After nearly 10 years, the prolific songwriter/musician/singer Peter Gabriel has finally released his latest (and possibly best) studio album “Up.”

What took Gabriel so long?

After hearing the 10 tracks on the album, I would guess that the artist’s perfectionism took over. Every beat, note and vocal is absolutely pristine and perfectly produced.

That’s not to say that “Up” is overproduced. The body of the album is dynamic and has a flow to it. However, some of the music is a bit difficult to digest at first. At points, the layers are so dense that it takes a few listens to truly take it all in.

But, the most amazing thing about “Up” is that it manages to sound completely fresh and original, yet at the same time doesn’t stray stylistically from Gabriel’s 1992 album “Us.” In fact, tracks like the synth-pop “More Than This” and the spy-theme-influenced “No Way Out” would be just at home on “Us” as they are on “Up.”

Stylistically, “Up” runs the gamut, showing off Gabriel’s mastery of just about every music style ever played. Jazz, synth-pop, techno, rock, electronica blips and beeps and even a bit of industrial show up here.

“Sky Blue,” “The Barry Williams Show” and “Signal to Noise” are the most successful songs on the album.

“Sky Blue” is a dreamy, melodic grower highlighted by bassist Tony Levins’ thick and thundering bass line and the occasional blast of guitar and piano. Here, Gabriel shows that over the past 10 years, his unmistakable voice is as strong as ever.

Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan makes an appearance on the incredibly dynamic “Signal to Noise,” which is my favorite tune on “Up.” The track starts off mellow with sparse string arrangements, building until it ends with a dense, and thunderous string performance by the London Session Orchestra.

The lightly jazz-tinged “The Barry Williams Show” may be the lone radio-friendly track on the album. The peppy horns over the chorus give this one a feel-good tone that contrasts with the mostly melancholy feel of “Up.”

“The Barry Williams Show” is also rare in that it is the only song on the album with a catchy, humable chorus. The hooks of past hits like “Sledgehammer” and “Digging in the Dirt” are lacking here. But, the free-flowing song structure lends credibility to the album, making feel more like art than pop music.

Unfortunately though, not every track is stellar. The album is book-ended by a pair of confusing, out-of-place tracks.

The opening track, “Darkness” seems to be Gabriel’s lone brief experiment with industrial-sounding guitars. The track feels like a hodge-podge of ideas as it moves into a light, piano-driven chorus. The final track is a dull piano/vocal sleeper.

But, the strength of the other eight tracks more than makes up for a couple of misses.

On “The Barry Williams Show,” Gabriel sings the phrase, “What a show,” over and over. He isn’t talking about his album “Up,” but he may as well be. The album stays true to Gabriel’s masterful songwriting and may be the artist’s best album yet. What a show, indeed.

Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another 10 years for the next Gabriel album.