So

Eurgh, this does not move me, perhaps it should, I concede it's possible that if I listened to it many times it might grow on me, as some Genesis stuff did. But I found it all a bit pretentious really and his voice somewhat grating. There, I said it 😐

It's giving Phil Collins, except.... I like it?

Great

When I say I generally don't like music from the 80s, this is the perfect example of the type of music I'm talking about.. Thought Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes might have been able to bump it up a star.

I hate Sledgehammer but LOVE LOVE In Your Eyes

At times I had to check that this is the same artist that did PG3/Melt. A lot more accessible. I enjoyed most of it though, it definitely has some duds but then has some belters like Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes. Dont give up was canny too, and this is the picture. Im much more of a Melt fan. That felt weird, strange, and even though its older it felt a lot more fresh. This is very 80s pop.

Dynamic 80s pop, exactly what I thought this would sound like. So much similarity with Collins. Shifted between funny and unsettling, definitely the genre that Patrick Bateman likes to kill people to. Excellent birds probably the funniest. I really don't like this sort of music, I think on some level it isn't awful but it's a personal 1.

The album disappears into nothingness after the first four tracks. Sledgehammer is a classic, and Don't Give Up is an all-timer. A really measured song, more complex than it needed to be, and Kate Bush really compliments P Gabey. I was seriously disappointed by the second half of the album, so have dropped my rating a bit.

Was quite looking forward to listening to this, enjoyed his other albums we've had. There is something about it that I really like, sounds weighty. Thought the opening track was probably the best. I obviously know sledgehammer, but it was a track we took the piss out of when I was in school so it's kinda going to be forever that. Don't give up is good too, hard not to be with Kate Bush. I think the album tailed off a bit after that. I did enjoy it though, but Peter Gabriel 3 is still my favourite. 3.5 might give it another go. This list has given me a liking of Peter though

Incredible album. Great pop hits, and deep cuts that are just perfection.

Album slaps. Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes are classics obviously, but also really enjoyed That Voice Again and Big Time.

“Don’t Give Up” does funny things to me - Kate Bush is very persuasive even without the massive nostalgia surge. “Sledgehammer” is slower than I remembered, still a face-slayer. “Big Time” is a good time, and the other singles stick. The rest felt innocuous on first listen, intriguing and deceptively catchy on second. Conceptual air of a therapy session conducted by fax during a mildly innocent cultural appropriation vacation.

Gambled my pocket money on this cassette, based on some excellent singles and their striking videos. By the middle of "Red Rain" I knew I had picked a winner. Some of my favorite '80s sounds on here (the giant bass on "Big Time", the spooky percussion and flute of "Mercy Street", Youssou N'Dour singing on "In Your Eyes"). I probably played this even more than "Graceland", establishing my art-rock interests with some neat material for a pre-teen (the Milgram Experiment; Laurie Anderson). Exceptional.

So so

Another good one. Interesting sounds and lyrics. Another I’ll have to comb through deeper to listen for favorites.

phil collins but less good?

This is a very 80’s album. The production on some of the songs, particularly Sledgehammer and Big Time was pretty dated, but I did enjoy Red Rain, Mercy Street, and We Do What We’re Told.

I really dont like Peter Gabriel

Enjoyable.

It is rather fascinating that, among the gentlemen who have fronted Genesis, only Peter Gabriel is represented on this list. I doubt that people remember when Ray Wilson sang with the band for one album, but Phil Collins's tenure from the 1980s into the 1990s spawned some of their biggest hits. Not to mention, Phil's solo career was even more massive, particularly with his contributions to various movie soundtracks. Yet Peter gets all the representation here, not only as the first frontman for Genesis, but also boasting a more artistic and experimental solo career. That's not to say he couldn't enjoy success from a more accessible direction with his music, as would be the case with his fifth album, So. This is a progressive pop record where Peter took elements from soul and traditional world music to offer a more sensual and ethereal approach to his compositions. Opening with the strongly percussive crash of "Red Rain", running through cuts like his duet with Kate Bush, "Don't Give Up", his exploration of one's conscience, "That Voice Again", his minimal yet striking critique of Dr. Stanley Milgram's obedience experiment on "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)", the elegant triangle and flute texutres with whispered poetry on "Mercy Street", and the reworked "Excellent Birds" with the supple bassline and lower registers, Peter struck a balance between thought-provoking ballads and complex rhythmic sections. Of course, the song most people remember from this album that demonstrated this balance is "In Your Eyes", with the combination of arpeggiated guitar, light synthesizer flair, talking drum percussion, and contributions from Senegalese vocalist Youssou N'Dour that proved to be an excellent choice for blaring over the boombox in the serenade scene of the film Say Anything. Yet with all the praise I can give for this record, it does feel dated in places. Notably, with the more upbeat tracks "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time", they come off as the kind of cheesy 1980s dance funk that feels of its time. Not helping matters is how many sexual euphemisms Peter lays down on the former track, while the latter is a more palatable critique of the purveying yuppie culture as the decade went on. Overall, it was nice to see Peter Gabriel have his cake and eat it too, with the more accessible yet experimental work done on So. I can see how many would argue this is his best solo album, and as such, it served as a nice introduction to his output.

