Holmes Brothers were enlisted to record backing vocals; Gabriel commented that one of the members of the group, Popsy Dixon, had "a hauntingly beautiful voice, and he'd come up with these high notes that hit me hard every time he reached them."

"Burn You Up, Burn You Down" was originally slated to appear on Gabriel's Up album in September 2002, although Gabriel pulled the song from the track list during the album's final review sessions. Earlier in July, the song was included on a promotional CD for Up as the sixth track on the album.

In 2003, the song was featured on the soundtrack for Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. That same year, it was the only new song to appear on Gabriel's Hit and also served as the album's lead single. An alternate mix of "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" was later included on Big Blue Ball, an album consisting of songs that emerged from the Real World Recording Weeks during the 1990s.

Track listing

 * 1) Burn You Up, Burn You Down – Radio Edit – 3:47
 * 2) Darkness – (Engelspost Remix) – 14:10

Personnel

 * Peter Gabriel – lead vocals, keyboards
 * Justin Adams – guitar
 * David Rhodes – guitar
 * Jah Wobble – bass
 * Wendy Melvoin – bass
 * Billy Cobham – drums
 * Arona N'diaye – djembe, sabar
 * Tchad Blake – guitar synth, organ, skin shake, hi-hat, frame drum
 * Chuck Norman – programming
 * The Holmes Brothers – backing vocals
 * Karl Wallinger – backing vocals
 * Jules Shear – backing vocals