So

I'm just gonna say Tony F. Levin.

"Guarantee you anyone born after 1982 is not putting this in their 1001 albums to listen to list" It is the 3rd top-rated comment of 'So' on this site. Well, I can guarantee that I was born well after 1982 and I not only put this album on my 1001 albums list but I also give it a 5. The reason is that I appreciate great music. 'So' is one of the best albums of the 1980s for sure - this album is a great example that pop music can be very good if everything is of high quality: songwriting, lyrics, production, guests musicians etc. Even the video for Sledgehammer is iconic, innovative and the best of the decade. Perhaps it helps that I've seen Gabriel live at a concert and when he played these songs from 'So', the quality was the same as on the album. Mindblowing experience. If there is any pop album that deserves to get high rating, it is this album.

The music on So is world-building, creating a large, almost tangible experience. Take the epic opening track, "Red Rain", to see how large, energetic, yet melancholic the listening experience can be. The tracks invite you in to their own world, yet Peter's voice sounds natural, not constructed, as if he is next to you as he sings. The selection of backing vocals and guest musicials add to both the largeness of the overall experience, and the intimacy of the lyrics. There are clever lyrics with a lot of imagery. I tend to like the the moodier songs on this album. Perhaps it's because I've heard some of the upbeat tracks more often. I've heard all of Peter Gabriel's albums up to this album, and several albums after So. I've listened to this album several times. I've listened to the individual tracks even more often - EVERY. SINGLE. TRACK. How could I not give this 5 stars. There's nothing to skip.

Guarantee you anyone born after 1982 is not putting this in their 1001 albums to listen to list

this album answers the question: what if phil collins was good?

I have this album on cassette & have had it since 1990. It's quintessential 80s Peter Gabriel & it's perfect. Don't Give Up ft. Kate Bush, Red Rain, Sledgehammer, Big Time, and In Your Eyes - Jesus, this is a juggernaut. Something about his voice, cadence, and emotion draws me in. I've been revisiting Peter Gabriel in both his Genesis & solo years lately, and I wish I would've taken a deeper dive sooner. He's touring this year, so I'm taking this as a sign to see him live. I'll regret it if I don't. 5 out of 5.

So… I knew who Peter Gabriel was by name and notably through having heard the songs “Sledgehammer” and “In Your Eyes” but let me share my ignorance with you. While listening to this album I kept thinking “Wow, this album is phenomenal! This sounds like Phil Collins or Genesis”. Then I read the attached Wikipedia article and immediately felt simultaneously smart and stupid. 5/5 for being educated by an amazing album.

This will never have a revival. Please let these 1980’s production techniques stay buried in the attic. Those who actually enjoyed this at the time are allowed to listen to it with headphones only. The rest of us don’t want to be a part of this. Okay, leave the video for sledgehammer for posterity.

Here is one of the albums that defined my first few years of college. Between being one of my close friend’s favorite artist and the duet with Kate Bush it was impossible for me not to listen. Five of the songs on this album (Red Rain, Sledgehammer, Don’t Give Up, Big Time and In Your Eyes) have remained well-known to me since their release. Listening today felt more surprising than I expected. The big songs sound bigger, and the quieter songs speak to me now even more deeply. I’m perplexed how I’d forgotten almost entirely four of the songs when they are so good. This was my introduction to Laurie Anderson and the start of another musical crush. I must remember to go back to those albums now too… It’s great to spend quality time with So again.

In 1992, I went away to college. My Dad was really, really strict, and it was very stressful living at home for the last few years. I can remember laying in my bed in my dorm room, with the wind blowing through the open window, and finally feeling relaxed. Relieved. Free. I can remember doing that same thing many times that first semester. Opening the window, climbing up on the top bunk bed, and just being free. Much of the time, I'd throw an album on at high volume while I zoned out. My roommate happened to own this CD. One day, I decided it was a good time for my ritual, and I put it on. I was familiar with Peter Gabriel but had never listened to this album. It was so overpowering and emotional. The sounds created here were so vivid, it's like I could visualize brushstrokes across my vision of the world through my dorm window. I feel like I lived a whole life in my mind while listening to this album. Everything I had been through, what I wanted out of my life, who the important people were for me, where I wanted to go, what I wanted my college experience to be like, who was I outside of my parents' house on on my own, and so on. I was feeling emotions I had never really acknowledged or experienced before. And as I listened to this album today, I was there again. Re-living that time of my life. But now, I listened while knowing what kind of life I've lived and the choices I've made. I realized "Don't Give Up" is a parents' message to their child. And really everything came full circle. I listened and thought of my kids' lives, and what they will do as they grow. And found myself in that zone again. Really truly feeling happiness. It's a beautiful and entertaining album, and one of the few that exist that really take me to another place. So (pun not intended) happy that it popped up today!

