So

Gabs has a way of maintaining melody whilst being a bit leftfield, and it's a combo that worked excellently on 'Melt'. 'This is the Picture' feels like the Melt hangover, with stuttering percussion, a world music rhythm and a sense of social commentary (although not clear what about). The album is another step to the commercial with his biggest hit 'Sledgehammer' (a perfect pop crossover) and (what I believe to be the superlative) 'Big Time', with an astounding immediate start and fantastic melody. But the alternative streak remains, and there feels a thread of Bowie in the excellent 'We Do What We're Told', which is a bit like Bewlay Brothers. I also admire the fact he starts with the sweeping 'Red Rain', rather than something more upbeat and commercial - it's a slow burn opener par excellence. 'Mercy Street' another slow burn epic with heightened melancholy., and a really delicate performance. 'Don't Give Up' is the true masterpiece. An astounding vocal performance alongside Bush, and lyrics that can reduce a grown man to tears. Touching, and as far as you can get from a mass-produced ballad, with an intriguing 6/8 time signature. I knew this was great, but initially I didn't think it held a candle to Melt. I was wrong. Storytelling; melancholy; beautifully arranged; superbly vocalised - So is a five.

If this isn't one of the greatest albums from the 80s, I don't know what is.

I did like some of his song but it wouldn’t be an album I keep

No song really stood out, but decent soft rock. 3/5.

sledgehammer p good, kinda how i imagine songs from that period would sound if they werent disco,

Very synth pop, art pop, and r&b centered. Favorites are Big Time, We Do What We’re Told, and This is the Picture (Excellent Birds). Nice album.

nic specjalnego, taka muzyka z radia do samochodu

Couple of smash hits on this. Don't Give Up is amazing, Sledgehammer excellent. Sounds quintessentially eighties but not much the worse for that.

PG just does not miss. A masterpiece of 1980s art rock, and one that I could honestly listen to everyday. It's the first album in the challenge so far that I actually own, so I was very happy to get this spinning on the turntable. Such a warm sound throughout, especially when it comes to Tony Levin's insane bass lines. Cannot sing this one's praises enough. Favourite track: Big Time Least favourite track: This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)

This was unfortunate

I liked this far more than I thought I would

Discovering how much I enjoy Peter Gabriel has been my favorite thing about this project.

jeg kan godt lide red rain den er ret god. det er noget jeg godt kan lytte til men jeg ville nok ikke vælge albumet selv

Uma grata surpresa! Não imaginava que fosse gostar tanto das canções desse álbum. As canções são ótimas, só não superam o baixo de Toni Levin e a produção, que são divinos!

8/10 Estoy muy sorprendida la verdad, no sabía que esperar pero me agradó mucho. La voz del artista, las melodías, que joyita.

When this landed my heart sank. More 80's wankery where indulgent songwriting meets production as thin and dated as Mick Jaggers pick up lines. However, i was wrong. The opening three tracks are bangers that put me back in my place. Soulful and sad, followed by pop classic followed by Kate Bush at her majesterial best. The rest of the album fails tk keep the level up, but few albums could and its certainly not bad. 3.5 rounded up to 4 again as an apology for prejedging it

Peter

3/5

3.5

A spectacular synthetic odyssey. U genuinely loved this album, it's so incredibly experimental (for it's time) and really pushed boundaries. Even through that it's stil really good. That being said, although I think that, yes I needed to listen to this before I die, the record isnt that timeless, its very much rooted in the 80s. And I love that but it makes it hard to enjoy it outside of the context in which it was made. 8/10

It's fine, like, big 80s accessible pop, quite fun, not really for me tho sorry

Pretty sure I will always struggle with the signature sounds of the 80s, and this is no exception. It's not a bad album and I certainly didn't hate it, but the production just doesn't agree with my ears.

Yeah. Ok. Quintessential 80s pop culture album. Helped cement MTV in the early days that music videos could be creative. The film “Say Anything” is a classic

It’s a quality album by a quality artist and it’s only a matter of my personal taste that leads to me rating this lower than his other two albums in the 1001. Though I am a greater fan of his more esoteric works, I find myself most engaged with the poppiest moments of So. I’m glad he managed a mega hit, and to achieve a significantly more commercial sound, I don’t think he actually compromised himself at all.

muy plano

There’s something I just don’t care for about Peter Gabriel’s music…he’s always too serious or something. I like Genesis though hmm.

hmmmm just a bit too U2 big-issues kitchen-sink-80s-rock for me unfortunately! the first three tracks work well, even if Don't Give Up is really just made bearable by Kate Bush, and Mercy Street is quite beautiful if you allow yourself to feel earnest enough about the whole thing. i just can't really get with Gabriel lyrically though, it's all so staid and po-faced and Important which really drags some of the more sonically interesting tracks down. Sledgehammer, the big single and a manic sex-rock workout amongst big issues songs, is by far the highlight. bummed! i always thought Peter Gabriel would be my guy for some reason! don't think he's my guy!

Like when I got Peter Gabriel (1977) there are some really strong songs on here, but the overall album falls a little flat. Still I really enjoyed Sledgehammer and Big Time; I definitely could see myself coming back to these songs even if I do not reblvisit the album in full. I think I liked this slightly more than Peter Gabriel (1977). Favorite Track - Sledgehammer Least Favorite Track - Don't Give Up ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A "sellout" record that actually encapsulates within it what makes the primary artist so special. His vocal perf on "Red Rain" is stirring. The infinitely catchy "Sledgehammer" just seems to keep getting better as it goes on [plus an amazing award-winning music video to accompany!]. His beautiful collaboration with Kate Bush on "Don't Give Up" has helped me immensely many times when I've been in the throes. The Duran Duran-inspired "Big Time" is so musically complex with a fantastic bass perf from Tony Levin. The Laurie Anderson collab "This is the Picture" really balances a zany avant-garde sensibility with the new wave sound he was going for. And of course "In Your Eyes" lights up the tracklist as a wonderful closer complete with a stunning, climactic cameo turn from Youssou N' Dour. I would say this is his best record bar none. No bad tracks anywhere on it.

Red Rain is very much not for me as i just felt bored and slightly irritated by it (no mistaking what decade this was from). It is far too long. Sledgehammer is obviously a great tune and cannot be heard without conjuring up images of its equally brilliant video. Whilst i’m not a great fan of either Gabriel or Kate Bush ‘Don’t Give up’ is also a really good song, despite its synth pan pipe vibes. ‘That Voice again’ sounds like a poor Sting track and i much prefer Guy Garvey’s version of ‘Mercy Street’. Outside Sledgehammer it all feels a bit too Ernest and pretentious to be an enjoyable album. Big time brings the horrible 80s synths back to the fore, i do not like 80s synths

I fully expected to like this more than I did. It’s such a strong start, with “Red Rain”, then into “Sledgehammer”, and “Don’t Give Up.” After that, it becomes a bit dull until you get to “Big Time” and “In Your Eyes”. It’s also very 80s, and sounds it (aside from “Sledgehammer”, obviously, which sounds as brilliant today). But generally, it hasn’t aged at all well.

Sledgehammer is a brilliant song with one of the best music videos ever made. It is so stupidly catchy, I love the vocals, the lyrics, the instrumental. Just a great, great song. Don't Give Up is really good too, but despite the addition of Kate Bush, it doesn't quite reach the same high points. I ended up liking a few of the other tracks (particularly That Voice Again) but there were more low points for me than high - for example Mercy Street, We Do What We're Told, This Is The Picture (Excellent Birds). Its all very of its time. Ultimately nothing comes close to Sledgehammer in my eyes and it's inclusion, plus me liking Peter Gabriel's voice, means an overall score of: 3/5

Bof

Decent album with a couple of hits and great album songs. It's stood the test of time too and is always a great one to

Really solid album from start to finish. Sledgehammer,cIn Your Eyes, and all the other singles are pretty great but I also enjoyed Mercy Street and We Do What We're Told.

Don't really know what it is but Peter Gabriel never hits me the way I hope it will. These are some firm hits but they pass over me, even relative to other classic 80s synthpop

i liked the old vibe of the album and quite enjoyed it

Couple old school bangers on here that I had completely forgotten about, rest of the album was ok

A perfect album. One of my all time favorites. What a talented musician.

Some bangers on this record that I forgot about. Sledgehammer and Big Time headline it for me. Really good pop record, very interesting at times, without devolving in flat out weird. Really enjoyable listen, without some really cool sonic qualities. 4/5.

Maneirinho, não me agrada muito não

Good

не мое

zzzzz

nothing music

if I was a middle aged mom this would be awesome unfortunately I'm a man in his late 20s. There is glimpses of a really timeless album here. But it is lost in just odd production choices.

😴

Enjoyed this one a lot. Knew the hits but the whole package was even better. Really enjoyed the vibe and unlike other reviewers I quite enjoyed the 80s production sound.

Cheesy

album #65 peter gabriel please get over yourself ꩜ album rating: ★⯪☆☆☆ ꩜ number of albums left to review: 1,024 ꩜ number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 32 ꩜ albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 13 ꩜ albums from the list I won't include on my list: 52

enjoyable and took me back to my teenage/student days

Very groovy from the first songs, it's definitely more my pace in terms of vintage or older albums! To be honest I do prefer shorter songs, so when they go a bit over 5 minutes I start to lose a bit of interest. Each song has a very specific mood, with different instruments for almost each of them, and the vibes you get throughout the album can varry, and I love when an artist is not afraid to depict or portray different moods or vibes from one song to another! It gets slower and slower by the end, which adds a kind of Thriller vibe, personally it's not my favourite style, but it's always lovely to just lay back and have relaxing sounds around you! Overall I would give this album definitely autumn and a good and a solid 6/10!

It was great listening to Peter Gabriel, i discovered him first when i listened a music of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the song was Longing.

The album is good. I don't know that I'm adding any of the songs to my playlist, but there is nothing to complain about. It's a good listen.

Why don’t I have this album???

Some of these songs sound like they should be on Disney 90's movies. I hope I never have this album in my eyes or In Your Eyes again.

Some good songs on there, especially like sledgehammer (3.5 down)

Listened previously. Expectations: High - Verdict: Great - Red Rain is a massive sounding opener. From the first lines you can tell the kind of album this will be. Sledgehammer is an absolute masterpiece. A perfect pop song. Don't Give Up is far calmer and provides a real contrast to what had come before. That Voice Again is a good track but maybe can't quite match the opening trio. I feel similarly about In Your Eyes. It is one of the huge hits from the album but to me doesn't stand out particularly. Mercy Street is fine. Big Time comes back with a very punchy groove and really gets the album back on track (not that it was ever less than good). I really like We Do What We're Told as a closer.

