Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats

Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats
Greatest hits album by Peter Gabriel
Released 20 November 1990
Recorded 1976-1990
Genre Progressive rock
Length 77:05
Label Geffen/Virgin
Producer Bob Ezrin, Steve Lillywhite, Peter Gabriel, Daniel Lanois
Peter Gabriel chronology
Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ
(1989)
Shaking the Tree
(1990)
Us
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

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.

Contents

Track selection

The tracks are creatively re-ordered, ignoring chronology. Some of the tracks were different from the album versions. New parts were recorded for several tracks in Gabriel's Real World Studios. Most songs are edited for time, either as radio, single, or video edit versions. "Shaking the Tree"—a track from Youssou N'Dour's 1989 album The Lion—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.

"Here Comes the Flood" is a new recording from 1990. This version is a piano and voice arrangement, that is far simpler than 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 favour of five of the other eight tracks from So—four other hits and album track "Mercy Street".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Peter Gabriel, except "Shaking the Tree" co-written by Youssou N'Dour. 

No. Title Originally from Length
1. "Solsbury Hill"   Peter Gabriel (I), 1977 4:20
2. "I Don't Remember" (Edit) Peter Gabriel (III), 1980 3:48
3. "Sledgehammer" (Edit) So, 1986 4:54
4. "Family Snapshot"   Peter Gabriel (III), 1980 4:25
5. "Mercy Street" (Edit) So, 1986 4:43
6. "Shaking the Tree" (Duet with Youssou N'Dour; 1990 remix) The Lion, 1989 6:23
7. "Don't Give Up" (Edit) So, 1986 5:55
8. "San Jacinto"   Peter Gabriel (IV), 1982 6:40
9. "Here Comes the Flood" (1990 re-recording) n/a 4:31
10. "Red Rain"   So, 1986 5:35
11. "Games Without Frontiers" (Edit) Peter Gabriel (III), 1980 3:57
12. "Shock the Monkey" (Radio Edit) Peter Gabriel (IV), 1982 3:56
13. "I Have the Touch" (1983 Remix) Peter Gabriel (IV), 1982 3:56
14. "Big Time"   So, 1986 4:26
15. "Zaar" (Edit) Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ, 1989 2:58
16. "Biko" (Edit) Peter Gabriel (III), 1980 7:00
Total length:
77:05
"San Jacinto", "Red Rain", "I Have the Touch" (1983 remix), "Zaar" (Edit) are not present on the vinyl release.

Personnel

"Solsbury Hill"
"I Don't Remember" (Edit)
"Sledgehammer" (Edit)
"Family Snapshot"
"Mercy Street" (Edit)
"Shaking the Tree" (1990 remix)
"Don't Give Up" (Edit)
"San Jacinto"
"Here Comes the Flood" (1990 re-recording)
"Red Rain"
"Games Without Frontiers" (Edit)
"Shock the Monkey" (Radio Edit)
"I Have the Touch" (1983 Remix)
"Big Time
"Zaar" (Edit)
"Biko" (Edit)
Additional

Charts

Chart positions

Chart Peak
position
Australian ARIA Album Chart[2] 41
Austrian Albums Chart[3] 26
Dutch Albums Chart[4] 14
German Media Control Albums Chart[5] 12
New Zealand Albums Chart[6] 18
Swedish Albums Chart[7] 10
Swiss Albums Chart[8] 27
UK Albums Chart[9] 11
U.S. Billboard 200 [10] 48

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[11] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[12] Gold 167,800[13]
Germany (BVMI)[14] Platinum 500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[15] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[16] Gold 25,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] 2× Platinum 600,000^
United States (RIAA)[18] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ "australian-charts.com Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree" (ASP). Australian Recording Industry Association. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Peter+Gabriel&titel=Shaking+The+Tree+-+Sixteen+Golden+Greats&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
  3. ^ "austriancharts.at Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree" (in German) (ASP). Hung Medien. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Peter+Gabriel&titel=Shaking+The+Tree+-+Sixteen+Golden+Greats&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
  4. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Peter+Gabriel&titel=Shaking+The+Tree+-+Sixteen+Golden+Greats&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
  5. ^ "Album Search: Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree" (in German). Media Control. http://www.charts.de/album.asp?artist=Peter+Gabriel&title=Shaking+The+Tree+-+Sixteen+Golden+Greats&cat=a&country=de. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
  6. ^ "charts.org.nz Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Peter+Gabriel&titel=Greatest+Hits&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
  7. ^ "swedishcharts.com Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree" (in Swedish) (ASP). http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Peter+Gabriel&titel=Shaking+The+Tree+-+Sixteen+Golden+Greats&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
  8. ^ "Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree - hitparade.ch" (in German) (ASP). Hung Medien. Swiss Music Charts. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Peter+Gabriel&titel=Shaking+The+Tree+-+Sixteen+Golden+Greats&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
  9. ^ "Chart Stats - Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=43738. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
  10. ^ "allmusic ((( Shaking the Tree > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r78246/charts-awards. Retrieved 2011-10-31. 
  11. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Peter Gabriel – 16 Golden Greats". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=16+Golden+Greats&sa=Peter+Gabriel&smt=0. 
  12. ^ "French album certifications – Peter Gabriel – Shaking the Tree" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/pag-259165-CERTIFICATIONS.html&type=8. 
  13. ^ "Les Albums Or" (in French). infodisc.fr. SNEP. http://www.infodisc.fr/CDCertif_O.php?debut=1200. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
  14. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Peter Gabriel; 'Shaking the Tree')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Shaking+the+Tree&strInterpret=Peter+Gabriel&strTtArt=alben&strAwards=checked. 
  15. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Peter Gabriel – Shaking the Tree" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. http://www.ifpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=60463. 
  16. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Peter Gabriel; 'Snaking the Tree')". Hung Medien. http://www.swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=Peter+Gabriel+Snaking+the+Tree. 
  17. ^ "British album certifications – Peter Gabriel – Shaking the Tree". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Shaking the Tree in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  18. ^ "American album certifications – Peter Gabriel – Shaking the Tree". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Shaking+the+Tree%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links