Hello, old friend. It's been too long. You still sound good.

This is a Very Special Album, having been a prized tape in my cassette collection from when it came out. The whole thing is so good from start to finish, and I was happy to really notice lyrics and instrumentation that I hadn't really thought about back then. The variety of styles and instruments and voices (Youssou N'Dour was there this whole time?!) are amazing. It opens pretty epically with "Red Rain" before going to the spectacular "Sledgehammer," the song and video of which blew my mind. "Don't Give Up" is a beautiful song that's much more meaningful to me now. Bombastic "Big Time" was another favorite that I'd hadn't heard in too long. "This Is the Picture" is a very cool work featuring Laurie Anderson that I was happy to rediscover. I loved getting to listen to this today so much!

A great album, with no fat whatsoever. With So, Peter Gabriel delivered the perfect blend of his prog rock beginnings in Genesis and the heady alt-pop/new wave sounds that took the 80s by storm. The lyrics have soulful depth in places, and cheeky subversiveness in others. The music is complex and surprising, even today, with world music influences galore. Even the grossly overplayed In Your Eyes can still strike the heart, though Don’t Give Up has always been the chilling winner in my book. The videos for the monster hits Sledgehammer and Big Time were all the rage back in MTV days, but the songs still pack a punch even without the clever visuals. No hesitation for me - 5 stars.

5 lovely, nostalgic stars.

Really good stuff. I've never heard of this guy before, his vocals sounded a bit like Phil Collins to me lol (and I don't particularly like him or his music) but this was v good Saved tracks: Sledgehammer, Don't Give Up, Mercy Street, Big Time, This Is The Picture (Excellent Birds)

Album 48 of 1001 Peter Gabriel - So Favorite Track : Big Time Rating : 4 / 5 There is nothing to dislike about this. Well written, well produced, well performed. A couple of the tunes are somewhat similar (similarities of Sledgehammer & Big Time stood out) but, at the same time, he brings unique sounds with guests such as Kate Bush, who he duets with on "Don't Give Up" and Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour on "In Your Eyes".

Solid but not really my thing, didn’t listen to all the live versions of the songs because fuck that 6/10

I was excited for this album, so I'll say I'm a tad disappointed by what I got. After the Genesis album I figured I had been sleeping on Peter Gabriel this whole time, but hearing this I feel like no one was above the risk of falling into the production trends of the time, and it leads to an experience that feels just as cheesy as any other adult oriented pop record from the time. Sledgehammer is obviously fantastic, but it is only so great because my mind has had the time to accept the production and see past it, but the rest of this I was completely blind to, and in turn just found it boring. The album does pick up quite a bit at the end however, with the second to last track being something that I could see jamming out to with some time, but I truly think had the rest of this album sounded like the final track, we could've had Gabriel's very own Low. Otherwise, Sledgehammer is doing a lot of the heavy lifting for this rating, I must admit.

I miss some kind of humor. It’s all so serious and I don’t feel any fun. I like Peter’s Voice. Mainly in the contrast to Kate Bush. A great duet. Nice deconstructed sound. Far from everyday Pop Music. I don’t like the slap-guitar. He’s no poet. “Big Time” is the worst song. I doesn’t catch me at all. Over-ambitious, swinging with meaning where there is none. Boring.

C Red Rain 3 Sledgehammer 2 Don't Give Up 2 That Voice Again 2 Mercy Street 2 Big Time 3 We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37) 3 This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds) 3 In Your Eyes 3 This was so meh. I expected much more from a supposed 80s classic.