Great album.

Thought I would like it more. Highs are really high but lows are low.

better than the other one

Fiz Kjedlig

3.5/5

this slaps Its so weird to rate these cus im only listening 1x before rendering judgment. Is this actually a 5 star? Who knows! But this is a lot of fun and I'll be relistening

It's solid. It's an album that feels like it's deeper than I can really see from just a listen or two - obviously there are the hits that are pretty straightforward, however lots of the tracks are north of six minutes. Almost a prog pop album so to speak. I enjoyed my time, though the tracks weren't generally memorable; I'm going to have it be in my rotation a bit to see if I come away with more coherent thoughts over time.

Listened to this half asleep and still like a 5/10 experience. I guess i liked “Sledgehammer”

This album is ambitious, and I appreciated that immediately. While it isn’t entirely up my alley, the songs are nuanced and layered. The lyrics are emotionally delivered, and the synth elements fit the atmosphere perfectly. I do think some of the tracks could have been shorter, but overall it’s a worthwhile listen. My favorite tracks are "Don’t Give Up" and "We Do What We’re Told (Milgram’s 37)".

funky vibes but not quite my style

Boring instrumentals and kind of annoying voice. Kate Bush was cool.

Quite enjoyable. What a great voice.

(84/100)

I am a fan of Peter Gabriel. I tend to be attracted to his earlier work. "So" is a bit more commercial and the tracks that hit for me are the less popular ones (except "In Your Eyes".) That being said, I enjoy this album. But if I want to scratch my PG itch, I will still most likely go to earlier releases in his catalog.

This does everything I want in a Peter Gabriel album, but with the "commercial" fader pushed into the red

love Peter Gabriels voice. He's done better albums namely his first solo album and his third. This didnt really stand the test of time but I still love it

Very 80s. Perhaps not aged well, but I found this dull.

I listened to it… I think. Not much to say as it was not much of an album

For In Your Eyes alone this gets a 3.

The three singles are the only songs worth playing. I’m sure this album made more sense in the context of the scene it landed in - but without the familiar melodies of the singles there’s nothing pulling me in to listen again.

this basically feels like prog pop? the overall composition and songwriting are pop-ish but heavily informed by prog rock, and instrumentation and arrangements lean more heavily on that side. unfortunately despite being a noted prog rock enjoyer and sometime pop enjoyer, the combo just doesn't suuuuper do it for me? feels like it loses too much prog to really *be* that, particularly in terms of individual part complexity.

i do not understand why they felt the need to include 2 albums by peter gabriel, let alone 3. that said, this is clearly his best album on this list.

Liked it more than I thought I would, was OK

traust

Really enjoyed this. I’ve grown up with the singles from here but the other songs are just as great. Loved the duet with Kate Bush.

This album pleasantly surprised me! Very interesting and some cool features. Will listen again Rating: 9/10 Favorite Song: Don’t Give Up, Sledgehammer

Hard to say anything negative about this one...

Bland

It's ok. Some good classics, but not overly memorable as a whole.

It is very artful; some of the lyrics are kinda weird. It's alright. 3

"So what??" This is the kind of shii my mom would listen to, but I won't pretend like the music video for Sledgehammer is not one of the coolest mvs ever made. Not bad 3/5

It would have been meh if Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes hadn't brought it up to a 4.

It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good. I knew Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes.

Real good. Red Rain is a good one. Listened as a double bill with Peter Gabriel I. Preferred this one.

Sledgehammer is an awesome song

Really enjoyed this. Not surprised, but didn't realize i knew half this album

Yes.. very Genesis coded, naturally! But I can appreciate the sound of his breakthrough from the past as well.

Very good

It's quite good

I heard this album so much growing up (mostly Sledgehammer and Dont Give Up) so it was a nice nostalgic visit. The rest was a pretty light hearted listen, man loves his synthesizer to the point where it overshadows the rest.

Going into this I knew Sledgehammer which is one of the best pop songs ever. So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the rest of the album was also incredible. I listened on headphones and the textures on this thing were so lush. Loved this album!

Sludgehammer is cool, but it is not enough to carry the rest rather boring album

Some top notch 80s bangers on here. Favorite track: Sledgehammer

Great soft rock album, excellent album to just enjoy a relatively quiet moment

A nice way to start off my 1001 albums journey. Before my time, had heard of course In Your Eyes and also Big Time before, likely in my parents car during a wave of nostalgia. Very pleasant, multi-textured and thoughtful radio friendly music. Would totally listen again. Favs: Sledgehammer, We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37), In Your Eyes

no

Though I prefer the two Peter Gabriel albums that preceded this one, this is probably his most cohesive album. It's like being wrapped in a warm blanket with hot chocolate.

By this point, any time this page refreshes and it’s not some whiny indie folk or sixties nostalgia slop feels like a gift. Red Rain and Mercy St are bangers. Never need to hear Sledgehammer again. Further confirmation that the Fairlight is the worst synth ever.

Two great tracks and a bunch of alright ones. 3.5 rounded down

Jättebra! Älskar nästan allting. In your eyes är dock favoriten, så bra! Sledgehammer, Don't give up - också jättebra. Det är så konstigt. Gabriel var en artist som jag inte alls gillade när jag var mycket yngre (no reason) men helt har omvärderat när jag blivit äldre. Jag förstod det antagligen inte när jag var yngre. Men det gör jag nu. Mycket bra helt enkelt!

Very good. Love Sledgehammer and Don't Give Up. Classics

The thing I like about Peter Gabriel is that he walks the line between weirdo and pop star pretty well. This album is probably his pop peak, but most the record is not pop. I'm not sure what it is, as it's not exactly avant-garde, experimental music, and it's not really prog. It's a little Gracelandy, just not as good. Big Time and the Say Anything song are still dope though. 3.5 rounded down, even though In Your Eyes Still touches a brothers heart.

Reminds me of Talking Heads, Phil Collin’s/Tarzan soundtrack. I like Don’t Give Up, That Voice Again. “And I wanna be with you, I wanna be clear”

Eh

Eh, only liked a couple songs. Pretty boring.

Generic 80s. Nothing really to say here. A little dull.

I really dug the vibe of this one. I need to listen to more of his stuff, or maybe just wait for him to come back up on here lol. I loved red rain and I love Kate Bush

I am amazed that Gabriel and Collins sound the same- it makes me second guess if I have been mistaking the two all along. It was nice walking around to this album while wearing Koss Porta Pros; a Patrick Bateman afternoon.

it's 1987. your rich 34 year old parents just bought you a camaro. you have this cassette tape. it's 8pm in june and the sun just hit the top of the horizon. you drive around town with the windows down and think about how really this album should've won the grammy over graceland, but you know that nobody will understand if you tell them that. you drive to mcdonalds and get a hamburger. you sing some of the words to "in your eyes" because you don't know them all. when you get home your parents tell you that no, that girl didn't call, and you scream "fuck!" and go to your room and listen to "don't give up" and cry.

I don't think I've ever listened to Peter Gabriel. I don't even think I've ever listened to Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. gonna have to now, hot damn

Felt like I was listening to the Jungle Book sequel where Mowgli goes to college.

I came to enjoy this album in a roundabout way -- Dave Matthews Band covered "Sledgehammer" live for a long time and reintroduced it in my teens. Around the same time, Ben Harper had a deadly cover of "In Your Eyes" that I was enamored with for about a year. It wasn't until I was a bit older that I heard 'So' in its entirety (sorry, dad). I think "In Your Eyes" is maybe one of five perfect love songs. It completely captures that feeling of looking at someone and knowing you're supposed to be with them.

I didn’t know 80’s pop could sound like this! It has all of the iconic elements of this decade: huge synths, poppy drums, big vocals — but there’s something unique about them. I think it’s the drum beats and samples, there’s something shifty and wonky about them that makes this album tick for me. And that it’s 80’s music with some African rhythms? Sledgehammer and Big Time are a blast. This Is The Picture might be a fave because of the samples and instruments.

The sound of the 80s made manifest. Quintessential MTV-era pop music. The singles are killer. The rest of the album is interesting and compelling. Peter made prog music into adult contemporary. Remarkable stuff. FOUR STARS

The production value on this album is insane. Although, I did listen to a remastered version, but it sounds like this was probably still something special in the '80s. The problem is, the only good songs are the ones that were already radio hits. It's like Peter Gabriel only knows how to write a pop banger and can't do balance. Seriously, what was up with following up "Sledgehammer" with "Don't Give Up"? Absolutely terrible. Stick to the sexy stuff, Pete.

Very polished

Yall mind if a white boy plays a little RnB? I was deceived this this not RnB

Excellent

You can feel the Genesis vibe still. But thats not a bad thing. Many great songs and great overall flow for this record.

A lot of experimentation here with sounds, that’s why I’ve always liked Peter Gabriel more than the other Genesis guy. Gabriel dives into different sounds knowing it may not be a hit but sets new boundaries instead, plus this album gave us Sledgehammer.

One of THE ‘80s albums, and probably my favorite solo Gabriel. Packed with huge hits (“Sledgehammer,” “In Your Eyes”) and awesome deep cuts (“Mercy Street” is quietly one of the best-produced songs of this decade, or maybe ever). Simply essential.

3/5. So was the album that finally broke Peter Gabriel into the mainstream as a solo artist as it more openly embraced the pop sounds of its time. Despite being a poppier album there is still a sense of adventure underneath though which is probably the albums biggest strength and what makes it at the very least more enjoyable than a lot of other 80’s pop albums. But this is still a case where I liked it but didn’t love it, as there is still enough of that 80’s production that I personally tend to really dislike to where it gets in the way of a few of the songs. Also I was excited to see a song featuring Kate Bush, but it was sadly one of the weaker tracks here.

Holds up well over time.

It’s funny how certain albums are products of their time and the people who were in those times cherish the music (and rightfully so). But as an outsider of this era, I feel like this is hit or miss as it didn’t resonate with me personally. Call me a jaded listener but nothing sticks out and separates itself from other music of its time. Just sounds like big, formulaic music with echoed vocals from a dramatic white guy.

