SHAKING THE TREE: SIXTEEN GOLDEN GREATS

In my early school days, I heard my first of Gabriel was the song 'Biko' from his third eponymous release. At the time I didn't think much of it, but after awhile I came into contact with the progressive genre and learned more about Gabriel and his career. I tend to shy away from his Genesis material, which to me is often riddled with either mediocrity or over-bearing pretentiousness. I didn't own much Gabriel's solo works, except for a copy of So from '86. Much later in time I found a cheap copy of Shaking the Tree, a compilation released fresh in the 90's, on easy CD. Listening to it was a new venture into the shifting psyche of the man behind early Genesis.

Because this is indeed a compilation album, I won't be judging the music but instead the material it holds. The album has a total of 16 full length tracks. Most of the tracks come from various Gabriel albums, spreading from his first to his late 80's material. As seen the album does think much of chronological order but it does mean for a unique journey bouncing through the years. It comes with the obvious picks like 'Solsbury Hill' and 'Sledgehammer', undeniably his most recognized tracks. The overall format is cluttered but in a wonderful way. The only track that doesn't exactly feature on a Gabriel album is the compilation title track, which is from Youssou N'Dour (the second part of the duet with him and Gabriel)'s 1989 The Lion.

The history of compilation albums has been a little rocky when it comes to progressive rock artists, but this is definitely one of the better ones. It's less of a selection of a few albums, it's more of a multifarious experience of Peter Gabriel's music over his career. Simple, innocent, and likable, Shaking the Tree is fantastic for new introductions and old hellos.