Flying songs, Excellent songs Here they come. Despite inventing the sound of the decade when him and Phil Collins accidently created gated reverb, it took a John Hughes movie and a claymation dancing chicken to become a worldwide star. This is in the grand tradition of weird 70s artistes going pop on their own terms in the 80s. For all of the shimmering synths and glistening production tricks, this album doesn't really sound 'mainstream'. Gabriel's voice soars over gospel choirs, 'World' rhythms, and drumstick hit bass guitar. He delivers cutting social commentary on the yuppy mindset (the greatest WrestleMania theme), a minimalist song about birds featuring a conceptual artist, and love songs played endearingly straight. No-one else could have pulled it off. A classic.

Very 80's but this is so so good. I count 6 great tracks out of 9 on the album. Weird to think Peter Gabriel was a 70's prog-rock concept album and then became an 80's pop diva. I can't divorce the music from the videos though - groundbreaking and addictive. But then the 80s was the beginning of the MTV phenomenom and in my head they are one. One of the best and most representative musicians from the decade or any time to be honest.

One of the best albums of the 80’s and one of the albums responsible for making me a lover of popular music. Gabriel’s songwriting is top-notch and the playing by collaborators like Tony Levin and David Rhodes are sublime. It is the one album I would recommend by Gabriel the artist and one of two or three must-haves of the decade

This album is a little dorky at times, but so am I. Something about tors album speaks to me and it’s an album I can see myself growing with. And “In Your Eyes“ is a no surprise standout.

another great album, loved having a little boogie to a few of these songs- sledgehammers always good. for obvious reasons very genesis, phil collins esque

Beautifully produced, lush sounds, Peter Gabriel's great voice. "Sledgehammer" is the beast of this album, and I still don't know what it's about, but it's a great song. "In Your Eyes" is a classic, along with "Big Time" and "Red Rain". "This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)" seems the odd one out. I love how these songs aren't afraid to breathe, the majority of them 4, 5 or even 6 minutes long. Doesn't quite warrant a 5⭐ for me, but it's at the top of the 4⭐ list.

how is Peter Gabriel not on the Time/Life Ultimate Love Songs Collection, a two CD set yours for only 26.99 but if you pay by credit card you'll save ten dollars

By far the best Peter Gabriel album. This album was so Big Time for me when it came out! The rich musical tapestries, the creative music videos, they all added to make quite a big impact on the person I turned out to be. Or as much as music can. That cassette I bought back then is long gone, though. They'd never last, commercial cassette releases. P.S. As much as I love Kate Bush, I always found Don't Give Up this album's weakest link. And although it was Sledgehammer that first attracted me to this album, these day I gravitate towards tracks like We Do What We're Told much more.

This album is pretty damn good. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I’m glad I listened to this record. Despite being a pop album, this album accomplishes a lot. The art pop and Brazilian music influences are very present on the album and I love it. The song also has a lot of jazz and funk influences, certainly a welcome surprise. The song Sledgehammer is a good example of everything the album stands for sonically. The Brazilian influences are present in a lot of parts of the song. The jazzy and funky verses and choruses go so incredibly hard. Lyrically it’s not the most deep song, but Peter Gabriel’s vocals are so good in this album. While the art pop aspects of this album are more present in the second half of the album, Sledgehammer still shows what the album is all about and is definitely the highlight, among the rest of this phenomenal album. Truly amazing, I’d give it a solid 9/10, it really is good.

I'm slowly coming around to this sound - which I think of as the "Phil Collins" sound, though it might be more accurately characterized as the other way around. It's always sounded like muzak to me, like something my mom might have put on while she was cleaning... but it's starting to sound more like an old friend now. I gave it a few listens - favorites are probably "Sledgehammer" "This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)" and "In Your Eyes."

This is a good benchmark album for me to see how far I’ve come after 600 albums because it was one my dad owned on cd and I listened to in high school. Back then I exclusively listened to sledgehammer and when I tried to listen to the whole thing I thought it was boring filler. Now, I really appreciate the album from start to finish. Sledgehammer and it’s music video still can’t be beat but big time, the Kaye bush duet, and in your eyes are all pretty solid. This is also probably the most quintessentially 80s album I’ve gotten outside of shit like Michael Jackson. The synths and other production is just so 80s in a way that’s almost indescribable.