I really enjoy this album. There are two or three songs that are clearly products of the '80s. Otherwise this would be a five star

Oh shit. Like, Sledgehammer alone fucks so hard and I already knew that so I was gonna start at a high 2. But then I started up and like, really thoughtful songwriting is all over the thing here. A lot of the songs have this dark brooding thing going on, but it's not edgy. I think it's somber and really really works for me. On top of that, some crazy performances. Peter Gabriel keeps up his end of what he was doing on Sledgehammer, but then Kate Bush shows up? Richard Tee is here?? Nile Rodgers even shows up for a second! The single thing holding me back is We Do What We're Told. I'm not super jazzed about that one, a little too ambient and wandering for me. That is such a bummer cuz this is so so close to being a 5. It's like a 4.8 right now. I may listen later more to see if I start to gel with that one track, cuz it's right fuckin there. PS. I LOVE YOU TONY LEVIN??

Class and beauty, gets better with each listen

A couple of exceptional tunes on this. And it sounds 'different' even though it's very 80sish.

Don't Give Up

Another classic from middle school. This one has never gotten old or sounded dated or dropped on and off my favorites list. An incredible work of art that also was a commercial bonanza. I prefer Security, and maybe Us as well, but the brilliance of this record is undeniable

Some pretty emotional, high level Adult Contemporary music here, with whole body vocals and melodrama maxed out. Didn’t always land for me, but the ones that did, landed hard.

Cool album

Brilliant and timely classic

He is one of the best….both with Genesis and his solo work 🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸

I love this album.

if you know me, you know i struggle with “80s sounding” music. but, this albums songs were good enough to push through a good bit :)

Decent. Not my favorite but some good parts

Nothing special just a typical 80s album.

Some of the most iconic and coolest sounds to ever come out of this decade. Feels genre defining and a breath of fresh air compared to the pretty copy and paste sounds of the 80s.

Some legendary moments. Some tracks forgettable.

Some songs have a Phil Collins vibe kinda ?? I really felt like I was listening to Genesis at some point, this was great.

I'm certain that this was Eddie Van Halen's favorite album, he said as much in countless interviews. I think I can understand. There's certain sounds, certain riffs, certain melodies that remind me of the songwriter he was to become. However I can't help but feel that this album truly benefited from a few aspects outside of the music itself: the Sledgehammer video and Cameron Crowe. The Sledgehammer video speaks for itself. Wildly innovative and it hit Mtv at the perfect time. As for Crowe, we can never dismiss Gen X angst-throb Lloyd Dobler wooing Ione Skye with In Your Eyes on a boombox in Say Anything. That scene imprinted Peter Gabriel on an entire generation and never let go. Solid songs and arrangements, amazing guest musicians in the studio, great production. Still has a prog vibe to the pop songwriting. Yeah no wonder Eddie loved it.

It's fine. I recognised a few song from my younger days.

Schon stark

Entgegen meiner Erwartung fand ich das super.

Really consistent sound. Not a single song that I would skip although it does get a bit repetetive after a while. Still can appriciate his vocals and arragnements. He's got that iconic 80s full sound. Favourite tracks: Red Rain, Sledgehammer, Mercy Street, Big Time, We Do What We're Told 4/5

No question!

Mon frère a reçu le LP version pressage russe de mon oncle Daniel. Oncle Daniel est très gentil mais il porte encore en 2026 un polar fluo des années 80 sans rien dessous et dézippé jusqu'au milieu du chest pour aller souper en famille au resto. Exotique.

Je sais que ça devrait pas être un vrai débat parce que c'est deux artistes à juste titre, mais j'ai vraiment plus d'affinités émotives pour Phil Collins que pour Peter Gabriel. Mais Dimery semble vivre le contraire. BON C'EST DIT, j'ai encore sur le coeur The Lamb sans Trick of the Tail et sans Duke!! Fermons la parenthèse, belle prod, beau mood. Plaisante apparition de Kate Bush (mais quelle voix unique cette femme, je l'ai tout de suite reconnue!!). Mais c'est pas mal ça... Si j'étais Claude Rajotte, je mettrais un sledgehammer là-dedans. Ce qui me fait penser qu'il faut vraiment je détruise ma table de béton dans la cour.

Très 80s comme son avec les synthés. Bien aimé Sledgammer et In Your Eyes que je connaissais déjà. Red Rain aussi, quoique drôle choix de toune d'ouverture. par contre chaque chanson me semblait un peu trop longue. Il gagnerait à être plus concis le ti Peter.

A perfectly boring album seemingly obsessed with beating his former band (Genesis) to the top of the charts at whatever the cost. No doubt this was produced in the 1980s and the awful production weighs everything down further. No, it's not total crap but I wish it was maybe it wouldn't be so numbingly dull.

2.5. Very 80’s. Sledgehammer is the only song I recognized. No idea what it’s about but it’s pretty good.

I've tried and tried over the years to get into Peter Gabriel and just haven't quite gotten into it yet. I don't hate it, it is all well made and some of it is even catchy (Red Rain and Sledgehammer on this album) but it doesn't really speak to me.

4.5 - Yup, I even loved the songs I didn't know.

Prachtig album, ik had nog nooit echt geluisterd naar Genesis of Peter Gabriel, maar erg mooie nummers en prachtige productie

Some good synthpop. Consistently very good but there was nothing here that fully blew me away.

I was a big fan of Gabriel's first four albums when this came out, and I think at the time I felt this was "too commercial", though I still bought and liked it. But listening today I think I seriously underrated it; it's a really strong piece of work (and I love Tony Levin's bass work).

Ok

Fantastic 80's drums and bass. The writing and composition didn't grip me a whole lot though. Definitely a fan of In Your Eyes and Big Time, other than those 2 I wasn't blown away. Solid 3 stars - bordering 4.

I’m just not a Peter Gabriel guy. This is fine but not something I’d listen to recreationally.

First album I get to review! This is a very 80s album, all the songs are pretty nice, some are groovy some are rather calm. Sledgehammer was my favorite song, my least favorite one was In your Eyes.

At last - an album that I knew even before listening was going to be a 5 . Love this , always have , always will . Amazing videos and superb live performance video too . Too hard to pick a favourite track . Whichever is playing .

Now I know where the sledgehammer song is from! I like having Peter Gabriel on, but for whatever reason I never listen to him.

Excellent. It was part of my record collection when it came out. Wonder what someone who heard it for the first time would think?

hmmm good 80's sound good music good album good music 4/5

Super 80’s, melodramatic. Not really for me, but some bits were interesting

Just the perfect background album

Simultaneously everything I love and hate about most music from the 80's. The fact that it can exist in both planes with equal abundance in my mushy grey brainz means it gets a 4/5, though I'm tempted to give it a 5/5 because of that reason alone. F$&@ it, it's getting a 5 for being the actual definition of antithesis.

Sounds like childhood.

Sledgehammer is legendary. Great album, has some bangers and I’ve known about it since I was a kid

I prefer his work with Genesis and this album wasn't really my cup of tea. It's just too 80's for me. 1. In your eyes 2. Big time 3. Sledgehammer

I liked this album, but I was mostly waiting around for the songs I knew. The songs I didnt know were ok, but the hits are all timers.

Surprisingly a banger!

Such a product of the 80s. Sounds so dated and corny. I really like Peter Gabriel's voice, but the music and production just doesn't do anything for me. Sledgehammer is such an annoying song and I don't believe people would remember it the way that they do without the admittedly very awesome music video. Giving it 2 stars for This is the Picture (Excellent Birds) cause it was actually a pretty cool song.

A few decent songs I know from the radio but mostly a slog of 80s synth piano. ⭐️⭐️

I thought Red Rain going straight into sledgehammer was an interesting choice but by the end I’d decided it fits with the scope. It’s rooted in a new interest in soul and R&B and this creates a great contrast between upbeat songs like Sledgehammer next to more atmospheric numbers like the Kate Bush guest appearance on Don’t Give Up.

it was good but mildly boring. i enjoyed some songs. feat with kate bush!!

Peter Gabriel takes it to another zone with So. One of the quintessential albums that define the 80s. Gleaming production, polyrhythms, excellent melodies made not much radio but for MTV. His voice singing Red Rain, Sledgehammer, Mercy Street, Big Time, and In Your Eyes was everywhere. So many other artists of the 60s and 70s had reinvented themselves for this new generation, Steve Winwood, Sting, Kate Bush, Phil Collins, Tina Turner. But none went deeper or had a bigger influence on the sound of the era than Peter Gabriel. He knew he had gold with Sledgehammer, a radio-friendly rocker that raised the stakes with the remarkable stop-motion photography of the video. And it's a lively track. But his quieter numbers like Mercy Street and Don't Give Up really gave this album traction. They are simply beautiful odes to redemption and solace. These are modern psalms in a definitively secular time. They feel so personal. But he is still in an adventurous mood, creating atmospheres and vocal soundscapes that betray his avant garde soul. This comes through in We Do What We're Told and in This Is The Picture (Excellent Birds) -- where he collaborates with Laurie Anderson. She was just coming off her superb Mr. Heartbreak and the quirky Excellent Birds was refashioned by Gabriel for this album. They make a great pair; a pity they didn't make an album together. But I really dig his duet with Kate Bush, who was also riding high on the success of Hounds of Love, another stirring 80s masterpiece which I've no doubt I'll come across here. She is the angel's voice to Peter's despair, offering the counterpoint balm to a horrid world out there. It is my favorite track. In Your Eyes is so gorgeous, it's romantic, ecstatic, anthemic, and incredibly infectious. The perfect song to close a perfect album. It's no wonder the LP is on this list, there's not a weak track in it.

SLEDGEHAMMER IS MY JAM. In your eyes is also lovely. But the album as a whole doesnt do much for me.

Didn’t expect Kate Bush to hop on a track

Song 1 (red rain)-I like his voice and his background music alot Type shit -he has hella lyrics gangy..

I hate every piece of music that came out of the 80s, I think the only people who enjoy music from the 80's are the people who were forced to listen to this shite on the radio at the time, no thanks.

sounded very large and whimsical lots of nice sounds :>

sledgehammer was a good 80s song. production on this is the icture was cool as well.

I used to have this album. It brings back memories.

Good. Four albums in and nothing but white men so far, though.

Very average album. Some of the songs are great, others put me asleep. 4.5/10 Top song Sledgehammer

When Kate Bush comes in on Don't Give Up...thats a moment. The 80's production polish is a little off putting. 4 huge songs on this help lift it up to a 3

A massively influential art-pop album, with driving drum grooves and exciting synth lines, all supporting a powerful and emotive vocal from Peter Gabriel.

