Peter Gabriel - Hit
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Free Music Notes for Hit
Free Music Review: A "Hit" and "Miss" collection of classic Gabriel cuts
Hit: 5 Stars
The cover photo inside of Peter Gabriel holding his balding head as if he is perplexed perfectly captures my feelings about this career retrospective. Peter Gabriel changes musical styles almost as often as most folks change their socks; he absorbs whatever musical area has lately caught his fancy and incorporates it into his own unique songwriting. Hit provides a superior overview of his career to date and includes a number of tracks not collected on a PG disc before. But Hit isn't definitive by any stretch of the imagination; it focuses on--surprise--his hit singles and key album tracks from most of his albums starting with Peter Gabriel 3 (aka Melt). While that was the album that helped him breakthrough to a new audience, it wasn't the start of his solo career and, as such, this collection gives short shift to two key recordings that helped set the stage for more musical invention.The new track (which was originally intended for "Up" but dropped at the last minute)is a terrific slice of classic PG. Co-written with Karl Wallinger from World Party, it's superior to much of the material that ended up on the last album. The first CD closes with the acoustic re-recording of Here Comes the Flood which debuted on 16 Golden Greats. No unusual choices here and much of Hit is found on Shaking The Tree. The remastering sounds great. There's absolutely nothing from Gabriel's second solo album which is a pity.
The second disc Miss focuses more on the album tracks (many of which received radio airplay but weren't released as singles). The real gems here for long time fans are the tunes Downside Up and Lovetown. Downside Up is a live recording of the song from OVO and Lovetown originally appeared on the soundtrack to Philadelphia. There's also a taste from his soundtrack Rabbit-Proof Fence (Cloudless) as well. Many of these tracks, though also appeared on 16 Golden Greats. It should also be noted that some of the tracks here are edited versions.
What's missing are--for me--two of the best tracks on 16 Golden Greats. The remix of I Have The Touch (originally a B-Side for a single)and Shaking the Tree. With so much overlap, I'm really surprised that Gabriel didn't throw in more surprises. His last 4 albums are pretty well represented here. The Tower That Ate People and Father, Son are two fairly strong tracks from Gabriel's Ovo CD (which never got an offical US release).
Hit is a pretty comprehensive collection even if Gabriel chose to skip Peter Gabriel 2 (aka Scratch)entirely when compiling this set. As to why his second album is missing--it's pretty well known that he felt the sessions were rushed and he wasn't happy with the finished product compared to his first and third albums.
I'd recommend Hit for fans who wish to have the soundtrack contribution included here and the live recording of Downside Up as well as Burn You Up, Burn You Down. These 3 tracks along with the key tracks from Ovo make this worthwhile for fans although this probably could have been pared down to a single disc focusing on those tracks and key singles/album tracks from Gabriel's other albums not included on Shaking The Tree.
Free Music Review: A stellar overview to Peter Gabriel's solo career up to now
Hit: 5 Stars
Peter Gabriel's 2-CD best of called Hit (or Hit and Miss as the CDs are called themselves) was released in November of 2003.
This collection spans the original lead singer of Genesis Peter Gabriel's adventurous solo career from 1977 to 2002.
Most of his albums are represented sans 1978's underrated second album also known as Scratch, the soundtracks to Birdy and The Passion of the Christ and the two live albums Peter Gabriel Plays Live and Secret World Live.
From the self-titled 1977 solo effort a/k/a Car we have his first solo hit "Solsbury Hill" which is one of his best tracks. Another track from that album "Here Comes the Flood" is here in an version recorded on the 1990 Shaking the Tree best of.
His 1980 masterpiece a/k/a Car is represented by "I Don't Remember", "Family Snapshot", "Games Without Frontiers" and of course my favorite on that album "Biko". All key choices.
His 1982 fourth album (known as Security here in the States) is represented by his first big US hit "Shock The Monkey", "San Jacinto" and "The Rhythm Of the Heat". All good choices except "I Got the Touch" is not here but that's life and in the words of Mick Jagger "You Can't always get what you want but if you try sometimes you find you get what you need".
His 1986 masterpiece So is well represented by "Red Rain", his only US #1 hit single "Sledgehammer", the powerful duet with Kate Bush called "Don't Give Up", "Big Time" and of course "In Your Eyes". All superb choices.
The 1992 proper follow-up Us is well represented by "Digging In The Dirt", "Steam" (in its single form), "Blood of Eden" and "Love to Be Loved". Only missing is "Come Talk to Me" and "Kiss That Frog" but that would have been a 3-CD set (and why not).
