Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Peter Gabriel's work doesn't lend itself easily to compilations -- not because he didn't cut singles, since he made many terrific stand-alone singles, but because his body of work is so idiosyncratic, even contradictory, that it's possible to have perfectly valid differing perspectives on his catalog. This results in differing opinions among fans, so it's perfectly logical that Gabriel and his associates would have a unique view of his own work, as captured on Hit. Billed on its slipcase as "The Definitive Two CD Collection," Hit spans 29 tracks culled from his entire solo career, from 1977's Peter Gabriel to 2002's Up, plus the previously unreleased "Burn You Up, Burn You Down." It certainly is a generous compilation, and it does contain the basics: "Solsbury Hill," "Shock the Monkey," "Sledgehammer," "Don't Give Up," "Games Without Frontiers," "Biko," "Red Rain," "Big Time," and "In Your Eyes." But the devil is in the details, and in this particular case, the details push Hit away from the broad-based appeal of So and closer to the dense, subtle territory of Us and Up. This is achieved, of course, through the track selection, which is heavy on recent material (note: none of the edit details are present on the back cover, hence their presence here): from Up, there's "Growing Up [Tom Lord-Alge Mix]," "More Than This [Radio Edit]," "The Drop," "I Grieve," and "Signal to Noise," which amounts to half the entire album; the previously unreleased 2003 live track "Downside Up"; "Cloudless" from the soundtrack to the 2002 Rabbit-Proof Fence and "Lovetown" from the 1994 Philadelphia soundtrack; "The Tower That Ate People [Steve Osborne Mix]" and "Father, Son" from OVO; the 1990 Shaking the Tree remake of "Here Comes the Flood"; from Us, the album track "Love to Be Loved," plus the singles "Digging in the Dirt," "Blood of Eden [Radio Edit]," and "Steam [Radio Edit]."
That's a grand total of 16 tracks dating after the career high watermark of So -- 16 tracks covering two full albums, plus a lot of odds and ends. There's unquestionably good material here -- not just the Us singles, but much of Up was quite excellent, even if it requires several listens to appreciate -- but the heavy emphasis on this post-So work skews too much to the new (nine of the 14 tracks on disc two are of relatively recent vintage), at least if the yardstick is either an evenhanded appreciation of Gabriel's entire solo work or a portrait of his best-known, best-loved work. After all, there are many singles missing -- "I Have the Touch," "I Go Swimming," "Come Talk to Me," "Kiss That Frog," and "Secret World" among them -- plus other worthy uncollected rarities (his deliriously paranoid "Out Out" from the 1984 Gremlins soundtrack needs to finally get a CD issue) and many, many terrific album tracks that would have had given this compilation greater breadth and depth, including "Moribund the Burgermeister," "Mercy Street," "Intruder," "Family Snapshot," and the tremendous pair of "On the Air" and "D.I.Y.," the two best cuts on the underrated Peter Gabriel 2 (which is once again consciously ignored by Gabriel, with this exhaustive collection featuring nothing from the record). If some of these 12 songs had managed to get on Hit, it truly would have been definitive, capturing the entire scope of his solo career. As it stands, it's a very good collection, one that delivers most of what is expected, even as it presents a relatively up-to-date self-portrait of the artist.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From kr133.33/month
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Bob Ezrin, Producer
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
David Lord, Producer - Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Daniel Lanois, Producer - P.P. Arnold, Participant
℗ 2015 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Daniel Lanois, Producer
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Steve Lillywhite, Producer
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Daniel Lanois, Producer - Stewart Copeland, Participant - P.P. Arnold, Participant
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Neil Sparkes, ComposerLyricist - Karl Edmond de Vere Wallinger, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Steve Osborne, Producer, Additional Producer - Richard Chappell, Programmer - Peter Gabriel, Producer, Keyboards, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Pete Davis, Programmer - TOM LORD-ALGE, Remixer, StudioPersonnel - Alex Swift, Programmer - David Rhodes, Guitar, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Manu Katche, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Tchad Blake, Unknown, Other - Ged Lynch, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - AD Chivers, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Daniel Lanois, Producer - Manu Katche, Participant - Peter Hammill, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Dave Bottrill, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Dominic Greensmith, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Richard Chappell, Programmer - Peter Gabriel, Producer, Organ, Sampler, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Tony Levin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - David Rhodes, Guitar, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Ged Lynch, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Melanie Gabriel, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - John Brion, Mandolin, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Steve Lillywhite, Producer
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, Remixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Tony Cousins, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Daniel Lanois, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Manu Katche, Participant - Dave Bottrill, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Daniel Lanois, Producer - Stewart Copeland, Participant