Red Rain - love the drums and synths. good background song for driving or studying. Bit too repetitive for me. Sledgehammer - A classicccc. Don't we all want a good sledgehammering sometimes. Also the music video is trippy af. Don't Give Up - low key moody song, love the girls voice but it's too slow for me. Cool baseline at the end. That Voice Again - cool hihats and drumming on this one. Like how it builds up to the chorus. Mercy Street - very atmospheric, I liked the flutes and jungle/island sound. Big Time - very 80s Duran Duran. It's ok We Do What We Are Told - OK weird interlude This Is The Picture - excellent snow, birds flying, pictures of people...right In Your Eyes - omg he sings this song!? So good, it's like Africa by Toto 2.0 Giving it a 3 even though I did find another song I added to my favourites because the slower songs were way to repetitive and really testing me not to skip them lol

I love the vibes here, but the songs are too long and too repetitive for me, making it a bit boring

Felt loooooong

sledgehammer in MY eyes? it's more likely than you'd think

5 sterne

Excellent album.

I had forgotten how good this record was.

Beautiful.

Notably more satisfying and substantive than any other blockbuster ever, with as strong an opening block of cuts as any record. Even the huge hits with annoying tendencies ("Sledgehammer" and "Big Time") are appealing when one sticks with them. Indeed, seems like it's PG just thinking, "what if we tried it like this..." Every stupid pop song should be as smartly designed and executed as "Sledgehammer" (and followed by as thoughtful a cut as "Don't Give Up") or "Big Time" (which has a perfect ending for a pop song). The contemplative songs ("Red Rain," "Don't Give Up" and "Mercy Street" and "That Voice Again") are elevating and optimistic in addition to being gorgeous -- they feel out ot place to a certain extent on such a big-selling album and are more akin to his (also excellent) previous records. And it's hard to a name a more honest, affecting and pleasing pop love song than "In Your Eyes." Obviously, this is a commercially minded effort that works equally well (which is to exceedingly well) on the aesthetic front, too. It's very close to the Platonic ideal of AKNF* but some might say the second- and third-last songs, thuough quite interesting, are a tick down on the impact scale from the other cuts. (*All killer no filler)

What a lovely album to begin the project. Masterful music compositions through and through. I've actually been getting into Peter Gabriel recently. I re-listened to this album only a few days ago, and actually was listening to Peter Gabriel only half an hour ago.

In 2022, I was given some tickets to a Peter Gabriel concert. I went in thinking I knew a couple of songs and it would be a night out. I left getting Peter Gabriel. What a concert, even at his age. Clearly So is his biggest album, it was everywhere after it was released thanks to MTV and Say Anything but listening to this album between the hits reveals a mastery for songwriting that excels. 5/5

There was time during the 80's when a lot of artists released very corporate sounding records that all had a very specific aesthetic, very different from the synthpop/new romantic look from earlier in the decade, a lot of them even had a similiar looking black and white portrait picture of the artist on the cover. Sting, Bryan Adams, Robert Palmer are just some examples. Peter Gabriel also did one of those albums, but his release blows all and any competition out of the water. While it does sound corporate, Peter infuses some left field ideas across many genres into the songs, like Otis Redding-style funk on "Sledgehammer", ambient soundscapes on "Mercy Street", or the african tinged rhythms on "In Your Eyes", you know, that song from that movie. A pop masterpiece for the ages. Key tracks: Red Rain Sledgehammer Don't Give Up Big Time In Your Eyes

There’s like, at least three songs on this thing that are transformative and make me feel like I’m seeing God. It’s the best.

After four eponymous records that saw him continually push the boundaries of what was possible in the artier aspects of rock, Peter Gabriel took a big leap and was rewarded with his most popular album. Providing the soundtrack to some of the most indelible moments of the 80s may not have been his intention but that's what happens when common innovations and far out inspirations conspire in the makings of a soon-to-be classic of the decade. Whether one sees it as a dated and craven cash-grab or yet another knock out of the ballpark, So marks the moment where Peter Gabriel had us finally see what was up.

Love Peter Gabriel so much. Especially his first 4 albums. But I also really love this one. But his first 4 are some my favourite albums of all time. Again, this one is great too. Just don't listen it to as much as the first 4.

I bought new speakers this year. Nearly every list of speaker test tracks included song off of this record. So I made sure to listen on my big system. However, I had things to get done so part way through I moved to the car. Then to AirPods. Really interesting to listen to the sonic deterioration as it progressed. This is such a well recorded album (on top of having good songs). There is space in the tracks. There is a great soundstage. You can get distracted just listening to how it’s recorded and presented. But this is about music and that is there as well. A great run of songs. He was an artist I grew up thinking was just boring adult contemporary. Turns out I just wasn’t ready to hear it at that time. Glad I’ve come around.