The whole album is exactly what made 80's pop what it is... tepid, homogeneous synth droning whoosh-y singing with little REAL creativity. He sounds a LOT like Sting and these songs sound a LOT like Sting songs throughout. Maybe that's the homogeneous part. It's mediocre 80's pop to it's core. The standout track is "Sledgehammer" which is a very good song.

me aburrio

Estuvo bueno.

7/10 Buen album, tranquilo para tener de fondo mientras haces algo pero no sin que sea aburrido

Red rain - 4 Sledgehammer - 5 Don't give up - 3 That voice again - 3 Mercy street - 3 Big time - 4 We do what we're told (milgram's 37) - 3 This is the picture (excellent birds) - 2 In your eyes - 5

Good album! Very 80s sound with some chill music!

A lot of these I was surprisingly familiar with. Big Time being a wrestlemania theme is probably the strangest connection

I would go as far as to call this So-so

This is totally fine but also very of its time. Bonus star for Kate Bush.

Great album. Very soulful. Favourites include Red River, dont give up & sledgehammer.

Отличны альбом! Захотелось пластинку

One of the very best albums of all time!

Me suena a baladas en inglés masomenos, no me agrado mucho la voz igual

This album contains one of the best thrre songs run in history in the beginning. Three different, perfect pop songs. Red Rain, a song so powerful it puts you in awe. Sledgehammer, if there's a banger in this world, it would be the one. And of course, Don't Give Up. Many, rightfully, single Kate Bush 's appearance on this song, but it might be Peter's best vocal performance ever. A song that can save lives I'll admit, I didn't listen to the entire thing well enough today, but I enjoyed it so much nonetheless. The last song was especially great to me. I'll give it a high 4. Sorry I couldn't go deeper. I might regret this score. But a high high 4 would do it.

There were some fun songs, and I lowkey vibe with some of the more calm ones.

Alright I guess

Very interesting mix of songs. I really havent listened to any of his other music except what was released & didn't realize the many different styles of music.

This album has some great songs!

So, this is the path that has Peter Gabriel on the WALL-E soundtrack. He's a great artist and this makes sense to be successful, but I am more into his weirder experimental stuff. That being said, this is more experimental than almost any other artist gets, he just has more skill that took him further. I'm glad he was successful and got some mainstream appeal. A guy who performs dressed as a sunflower deserves to afford a nice house sometimes. Man, I listened to this more and it has got a lot of depth. Damnit Gabriel, how are you so good at rhythm.

He is so good at song construction. This has some ingredients that I don't care for, but some of the songs are just so well crafted in a golden ratio way that it doesn't matter. I gotta rate this on personal taste. For me this is a 4, there are a couple of weaker songs at the end of the version I listened to. Tho I wouldn't argue with someone giving this a 5.

3.5+/5

my eyes couldn't possible roll back farther into my head then this album made them.

Pretty ok

총 9개곡 수록, 46분. 신스가 위융위융하고 후크 가사가 계속 나오고 후렴이 영원히 반복되면서 페이드아웃으로 끝나는 아하 전형적인 팝이구나 미묘한 아프리카 느낌도 있고 ㄱㅊ네용 슬레지해머는 이름만 몇 번 들어봤는데 제법 마음에 드는 듯 이라고 생각했는데? 머시 스트릿부터 갑자기 엄청 트랜퀼하고 사이키델릭한 신스와 부드러운 아프리카풍 북이 "ㅋㅋ 저 그런 대중가요만 하지 않습니다"를 주장하기 시작 심지어 그대로 끝까지 감 뭐랄까 한 곡 정도 더 신나도 되지 않았나 하는 아쉬움 나름의 미학적 선택이겠지만... 한줄평: 중간에 힘이 빠진다는 느낌 취향: ★★☆☆☆ 재방문: ★☆☆☆☆

Mid

This is definitely a less experimental and nutty Peter Gabriel than on his previous albums. I love the weird side of Gabriel, but what worked so well about his more out-there stuff is the fact that he always focused on melody to bring it all together. So (pardon the pun), when you strip away the experimental aspects, you get a very clear view of what a good songwriter Gabriel is under it all. Saying that, I do find it funny thinking about the amount of people who must have first discovered him through the success of “Sledgehammer”, and decided to go through his back catalogue. And then putting on “Moribund the Burgermeister”... There’s lots of world music incorporated into this album. It seemed to be a trend in the mid eighties (Graceland came out the same year). Gabriel uses wind instruments, bongos and the likes very well here, so it never comes off as gimmicky, but more as interesting textures. The most obvious use is the bamboo flute in “Sledgehammer”. It’s a great song, obviously. Catchy and upbeat, and just tilting towards the weird, while staying grounded enough to be a massive hit. The video is the most played music video in MTV’s history. There’s so much going on, you’d need to watch it a million times to catch everything. As someone whose early professional career involved creating complex stop-motion animations, it’s up there on a pedestal as one of the greats. I mean, it was created by Aardman Animations, so of course it is. I rewatched it today, and thinking back to how long each of our shots used to take, I need a moment to process it all. This is the second time that Kate Bush has made an appearance on this list, and I still haven’t gotten a single Kate Bush album. Both times were as part of Peter Gabriel albums. “Don’t Give Up” is a fantastic song. When the verse segues to the chorus, and Kate sings “Don’t give up, ‘cause you have friends, you’re not beaten yet”, it’s just glorious. I love the extended coda at the end, where the band just jams out for a while. Parts of the album suffer a little from my bias towards 80s production. I can imagine Patrick Bateman strutting along his Wall Street office building, wearing his Sony Walkman headphones, ignoring everyone around him while “Big Time” blares in his ears. In fact, I could imagine him going off on a spiel about Peter Gabriel and Genesis, while an unwitting victim sips a very expensive chardonnay. Oh god, I feel targeted. I’m not an American Psycho, but I ramble on about music just like Bateman does! The best song on the album is “We Do What We’re Told”. Sounding like a cross between Berlin-era Bowie mixed with Dark Side-era Pink Floyd, it references Milgram’s psychological experiments on obedience using electrical shocks. Gabriel’s inspiration for song-writing is always completely unique. It’s a dark, quiet, brooding song that feels well ahead of its time. The album ends really strongly, leading from that into “This Is The Picture (Excellent Birds)”, which is a minimalist, weirdo tune. I don’t even know how to describe it, but it’s Gabriel leaning a bit more into his old ways of sonic experimentation for sure. And at just the right time, the album ends with “In Your Eyes”. It’s a really, really great love song, even if it was apparently originally about the Sagrada Familia and Gaudi. It’s such a good song that it’s impossible to not find yourself standing outside in your driveway, holding your bluetooth speakers over your head as the chorus comes on.

Really good music. Great vibe in the morning

Eh, it’s fine

OG The Voice.

Talking Heads > Peter Gabriel > The Police > Wang Chung

Instant Classic

Sometimes trippy, sometimes boring and repetitive There is a nostalgy of 80s behind it, but I don't get it Lack of craziness and charism

Eclectic art rock with big singles and genuinely moving album tracks. Sounds phenomenal, thanks to Lanois and truly incredible players all over the record. I have to say that I think I prefer the original vinyl release track list- ‘In Your Eyes’ is too energizing for a closer, and the Laurie Anderson track, though interesting, is a bit too random.

Second Peter Gabriel album and I think I realized he just puts out solid albums. Some great songs here. 3.5/5

i liked a few of his songs. the album was cohesive and props to him for being experimental. i did not expect that.

Me entretuve bastante mientras lo escuchaba, pero siento que si es un album muy diferente a lo que suelo escuhar, lo senti muy relajado y lo disfrute.

One of the best and most important albums

Seldgehammer has to be the best song on this album. I found myself wishing there was more of this. Partially because the 80's pop is not my favorite era of music - the slow songs tend to sound the same and the pop songs feel similar in structure. I found the psychedelic-esque/ambient/airy sound on Mercy Street interesting and unexpected. I don't think I'd reach for this album again, it was okay. Favorite tracks: Sledgehammer Mercy Street

Don't Give Up, You're Not Beaten Yet 1001 Albums Generator 267 (4/10/2026) As big of a Genesis fan as I am, I have never made my way over to Peter Gabriel's solo work. "So" is the first album by the man that isn't just named after him, and it is made up of roughly equal parts bombastic new wave pop and more ambient pop pieces. Unfortunately, as good as catchy, energetic songs like Red Rain, Sledgehammer, and Big Time are, Don't Give Up and We Do What We're Told are sleepy and forgettable. Although I will say that Kate Bush totally kills it on Don't Give Up, I just find all the stuff happening around her to be unremarkable. Half the songs here play almost like interludes that are not the length of interludes. It's not nearly as good as the best of Genesis, but at the same time, it's not trying to be. It's totally different, but it's just not fully for me. 3/5. Favs: Red Rain Sledghammer Big Time Least Fav: We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)

I really liked this. It was fun and it went big. Unmistakably 80s with the massive synth sound, some great songs, Kate Bush. Some of the experimentation was a little confused but I liked this and will listen again, I think it will grow on me even more. 4/5 now with the potential to improve.

So is a well-crafted album with strong vocals and high production quality. It has a very distinct 80s sound, which is impressive but doesn’t fully resonate with me.

done incredible production

Kate Bush AND Laurie Anderson!?! Yeah it's a good album

Sledgehammer is nice, not sure about the rest.. prolly won't revisit

its definitely good, but its boring.

Fantastic album. "In Your Eyes" is one of my favourite songs of all-time. "Sledgehammer" is a banger. "Don't Give Up" is a great duet. The production, atmosphere, and instrumentation on stuff like "Red Rain" and "Mercy Street" is, for lack of better words, very cool. Borderline flawless.

Enjoyed this one. Easy mellow vibe and I hadn’t heard of him before so was nice to listen to a ‘new’ artist. 8/10

Cute

Lame

Very 80s. The hits are bangers, the rest are fine. Doesn't really feel like a real album as a random collection of songs and synths

arranca con todo! dsp tiene un momento donde baja y vuelve a retomar al final. Por dios que temazo sledgehammer !!!

