Peter Gabriel – Shaking The Tree (Sixteen Golden Greats)

I had this album at one time but sold it off. The sound quality was crap, particularly Solsbury Hill. Sounded as it was mastered from the CD. Lifeless. Flat. Unappealing. You’re better off streaming it or when they play it on the radio as it goes through some type of audio modification.

Ignoring chronology and containing radio edits and alternate or new versions of charting singles, case in point the 1990 re-recordings of "Shaking the Tree" and "Here Comes the Flood" and a 1985 remix of "I Have the Touch", "Shaking The Tree (Sixteen Golden Greats)" is Peter Gabriel's expectedly unconventional take on the greatest hits album. For all its flaws, this bizarrely ordered and contrived compilation plays like a mixtape of sorts, accordingly titled and constructed with reference to the eponymous new song and fifteen so-called "golden greats", most of which are edited down as per the data restrictions of the CD format. So there's a distinct lack of album versions, what else is new? Compilations tend to include single versions over the longer album configuration either to appease casual fans who want to hear the songs in the mixes they heard on the radio back in the day, or simply for practical reasons. And in the case of Gabriel's first career overview, whilst deviating in some ways, its reasonably diverse contents are still inevitably weighted towards his most productive and commercial period as a solo artist. All his biggest hits and standards are readily apparent at first glance, lending credence to the notion that this is undoubtedly one of those said (casual) fan service albums. Serious listeners are advised to stick with what they've got.

As a professionally compiled playlist, it works well, selecting additional lesser-heard gems haphazardly arranged so as to offer a more rounded and suitably creative picture of the former Genesis frontman's thirteen-year solo career. It even manages to commit a far worse atrocity than truncating the mixes of his most notable output - "Mercy Street," "Sledgehammer," "Shock the Monkey," "Games Without Frontiers" and "Don't Give Up" - by omitting other more familiar treasures from his back catalogue, namely "In Your Eyes" and anything from the second album. It is entirely possible that as minor hits these songs failed to meet the disc's criteria, but such deficiencies ensure that "Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats" is rendered an intriguing and engaging though defective cross section that functions best as an introduction or a durable upgrade of Gabriel's "golden greats" - with one or two inclusions falling short of that classification - designed for casual consumption. The fact that it was probably only assembled to bridge the gap between his most recent album and its long-awaited follow-up is another matter entirely, and for what it's worth, there's a surfeit of quality and original material herein that approves its place as part of self-respecting Gabriel fan's collection. Honestly, once you overlook its patchiness, it is a great listen.

Rating: 4.5/5

There's a whole mix-up with this release. it should be in compilations, merged with Shaking The Tree: 12 Golden Greats. many editions are duplicated, appearing both here & there.
master should be titled "Shaking The Tree", with LP as "Shaking The Tree: 12 greats" & CD/cassette "Shaking The Tree: 16 greats". MERGING IS ESSENTIAL.

Why isn't that master release in Compilations instead of Albums and merged with Peter Gabriel - Shaking The Tree (Sixteen Golden Greats) ?