Shaking the Tree

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Professional reviews
Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats

Compilation album by Peter Gabriel
Released	November 20, 1990
Recorded	1976-1990
Genre	Rock
Length	77:05
Label	Geffen Records
Producer(s)	Bob Ezrin, Steve Lillywhite, Peter Gabriel, Daniel Lanois
All Music Guide link
Peter Gabriel chronology
Passion (1989)	Shaking the Tree (1990)	Us (1992)

Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats was released in 1990 as Peter Gabriel's first "greatest hits" album, including songs from his first solo album Peter Gabriel (I or Car) (1977), through Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ (1989). It was remastered with most of Gabriel's catalog in 2002.

The tracks are creatively re-ordered, ignoring chronology. Some of the tracks were different from the album versions. Most songs are edited for time, either as radio, single or video edit versions. "Shaking the Tree," a track from Youssou N'Dour's album The Lion (1989), is a 1990 version featuring new vocals from Gabriel. "I Have the Touch" is listed as a 1983 remix, although it sounds enough like the remix from 1985 that many reviewers have declared the remixes to be the same.

One song, "Here Comes the Flood", is a new recording from 1990. This version is a piano and voice arrangement, that is far simpler from the highly produced version on Peter Gabriel (1977). Its sparseness is closer to the version that Gabriel recorded with Robert Fripp on the latter's album Exposure (1979). In interviews, Gabriel has said that he preferred the 1979 version, and it was that version with Fripp that he chose to overdub in German as the flipside to a single released before Ein deutsches album (1980).

Although this album highlights songs from Peter Gabriel's earlier albums, tracks from Peter Gabriel (II, or Scratch) and the soundtrack to the film Birdy are not included. "In Your Eyes" is notably missing from the compilation. Say Anything, in which it was played in a prominent scene, had been released the year before. Although this made "In Your Eyes" perhaps the most well known Peter Gabriel song aside from "Sledgehammer," it failed to crack the top 20 and was thus omitted from the album in favor of five of the other eight tracks from So — four other hits and album track "Mercy Street."

The album cover and the inside sleeve photographs of Gabriel are by Robert Mapplethorpe from about 1986.

1 Track listing
2 Additional personnel on remixes
3 Charts
4 Certifications

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Peter Gabriel, except as indicated.

"Solsbury Hill" (from Peter Gabriel (I), 1977) – 4:20
"I Don't Remember (Edit)" (from Peter Gabriel (III), 1980) – 3:48
"Sledgehammer (Edit)" (from So, 1986) – 4:54
"Family Snapshot (Edit)" (from Peter Gabriel (III), 1980) – 4:25
"Mercy Street (Edit)" (from So, 1986) – 4:43
"Shaking the Tree (1990 remix)" (Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour) – 6:23
"Don't Give Up (Edit)" (from So, 1986) – 5:54
"San Jacinto (Edit)" (from Peter Gabriel (IV), 1983) – 6:40
"Here Comes the Flood (1990 re-recording)" – 4:31
"Red Rain" (from So, 1986) – 5:35
"Games Without Frontiers (Edit)" (from Peter Gabriel (III), 1980) – 3:57
"Shock the Monkey (Radio edit)" (from Peter Gabriel (IV), 1983) – 3:56
"I Have the Touch (1983 remix)" (from Peter Gabriel (IV), 1983) – 3:44
"Big Time" (from So, 1986) – 4:25
"Zaar (Edit)" (from Passion, 1989) – 2:56
"Biko (Edit)" (from Peter Gabriel (III), 1980) – 6:54

[edit] Additional personnel on remixes

Peter Gabriel – new vocals on 6, piano and vocals on 9, additional keyboards and vocals on 13
Simon Phillips – drums on 13

Personnel are otherwise the same as on the original albums.

[edit] Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1990	The Billboard 200	48

[edit] Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
BPI – UK	Gold	November 29, 1990
BPI – UK	Platinum	December 1, 1990
CRIA – Canada	Gold	January 15, 1992
CRIA – Canada	Platinum	January 15, 1991
RIAA – USA	Gold	August 3, 1992
RIAA – USA	Platinum	June 24, 1996
RIAA – USA	Double Platinum	June 24, 1996