Peter Gabriel

Shaking The Tree

Great Gabriel Collection

Review Score:

(10/10)
This collection spans Peter Gabriel's career from his post-Genesis work up to and including the album "So". It's a lengthy album (16 tracks), and most of the songs are very recognizable. It does tend to be a little heavy with material from the "So" album, but the songs are great and mixed in with earlier material, so it doesn't play like 'So II'.

The album opens with the beautiful "Solisbury Hill", the only song included from his first two albums. My pesonal favorite Gabriel song, "Games Without Frontiers", as well as the reflective "Family Snapshot", "I Don't Remember", and the excellent "Biko" represent his third album. The quirky "Shock the Monkey" and the reworked (and VASTLY superior) version of "I Have the Touch" are from PG IV. Almost all of the other tracks come from the album "So", except for the instrumental "Zaar" and the title track, which is only available on this album.

I do have a few complaints about the album, such as the omission of songs like "In Your Eyes" (among others), the lack of any songs from his second album, and the inclusion of songs like "San Jacinto", "Here Comes the Flood", and "Zaar". All three are decent songs, but really weren't what I'd consider hits, and don't fit in as well with the rest of the tracks.

Overall though, this is an awesome collection of Gabriel's work and shows why he was one of the most innovative, experimental, and influential artists of the past thirty years. To anyone looking for an introduction to Peter's work, this (or "So") is the best place to start.

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