The 80s is a curious time period for popular music. The promise of new wave and new technology was infectious. This record represents the apex of that promise. After So, the music of that era started to change. It wasn’t as fun or inspiring anymore. I actually prefer Gabriel’s first untitled albums because of the promise they represent. This one is fully formed and lesser as a result. In Your Eyes is sublime, and there are a few more interesting moments here, but overall not my favourite Gabriel offering.

Klinkt wel lekker

5 stars

Love Peter Gabriel's voice, but some of these tracks I can leave; production is very much of its time. Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes are the obvious stand-outs.

I forgot how many hits are on this album!

The best part of this album was Kate Bush's backup vocals.

like the name so-so

One of the best album ever made!

Lyrical writing was so odd and seemed unprofessional almost to the point where it was irritating. Overall not terrible music but there are so many better albums of this genre and from this time.

I guess I don’t really like his voice. The three songs I know are the only 3 I liked.

the last minute and a half of Sledgehammer are worth 4 stars alone

I didn't like this at all until the very end. It has a really strong finish, particularly with "In Your Eyes" as the closer. Partly this reflects my longstanding belief that it's much easier to write songs people will enjoy if you make them fast and fun instead of plodding and slow. I think I've heard "Red Rain" before, and combined with the fact that it's the opener, it was probably a single - but that song sucks, what a total snooze. It is best-case the 2nd best song about a color of rain from the mid 1980s. But my favorite song on the whole CD, one I've never heard before, is "Big Time" - what fun song. It's a rocker, it's making fun of himself and other people like himself, it's catchy, that's a winner. That plus the closer makes for a really strong finish. But the first half is a bore, I've heard "Sledgehammer" before and it's fine but it has a totally cheesy 80s song. It's just better to finish on a strong note than to start strong and limp out.

Extremely well produced album. Its World genre influences are really a time capsule of the mod-80s, but isn't gimmicky here. Despite the upbeat nature of Big Time and Sledgehammer, this is a album you have to be in the mood for if you're going to listen in full. Mostly moody themes, and slower tempo music.

