Peter Gabriel - Hit

A judiciously-selected two-CD compendium of Peter Gabriel's finest moments, Hit offers a far more generous windfall than can be found on the only previous Peter Gabriel best-of selection, the 1990 Shaking the Tree. The devil, after all, is in the detail, particularly on the second disc (self-deprecatingly entitled Miss), which really traverses the whole gamut of Peter Gabriel's globally-visioned artistry. It includes recent soundtrack work (the haunting "Cloudless" from Long Walk Home: Music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence), material from 2002's sterling Up ("Signal To Noise", featuring a compelling vocal from the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and some ominous string arrangements, really does sound like a thinking man's Massive Attack) and goes right back to that fourth album when marrying the reticence of cold, synthesised new wave with insistent African percussion seemed like a good idea (it was). The first disc--including the MTV smash "Sledgehammer", anti-apartheid war cry "Biko", "Big Time" (interesting how the styles of Gabriel and his former group Genesis seem to converge at this time) and "Games Without Frontiers"--really speaks for itself, although with hindsight it seems the single-buying public-at-large had a particular taste for a certain kind of Peter Gabriel record. Universally excellent throughout, the collection is rendered even more desirable by the inclusion of three previously unreleased tracks: a live rendition of "Downside Up", a shorter version of "Blood of Eden" and "Burn You Up, Burn You Down", latterly included on a video game and initially earmarked for the Up album but jettisoned at the last minute. --Kevin Maidment Amazon.com

GREAT CD

This is an awsome cd , the first disc has his greatest hit's and disc 2 has less popular songs that were not hit's , great packaging. A++++++++++ May 25, 2008

Better than 'Shaking The Tree' by a long shot!

Almost everything on Peter Gabriel's previous collection 'Shaking The Tree' and more is now available on the two CD set 'Hit.' This compilation holds a special place in my CD collection.

All of the fan favorites are here. 'Sledgehammer,' 'Shock The Monkey,' 'Big Time,' 'In Your Eyes' and one of my personal favorites, 'The Tower That Ate People' all appear on this two CD collection, released on Geffen, Gabriel's longtime home in 2003.

It's great to hear all of these songs digitally remastered. The sound quality is superb!

But, there are several flaws here. 'Shock The Monkey' is the radio edit version and not the original 'Security' album version. They chopped it down from 5:32 to 3:54 because of CD space. And there are several other radio edits here too. And, as a previous reviewer pointed out, there is nothing from his second album, which doesn't really bother me that much, but it is a tad disappointing.

But despite those flaws, this is an excellent PG compilation. Highly recommneded for any Gabriel fan. A great set. ENJOY!!! May 9, 2008

Haven't listened but bought for my brother who loves it

I purchased this for my brother who has heard it and loved it and put it at the top of his Christmas list. I do love almsot all of Peter Gabriel's songs. December 21, 2007

One of the best, ever

Peter Gabriel is such a quality musician and this is a great "testament" of his achievements over the years December 11, 2007

Great collection

Its got just about every hit song you could want wrapped in a nice 2-disc package. My only gripe and reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that these are the short cuts of each song. Shock the Monkey in particular is the quick radio edit version. I think that one should have been the 7" release if not the 12". Aside from that minor detail, these are excellent sounding reproductions and an ideal pick for the compilation-collecting crowd. November 7, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...