SHAKING THE TREE: SIXTEEN GOLDEN GREATS

From the world of progressive rock to the world of pop and the many (secret?) worlds in between, Peter Gabriel is a first-tier superstar. Among his many casual fans, there's a high demand for a good, single-disc Gabriel anthology, an introduction to or overview of his best work. Fortunately, "Shaking The Tree" *is* a good, single-disc Gabriel anthology, a thoughtful, reasonably thorough compilation of his major hits and some key album tracks.

There are, of course, the inevitable omissions of highlight cuts (e.g., "D.I.Y." from his second album, several gems from "Security"). There's even one huge omission: the bewilderingly absent "In Your Eyes." But this "Tree" contains all the other key hits ("Games Without Frontiers," "Solsbury Hill," "Shock The Monkey," "Sledgehammer," "Big Time," etc.), along with an exemplary selection of album tracks that illustrate Gabriel's career progression up to and including his landmark "So" release and his memorable "Passion" record (music for the film "The Last Temptation Of Christ"). Many of his albums are superb, but for most listeners, if you have to get only one single Gabriel disc, "Shaking The Tree" is the one to get.

Like all ten of the deluxe remasters in the recent Peter Gabriel reissue series, "Shaking The Tree" has no bonus tracks or substantial liner note essays. Furthermore, the packaging is not a significant improvement over that of the original CD release. The improved sonics are truly excellent, but they may not be striking enough to make it worthwhile for casual fans to upgrade their old CD copy.