How dare she criticize Peter Gabriel, with her little screw me hair cut and all so 'neh neh neh' - doesn't she know he single handedly created WOMAD?! This is peak of 80s production - he just gloriously embraces synth, compression, rubbery bass, cheesy keyboard patches, and gated drums from top to bottom, and pairs it with a full on afro funk rhythm section, backup singers, great songs with a range of emotional tones and his own searching oddly alienated earnest vocals.

Not only could this essentially be a greatest hits album featuring some of the biggest and best pop songs of it's time (6 out of the 9 tracks ended up as singles, 4 of which peaked in the top 5), but it's also one of the best pop albums of all time! This came out a year before I was born and most of the songs on this album were still all over the airwaves through the 80s and into the 90s. If I could, I'd give 6/5 stars

I own this album on vinyl and it's one of my favorites. Such an amazing experience, in terms of the music, production and just the overall soundscape of the thing. Easily 5 stars!

Would I listen again: Yes! Most fav track: in your eyes come one bro Least fav track: that voice again Surprise awesome track: Mercy Street Weirdest track: we do what we’re told Lyrics: unbelievable. No skips?: no. I’d skip the yhe excellent birds song but it’s not bad. Cover art cool?: no Notes: very excited for this. I love Peter Gabriel but don’t know any deep cuts. Red rain beautiful sounding song. Goddamn it Peter Gabriel is so great. Such c a great voice. Sledgehammer is such a bop. That bass is awesome. Don’t give up has a cool vibe. Mercy street was beautiful. Big time funky af. Beautiful album. In your eyes is such a work of art of a song.

The soundtrack to my O Levels! The perfect album! Has to be a 5 for me.

While I prefer Gabriel's Genesis era, he really shows what a good musician he is. This poppy and funky but you also have some great prog leftovers in the mix. In this respect, he did a good and better genre transition than his old band. 'Don't give up' is a wonderful ballad.

Other reviews says it’s what a quality Phil Collins album might sound like. But a quality Phil Collins album is “in the air tonight” sorts of things repeating 12 times (just joking). This one is different every time. Genesis is a great band: but there’s no way of making fun of other members using other’s solo work to compare to thems. Peter and Phil are both great. 5/5

I was never a huge Peter Gabriel guy, but wow. This is a strong album. Don't Give Up would have been enough to give this a favorable rating, but there's a lot to love here. The production on just about every track is fantastic.

My first reaction was like … It has sledgehammer and in your eyes, this is by default 5/5. Then I listened to the rest and … spoiler alert - it’s solid 5. the Songs filled with compassion and kindness. Music wise it’s really complicated but sounds really tasteful. Some songs of course are not that memorable and hit material, but even greatest album ever does have skippers. Overall I feel like this album can heal, can entertain and it has sledgehammer

Pop Peter at his finest. Bookended by absolute bangers. Don’t Give Up is a bit of a drag, but That Voice Again saves the middle of the album from mediocrity. It’s a stunning listen when you have a chance to listen closely with decent headphones.

This is an all time classic but in common with most PG albums for my own tastes there are really exceptional tracks which rank in my all time favourites but also tracks which I can take and mostly leave. This album is perhaps the best example of that. Red Rain, Don’t Give Up, In your eyes and Mercy Street are off the scale and beyond outstanding tracks which I could listen to on repeat all day. But then there’s Sledgehammer and Big Time. These are two of the biggest hits off this album but leave me absolutely cold. Despite the existence of these lesser tracks there is still more than enough to make this album a notable must have classic made by one of the most talented songwriters and performers of the last 50 years. Maybe he intended his albums to appeal to all tastes so that there is something in them for everyone which if true is again a measure of his talent. This trait continued in his subsequent albums. With the advent of easily made up playlists I believe that I have compiled for myself the perfect Peter Gabriel album spanning his post Genesis career right up to his recent album IO. But that is the abnomaly. IO is perfection in every track. Thought I’d say that because IO is unlikely to feature on this list until maybe the next revision? But I have it pencilled in as a possible 1001 ending choice. 5/5 29/11/24

Fantastic! I never gave the whole album a listen until now. “Sledgehammer” and “big time” were so overplayed on the radio that I never bothered. “In Your Eyes” is one of those songs that never gets old to me.