Album #67, Peter Gabriel, So, ⭐⭐⭐ I’ve never really listened to Peter Gabriel before, partly because he was in Genesis, and they just don't seem like my kind of band. So this was all pretty new to me. It’s good! Not bad. It starts off really strong with Red Rain and Sledgehammer, both class songs. It’s a pretty interesting album, very unusual. The production is super 80s, but I do like that Daniel Lanois sound. It reminds me a bit of the style he brought to Dylan’s Oh Mercy and Time Out of Mind, that kind of reverb-heavy atmosphere. My issues are more with the lyrics and the overall tone. Peter Gabriel clearly has a great voice, loads of range, very expressive, subtle and technically brilliant. But it’s one of those voices that can drift into pretentiousness quite easily, and I struggle with that. There are two tracks in particular, Don’t Give Up and In Your Eyes, that lost me. I just find that whole “trying to save the world” schtick hard to take, especially today. I’m probably just too cynical for it. Don’t Give Up is helped a lot by Kate Bush, who’s great on it, but the lyrics on both songs just don’t do it for me. The rest of the album didn’t grab me either. There are definitely beautiful moments, the chord progressions are nice, and the rhythms and percussion are really interesting. But overall, it’s not something I see myself coming back to. Not a bad album at all, just not really for me.

I was not expecting to spend today learning to love Peter Gabriel.

what a pleasant surprise this was

Didn't know so many bangers and pop hits were on this album.

its okay.

good

It was alright

Ok

I was surprised how much I liked this. I’d heard the singles when I was young and I never liked them. Hearing the whole album, though, it’s great avant-pop. Pretty cool it was as popular as it was.

This is where accessibility and complexity actually meet halfway. The arrangements are layered without feeling cluttered, and there’s a real sense of control in how everything builds. It’s not as exploratory as earlier work, but it’s refined in a way that still rewards attention, especially rhythmically.

Mid

A fast-rising tide of sound that lifts you up with it. As someone who knows PG only from the hits, it's immediately recognizable as him, but maintains your interest throughout. Don't Give Up with Kate Bush is a highlight (in addition to Sledgehammer which is an all timer)

Not a big fan, or a fan at all really.

The singles remain solid and the other songs seem like fillers compared to them. I didn't like this when it came out; I dislike it a bit less than then.

A couple middling bangers interspersed with some limp filler. No, I’m not talking about an old-school English brunch.

Everyone has a genre they just cannot stand, and this (80s soft rock?) is mine. I know people love it, but I cannot understand why. It’s like being passionately obsessed with aluminium or a Mazda CX5. Although Sledgehammer kinda rules so it scores as high as possible given the genre.

I like the álbum 8/10 but my favorite ones were the live versions, good album if you want to chill in your room and you are making your homework

Enough interest and fun in the songwriting to keep me listening, and I'd always take it over Phil Collins or Sting, say, but it's not really my thing.

Es un álbum muy soft… para cuando estás en un mood relax, re rain fue mi canción favorita

Nice try peter. I know a dud when i see one. That one from 1976 was so solid. But this was bloated and aimless. The Kate Bush feature and In Your Eyes are great pulls from this, but the rest of this was cheese.

dont give up

Really liked it.

For the genre of music it’s meant to be I’m sure it’s very good but it just didn’t click for me.

Nah, it's not for me

My mom played this on repeat. Peter Gabriel slaps.

Sledgehammer feels so out of place on this album. It’s the one bright spot on this very dark sounding album.

This really is kind of big time

Some really iconic songs on here that permeated the radio of my youth. Sledgehammer for example I know well. I appreciate the off kilter tracks as well and I was pleasantly surprised by Kate Bush’s contribution.

i can get behind this not my thing but i like it 7.3/10

Much more commercial than his first four self-titled albums, nevertheless So remains a classic. Gabriel's typical blend of musical influences from around the globe and the production of Daniel Lanois combine to create an artistic yet accessible album with a wide appeal. Some huge singles on this album, but I think my favourite track is probably Mercy Street

I think I liked it? I wasn't born when this came out but it still gives me a significant feel of nostalgia. Some songs were bangers, some were kind of forgettable. 3-4, gonna round up this time.

red rain not even that bad just way too long applies to the whole album tbh i actually can’t stand old music

This is good. Peter Gabriel manages to create an entirely distinctive sound that all the same shows the Genesis legacy. There's wide variety here too with some great tracks. Who would have thought that anyone could go from Genesis to music you might want to dance to.

An enjoyable fusion of genres with a distinctly 80s style of production. Gabriel's songwriting is great, but I didn't connect with this in any meaningful way. Perhaps 3 stars is a little harsh, however. (26/04/05 edit - yes, 3 stars was too harsh)

načelno solidan, štoviše dosta dobar... iako je sve u svemu malo presladunjav i preproduciran za mene, zadnje tri stvari nekako su mi tako podigle sveukupni dojam da ću dati četvorku :)

la produccion es el punto alto de esto, new wave con piano una onda sophistipop suena muy bien, se nota que el estudio jugo su parte. mas alla de eso no me termina de convencer, principalmente los temas mas "solemnes"