Guide tunes

pass

I interviewed Stephin Merritt once. First telephone interview I’d ever done. I borrowed a minidisc recorder from the editor who told me not to erase his live boot of Rocket from the Crypt. I didn’t. I just recorded over it. Stephin wasn’t unkind, exactly, but he did ask why I didn’t know shorthand. Fair enough. I didn’t. I still don’t. I wrote things down slowly and hoped I’d catch the rest on tape. At one point — I can’t remember if it was because Peter Gabriel had covered The Book of Love or just because the silence between us was beginning to feel cavernous — I asked him what his favourite Peter Gabriel album was. Also, I asked about Genesis. He said he’d never listened to the band, which seemed plausible for the weird pop songwriter. He did like Gabriel. Also plausible. In the piece I wrote, I said his answer was So. But the truth is the recording was unintelligible at that point. A glitch? Bad disc? Maybe I’d accidentally brushed the pause button with my trembling hand. Either way, whatever he actually said is lost to time, and I — somehow — decided So sounded right. It had Sledgehammer on it and Don’t Give Up. It sold very well. But it doesn’t sound right now. Not really. If you’ve listened to Stephin Merritt for more than three songs in a row, you know it wasn’t So. It would have been one of the early ones: one of the self-titled albums with nicknames that reference the album artwork: Car or Scratch or Melt. It was probably Melt. That’s the best one, isn’t it? Merritt covered Not One of Us some time later, which would have been a handy clue. Why I thought it was So — that smooth, glistening thing, with all its horn sections and MTV overtures — I cannot explain. Even the weird bits aren’t weird enough. Sledgehammer is weird for the Top 40, but not weird for Gabriel, who once took the stage dressed as a Giant Hogweed. There are hits on So, sure, but none of them hit like Games Without Frontiers or Intruder. It’s Gabriel doing smooth. Gabriel doing accessible. One of Them. I should have written Melt. I should have asked better questions. I should have learned shorthand. Sorry, Stephin. 2.5 Look at Peter Gabriel’s stupid face. I know this album isn’t bad exactly but I don’t like it. What display of skill Gabriel shows in forging interesting melodies and structures is smothered by his unshakeable determination to use every voice setting on the keyboard. I’m sure the customers were impressed when they pushed the demo button on those things in the showroom in 1986. But five years later they were asking themselves what could have been wrong with their heads that they spent the price of a car on these obsolete abominations. Playing the start of Moonlight Sonata with synth horns then steel drum then ‘Goblins’ is good for about 5 minutes entertainment but ultimately it sounds better on a real piano and the child can’t get any good on the instrument on those settings. Are the songs really that good anyway? The lyrics, Mercy Street for example, are self-regarding but poetically hollow. ‘Don’t Give Up’ has a pleasant sentiment but stumbles over itself musically. Kate Bush plays a blinder making those awkward lines of the chorus sound as musically natural as anyone could. But they’re still not right. Peter Gabriel can’t be accused of making dull melodies but it’s easy to sound interesting when you sacrifice elegance of line. It’s an inelegant album. 2.5/5

oh boy I didn't like this. Its so over produced. nothing is catchy. It's whack.

Wanted to like it more, but it didn’t seem to hold up as well as I expected. Just seemed dated and a little boring.

One of my favorite albums of all time

Not a huge Peter Gabriel fan, but this album is pretty undeniable. Five of the nine songs are solid hits (and deservedly so). Really great album.

Pretty repetitive but overall solid. love the song with kate bush and sledgehammer

Cool soundscapes. Well, not cool exactly. Kind of dorky. But cool.

Very 80s not particularly memorsble

In Your Eyes is soooo good. Everything else was pretty meh though.

Not normally a fan of that 80s sound, but this was good. I also never realized truly how much Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel sounded alike. Makes a lot of sense why he ultimately took over as lead for genesis.

...

Quite dramatic at times. Overall pretty easy listening but nothing that wowed me.

Hit after hit, Tour produced one of my favorite shows, lost my voice for 2 days - Biko Red Rain Sledgehammer Big Time

Easy 5. It's been a while since I listened to the whole thing, and it holds up well, although it definitely sounds like the 80s. Peter Gabriel turns to 80s pop while keeping some of the arty prog sound from Genesis and his 70s solo albums. It works surprisingly well.

Albums of this ilk really sound like the era, for better or worse. Some really great synth sounds and textures but some of the tracks veer into cheesy territory for me. The 'world music' influence is beneficial if not overstated. Sledgehammer & In Your Eyes are classics.

9/10

While it's not my thing, I guess I can appreciate it for what it is

Blah...

Strong ending. The whole album sounds like an 80s movie. The rest I could easily leave behind.

Typical 80s synthesizer music. Not saying that is a bad thing. But, this album and especially with Peter Gabriel’s voice, sounds like if Phil Collins woke up and started making mediocre music.

Not bad! The legendary kate bush duet… I prefer Passion and Melt

I can dig it, but a lot of it does seem a bit adult contemporary/radio friendly mush. Most of the stars are for Sledgehammer.

Eh, medicore

Didn’t finish Like red rain 5/10

Very 80s, very very Sting. Of its time. Not awful but I think you had to be there. Song with Kate Bush was decent despite being about suicide. He’s got a much better voice than I realised.

This is not something I'd reach for every day, but I enjoyed. The hits are undeniable

191/1089 - The Stewart Copeland hi-hats alone in the intro of Red Rain gets 4 stars from me automatically. Bass playing, production, and songwriting are all killer. Hard for me to pick if this, melt, or car is my favorite Peter Gabriel album.

Horribly heavy

One of the best albums of the 80s. Favorites: Red Rain, Mercy Street, In Your Eyes Would I listen to it again: Yes

Great vocals and production. Very groovy with a lot of fun tracks. Just not my usual style.