Within the first minute of this album you can obviously hear just how good the production is on this album. It sounds and feels amazing. The bouncing panning of the drums back and forth on Red Rain makes it sound like it is raining which is so cool. It was a solid collection of 80s pop songs.

Clearly a classic. I know videos aren't part of the challenge, per se, but because So came out in a time when videos carried weight, this album has even more magic in that context. Plus, Kate Bush is enough to immediately give anything 5 stars.

I used to consider In Your Eyes the most beautiful love song ever

the runner up for most 1986 album to ever 1986 (Graceland remains undefeated), So feels like a big motorcycle your uncle buys after his divorce. in my eyes, this isn't a negative quality: motorcycles are undoubtedly cool. however, that motorcycle isn't staying in your uncle's garage. i find this CD in the Goodwill reliably every time i peruse its section of your grandma's classical music CDs and your mom's copies of k.d. lang's Ingénue. So enters someone's life and, a few plays later, leaves it for worn-out pastures. i'm here to tell you, as a connoisseur of sparkly Sharper Image pop, that So is worth keeping around. so what if it sounds artificial at points? you're telling me you hate the sound of the Fairlight? of the Chapman stick stylings of Tony Levin? of "In Your Eyes" and "Sledgehammer"? i don't think there's a human being alive who hates "Sledgehammer" who isn't some dour metalhead with a drinking problem. there's a sort of enchantment to the record that makes me teary eyed. even though there are fun and life affirming moments, So feels filled with melancholy a lot of the time. it's in "That Voice Again", in "Red Rain", and in "Mercy Street" in spades. i couldn't call it bipolar, but i can definitely call it panicked, frantic. one second he dances in the clouds, the next he dips his head in the gutter. next time you go to buy some used pants or a set of discarded aluminum pans, give the lost CDs a chance. look at Peter Gabriel's pleading orphan eyes and give him a home. do this enough times and you'll be able to construct an Everything is Terrible!-style Jerry Maguire pyramid in the desert. you'll thank me later.

It's got that distinct 80's sound. The drum machines, synths, and snares all scream Phil Collins. The vocal performances, however, scream Peter Gabriel. Big Time and Red Rain are great tracks that complement an unquestionably perfect track order in the context of energy and the artist's vision. They feed into tracks that elicit a forensic science montage like We Do What We're Told and This Is The Picture, before closing out with a medium-energy love song that beckons listeners to hit the "loop all" button. I was fortunate to give this gem a deep listen and can absolutely see why it's on this list.

Such a great vocal style and varied arrangements. Reaches an emotional depth that his contemporaries didn’t.

Great

One of the most PERFECT albums ever created. Yes, at times very POP, but brilliant in so many other ways too!

If you listen to enough music across eras, you can tell this is a 1980s record from the jump just by its tonal and sonic qualities. And yet, this is also one of the most well-mixed and produced albums of its time (quite possibly of all time). It sounds wholly itself. The beautifully crafted Red Rain is a masterful opener. Don't Give Up shows an affective range and emotional counterpoint to the other hits. With Sledgehammer, Big Time and In Your Eyes as tent pole songs it's difficult to see this as anything other than a high water mark for eighties popular music. These are smart songs where even the slower tempos (e.g. Mercy Street) give you plenty to sink into and for your ear to hear. Simply put, I believe it's one of the best sounding records with some of the best pop songs that I've heard.

Haven't listened to this in years but, besides a few duds, this album is incredible. Mercy Street in particular (and it's cover by the Knife) is a great track.

Great album

So, I initially thought it was like Red rain, but then it hit me like a sledgehammer. I didn't give up and started to enjoy that voice again. I wasn't on mercy street when I enjoyed this album big time. In my eyes, this is an excellent picture (birds)

Brought up so many memories. Love the songs. Don’t miss those years.

Didn't expect to love it, but I did! I completely forgot about Sledgehemmer, but now I remember seeing the video when I was a kid, and being completely mind blown. I am not a big fan of the 80's music, but Gabriel and Collins have always been up there for me. Haven't skipped a single song and listened to some on repeat.