4.5 (46:21, 9 tracks, 5th (solo) album, 1986). “Art” Rock I was amazed about how great this album was, recognized immediately 8 of the 9 tracks even though I don’t think I’ve ever listened to the album cover to cover. So many hits, so much influence on MTV and the 80’s. I definitely feel like I missed this album a bit (didn’t own it, never seen him live) growing up in the 80’s. After Gabriel left Genesis they became much more pop/radio friendly under Phil Colins and I viewed Gabriel as a bit too ‘artistic’ but this is a purely pop album that is extremely radio friendly yet many of the tracks still dive deep into lyrics and artistic imagery. 1) "Red Rain" primarily inspired by a recurring nightmare and an unfinished film project, though it has since taken on broader symbolic meanings. Gabriel has described a vivid dream where he swam in a pool filled with cold red wine. In another version of the dream, he saw glass-like, people-shaped bottles falling from a cliff and smashing, releasing a red liquid that then fell as a torrential downpour. In the late 1970s, Gabriel conceived a story for a movie called Mozo. The plot involved villagers being punished for their sins with a blood-red rainstorm. While the film was never made, the concept influenced several songs, including "Here Comes the Flood" and "Down the Dolce Vita". While the origin is a personal dream, listeners and critics often interpret the song through different lenses: Biographers have noted the song reflects 1980s obsessions like nuclear fallout and the AIDS crisis. Some listeners view the "stinging" rain as a metaphor for acid rain or environmental degradation. The lyrics "Let the red rain splash you / Let the red rain fall on your skin" suggest a sense of surrender and renewal, coming to someone with "defenses down". The opening track, to create the "rain-like" background sound, Gabriel recruited Stewart Copeland of The Police to play a distinctive, fluttering hi-hat pattern. "Red Rain". Gabriel sings – in his upper register, with a throaty, gravelly texture – of a destructive world with social problems such as torture and kidnapping 2) “Sledgehammer" – I’ve heard this song a million times and I have to admit I never realized how incredibly sexual this song is. A high-energy, soul-influenced song that uses intense sexual innuendo and physical metaphors—like "sledgehammer," "fruit cage," and "bumper cars"—to describe passionate sexual intimacy. Gabriel explained that it's about sex breaking through barriers when communication fails, with lyrics focusing on intimacy and playful, intense desire. Many listeners did not realize as children that the lyrics "I wanna be your sledgehammer" and references to fruit cages and trains were explicit sexual metaphors. The song uses imagery of amusement park rides (big dipper, bumper cars) to represent relentless, enjoyable intimacy, as discussed in. A portion of the song represents a "babe I want you back" theme, focusing on starting over, as discussed in. The song was used as a rousing anthem by the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division (the "Sledgehammer Brigade") at Fort Moore, GA, for morale, as mentioned in. “Show me 'round your fruit cage, 'Cause I will be your honey bee, Open up your fruit cage, With that fruit that is sweet as can be. . .” etc. Opening with the shakuhachi bamboo flute, Gabriel uses a prominent horn section inspired by the music of American soul singer Otis Redding. Wayne Jackson, who toured with Redding in the 1960s, plays the horn on the track. Gabriel wanted the album to "crash open at the front". Despite disliking "metal" percussion instruments, he was persuaded by Lanois to allow the Police's Stewart Copeland to play cymbals and hi-hat on its opener, "Sledgehammer" was the final track to be conceived. Most of Gabriel's band had packed away their equipment and were ready to leave the studio, but he asked them to reassemble to quickly run through a song he had an idea for. "Sledgehammer" was partially inspired by the music of Otis Redding, and Gabriel sought out Wayne Jackson, whom Gabriel had seen on tour with Redding in the 1960s, to record horns for the track. Opened by a shakuhachi bamboo flute, its beat is dominated by brass instruments, particularly Jackson's horn, and features lyrics abundant with sexual euphemisms. Manu Katché's drums were recorded in one take as he believed any subsequent version would be inferior to his original interpretation of the music. 3) "Don't Give Up" - a duet with Kate Bush. So's most political statement, "Don't Give Up", was fueled by Gabriel's discontent with rising unemployment during Margaret Thatcher's premiership and Dorothea Lange's photograph "Migrant Mother". The track began as a Linn drum machine pattern of slow, low-pitched tom-tom drums that Gabriel made, and Lanois believed could serve as the centerpiece of a song. Tony Levin added bass to create a more harmonious sound, during the second half of the track, put a nappy behind his bass strings to dampen the sound. Gabriel ensured the song, which follows a narrative of an unemployed man and his lover, was written as a conversational piece. Bush serves as the song's respondent, she assumes a comforting role and with delicate vocals, sings lines such as "Rest your head/ you worry too much". Perseverance and the power of human connection during times of extreme economic and personal despair. It is structured as a conversation between a man who has lost everything and a supportive partner or "angelic" presence offering him hope. Gabriel was deeply moved by the book In This Proud Land, which featured Dorothea Lange's photographs of Dust Bowl-era Americans. He wanted to capture the loss of self-esteem that comes with being unable to provide. The song also reflected the contemporary high unemployment rates in the UK under Margaret Thatcher. Gabriel connected the historical struggle of the 1930s to the modern-day "Thatcherism" era. Gabriel has stated that the song was partly about his own domestic difficulties and deep depressions at the time. The title and refrain were inspired by words his then-wife, Jill, would say to him to help him through dark emotional periods. The song’s power comes from the contrast between the two voices: Peter Gabriel: Sings the verses as a man feeling isolated, lonely, and "at the end of his tether". Kate Bush: Sings the chorus, offering words of encouragement like "Rest your head" and "Somewhere there's a place where we belong". Interestingly, Gabriel originally approached Dolly Parton for the part to give it an "American roots" feel, but she turned it down. The song has famously been credited as a "lifeline" for people in crisis. Sir Elton John credits the track with helping him achieve sobriety, and it was a favorite of the late Matthew Perry, who often signed his autobiography with the phrase "Don't give up". The music video features a famous embrace. One of the most famous single-take shots in music history. Directed by the duo Godley & Creme, the video consists entirely of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush holding each other in a continuous, slow-motion hug while a total solar eclipse occurs behind them. The entire six-minute video was filmed in one continuous shot. To ensure both artists were seen, they were placed on a rotating platform. When Gabriel sings his verses of despair, the camera focuses on his face; as the platform turns for the hopeful chorus, Kate Bush's face is revealed. The sun behind them enters a total eclipse and re-emerges by the end of the song, mirroring the journey from darkness back into light. The directors wanted to convey the song's message of comfort by showing the pair "as if each were unable to stand without the other". Kate Bush acts as a "musical safe space" or an angelic figure, physically anchoring Gabriel as his character experiences a mental and economic breakdown. Despite the intimacy, the embrace was intended to be platonic and supportive rather than romantic. Because his marriage was "dodgy" at the time, Gabriel famously called his wife, Jill, to ask for her "blessing" before filming the intimate five-minute embrace with Bush. A second version of the video was later released by Jim Blashfield. It features more literal imagery of the economic decay described in the lyrics, such as superimposed faces over a town in disrepair. 4) "That Voice Again” is an exploration of the internal critic and the destructive power of judgmental attitudes. Gabriel explores the concept of conscience, examining the "parental voice in our heads that either helps or defeats us".[Co-written with David Rhodes, who plays guitar over Katché and Levin's input, the song was written after Gabriel's initial discussions with Martin Scorsese about scoring The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). 5) "In Your Eyes" is celebrated as a song of deep reverence that blends romantic devotion with spiritual yearning. It features Wolof vocals by Youssou N'Dour and has been described as Gabriel's greatest love song. Inspired by the Sagrada Família and its architect Antoni Gaudí, Gabriel sings over a drumbeat of only feeling complete in the eyes of his lover. The track features vocal contributions from the Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour, who sang the song in his native Wolof. Gabriel intentionally structured the lyrics to be ambiguous, a technique he drew from specific cultural influences. Gabriel has explained that the song explores two types of love simultaneously: Romantic Love: It is widely believed to be inspired by his relationship with actress Rosanna Arquette, who lived with him during the recording of the album So. While Gabriel rarely confirms specific muses, Arquette has stated the song was written for her. Alternatively Gabriel was fascinated by an African musical tradition where love songs are written to be heard as either an address to a romantic partner or a song of worship to God. Lyrics like "I see the doorway to a thousand churches" and "the resolution of all the fruitless searches" use religious metaphors to describe the sense of completeness found in the "other". The song is a landmark of world music fusion, featuring Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour. The Coda: N'Dour sings the powerful closing lines in his native Wolof. His lyrics "Sa bet chi lamp, chi tangaay" translate roughly to "In your eyes, the light, the heat," mirroring Gabriel's English refrain. The song's melody and chord changes were recycled from an unfinished track titled "Sagrada", which Gabriel originally wrote about a cathedral in Barcelona. While a hit upon release, the song became immortalized by the 1989 film Say Anything..., where John Cusack's character holds a boombox above his head playing the track. Gabriel initially refused to let director Cameron Crowe use the song because he felt it was "too personal". After seeing a cut of the film, Gabriel realized the scene perfectly captured the song's sentiment and gave his permission, cementing it as a definitive 80s romantic anthem 6) "Mercy Street" is a tribute to the American confessional poet Anne Sexton, specifically inspired by her posthumous collection of poems titled 45 Mercy Street. The Search for Solace: The title and lyrics draw directly from Sexton's poem "45 Mercy Street," in which she dreams of searching for her childhood home on a street that doesn't exist, symbolizing an elusive quest for belonging and peace. Mental Illness and Treatment: Lyrics like "to the priest, he's the doctor / he can handle the shocks" refer to Sexton's long struggle with depression and her experiences with psychiatric treatment. Finality and Escape: The song's outro—"Anne, with her father, is out in the boat"—alludes to Sexton’s collection The Awful Rowing Toward God and her eventual suicide in 1974. Gabriel's interpretation offers a sense of eventual peace as she finally finds the "mercy" she sought. Slowed Polyrhythms: The song's unique, dreamlike feel was achieved by accident. During recording, a Brazilian percussion track by Djalma Corrêa was played back 10% slower than intended; Gabriel loved the "grainy" quality and kept it. Dual Vocals: Gabriel recorded two vocal takes—one in his natural tenor and one an octave lower. To achieve the deep, "early-morning growl" of the lower track, he reportedly had to record it immediately after waking up before his voice fully cleared. Gabriel became interested in the late American poet Anne Sexton after reading the anthology To Bedlam and Part Way Back. He dedicated So's sixth track to her, calling it "Mercy Street" after "45 Mercy Street", a poem released in another posthumous collection. "Mercy Street" is set to one of several Forró-inspired percussion compositions that Gabriel recorded in Rio de Janeiro. Morse Code: Listen closely and you can hear a high-frequency rhythmic beep that some identify as a repeating Morse code signal for the letter "R", adding to the song’s sense of isolation and calling out. The official music video for "Mercy Street" is a stark, black-and-white art piece that contrasts sharply with the high-energy, colorful videos for "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" from the same album. Directed by Matt Mahurin, a filmmaker and photographer known for his dark, grainy, and highly textured visual style. Unique Collaboration: Gabriel famously gave Mahurin complete creative control. It is the only music video in Gabriel’s career where he had no creative input or collaborative role in the production. The video was shot on a relatively low budget in Nicaragua. The haunting visuals were captured by Bill Pope, who later became the cinematographer for major films like The Matrix and Spider-Man 2. The video avoids a literal narrative, instead using dreamlike sequences that reflect the song's themes of depression and a search for mercy: The Boat and the Sea: Reflecting the lyrics "Let's take the boat out," the video features scenes of a man rowing toward the middle of a lake. Critics have compared this to the mythological figure Charon, the ferryman who carries souls across the River Styx to the underworld. Interspersed with the rowing are shots of a woman performing Catholic rituals, such as praying or preparing for an end, which mirrors Anne Sexton's own complicated relationship with faith and her search for a "daddy" or priest figure. The choice of black-and-white, combined with grainy textures and slow-motion movements, creates an atmosphere of deep isolation and "haunting beauty". During the So tour and the later Back to Front tour, Gabriel performed while a large, menacing lighting rig descended and hovered over him like an "ominous scan".Gabriel would often lie flat on the stage, appearing alone and vulnerable, to simulate Sexton’s state of mental illness and her eventual "rowing toward God" 7) "Big Time" is a satirical take on the "get rich quick" culture and unbridled ambition characteristic of the 1980s. A dance song "Big Time" has funk influences and is built on a "percussive bass sound". Its lyrics satirize the yuppie culture of the 1980s, materialism and consumerism and are the result of Gabriel's self-examination, after he considered whether he may have desired fame after all. Unlike the sincere emotional vulnerability of other tracks on the album So, this song uses a swaggering, self-mocking persona to critique the era's obsession with fame and material success. Paired with the stop-motion video this was a huge hit for Gabriel (along with Sledgehammer). The Satirical Persona The lyrics describe a character with grand, shallow ambitions—leaving a small town for the "big, big city" and acquiring symbols of status like a large house, a fast car, and a "shining suit". Lines like "I’m on my way / I’m making it / I’ve got to make it show" lampoon the need for success to be publicly visible and ostentatious. Gabriel has noted that while the song reflects the broader "Reagan-Thatcher" political climate, it also contains a bit of self-parody. As he was experiencing massive commercial success with So, he used the song to poke fun at the ego and fame he was currently navigating. The "Drumstick" Bass To match the song's "big" and brash theme, Gabriel and his team used a unique recording technique to create its distinctive, percussive bassline: Bassist Tony Levin handled the fingerings on the fretboard while drummer Jerry Marotta hit the strings with drumsticks. "Funk Fingers": This experiment led Levin to later invent "Funk Fingers"—small drumstick ends attached to the fingertips—so he could replicate the sound alone during live performances. The song features Stewart Copeland of The Police on drums, providing a "poppier" and lighter rhythmic foundation than earlier rock-leaning versions of the track. Stop-Motion Music Video; Following the success of "Sledgehammer," the music video for "Big Time" used groundbreaking claymation and stop-motion techniques directed by Stephen R. Johnson. The video features surreal, ever-expanding versions of Gabriel, visually representing the "inflated ego" and physical "bigness" described in the lyrics. MTV Dominance: Along with "Sledgehammer," this video solidified Gabriel as a pioneer of the music video medium, helping him win several MTV Video Music Awards in 1987 8) "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" is a chilling exploration of blind obedience and the human tendency to follow orders from authority figures, even when they conflict with personal conscience. Originally recorded for Peter Gabriel (or Melt), the song relates to the experiment on obedience carried out by the American social psychologist Stanley Milgram, intended as a reference to the obedience citizens show to dictators during times of war. Marotta's drums on the song – said to resemble "a heartbeat heard from the womb" – were coupled with Shankar's violin and "two overdubbed guitar tracks by Rhodes". The song is directly inspired by the controversial social psychology studies conducted by Stanley Milgram at Yale University in the early 1960s. Milgram wanted to understand how millions of ordinary people could participate in the atrocities of the Holocaust. He tested whether participants would continue to administer what they believed were lethal electric shocks to a person in another room simply because an authority figure told them, "The experiment requires that you continue". To the shock of the psychological community, a high percentage of participants (65% in the original study) obeyed the experimenter and delivered the maximum 450-volt shock. The "37" in the title specifically refers to a variation known as Experiment 18, titled "A peer administers shocks". In this version, the participant didn't press the shock button themselves but performed a subsidiary task (like reading questions) while a confederate (actor) administered the shocks. Under these conditions, 37 out of 40 participants (92.5%)—the highest rate in any Milgram study—continued to the very end. Gabriel uses this specific number to highlight how much easier it is to be complicit in harm when there is a "buffer" between the individual and the final act of violence. The song features very few lyrics beyond the repeated, mechanical chant: "We do what we’re told / Told to do". This repetition mimics the robotic, unthinking nature of those following orders. The track is ominous and eerie, featuring a "grainy" texture and a haunting arrangement that includes violin by L. Shankar and drums by Jerry Marotta. While often seen as a warning about the dangers of authority, Gabriel has also noted that the song honors those who refused to obey, seeing the small percentage of dissenters as a "comforting development" in human nature. 