Peter Gabriel - Hit
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Free Music Notes for Hit
Free Music Review: Missing One Key Song!
Hit: 5 Stars
This collection does not have the song, "Shaking The Tree" -- what a shame!!!Free Music Review: Both discs are aptly named...but this is NOT definitive!
Hit: 4 Stars
I'm a huge fan of Peter Gabriel's. I think the man can do no wrong.Except in this case.
I was somewhat disappointed with Hit. The first disc (aptly named "Hit") contains some of his best work, true. But the second disc (also aptly named as "Miss") contains some real clunkers (and omits some real jewels) for a supposedly definitive Greatest Hits package.
I do a lot of driving. So I do a lot of listening to CDs and Books-On-Tape in the car. I kept Hit in the player for nearly two weeks straight when I first bought it...and couldn't seem to bring myself to listen to the second disc more than a couple of times. And I don't know why. The second disc contains some of the greatest music ever recorded. Witness "In Your Eyes" or the slowly building "San Jacinto" or the emotionally revealing "I Love to Be Loved."
Maybe it's the track order of Miss that trips me up. Maybe it's the inclusion of lesser appreciated (by me, anyway) tracks such as "Father, Son" or "Signal to Noise" or "The Drop." Perhaps too much from Up is represented here when I thought Up was one of Peter's least accessible albums of late. (I would have substituted "The Barry Williams Show" for one of the 4-5 songs from Up represented on Hit; it's a much more up-tempo track that played very well in concert.) Perhaps it's what other reviewers have pointed out: nothing from Peter 2 is featured on Hit.
I don't know what my beef is with Hit. All I know is that I can't make myself give it five stars.
But that doesn't mean I can't recommend Hit highly. The songs that ARE here are astounding. Mesmerizing, in fact. They offer a fascinating retrospective on the career of one of the world's most consistently interesting musicians. (Perhaps a truly definitive Greatest Hits package isn't possible with Peter Gabriel unless it's a three- or four-disc boxed set. Even then, "definitive" would likely need to include every single one of Peter Gabriel's albums because each one contains flashes of brilliance.)
I could listen to "Solsbury Hill" all day long. Likewise, anything from So ("Sledgehammer" is classic with a capital "C."). So I totally get into disc one.
It's just that off-beat disc two that I find hard to enjoy.
Although, looking at it from another perspective, I can see that Peter thinks just as highly of his work on Up as he does his more "classic" material from the '70s and '80s. I can respect that.
But, what about Peter 2? Does the exclusion of that album's material indicate Peter's dislike for it? One could draw that conclusion.
All in all, I'd probably recommend Shaking the Tree: 16 Golden Greats as a more hit-packed (and accessible) Greatest Hits collection before I'd recommend Hit.
If you're new to Peter Gabriel, I'd start with Shaking the Tree. If you're already a Peter Gabriel fan, I wouldn't hesitate to add Hit to your collection.
Free Music Review: Always brilliant, equally frustrating.
Hit: 4 Stars
Peter Gabriel deserves his status as rock legend in as much as he pioneered the highly theatrical rock shows and sounds that became de rigueur in the seventies, then bolted to make a solo career that was more musically centered. Having worked exploding headpieces and epic masterworks like "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" from his system, he put forth two extremely eccentric albums on Atlantic (from which - disappointingly - only "Solisbury Hill" has been plucked), then returned with his third album. It is that record that probably first gave him a taste of major success in America ("Games Without Frontiers") and his newly codified social voice (the classic "Biko"). It's also an album where Gabriel forged a percussive sound unique to popular music at the time, by removing all cymbals and metallic percussion instruments from the room. That touch brought an earthier sound to his music, a sound that persists to this day. Shortly afterwards, the commercial success of "Security" and "So," along with hit singles like "Shock The Monkey" and "Big Time" made Gabriel not just a pioneer, but a superstar.
Gabriel is also in a peculiar position among superstars, he has a soul that is frequently troubled. Songs like "Don't Give Up," "I Grieve" and "Blood Of Eden" present an openness that few men can rival in music. Much of this would be sentimental schlock if Gabriel wasn't so perfectly attuned to those emotions; in short, he feels your pain. That's not to say he displays no sense of humor. Though neither song is included here, "The Barry Williams Show" and "Kiss That Frog" are as satirical as "Steam" and "Sledgehammer" are lusty. It is the lack of a few of Gabriel's more lighthearted selections here that makes the disc a little frustrating for me. "D.I.Y." or "Kiss That Frog" would have helped strike a better balance.