Beautiful and Bombastic in equal parts. In my opinion the best Peter Gabriel album in terms of having the majority of my favourite tracks of his included. I think anyone could listen to this and come home with one or two new songs for their likes/playlists. Extra kudos to Sledgehammer for having arguably the greatest music video of all time. Highlights: In Your Eyes, Don't Give Up, Big Time, Sledgehammer, Red Rain

An album probably best known for the music video for Sledgehammer, this was an absolute joy to review. Each track is masterfully produced, the sheer amount of artists that Gabriel collaborated shows that he really cares about the craft of making music. Pulling influences from around the world, this lost out to a similarly innovative album for the grammy in the form of Graceland by Paul Simon. And fair enough, I would be hard pressed to decide which of these albums is better. Every song on this album rips, Peter Gabriel manages to turn every track into a groovy soundscape. Big shoutout to the bassline in Big Time, probably the high point of the album for me besides the entirety of Sledgehammer. No negative comments whatsoever, perfect album.

After a week of Korn and sitar covers, feels like we deserved this. I'd put Peter Gabriel and Genesis pretty high up on the list of bands that I knew I needed to hear more than I had, and drew me to slog through this list. Sledgehammer is obviously a total classic, maybe one of the best songs of all time - instantly takes me back to some of the best wedding dance floors of the last ten years. Some other tracks that stood out on their own - That Voice Again, Big Time, and even Don't Give Up somehow rocks in the end. There are some songs that I would call filler on a bad day - like Mercy Street - but I think they help the pacing and add up to a full album. Not every song can be a sledgehammer. This is the Picture is definitely "filler" but also a nice reminder from Pete that - yeah, this might be a commercially successful album, but I'm still a big fucking weirdo and I have to tell you about some excellent birds. And of course, In Your Eyes. This is live version is one of my favorite YouTube videos of all time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evN6DIGPIJM - such a goofy and talented dude. Went down a bit of a rabbit hole on the personnel on this album: Kate Bush on vocals, Stewart Copeland for some reason only on the hi-hat. And the violinist - L. Shankar (no relation to the Shankars) - also played in a band called Jonathan Davis and the SFA. Yes, Jonathan Davis of Korn, and the "Simply Fucking Amazings". It's like the seven degrees of Kevin Bacon, but every artist ends up leading back to Korn.

I started listening to this at about 8:30ish PM and I was already in a good mood. I’ve always had an open mind for listening to new music so this was exciting. I was laying down and, but quickly got a little angry because I had to get up from a cozy slump. I had my earbuds in, still listening to the album while doing what I had to do and my bad mood quickly went away. Never has an album made me calm down before, so it was pretty weird. This album makes you feel a rollercoaster of emotions and not know it. I was born in ‘96, but I still grew up on music similar to this, being that my mom was born in ‘66. She listened to a lot of music of different genres and raised my siblings and I on everything she grew up on. So to say ,’This reminds me of my childhood,’ is crazy, but it does. I felt peace, if anything, so I had to listen to it a second time. This is definitely in my top 5 favorite albums now.

Love Peter Gabriel. Which is probably the exact same note that I left on his other album in this project...

This is a gem. One of the earlier CDs I would have bought. It came out right about when you turned one, Mags. The video for Sledgehammer played all the time on MTV, and that was fun to catch. So many great songs here, even the lesser known ones (like This is the Picture) are fine. And Kate Bush!! We saw him live in 1986 in Worcester MA. As I recall vaguely, the concert was no great shakes. He just stood there and sings — plus some older Genesis tunes I don’t love.

Großartig!

A really good album, I liked Sledgehammer and We Do What We're Told. But my absolute favorite song on the album is Mercy Street.

Peter Gabriel captures magic in a bottle here - pure sonic bliss!

Perfect album.

