The extraordinary success of Chess Records was founded upon the groundbreaking guitar-charged tracks laid down by bluesmen Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Lockwood Jr., Sonny Boy Williamson, and Buddy Guy, plus rockers Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, with the piano playing a supporting role in their ensembles. But this comprehensive two-CD offering reminds us of the many 88-key blues classics Chess released as well. Popular piano men Eddie Boyd and Willie Mabon are featured here with studio stalwarts Otis Spann and Lafayette Leake. Boyd leads off with slow stunners "24 Hours" and "Third Degree," which heavily influenced the 1960s British blues scene, and the surprisingly upbeat "Just a Fool". The stylish Mabon, more entertainer than bluesman, is represented by his big jump-blues hits "I Don't Know" and "I'm Mad," followed by four cuts from the masterly Spann and three superb instrumental tracks by the mysterious Leake.

The extraordinary success of Chess Records was founded upon the groundbreaking guitar-charged tracks laid down by bluesmen Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Lockwood Jr., Sonny Boy Williamson, and Buddy Guy, plus rockers Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, with the piano playing a supporting role in their ensembles. But this comprehensive two-CD offering reminds us of the many 88-key blues classics Chess released as well. Popular piano men Eddie Boyd and Willie Mabon are featured here with studio stalwarts Otis Spann and Lafayette Leake. Boyd leads off with slow stunners "24 Hours" and "Third Degree," which heavily influenced the 1960s British blues scene, and the surprisingly upbeat "Just a Fool". The stylish Mabon, more entertainer than bluesman, is represented by his big jump-blues hits "I Don't Know" and "I'm Mad," followed by four cuts from the masterly Spann and three superb instrumental tracks by the mysterious Leake.

The extraordinary success of Chess Records was founded upon the groundbreaking guitar-charged tracks laid down by bluesmen Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Lockwood Jr., Sonny Boy Williamson, and Buddy Guy, plus rockers Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, with the piano playing a supporting role in their ensembles. But this comprehensive two-CD offering reminds us of the many 88-key blues classics Chess released as well. Popular piano men Eddie Boyd and Willie Mabon are featured here with studio stalwarts Otis Spann and Lafayette Leake. Boyd leads off with slow stunners "24 Hours" and "Third Degree," which heavily influenced the 1960s British blues scene, and the surprisingly upbeat "Just a Fool". The stylish Mabon, more entertainer than bluesman, is represented by his big jump-blues hits "I Don't Know" and "I'm Mad," followed by four cuts from the masterly Spann and three superb instrumental tracks by the mysterious Leake.

"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).
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.