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

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.

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"

• Bob Ezrin – production
• Larry Fast – synthesizer
• Robert Fripp – guitar
• Peter Gabriel – vocals
• Steve Hunter – guitar
• Tony Levin – bass guitar
• Alan Schwartzman – drums

"I Don't Remember" (Edit)

• Larry Fast – processing
• Robert Fripp – guitar
• Peter Gabriel – piano, synthesizer, vocals, and production
• Tony Levin – Chapman Stick
• Jerry Marrotta – drums
• David Rhodes – guitar
• Peter Walsh – production

"Sledgehammer" (Edit)

• P. P. Arnold – backing vocals
• Peter Gabriel – Fairlight CMI, Prophet, piano, vocals, production
• Carol Gordon – backing vocals
• Manu Katche – drums
• Wayne Jackson – trumpet
• Daniel Lanois – production
• Tony Levin – bass guitar
• Dee Lewis – backing vocals
• Dan Mikkelsen – trombone
• David Rhodes – guitar
• Mark Rivera – saxophone

"Family Snapshot"

• Larry Fast – synthesizer
• Phil Collins – snare drum
• Peter Gabriel – piano, vocals
• John Giblin – bass guitar
• Dave Gregory – guitar
• Steve Lillywhite – production
• Jerry Marrotta – drums
• Dick Morrissey – saxophone
• David Rhodes – guitar

"Mercy Street" (Edit)

• Djalma Correa – surdu, congas, and triangle
• Peter Gabriel – Fairlight CMI, Prophet, piano, CS80, vocals, and production
• Larry Klein – bass guitar
• Daniel Lanois – production
• Mark Rivera – processed saxophone

"Shaking the Tree" (1990 remix)

• George Acony – Fairlight CMI percussion and sequencing
• Simon Clark – organ, piano, keyboard bass, and synthesizer
• Habib Faye – bass guitar, guitar
• Peter Gabriel – vocals and re-recorded vocals
• Manu Katche – drums
• Youssou N'Dour – vocals
• David Rhodes – acoustic and electric guitar

"Don't Give Up" (Edit)

• Peter Gabriel – vocals, production
• Daniel Lanois – production

"San Jacinto"

• Peter Gabriel – vocals, production
• David Lord – production

"Here Comes the Flood" (1990 re-recording)

• Peter Gabriel – piano, vocals, and production

"Red Rain"

• Peter Gabriel – vocals, production
• Daniel Lanois – production

"Games Without Frontiers" (Edit)

• Steve Lillywhite – production

"Shock the Monkey" (Radio Edit)

• Peter Gabriel – vocals, production
• David Lord – production

"I Have the Touch" (1983 Remix)

• Peter Gabriel – keyboards, vocals, and production
• David Lord – production
• Simon Phillips – drums
• James Guthrie – remix engineer

"Big Time

• Peter Gabriel – vocals, production
• Daniel Lanois – production

"Zaar" (Edit)

• Peter Gabriel – production

"Biko" (Edit)

• Steve Lillywhite – production

Additional

• Alexander Knaust – styling and photography assistance
• Robert Mapplethorpe – photography
• Mouat Nomad, London – design

Charts

Chart positions

Chart	Peak position
Australian ARIA Album Chart	41
Austrian Albums Chart	26
Dutch Albums Chart	14
German Media Control Albums Chart	12
New Zealand Albums Chart	18
Swedish Albums Chart	10
Swiss Albums Chart	27
UK Albums Chart	11
U.S. Billboard 200	48

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)	Platinum	100,000^
France (SNEP)	Gold	167,800
Germany (BVMI)	Platinum	500,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)	Gold	50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)	Gold	25,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)	2× Platinum	600,000^
United States (RIAA)	2× Platinum	2,000,000^
^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

External links

• Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats at MusicBrainz