Peter Gabriel - Hit
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Free Music Notes for Hit
Free Music Review: One Of The Great Gifted Artists Of Our Times
Hit: 5 Stars
You will probably never hear a more diverse and consistently brilliant Hits collection than this tour de force from Peter Gabriel. Most of his best known songs (not all, alas) are here: Biko, Don't give up, Steam, Solisbry Hill, Games without frontiers, Sledgehammer etc are all on Disc 1 which is subtitled: HIT. But it is Disc 2, subtitled MISS that is more rewarding as it showcases songs like Rhythm of the Heat, Family Snapshot, Cloudless, Downside Up, Father Son and San Jacinto. Two new tracks are BURN YOU UP BURN YOU DOWN (good funky stuff!) and CLOUDLESS (sublime reworking of the song SKY BLUE featuring vocals from the Blind Boys From Alabama)
There are always songs you would like to see on a Hits package and some that could be jettisoned and this album is no exception. I cannot understand why SHAKING THE TREE is not included. This is a song he co-wrote with Youssou N'Dour and there is a remastered version on his earlier hits album, also called Shaking The tree. It is a wonderful song in praise of Women with a gentle voal by Gabriel. Must be a legal reason or maybe a falling out with Youssou. One of his classic songs: IN YOUR EYES is buried on the MISS side and that is on the USA version. It is not even included on the European version. That is an amazing oversight. Also songs like LOVE TO BE LOVED from US is reather boring and does not belong here. He could have included from the same album, KISS THAT FROG, COME TALK TO ME or SECRET WORLD, especially the live version which way surpasses the studio version. Also SKY BLUE or an edited version of THE BARRY WILLIAMS SHOW from UP might have been a better selection than I GRIEVE. It would have been great to merge SKY BLUE and CLOUDLESS together for one magnificent closing track. The really weird THE TOWER THAT ATE PEOPLE, LOVETOWN and THE DROP could also have been left off so earlier PG material could have been presented. INTRUDER is not included and nothing from Peter Gabriel 2, although DIY is on the European version as is NO SELF CONTROL and I HAVE THE TOUCH. There are cut versions of some songs which actually help in the case of BLOOD OF EDEN, GROWING UP and MORE THAN THIS. Maybe STEAM could have been edited also as it is on the long side. Hopefully an anthology is on the way to encompass all relevant Peter Gabriel tracks.
Free Music Review: With Peter, you can't go wrong!
Hit: 5 Stars
This compilation of Peter Gabriel hits spans over the course of most of his career, except for (note taken) his second album, which seems to elude all of his compilations, except for 'Revisited'. On to analyzing this one, anyway...To put together a Peter Gabriel compilation, as with any other great artist (with a solo career since 1977) is a tough job. But I dare to say that the aptly titled 'Hit' contains the essence of Peter's work, beyond what the 'Sixteen Golden Greats' compilation was able to accomplish. It includes material from his first album ("Solsbury Hill", "Here Comes The Flood"), through the Melt ("I Don't Remember", "Family Snapshot", "Biko", "Games w/o Frontiers") and Security ("San Jacinto", Rhythm of the Heat", "Shock the Monkey") albums of the early eighties to tracks from his more recent works, UP, OVO, US and SO.
Besides providing alternate mixes of previously released songs ("Growing Up and "The Tower") and a live version of the beautiful song from OVO track, "Downside Up" (which he performed while upside down alongside daughter Melanie during his Growing Up tour -don't miss his DVD from this tour that came out along with this compilation!!), Peter shares a couple of treats: previously unreleased track "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" (which will soon be available in a single format, if you prefer to skip the compilation altogether at your own risk); and "Lovetown" a song from the soundtrack of the Tom Hanks movie, 'Philadelphia' which has managed to stay somewhat on the fringes of Peter's production... until now!
My advice is the same for longtime Peter fans and for newbies into Peter's work: get "Hit". Plus, at such a price (for two CDs) you really can't go wrong. With Peter, you can't go wrong!