This album has this Phil Collins vibe, but it is undeniable that most of the songs are a bit meh, although they are great for a chill environment while you're playing it in the background, while you're possibly on drugs in the 80s, BUT the most popular song on the album - Sledghehammer, is very cool and I enjoyed listening to it again, but I just didn't know that Peter Gabriel was the person singing it. Overall, a bit meh for the whole album, but not necessarily in a bad way.

It definitely sounds like something you’d play on your newfangled CD player to impress your guests at a 1980s dinner party, but those Yuppies weren’t wrong about everything. In a very 80s way, a lot of this slaps.

This was extremely meh and if I wasn't committed to listening to every track in this project, I would have shut this off about halfway through.

6.5/10

Love this album. It's like a greatest hits album except an actual album. Plus Kate Bush for good measure. All thriller no filler!

so

Pretty much a classic.

This is one of the first albums I ever bought for myself. Still a classic.

Fun

The hits are great, everything else is meh

Gabriel devient ici plus pop, avec des passages funk et des cuivres, des claviers omniprésents, tout en continuant ses revendications, non sans humour. Son interprétation entière et dévouée confère à l'ensemble une sincérité qui le rend plus humain – et personnellement j’ai toujours adoré sa voix, beaucoup écouté cet album dans ma jeunesse.

Peter Gabriel expone en “So” la grandeza del pop/rock de los 80. Se trata de un disco construido a partir de una instrumentalización basada en sintetizadores, guitarras eléctricas, teclados, bajos y batería, todo ello con la profunda voz de Peter como protagonista. En lo lírico, el artista plasma el amor en su máximo esplendor en “In Your Eyes” , el concepto del suicidio en “Don’t Give Up”, junto con la inconfundible voz de Kate Bush –quién representa la luz frente a la oscuridad –. Por otro lado “Sledgehammer” explora la sexualidad en una canción llena de metáforas y dobles sentidos. En su conjunto, “So” es una obra que explora los sentimientos de Peter Gabriel tanto en lo lírico como en lo musical, donde explora el género pop/rock de la década de los 80, utilizando sonidos sintetizados que suenan intimistas y llevan al oyente a un paisaje sonoro único.

Too soundtrack-y for me, honestly. other than the one song I love

Constant 10/10, no skips. The gateway drug into not only Peter Gabriel, but Laurie Anderson as well. The bassist in me always dreamed of being a fraction of Tony Levin.

There’s a constant vibe of this worldly spiritualness built through this constant imagery and lots of musical influences that sort of transcend it to another plane. His audience is the Earth itself.

Great production! The studio musicians are excellent and there is a good variety in the songwriting. But I don’t like the songs at all. Not one of them. 5/10

I feel like I’m giving out too many five stars on this thing, might have to go back and adjust a few, but I think this one definitely deserves it. I had no idea how awesome this album would be, I knew the song sledgehammer, but almost every song it is a banger. With the great classics of the 80s, Definitely love the music ship and everything involved.

Oops forgot this one since it's been a few days. Easy listening with some sneaky jams

One good song

There’s nothing to complain about with this album unless you aren’t a fan of 80s synth pop… which I am not. Sledgehammer is kind of a bop but the rest just isn’t my cuppa tea

Yeah solid and enjoyable, few different moments but overall pretty great

ok. very much reflects mid to late 80's. In your eyes is obvious stand-out.

I was getting excited, but after listening to the album I was a bit let down.

Amazing album. Perfect even.

Full of bangers

Classic easy listening

This is music that makes you feel things. Plus some pretty cool grooves.

you could hear the "old" vibes... but it's quite easy to listen to... nothing catchy. It played in the background without much distraction to work

This was good. Sledgehammer and Don’t Give Up are absolute bangers but the rest kinda washed over me. I think I expected to like it a little more than I did in the end.

Everything I did whilst listening to this turned into an 80's montage.

Not my vase of apple juice

I can't get over the fact of how the cover photo looks so egocentric? Sure it's common for singers to have themselves on it but it just gives that vibe. Mediocre music for me

The songs ane his voice where ok but this just wasn't my blood type

Definitely should be experienced along with the music videos. Totally part of the experience

Peter Gabriel delivers an all-timer. Very poppy and accessible while still finding time for fun experimentation. There are booming, ethereal vocals and crisp synth instrumentation for days. Best tracks: Sledgehammer, Big Time, This is the Picture, In Your Eyes

3,5/5

a few good tracks but overall not my vibe

Epic! Sedgehammer video was ahead of its time. So innovative In Your Eyes was an anthem of my generation and used in one of my favorite films. Too bad Cusack is such a douchebag now!