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
David Lord, Producer - Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Tony Cousins, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Tony Cousins, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Lillywhite, Producer
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Peter Gabriel Ltd
David Lord, Producer - Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Julian Mendelsohn, Remixer, StudioPersonnel - Danny Heaps, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Larry Fast, Synthesizer, Moog Bass, AssociatedPerformer - David Lord, Producer - Peter Gabriel, Composer, Producer, Programmer, Vocals, Background Vocalist, Participant, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - John Ellis, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Levin, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - David Rhodes, Guitar, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Jerry Marotta, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2003 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Stephen Hague, Producer
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Robert Fripp, Producer - Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Tony Cousins, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, Mixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Tony Cousins, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Youssou N'Dour, Participant - Shankar, Participant - Dave Bottrill, Mixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2000 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2003 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Peter Gabriel, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Tony Cousins, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Daniel Lanois, Producer - Manu Katche, Participant - Dave Bottrill, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2002 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Album review
Peter Gabriel's work doesn't lend itself easily to compilations -- not because he didn't cut singles, since he made many terrific stand-alone singles, but because his body of work is so idiosyncratic, even contradictory, that it's possible to have perfectly valid differing perspectives on his catalog. This results in differing opinions among fans, so it's perfectly logical that Gabriel and his associates would have a unique view of his own work, as captured on Hit. Billed on its slipcase as "The Definitive Two CD Collection," Hit spans 29 tracks culled from his entire solo career, from 1977's Peter Gabriel to 2002's Up, plus the previously unreleased "Burn You Up, Burn You Down." It certainly is a generous compilation, and it does contain the basics: "Solsbury Hill," "Shock the Monkey," "Sledgehammer," "Don't Give Up," "Games Without Frontiers," "Biko," "Red Rain," "Big Time," and "In Your Eyes." But the devil is in the details, and in this particular case, the details push Hit away from the broad-based appeal of So and closer to the dense, subtle territory of Us and Up. This is achieved, of course, through the track selection, which is heavy on recent material (note: none of the edit details are present on the back cover, hence their presence here): from Up, there's "Growing Up [Tom Lord-Alge Mix]," "More Than This [Radio Edit]," "The Drop," "I Grieve," and "Signal to Noise," which amounts to half the entire album; the previously unreleased 2003 live track "Downside Up"; "Cloudless" from the soundtrack to the 2002 Rabbit-Proof Fence and "Lovetown" from the 1994 Philadelphia soundtrack; "The Tower That Ate People [Steve Osborne Mix]" and "Father, Son" from OVO; the 1990 Shaking the Tree remake of "Here Comes the Flood"; from Us, the album track "Love to Be Loved," plus the singles "Digging in the Dirt," "Blood of Eden [Radio Edit]," and "Steam [Radio Edit]."
That's a grand total of 16 tracks dating after the career high watermark of So -- 16 tracks covering two full albums, plus a lot of odds and ends. There's unquestionably good material here -- not just the Us singles, but much of Up was quite excellent, even if it requires several listens to appreciate -- but the heavy emphasis on this post-So work skews too much to the new (nine of the 14 tracks on disc two are of relatively recent vintage), at least if the yardstick is either an evenhanded appreciation of Gabriel's entire solo work or a portrait of his best-known, best-loved work. After all, there are many singles missing -- "I Have the Touch," "I Go Swimming," "Come Talk to Me," "Kiss That Frog," and "Secret World" among them -- plus other worthy uncollected rarities (his deliriously paranoid "Out Out" from the 1984 Gremlins soundtrack needs to finally get a CD issue) and many, many terrific album tracks that would have had given this compilation greater breadth and depth, including "Moribund the Burgermeister," "Mercy Street," "Intruder," "Family Snapshot," and the tremendous pair of "On the Air" and "D.I.Y.," the two best cuts on the underrated Peter Gabriel 2 (which is once again consciously ignored by Gabriel, with this exhaustive collection featuring nothing from the record). If some of these 12 songs had managed to get on Hit, it truly would have been definitive, capturing the entire scope of his solo career. As it stands, it's a very good collection, one that delivers most of what is expected, even as it presents a relatively up-to-date self-portrait of the artist.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 30 track(s)
- Total length: 02:30:00
- Main artists: Peter Gabriel
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Real World Productions Ltd.
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 2003 Peter Gabriel Ltd This Compilation ℗ 2003 Peter Gabriel Ltd
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.