9) "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)" is a collaboration between Peter Gabriel and avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson. While "We Do What We're Told" was the final song on initial LP versions of the album, the cassette and CD releases close with "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)". Composed with American musician Laurie Anderson. They recorded the song and they filmed music video over a period of three days — which was relatively quick by Gabriel's standards — for inclusion on the 1984 global satellite television broadcast Good Morning, Mr. Orwell. This was interpolated into a recording called "This Is the Picture", on which Nile Rodgers plays rhythm guitar. According to Anderson, she and Gabriel "could never agree on what a bassline was. (I think I probably don’t hear so well down there.) I wanted to learn from him, but it turned into a standoff and so we each put out our own version of the song." However, Gabriel remembered it slightly differently: both of them quite liked the song such that they agreed to release it on their own albums. Anderson's version, with Gabriel on additional vocals, appeared on her 1984 album Mister Heartbreak, which is closer to the version premiered on Good Morning, Mr. Orwell. Gabriel's own version was based on the groove, while Anderson's version was "more fragmented". Gabriel has stated that the song examines the "parental voice in our heads that either helps or defeats us". The lyrics describe an internal "conversation" that acts as a "judge and jury" in the mind, analyzing, moralizing, and evaluating every experience rather than simply accepting it. Gabriel intended for the song to show how these judgmental attitudes—both toward oneself and others—become a barrier that prevents true intimacy and clarity between people. The song suggests that truth and life are found in "uncertainty" and "being naked," whereas rigid moralizing ("hearing right and wrong so clearly") creates distance. "That Voice Again" is the final song Gabriel associated with his unfinished film project, Mozo. Within the context of the Mozo story, this specific song was meant to represent the attribute of judgment. Mozo was a "mercurial stranger" Gabriel used as a recurring figure in his early solo work (also appearing in "Here Comes the Flood" and "Red Rain"). The song's lyrics went through three different versions before Gabriel sought help from his long-time guitarist, David Rhodes. Rhodes helped "loosen" the syllables to finalize the track, earning a rare co-writing credit on the album It explores the relationship between images and reality, particularly how we perceive the world through the "frame" of technology and language. The "Good Morning, Mr. Orwell" Project The song was originally written for a 1984 global satellite television special titled Good Morning, Mr. Orwell, curated by video artist Nam June Paik. Paik wanted to create a "positive" response to George Orwell’s dystopian vision of 1984, showing that television could be used for global creative connection rather than just surveillance. Gabriel and Anderson wrote and filmed the video in just three days for the broadcast. Because they disagreed on the final bassline, they each released their own version of the song: Anderson's "Excellent Birds" on her 1984 album Mister Heartbreak and Gabriel's "This Is the Picture" on So. The Signifier vs. The Signified: The refrain "This is the picture" emphasizes the act of looking at a representation rather than the thing itself. It suggests that in the modern world, our primary interaction with reality is through screens and "pictures of people" rather than people themselves. Lyrics like "turning in time" and "jump up" reflect the 1980s' fascination with new digital possibilities, while the "falling snow" and "excellent snow" can be interpreted as references to electronic "static" or the visual noise of early broadcast technology. The phrase "excellent birds" is a characteristically "Anderson-esque" use of simple, flat adjectives to describe nature, highlighting the disconnect between the complex beauty of the natural world and the simplistic way we label or capture it in a "picture". Gabriel’s version on So is built around a heavy, rhythmic "groove" featuring Nile Rodgers on guitar. This version is more industrial and percussive compared to Anderson’s more "fragmented" and synthesizer-heavy original. Originally, the song was omitted from the vinyl version of So due to space constraints, appearing only on cassette and CD releases as the final track. In later remasters, it was moved earlier in the tracklist to allow "In Your Eyes" to serve as the album's emotional finale. The official music video features a visual grid and superimposed images of the two artists, reinforcing the theme of being "trapped" or framed by technology. After working on the soundtrack to the film Birdy (1984), producer Daniel Lanois was invited to remain at Gabriel's Somerset home during 1985 to work on his next solo project. Initial sessions for So consisted of Gabriel, Lanois and guitarist David Rhodes, although these grew to include a number of percussionists. Although Gabriel continued to use the pioneering Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer, songs from these sessions were less experimental than his previous material. Nevertheless, Gabriel drew on various musical influences, fusing pop, soul, and art rock with elements of traditional world music, particularly African and Brazilian styles. It is Gabriel's first non-eponymous album, So representing an "anti-title" that resulted from label pressure to "properly" market his music. Gabriel toured So on the This Way Up tour (1986–1987), with some songs performed at human rights and charity concerts during this period. Often considered his best and most accessible album, So was an immediate commercial success and transformed Gabriel from a cult artist into a mainstream star, becoming his best-selling solo release. It has been certified fivefold platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. The album's lead single, "Sledgehammer", was promoted with an innovative animated music video and achieved particular success, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and subsequently winning a record of nine MTV Video Music Awards. It was followed by four further singles, "Don't Give Up" (a duet with Kate Bush), "Big Time", "In Your Eyes", and "Red Rain". The album received positive reviews from most critics, who praised its songwriting, melodies and fusion of genres, although some retrospective reviews have criticized its overt commercialism and 1980s production sounds. So was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1987 but lost to Paul Simon's Graceland. In 2000 it was voted number 82 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. Songs for the album were written and prepared in 1985 at Gabriel's home Ashcombe House, an estate to the north-east of Bath\ Since 1978, Gabriel had composed his music at Ashcombe House, including his album Security (1982) and the Birdy soundtrack (1984). He had an inexpensive studio in the adjacent barn consisting of two rooms, one where Gabriel would produce his vocals and work on lyrics, and another where the music would be assembled. Preparing for So, Gabriel considered Bill Laswell and Chic's Nile Rodgers as potential producers. He eventually asked his Birdy collaborator Daniel Lanois to stay at Ashcombe and work with him further. Work on the album began in earnest in February 1985, with "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" as the first song; the first six months would be spent on writing and developing song sketches. The songs were usually recorded in the studio with Gabriel, Lanois and guitarist David Rhodes playing together to a drum machine, based on an idea or chord structure Gabriel had. Lanois recalled they had "a nice starting point [as] in that kind of scenario, it's not a good idea to have a lot of people around because you get nervous that you're wasting other people's time". Consequently, there was a relaxed atmosphere surrounding these sessions and the trio would jokingly refer to themselves as the "Three Stooges". This also involved the wearing of construction site hard hats as they had a "turning up for work humor". Once they had the songs' foundations, bass and drums were overdubbed - primarily with Tony Levin, and Manu Katché, respectively. According to Lanois, he usually liked "to capture as much of the live playing as possible in any session, but these [sessions] were really the reverse... It was like overdubbing the rhythm section on top of a demo. That was the spirit of the record." Towards the end of recording, Gabriel became "obsessed" with the track listing and created an audio cassette of all the song's beginnings and ends to hear how the sounds blended together. He wanted to have "In Your Eyes" as the final track, but its prominent bassline meant it had to be placed earlier on the vinyl edition as there is more room for the stylus to vibrate. With later CD releases, this restriction was removed and the track was placed at the end of the album. So was completed in February 1986 and cost £200,000 to make. It was overdubbed at Power Station Studios in New York (as well as all horn section parts having been recorded there), despite Gabriel considering sending it via a computer-telephone set up, reasoning, "that's a lot of information to send via phone. Isn't it amazing though? You can send a song idea around the world to musicians then beam parts back by satellite". So has been described as Gabriel's most commercially accessible and least experimental album, one that features pop songs and incorporates art pop and progressive pop throughout. Like his previous albums, its basis is in art rock, although on So, Gabriel develops an increased focus on melody and combines this with elements of soul and African music. "With a song like (the previous album's) 'The Rhythm of the Heat' or 'The Family and the Fishing Net', if I were to strum that along on a guitar or piano, the song might not work very well ... whereas more of the things on this album do work just as lyric, melody and chords in a more traditional sense." Gabriel began with around 30 compositional ideas and 20 recorded tracks, which he later winnowed down to twelve songs that were "within finishing distance". The songs are highly influenced by traditional world music, particularly African and Brazilian music, with Gabriel incorporating rhythms and drum beats from these regions. In a 2011 interview for Uncut, Gabriel said, "I'd had my fill of instrumental experimenting for a while, and I wanted to write proper pop songs, albeit on my own terms." Jon Pareles of The New York Times notes that Gabriel "doesn't just add on African drums or Indian violin to ordinary songs; they are part of the foundation." Chris Roberts of Classic Rock also notes that the album "[takes] the Fairlight synth and [adds] a palatable dash of world music to art pop." Daniel Lanois' production was noted as textured, replete with ambient details and "immaculate warmth giving each note room to breathe, its textures lavish (in the preferred style of the time) without being sterile". So is Gabriel's first non-eponymous album. Gabriel has noted his dislike for titling albums, mainly because it distracts from the sleeve design. In an interview for Rolling Stone, he explained that his American label Geffen Records refused to release Peter Gabriel IV until it was retitled Security. He elaborated that for So "decided to go for the anti-title ... It can be more a piece of graphic, if you like, as opposed to something with meaning and intention. And that's what I've done ever since". When the album was profiled in the Classic Albums documentary series, Gabriel quipped that its short title meant it could be enlarged and useful when marketing it. Before the album was eventually named So, it was meant to be entitled Good. The album's cover is a portrait of Gabriel photographed by Trevor Key, who was then most famous for capturing the bell artwork for Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells (1973). The sleeve was designed by Peter Saville and Brett Wickens; Saville was best known for designing several sleeves for Factory Records artists and was paid £20,000 for his work on So. According to Saville, the cover was based on the one he designed for New Order's album Low-Life the previous year, utilizing a similar method of taking Polaroid photos to produce a "groovy" portrait of the artist; Saville described the results as "contemporary, young but grown up, mature." Gabriel recalled: "The only compromise I made was to go with Peter Saville's idea for a retro-style portrait. I was told my usual obscure LP sleeves alienated women." Saville, meanwhile, stated that the cover was influenced by the impassioned tone and unusually accessible nature of the music, following a nighttime drive where he witnessed a car crash, then reluctantly started playing a test cassette of the album and was moved to tears by Gabriel's performance. The cover was partly influenced by photographer David Bailey's work. In the United States, So became one of Geffen Records' most commercially successful releases, peaking at number two and remaining on the chart for ninety-three weeks. In April 1986, "Sledgehammer" was released as the album's lead single and became Gabriel's first and only number one on the Billboard Hot 100, displacing his former band Genesis' first and only US number one "Invisible Touch". The track reached number four in the United Kingdom, where it ties with "Games Without Frontiers" as his highest-charting single, and peaked at number one in Canada. The success of "Sledgehammer" can be seen, in part, due to its hugely popular and innovative stop motion music video, designed by Aardman Animations. Gabriel would go on to say in an interview for Rolling Stone that he believed the video exposed So's songs to a wider audience, bolstering the album's success. Two high-charting singles followed, "Don't Give Up", which rose to number nine on the UK Singles Chart and a less successful seventy-nine in America, while "Big Time" peaked at number thirteen in the UK and number eight in America. "In Your Eyes" saw moderate success in America, where it reached twenty-six on the Hot 100, while "Red Rain" peaked at forty-six in the United Kingdom. Bono contacted Gabriel to perform at A Conspiracy of Hope, a series of Live Aid-inspired concerts that intended to spread awareness of human rights issues in light of Amnesty International's twenty-fifth anniversary. Gabriel accepted and in June 1986, he performed alongside Sting, the Police, Lou Reed, and Joan Baez, with a set that opened with "Red Rain" and featured "Sledgehammer". Gabriel described it as "the best tour [he'd] ever been on". Gabriel eventually embarked on the ninety-three date This Way Up tour to support So, beginning in Rochester, New York on 7 November 1986. One of the dates was a special two-night residency (20–21 December) at Tokyo's Meiji Jingu Stadium to fund a global computer system for the University for Peace, a United Nations project. The tour suspended in early 1987 until June when it reached Europe, before going on to America and finishing at the Lycabettus Amphitheatre in Athens in October. Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote "only a handful of Western rock musicians have managed to use exotic rhythms and instruments with so much ingenuity and conviction". Pareles also praised his vocals, describing them as "grainy but not bluesy, ageless and joyless, the voice of some ancient mariner recounting disasters". Tim Holmes of Rolling Stone described the album as "a record of considerable emotional complexity and musical sophistication" and felt that the mainstream pop music scene would be encouraged to innovate by the album. Terry Atkinson of Los Angeles Times viewed the album as offering "an amazing variety of tones, moods and topics, and a consistently powerful level of expression". Although disliking "Big Time", Atkinson concluded So was "a great album, possibly Gabriel's best". Steve Hochman, also of Los Angeles Times, praised Gabriel's reinvention too, describing it as "real progress" compared to the contemporaneous work of other progressive rock acts such as Genesis, GTR and Marillion. Chicago Tribune's Lynn Van Matre praised the album's "wave of funky rhythms" and called for more appreciation of Gabriel's talent, but noted a lack of "quirkiness" and said there were no tracks as impactful as his 1980 single "Biko". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commended So as the "catchiest, happiest record he ever cut". Erlewine particularly praised Gabriel's fusion of art rock with African music and soul. Jude Rogers of the BBC wrote, "once you look past the bombast of 'Sledgehammer', ... you notice how easily its artful ideas slipped inside the 80s mainstream". The Quietus' Wyndham Wallace praised So's sincerity and called it "a heartfelt journey through intense emotional territory, assembled and arranged with intricacy and commitment, labored over with such care that it sounds effortless". Ryan Bray, writer for Consequence of Sound, concluded So was an "all-too-rare record that manages to have it both ways, earning its richly deserved critical and commercial respect without giving so much as an artistic inch". He added that "it still stands on its own two feet as one of the consensus best records of the 80s". Mark Blake of Q described the album as "carbon-dated to 1986 thanks to those blaring saxes and Fairlight CMI digital sampling synths". He added that "Gabriel crafted an album of user-friendly pop that was still reassuringly odd." Terry Staunton of Classic Rock wrote "Red Rain was familiarly pensive and politically charged, but the radio waves completely surrendered to the record's muscular dance rock and slower tempo eloquence." Staunton concluded that Gabriel had displayed "a masterful confidence, delivering a satisfyingly unified whole". Though the "Sledgehammer" video's ubiquity has bludgeoned the song, its parent album is a marvel ... awash in delicate percussion, tasteful keyboards, and bubbling bass, "Red Rain" and "Mercy Street" are stunning. Of the epics, the Kate Bush duet "Don't Give Up" is heart wrenching, while "In Your Eyes" achieved iconic status after its appearance in the John Cusack movie Say Anything. Excellent albums followed, but the breathtaking So is the best introduction to a dazzling discography. At the 29th Annual Grammy Awards, So was nominated for Album of the Year, losing to Paul Simon's Graceland (1986), while "Sledgehammer" received nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. So is often regarded as Gabriel's best album, as well as one of the best albums of the 1980s. It enabled Gabriel to transform from a cult artist, acclaimed for his cerebral, experimental solo work, into a mainstream, internationally known star. Rolling Stone placed So at 187 (2003 edition) and 297 (2020 edition) on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and at 14 on its 100 Best Albums of the 1980s, noting that "despite its mass appeal, however, So also presented compelling challenges." Slant Magazine listed the album at 41 on its list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s, describing it as "Gabriel's most accessible yet ambitious work. A chronicle of political, emotional, and artistic exploration, the album [attempts] to balance standard pop orthodoxy with his still-rumbling desire for sonic experimentation". Jim Allen wrote for Ultimate Classic Rock, "What makes So important is the way he seamlessly blended peerless pop savvy with an iconoclast’s adventurous artistic instincts. His slightly twisted pop songs packed enough emotional impact, sonic surprises and catchy melodies to make for one of the era’s most consistently rewarding records." Michael Glabicki of the American band Rusted Root acknowledges this album as a key influence on his own career exploring worldbeat music, saying, "I just kind of got locked into that sound. Peter Gabriel's So kind of gave everyone the go-ahead that this could work in a popular fashion. For people like me who were exploring those sounds, the wonder of if it's going to work or not just went away at that point." English musician Steven Wilson said, "People think the 80s were a shallow, superficial era", but he cited So as an album that was "really smart". All songs written by Peter Gabriel, except "That Voice Again" written with David Rhodes and "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)" written with Laurie Anderson. Side one 1. "Red Rain" 5:39 2. "Sledgehammer" 5:12 3. "Don't Give Up" 6:33 4. "That Voice Again" 4:53 5. "In Your Eyes" 5:27 6. "Mercy Street" 6:22 7. "Big Time" 4:28 8. "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" 3:22 9. "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)" 4:25 Peter Gabriel – lead and backing vocals, CMI (all tracks), Prophet synthesizer (all except tracks 5 & 9), piano (all except tracks 7 & 9), Linn 9000 (tracks 3 & 7), synthesizer (tracks 5 & 7), percussion (track 4), Yamaha CS-80 (track 6), LinnDrum (track 9), Synclavier (track 9) Tony Levin – bass guitar (tracks 1–5), drumstick bass (fretting only) (track 7) David Rhodes – guitar (all except tracks 6 & 9), backing vocals (tracks 1 & 5) Jerry Marotta – drums (tracks 1 & 8), additional drums (track 5), bass guitar (drumming only) (track 7) Manu Katché – drums (tracks 2–5), percussion (tracks 3–5), talking drum (tracks 5 & 9) Chris Hughes – electronic drums, programming (track 1) Stewart Copeland – hi-hat (track 1), drums (track 7) Daniel Lanois – guitar (tracks 1, 2 & 4), tambourine (track 2), surf guitar (track 7), twelve-string guitar (track 9) Wayne Jackson – trumpet (tracks 2 & 7), cornet (track 7) Mark Rivera – tenor saxophone (tracks 2 & 7), processed saxophone (track 6), alto saxophone, baritone saxophone (track 7) Don Mikkelsen – trombone (tracks 2 & 7) P. P. Arnold – backing vocals (tracks 2 & 7) Coral Gordon – backing vocals (tracks 2 & 7) Dee Lewis – backing vocals (tracks 2 & 7) Richard Tee – piano (tracks 3, 5 & 6) Simon Clark – keyboards, backing vocals (track 3), Hammond organ, programming, bass guitar (track 7) Kate Bush – vocals (track 3) L. Shankar – violin (tracks 4 & 8) Larry Klein – bass guitar (tracks 5 & 6) Youssou N'Dour – backing vocals (track 5) Michael Been – backing vocals (track 5) Jim Kerr – backing vocals (track 5) Ronnie Bright – bass vocals (track 5) Djalma Corrêa – surdo, congas, triangle (track 6) Jimmy Bralower – programming kick (track 7) Bill Laswell – bass guitar (track 9) Nile Rodgers – guitar (track 9) Laurie Anderson – synthesizer and vocals (track 9) Greg Fulginiti – mastering