Free Music Review: May annoy purists, but a great collection for casual fans
Hit: 5 Stars
I can't really fault Peter's focus on his more recent material and virtual exclusion of his first two albums. After all, he is trying to reach a modern audience, and his old stuff, as good as a lot of it is, belongs to a different era, when he was still searching for his identity as an artist (much like with U2's first two LPs). Towards the end of releasing a collection that modern casual listeners can embrace, I think he succeeds. Nearly all of his recognizable radio hits are covered (including "In Your Eyes", finally!), along with strong selections from his newest album and recent side projects. If I were to burn a two disc "intro to PG" set for a friend, my track choices would be nearly the same (aside from the eight or so songs I didn't have in my CD collection). No, it's not a collection that comprehensively covers his whole career, but since this isn't a boxed set, that really isn't the point.For people who are already Peter Gabriel fans, a lot of this collection will probably be redundant, but if you are missing one his more recent albums, like Us or Up, the representative material, along with the previously unreleased or hard-to-find tracks (which I think are all pretty good) may make this collection worth getting for you. I can't comment on the remixed tracks vs. the originals, since I haven't really done a side-by-side comparison, but the shortened versions worked for me, anyway. The track ordering seems to flow well, too (though, admittedly, I listen more often on "shuffle").
I'm glad this package came out. Hopefully, it will renew interest in this vital and interesting artist as well as bring him some new fans, at a time when it seems like he's rediscovering his creativity. And hopefully that will help inspire Peter himself to not delay his next album for too long!
Free Music Review: SHOCK THE MONKEY TO LIFE
Hit: 5 Stars
If you are a Gabriel fan, there is much to celebrate here, including a new tune that's a decent cast off for Gabriel. If you have wandered into Gabriel recently, this set will illuminate for you what a powerful writer he is on his best days, how intenseley and with no quarter asked or given, continues to attach the electrodes to the fragile primate inside us all and flip on the juice.Of course, and particularly with his middle period, it is tough to listen to these songs out of context. There was always something of a psychological milieu into which his songs were set, and so when you listen to this double hits set, you'll find yourself recalling what preceeded or followed songs from 3, SECURITY, SO. Personally, I wish he had included "Mother of Violence" from the otherwise shrill and forgettable 2 and "And So It Begins..." from THE LAST TEMPTATION soundtrack, but these are minor quibbles.
Essentially this compilation gave Gabriel the opportunity to remaster what had always been, except for 2, remarkable recordings when they were initially released, and the new clean remasters are wonderful. What also emerges inadvertently from listening to this set is that there was at least 1 truly great album that could have been culled from OVO and UP. Again, merely speculatively interesting.
Somewhere along the way, there is a live box set worth assembling of Gabriel's perfomances, perhaps a live DVD set, because it has always been the case with him that the records have paled in comparison to their live delivery, and his imagination seems to just expand exponentially when given a stage from which to launch his ideas, beginning with the winged mythology of "Watcher" through the NZ Spherically inclined child growing up. I'm sure it would be a hit.
Free Music Review: High-Quality Peter Gabriel Hits
Hit: 5 Stars
This collection by Peter Gabriel is definitely a collection full of great hits. Some of my personal favorite songs included in this greatest hits cd set are:
Solsbury Hill
Shock the Monkey
Sledgehammer
Games Without Frontiers
Digging in the Dirt
Steam
Lovetown
My overall favorite song is "Sledgehammer" because he cleverly phrases the lyrics in a way to express what he plans to be to his lover in a tasteful and unique manner. "Games Without Frontiers" came in as my second most favorite Peter Gabriel song because he expresses great talent in making a political message in how idealogies between different countries can sometimes cause a challenge in diplomatic relations. I also like how he wisely sings the lyrics in the song "Dressing Up in Costumes, Playing Silly Games". I also believe that the song sends a thoughtful and positive message about looking past the external appearance of someone and instead making a open-minded observation based on what is picked up from their personality and spirit. The greatest hits collection is a high-quality and strong cd set that is a good collection to have if you enjoy 80's music, Phil Collins, Genesis, pop music, and/or rock music.