His recent album of all new material 2002's Up is represented by "Growing Up" (in a remixed form), "Signal to Noise", "More Than This" (in edited form), "The Drop" and "I Grieve". Great choices IMHO.
There's also one previously unreleased song, the great rocker "Burn You Up Burn You Down" (an out-take from the Up sessions). Plus the exquisite "Lovetown" from the "Philadelphia" movie soundtrack.
There's three songs from Gabriel's import-only release OVO which are "The Tower That Ate People", "Father, Son" and a live rendition of "Downside Up" (featuring Gabriel in a duet with his daughter, Melanie).
There's even the great song called "Cloudless" from Gabriel's Rabbit-Proof Fence movie soundtrack.
If one has to have one Peter Gabriel collection then this is it and (as of right now) the only Peter Gabriel release in print here in the US as Geffen has discontinued all of his previous albums (so you'll have to get the European imports). I say Peter should put out a box set including some harder to find tracks like "Out Out" recorded for the Gremlins soundtrack and the recent Oscar nominated "Down to Earth" from Wall-E. Wishful thinking here. However, Peter Gabriel's Hit (and Miss) is a great overview to Peter Gabriel the solo artist.
Recommended!
Free Music Review: Nice collection of solo Peter Gabriel
Hit: 5 Stars
THE BAND: Gabriel has played with many session musicians over the decades... most notably on many of his solo records - David Rhodes (guitar), Tony Levin (bass), Jerry Marotta (drums), Manu Katche (drums), and Ged Lynch (drums). Gabriel himself is a master at many instruments - keyboards, piano, organ, mellotron, synth, synth bass, keyboard bass, Surdo drums, flute, recorder, various percussion, drum samples/loops/patterns. Guest artists on select tracks include Stewart Copeland, Phil Collins, Sinead O'Conner, Kate Bush, and Robert Fripp.
THE DISC(S): (2003) 29 songs on 2 discs clocking in at approximately 151 minutes (Disc-1 is 76:01, Disc-2 is 74:35). Included with the discs is an 18-page booklet containing 9 full page pictures, song credits and players, what songs came from which albums, year released, and thank you's. There is an interactive 'The Tower That Ate People" through Noodle Heaven (a website you must download from). Digitally remastered sound. All songs written by Gabriel. Label - Geffen Records.
ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Peter Gabriel #1: Car (1), #3 Melt (4), Security (3), So (5), Shaking The Tree (1), Us (4), OVO (2), Up (5), "Philadelphia" Movie Soundtrack (1), "Rabbit Proof Fence" Movie Soundtrack (1), previously unreleased (2).
COMMENTS: "Hit" follows Peter Gabriel's solo career (after leaving Genesis) from 1977 through 2003. It's a worthy purchase, and if you're thinking about trading in your "Shaking The Tree" please reconsider. There are 4 tracks on "Shaking The Tree" that make it worth keeping in my book that you won't find here on "Hit". Listen, and then decide. With that being said - this "Hit" and "Miss" collection of Peter Gabriel is dead on accurate. Disc 1 ("Hit") contains the popular tunes that most listeners will recognize - "Solsbury Hill", "Shock The Monkey", "Sledgehammer", "Red Rain", "Games Without Frontiers", "Big Time", "Steam", the Kate Bush ballad "Don't Give Up", etc. Disc 2 contains the deeper albums cuts that perhaps haven't made it to the FM airwaves - with the exception of "In Your Eyes" (one of his big hits from 1986's "So") that would have been better placed on disc 1. The only thing negative about this collection is that there are no track(s) from his 2nd solo album "Scratch" - surely something from this album should have been represented here (my choices would have been "D.I.Y." or "Home Sweet Home"). The 2 unreleased songs are later era Gabriel gems. Gabriel is an island unto himself. His vocals instantly recognizable. His catalog is so different from anything else out there (his days with Genesis were equally unique). His songs are soulful, rhythmic, pop/rock and downright tribal at times. If you never knew which Gabriel studio album were perhaps the best (in my opinion he had two bests - "So" or "#3-Melt")... this definitive 2-disc "Hit" collection is THE place to start. This is a wonderful intro to the man. 5-stars.
Free Music Review: Proof of the Prodigy, Peter Gabriel
Hit: 5 Stars
For as long as I can remember I've enjoyed Peter Gabriel's music, but I never really went so far as to buy many of his albums. Truth be told, I fancied the tracks I heard from Peter on the radio, but I was always hesitant to buy his albums because I thought they'd be a little too odd for my liking. The exception to all of this was Peter's 1986 album, So, which I bought and loved and played incessantly - as with my most cherished albums, I owned that one on cassette and vinyl back in the 80's.
