A judiciously-selected two-CD compendium of Peter Gabriels finest moments, Hit offers a farmore generous windfall than can be found on the only previous Peter Gabriel best-of selection,the 1990 Shaking the Tree. The devil, after all, is in the detail, particularly on the seconddisc (self-deprecatingly entitled Miss), which really traverses the whole gamut of Peter Gabrielsglobally-visioned artistry. It includes recent soundtrack work (the haunting "Cloudless" fromLong Walk Home: Music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence), material from 2002s sterling Up("Signal To Noise", featuring a compelling vocal from the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and someominous string arrangements, really does sound like a thinking mans Massive Attack) and goesright back to that fourth album when marrying the reticence of cold, synthesised new wave withinsistent African percussion seemed like a good idea (it was). The first disc--including theMTV smash "Sledgehammer", anti-apartheid war cry "Biko", "Big Time" (interesting how thestyles of Gabriel and his former group Genesis seem to converge at this time) and "Games WithoutFrontiers"--really speaks for itself, although with hindsight it seems the single-buyingpublic-at-large had a particular taste for a certain kind of Peter Gabriel record.Universally excellent throughout, the collection is rendered even more desirable by theinclusion of three previously unreleased tracks: a live rendition of "Downside Up", a shorterversion of "Blood of Eden" and "Burn You Up, Burn You Down", latterly included on a video gameand initially earmarked for the Up album but jettisoned at the last minute. --Kevin Maidment

A judiciously-selected two-CD compendium of Peter Gabriel's finest moments, Hit offers a farmore generous windfall than can be found on the only previous Peter Gabriel best-of selection,the 1990 Shaking the Tree. The devil, after all, is in the detail, particularly on the seconddisc (self-deprecatingly entitled Miss), which really traverses the whole gamut of Peter Gabrielsglobally-visioned artistry. It includes recent soundtrack work (the haunting "Cloudless" fromLong Walk Home: Music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence), material from 2002's sterling Up("Signal To Noise", featuring a compelling vocal from the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and someominous string arrangements, really does sound like a thinking man's Massive Attack) and goesright back to that fourth album when marrying the reticence of cold, synthesised new wave withinsistent African percussion seemed like a good idea (it was). The first disc--including theMTV smash "Sledgehammer", anti-apartheid war cry "Biko", "Big Time" (interesting how thestyles of Gabriel and his former group Genesis seem to converge at this time) and "Games WithoutFrontiers"--really speaks for itself, although with hindsight it seems the single-buyingpublic-at-large had a particular taste for a certain kind of Peter Gabriel record.Universally excellent throughout, the collection is rendered even more desirable by theinclusion of three previously unreleased tracks: a live rendition of "Downside Up", a shorterversion of "Blood of Eden" and "Burn You Up, Burn You Down", latterly included on a video gameand initially earmarked for the Up album but jettisoned at the last minute. --Kevin Maidment

For years, if you wanted a comprehensive Chicago hits collection, your choices were slim. 1975's single-disc/eleven-track collection, Greatest Hits (Chicago IX) remained your best bet, but it only included tracks from the group's beginning to the mid-'70s (without question their best years). On the other hand, if it was Chicago's power ballad direction of the '80s you were after, your only choice was 1989's Greatest Hits: 1982-1989. The very first collection to finally combine both eras together turned out to be the long overdue 2002 double disc from Rhino, The Very Best Of: Only the Beginning. So why another double-disc set comprised of the same exact material appeared only a year later, Chicago Story: The Complete Greatest Hits 1967-2002, is quite baffling. Of course, there's no denying the greatness of such selections as "Saturday in the Park," a 'new edit' of "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?," "Beginnings" -- but unfortunately, the aforementioned 'lighter' later direction hasn't aged well at all (especially such fluff as "You're the Inspiration"). If you don't already own Only the Beginning, then the similar Complete Greatest Hits is recommended.