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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitive 2 CD collection of all things PG!, 19 Mar 2004
Hit is a long overdue up-date to the previous Gabriel greatest hits package Shaking the Tree. Whereas that collection culled work souly from his four self-titled records of the late seventies and early eighties, culminating with the multi-selling pop classic So, this collection takes in songs from the majority of Gabriel’s output, from 1977’s eponymous debut, right up to 2002’s Up. This encompasses everything in between, from the mid-eighties eclecticism of PG3 and So, right through to 1992’s Us and soundtracks for Birdy, The Last Temptation... and Rabbit Proof Fence.Of course, there will always be problems when putting together a truly definitive greatest hits package for an artist as prolific and idiosyncratic as Gabriel, with many reviewers here complaining about the omission of personal favourites like In Your Eyes, or Going Down La Dolce Vita (or for that matter, some of his more worldly, instrumental work), but I’d hazard a guess that this is as comprehensive as things could get. The collection is broken down into two distinct parts labelled Hit and Miss. Hit has all the more well-know, chart friendly favourites like Solsbury Hill, Sledge Hammer, Don’t Give Up (classic duet with Kate Bush), Games without Frontiers, Big Time and Here Comes the Flood... whilst Miss takes in the more leftfield, or experimental works like No Self Control, I Grieve, DIY, and the Tower that Ate People. It’s nice to see that Gabriel is interested in giving us a strong cross reference of work that will satisfy both casual listeners and die hard fans alike, creating a best of... collection that actually comes close to representing that tag. Gabriel is one of those artists who will always be around creating diverse and interesting music, and as a result of this, he’s worked with some of the very best people in the business. Hit sees the addition of people like the aforementioned Ms Bush, guitarist Robert Fripp, former Genesis cohort Phil Collins, percussionist Ged Lynch, regulars Tony Levin and David Rhoads, as well as producers like Bob Ezrin (Lou Reed, Pink Floyd), Steve Lillywhite (the Pogues, Simple Minds), Stephen Hague (New Order, Pet Shop Boys) and Daniel Lanois (U2). This is a great collection of music from one of pop’s great innovators. Songs like Biko, the Rhythm of the Heart and Downside Up (not forgetting the songs mentioned previously) are some of the most heartfelt and intelligent that any artist could possibly create. I suppose one complaint would be, that die hard Gabriel fans will no doubt have all the albums, soundtracks, collections etc already, so this collection will seem pretty superfluous. However, for those looking for an introduction to Gabriel’s musical world, you’ll find nothing better than this.
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