So was my only LP exposure to Peter Gabriel until about three years ago, when I was reading about a forthcoming album, Up, that took Peter 10 years to make. Intrigued by what I read about this disc, I bought it when it hit the market and was rewarded with an hour of OUTSTANDING music. Up was unlike anything I was hearing anywhere at the time, and like the other PG album I had owned 17 years prior, I found myself playing Up over and over and over again, discovering melodies, lyrics, sounds, and harmonies that resonated with me on a multitude of levels. (I wrote an Amazon review on Up, if you're interested...)
My love for Up spawned a desire to buy another copy of So, this time on CD. When I went to buy my third version of that album, I was delighted to find this two-disc compilation of Peter Gabriel's work spanning across his entire career and including all those older hits that I never owned because I was afraid I'd dislike everything else on those older albums. Here are digitally remastered recordings of classic PG tunes, such as "Solsbury Hill," "Shock the Monkey," "Games Without Frontiers," and "Biko;" a number of beloved tracks from that old 1986 album I know so well; some great tracks off of Up; and many other amazing songs I'd never heard before from albums I never owned. Twenty-nine songs (count em, 29!) fill this two-disc set, and as I sit and listen, I just marvel at Peter Gabriel's gift. The man is a true prodigy, an incredible musician, one who has clearly emphasized his art over commercialism but has received worldwide acclaim in the process. This album contains a new song, "Cloudless," which is an appealing variation off of Up's "Sky Blue," building off that tune's memorable choral chant.
Hit offers an abundant sampling of Peter Gabriel's music. These tunes are intense, sophisiticated, challenging, and rewarding. Having been more exposed to Peter Gabriel's work through this compilation, my prior hesitations are gone, and I'm eager to go back in time and buy some of Peter's earlier releases. I highly recommend this album if you are like I was, someone who enjoyed Peter Gabriel's music in the past but wasn't 100% convinced as a devoted fan. Hit will change all that; you'll love this album and acquire a great appreciation for the magnitude of the music this man has created over the course of his career.
Free Music Review: A great collection of Peter's best music
Hit: 5 Stars
Compilations. These are probably the most discussed CDs. When picking up the songs that are going to be part of an artist's collection of greatest hits (or misses), a lot of issues come into play; where the songs released as singles? Did they do well in the charts? Do fans ask for them at concerts? Who has the rights to these songs? Does the artist like this song better, or that one? Does the label want to add a certain song for some reason? How many new tracks should be included? And the list goes on and on, ad nauseam.HIT, the new Peter Gabriel's collection (the definitive one, if you believe the cover) decidedly asked some of those questions. The most obvious, er, *flaw* that this set has is the lack of songs from PG's second album (Scratch), which is one of the favorite albums of die hard fans (m'self included, thankyouverymuch). The songs from that CD have continuously escaped PG's compilations, except for Revisited, which basically was made up of songs from his 'early' solo career. Although I would have liked to have some of the tracks from that CD here (like On the air and A wonderful day in a one-way world), I understand that there must be a reason for their absence - Peter is very (VERY) fan oriented, so he must have had his reasons.
Another 'problem' with collections such as this one is that it is completely and totally impossible to please everyone. If you read other reviews, you'll find people saying that this track or that track should be included, or complaining that they did include another one that shouldn't be here. Hey, we all have different tastes and different reasons as to why we like PG's songs (if you asked me, I'd say I would have added Mercy Street, although So has probably enough presence here with 5 songs).
If you can put aside these gripes, you'll find that this is an excellent collection that includes some amazing music: Red Rain, Sledgehammer, Biko, Solsbury Hill, Shock the Monkey, Big Time, Family Snapshot, Games without Frontiers and a whole bunch of others. HIT alone is a great CD, but it's also great to have MISS, the second CD that includes tracks that are not as famous or harder to find, like Father, Son, Lovetown and Cloudless. It's a great way for new fans to get to know PG's music. Peter's career as a solo recording artist has produced very little output in the last years (hey, he's busy doing other stuff equally as important, so I'm not complaining) so this second CD has more of the 'newer' songs.
There's also an added bonus in this collection. By having this CD you can access tracks from NOODLE (www.noodleheaven.net). Check it out, it's fun.
This is an amazing collection that fans old and new can enjoy, and a reminder that Peter Gabriel is one of the best musicians out there. From his days with Genesis to his solo career, he has given us over thirty years of great music.