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 I think that this album is a decent represention of Peter's creative work. It gives you a diverse masterpieces from his previous albums. He is a genious indeed...
Gabriel was the driving force of Genesis, whose music has been the template for many groups nowadays not least Radiohead. His music has always been on the cutting edge. This c.d. goes from the quite raw beginnings of tracks like the acoustic driven "Solsbury Hill" with it's marvellous 'boom, boom,boom' end of chorus, and it goes right up to the lavish production of the Daniel Lanois produced 'So' album. The difference in quality is still quite startling despite all the re-mastering. Gabriel has of course become synonymous with 'World Music' nowadays what with his 'Real World' label giving new artists some great exposure. On this album he has two tracks with a distinctly African feel-his duet with the wonderful Youssou N'Dour on "Shaking The Tree" and of course "Biko". The latter track may not have any musical sounds from Africa but the sentiment of those lyrics brings back quite vividly the brutal regime of apartheid in South Africa. There is a slight Latino feel to early tracks like San Jacinto too. 'So' is represented by 5 tracks here. "Sledgehammer" may have been one of M.T.V.'s earliest major hits but it's still a fine song without all the visuals of that amazing video. "Red Rain" is a beautiful track full of despair and lavish synth effects and is one of my favourite Gabriel songs. Then there's the marvellous duet with Kate Bush on "Don't Give Up" which reaches an amazing climax when the two voices practically merge on that almost gospel sounding bridge. "Big Time" is a funky sounding track which is full of fun and has an exciting bass line. In some ways I wish they'd taken "Shock The Monkey" and "Solsbury Hill" from the 'Gabriel Plays Live' album as to me they sound far more powerful and prove what a stunning live performer Gabriel is.
I noticed that in some of the songs from 1980, the GREAT and POWERFUL Phil Collins adds his two-cents in. His two-cents adds up to a million when mixed with Phil's. I listened again to the entire album of songs, and I came to the conclusion that Peter Gabriel's sounds are much like Phil Collins. (Wonder why?!) lol Sledgehammer is one of my personal favorite dance-toons of the 1980's, and I had it up so loud in my truck that I blew ALL of the speakers. Just a good excuse to install new & better ones, right?! It was fun to get re-aquainted with Peter Gabriel's stuff... even "Shock The Monkey" as well as some familiar lyrics: "Big Time". Enjoy - again and again!
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I find the tracks that are included here are wonderful representations of Gabriels' long and varied career. Although the selections shy away from some of his more eclectic pieces, every song is memorable, and his delicate singing and instrumentation on many of them are dazzling. I can sit and listen to this album for hours, especially as many of the songs have a mystical bent to their lyrics.