Con So en 1986 Peter Gabriel accedió al gran público en gran medida gracias a su sencillo más popular, número uno en las listas de éxito y uno de sus temas más escuchados hasta la fecha: "Sledgehammer". Un tema soul-pop influido, según el propio Gabriel, por la antigua música de los sellos Stax y Atlantic, en el que se aprecia un sonido procedente del funk-rock, y con un contenido alegre y metafórico (evidente en ocasiones) referido a actos sexuales. Me gusta mucho el arranque del disco con "Red Rain", quizás por su sonido evocador de Genesis o por su contenido introspectivo a propósito de sentirse superado por un cúmulo de emociones. Pero el disco tiene mucho más: "Big Time", otro estupendo tema bailable y crítico con el materialismo y el egocentrismo de quienes se creen grandes; el extraordinario dúo con Kate Bush, "Don't Give Up", dedicado a los desempleados en una época, los 80, marcada por los ajustes thatcherianos; o la estupenda canción de amor "In Your Eyes". Personalmente, y más allá de su inclusión en la banda sonora de Philadelphia, siempre me ha gustado mucho "Mercy Street". Se trata de un tema repleto de humanidad, inspirado en la vida y la obra de la escritora Anne Sexton, que se suicidó cuando tenía 45 años.

Incredible album. Red Rain Sledge Hammer Don't Give Up (Duet with Kate Bush) That Voice Again Big Time (featuring Tiny Levin's funk fingers (mini drum sticks to play bass guitar)) In Your Eyes

This is about as good as Peter Gabriel has ever got — and So can sit with any of his best material. It's about as good as pop in the 80s got, for that matter.

1. I love Peter Gabriel and 2. You cannot just put Kate Bush AND Laurie Anderson on the same album and not expect me to love it.

Quite outstanding 4.6

I think this might be the best album by Peter Gabriel, although the bar is really high. It's one of the most accessible records, but still very artistic and innovative. One of my favourites on this list.

With each and every passing Peter Gabriel album, I've asked when we would get So. The day has finally come, and my life is better for it. So many memories attached to this album, Dad played this all the time. He loved to do this bit with "Sledgehammer" where he'd turn the volume up extremely loud to hear the flute bit at the beginning, then the proper song would come in blaring and we'd laugh and dance like maniacs. Honestly absurd how many hits are on here, "Sledgehammer," "Big Time" is a great song, "Red Rain," "Don't Give Up," and the undeniable "In Your Eyes," one I'd put on a short list of greatest songs ever. The deep cuts are good too, I ended up saving all but one track. Wasn't sure on first listen if it would be a 4.5 or 5, second listen locked it in. Drop dead classic, one of my absolute favorites from the '80s. Favorite tracks: In Your Eyes, Big Time, Sledgehammer, Red Rain, Don't Give Up (shout out Kate Bush), That Voice Again, Mercy Street, This is the Picture. Album art: Just a shot of Peter Gabriel, but the stark contrast with the bright white background adds a lot. Turns an unassuming portrait into something bold, almost mystical. His clothing is pure black too, I'm kind of obsessed with how much of this cover is just black or white. 5/5

So... I was born a few years after 1982 and this is one of my favorites and it would be a serious oversight if it didn't make an appearance on this 1001 list. Is this Peter Gabriel's best album? Maybe. It's easily one of his most important and emotionally charged, despite feeling a bit uneven. I always thought it was strange how this ended on two, more experimental/ambient songs (totally fine songs by the way) but later reissues would place 'In Your Eyes' as the final track which was probably the right choice. I think the real success of this album is the way it bridges gaps into a more accessible territory while not compromising the familiar art rock of his previous work and became a benchmark moving forward. And yes, 'Big Time' is cheesy but that's the point. In fact, that one has some nice Eno/David Byrne quirkiness that makes it fun.

One of the best albums made

I consider this one of the few rock classics of the 80s

Day223 - from the videos on mtv to listening to the album just for the music this is a masterpiece

Classic album by the wonderful Peter Gabriel. Sheer class

So - Peter Gabriel is that good! I was listening to the anniversary edition, and after a while I thought this wasn't right. It's way too long. I didn't realize they had 3 'discs' on the 25th anniversary deluxe edition, which to me made it .. well, lets' just say different. It went on too long for me. SO - I listened again, just the original album, and it's perfect as is. No need to add tracks. He's amazing!

Love this album. Was my first foray into PG back in his school. I never kept up with him, but later went back through his Genesis catalog and then solo work up to this album. I need to spend more time on Gabriel.

I mean, it's Peter Gabriel.

"Sledgehammer" and its music video are all-time classics, and the rest of the album doesn't disappoint. As a 90's kid, maybe the 80's were alright.

I am not a Peter Gabriel person -or actually, it’s how I want to qualify myself- but “So” is spotless. Flawless flow, only great songs, great production… I love it. I am not gout to pretend I did not enjoy it. It got me.