Banger all the way through

It was well made, not really my style.

2 bangers and 80s generic rock on the rest

Excellent! Il suffit de venir chez moi pour constater que je suis fan!

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Peter Gabriel is an artist I always intend to listen to more of, but I just never get round to it. This was epic in its scale and ambition and wasn’t afraid to try new ideas even if they didn’t land 100%, it can be appreciated for being an ambitious record for sure.

no me gustó

This is #day600 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to my final Peter Gabriel record. I'm actually revisiting this after watching a Rick Beato episode on YouTube about the best-sounding records. Having played it again, this time on my Technics SU-7300, I can confirm: this record sounds big. A Songs from the Big Chair kind of big, if you will, yet more experimental. "Red Rain," "Sledgehammer," "Mercy Street," and I guess "Big Time" are my favorites here. The duet with Kate Bush was a nice surprise, too. This is a 4 out of 5. I might bump it up to a 5 eventually. Looking forward to #day601.

Overall pleasant listening experience. Would listen again if it came on, but wouldn't seek it out probably. Lots of BIG IDEAS that maybe didn't translate, especially 40 years later.

I have heard of Peter Gabriel I had not listened to So I had heaed all singles. This was a pretty massive album. Surprised my folks didn't have it. It's pretty solid. Pop, but experimental and has some really interesting collaborations and features. I think it belongs.

Not for me.

two shock the monkey's better

This album does admittedly let its foot off the gas a bit after the one-two opening punch of Red Rain and Sledgehammer, two of Peter's best, but the whole album is some solid 80s art-pop from the former Genesis frontman.

Some decent songs sadly held back by 80s production. Why must so many 80s albums sound like this?

Weird case where the music is mostly good and well-produced, but absolutely nothing about what Peter Gabriel is doing speaks to me. It's default music. A 2 feels harsh and a 3 feels generous, that's how middle of the road it is. Standouts: Sledgehammer • Mercy Street

I can never make this album as exciting as it felt the first time I listened to it, but it's still very solid. I just don't think that whatever he was going for in the middle portion worked very well.