Since not everyone on Amazon is infatuated by Peter Gabriel, the main reason to get "Hit" would be to have the most familiar songs and they are adequately represented. (With the exception of the first two CDs.) His unreleased in America "Ovo" is given three key selections, and "Loveland," a terrific song from the movie "Philadelphia" is here as well. I'd highly recommend both this compilation as a reference CD, then to go towards the individual discs based on the songs that capture your attention (personally I'd gravitate towards "PG3" and "Security"). But with almost 30 great songs from one of rock's best writers spread between two discs, it's hard to go wrong here.
Free Music Review: Best of the compilations
Hit: 4 Stars
First of all, 'Hit' is a better overall compilation than 'Sixteen Golden Greats', the former of which came out before the excellent records 'Us' (1992) and 'Up' (2002). Given the comparable pricing, 29 songs is much better than 16, and both disks have a 76-minute running order.The buyer should note that there is a U.K. version of this record which has song choice differences on Disk 2. Although the U.K. version has one more song in total, the casual fan would probably prefer the U.S. version since it has the super-hit "In Your Eyes" - a disappointing exclusion from PG's first compilation. (NOTE: The other U.S.-only cuts are "I Don't Remember" and "Family Snapshot" from PG#3 (1980) and "Love to be Loved" from 'Us' (1992), while the U.K.-only cuts are "No Self Control" from PG#3, "I Have the Touch" from 'Security' (1982), "Different Drum" from 'Passion' (1989), and "Washing of the Water" from 'Us'.
Serious PG completists should want to buy either of the versions of this collection for two reasons: (1) the new song, "Burn You Up, Burn You Down"; (2) the track, "Lovetown", previously only available on the 'Philadelphia' soundtrack (1994); and (3) the recently recorded live version of "Downside, Up" with vocals by PG's daughter.
As a serious PG fan, I consider 'Hit' to be a worthy compilation. Reasonable minds who are hardcore PG fans may take minor issue with song choices - with the inclusion of three songs from 'Ovo' (2000) at the expense of PG's first two records may be the most obvious criticism (to me, "The Tower That Ate People" and "Downside, Up" could have been left off for "Humdrum" and "Mother of Violence"). To me, the remix/dub choices were a little misguided - e.g., there was sufficient time to include the full version of "Growing Up" and "Don't Give Up" on Disk 1, and the single edit of "I Don't Remember" would have made room for another tune on Disk 2. I was also a bit disappointed with the liner notes, which are lacking in both volume and content (e.g., "Steam" is listed as an "Radio Edit" when in fact it is the full version; PG's fourth record is listed a "PG#IV" on one description and as "Security" on another).
Free Music Review: Great Gabriel Set, But Not Definitive
Hit: 4 Stars
Peter Gabriel's new 2-CD retrospective, "Hit," is certainly a great collection, spanning Gabriel's solo career from 1977 to the present. Many classic Gabriel cuts are here: "Solsbury Hill," "Games Without Frontiers," "Shock The Monkey," "Sledgehammer," "Digging In The Dirt," "Growing Up," and many others. There's also one previously unreleased song, the great rocker "Burn You Up Burn You Down" (a leftover track from the "Up" sessions), the awesome "Lovetown" (from the "Philadelphia" movie soundtrack), and three songs from Gabriel's import-only release, "OVO"---"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 lovely track, "Cloudless," from Gabriel's "Rabbit-Proof Fence" movie soundtrack. A very good, more-than-satisfying Gabriel retrospective, to be sure. But NO songs at all from Gabriel's 2nd album (which just so happens to be my favorite Gabriel disc)? This is now the second time that Gabriel has snubbed his second album, as nothing from it was included on his earlier greatest hits CD, "Shaking The Tree." I tell you, folks, if I knew how to contact Peter Gabriel directly, I'd get him on the horn right now and say to him, "Look, Peter, you really need to stop ignoring your second album. It's a wonderful album, man, so be proud of it!" Also, nothing from Gabriel's soundtracks to the films "Birdy" or "The Last Temptation Of Christ" is represented, either, which is another unfortunate oversight.Nevertheless, "Hit" is stuffed full of magnificent Peter Gabriel music, clocking in at about 2 1/2 hours total, which is nothing to sneeze at. Whether you're a casual Gabriel fan or a diehard, this set is definitely worth purchasing. But what we Gabriel fans could *really* use right about now is a BOX SET, and one that features songs from ALL of Peter's albums, including the sorely overlooked second album. Peter certainly deserves a box set, and think of all those B-sides and rarities that would be on it, too...(*sigh*)...Well, until then, "Hit" will do for now.