SHAKING THE TREE: SIXTEEN GOLDEN GREATS

Its a difficult thing to bring out compilation albums which will please everyone, but I think Gabriel comes pretty close with this one. This 16 track collection fairly well represents Gabriel's career post-Genesis. Some tracks are edited, some remixed but in the case of 'Here Comes The Flood' we have a totally new recording. From his first album, this track was never really a favourite of mine particularly, however I just love this new version. In it Gabriel captures a feeling of true melancholy and it would move me to tears if I let it. Something about it touches a nerve. The tracks that you would expect to find are all here. 'Solsbury Hill', 'Sledgehammer', 'Don't Give Up' and 'Games Without Frontiers' will be familiar to most considering the radio airplay that they will have had. Gabriels best album 'So' is (in addition to 'Sledgehammer'&'Don't Give Up') well represented by 'Red Rain', 'Mercy Street' and 'Big Time'. I'm pleased that San Jacinto is included on this album. Its a favourite of mine and deals with issues concerning Native American Indians and modern commercialism. Its a great track live, but the album version is still the real deal. The album is well-balanced and will have tracks for the Gabriel newcomer to discover. Biko is a fantastic closing track and recounts the shocking events that befell Stephen Biko in a prison cell on the 12 September, 1977 in Pretoria, South Africa. Very moving.