Overall, a really solid album. Of course there are the well-known hits like "Sledgehammer" and "In Your Eyes," but "Don't Give Up" (with the incredible Kate Bush) and "Mercy Street" bring a quieter, softer feel, and the album is rounded out nicely with some synth pop/electronic fun stuff. Great listen start to finish.

Þægileg og góð plata hjá Pésa. Ákveðinn Phil Collins bragur og funky dæmi inn á milli.

Eitís Gabriel var ansi góður. Ótrúlega mikið af góðum lögum á þessari plötu, en það voru ekki síst myndböndin hans sem þóttu geggjuð í áttunni. Nostalgíu fjarki.

Wonderful. Perfect vacation pool soundtrack

Perhaps nostalgia or just good music through and through. Multiple, hug hits on this album.

Blind album, know the artist and the hits. Didn't hit as hard as I thought for sure. Some parts catchy but wasn't as good as people made it to be for me.

Some of my favourite songs of his are on here (Red Rain) as well as a song I dislike (Don’t give up, I never liked it). A great album though, just a shame it’s so heavy on the synthesizers.

Epic, still

C’est drôle, ça ressemble beaucoup plus à Synchronicity des Polices que la moindre toune de Genesis. «This is what the 80’s does to a MF», amirite? Je dis pas ça en mal, au contraire, y’a une bonne balance entre le niveau de tracks catchy et mélencholo-sentimentale, en plus d’avoir un mix stellaire. À revisiter

Great album from my youth.

One great song, one really annoying. The rest is meh.

Although it sounded like a desperate attempt to make a 80s pop album, it was a damn good attempt. Nothing jumped out to me in either direction so I’d say it was a solid listen but lacked that spectacular feeling that the albums on this list SHOULD have.

I bought this back when it was released in '85 and this was Peter Gabriel's most successful and commercial album. Really hit MTV hard with a great accompanying videos for Sledgehammer and Big Time. Excellent supporting musicians too with Levin's bass really driving this record. Hardly a bad track in sight. So that's a 4.5/5 from me

Para mi es perfecto, más no obra maestra.

Pretty good. Took me a couple attempts to get through it but I enjoyed the songs and Peter Gabriel's very distinctive tone.

kate bush <3

This is probably? good for 80's pop, but 80's pop ain't for me. 2.4

This was the height of the 80's techno phase. OK album, but it wasn't anything special for me. Sledgehammer is the only memorable song.

Pretty cool album, it was a chill listen and a real enjoyable one too

here’s a hot take: just bc an album is from the 80s and has one (1) song on it that’s vaguely recognizable bc it gets intermittent radio play on throwback stations does NOT make said album a must listen. now that being said, if i were training an ai model to generate an 80s album, this one WOULD be a must listen

Cool use of diverse instruments but overall too sappy and not my jam

Nothing crazy, but still not bad IMO

Eh, I’m not *that* big of a fan. I feel like there wasn’t anything crazy interesting or different done I will say: Don’t Give Up IS quite a nice positive song. I like the "Don't give up [cause you have friends / you're not the only one]" lines especially. Also, I liked how there were those guitar strum bursts on Big Time

This was some 80s music if ever there was some. That’s not a bad thing. This album moved gracefully between different moods and styles in a way that was refreshing. It’s funny how much you can hear the Genesis and Phil Collins in this music that Gabriel wrote. I would give this one another play to catch some things I didn’t hear the first time around.

Sounds A LOT like Sting

Good emotive songs thx!

A top 3 for me. Perfect in every way. The songwriting, the instrumentation, and the sound are simply fantastic. “Mercy Street” is incredible. I can’t love this any more than I do.

Three hits on this album that I like. They are fun, and I might even give the volume a nudge up when they come on. The rest of the album left me saying, So? So what? Sounds that annoyed my ears. It's like they're from a totally different artist. Took an easy 4 down to a 3.

I had forgotten how good this is. The standout is Don’t Give Up. Absolute goosebumps with that track!

Lush!

How on earth did he manage to make Kate Bush sound boring? That's just plain impressive.

I don’t like this album very much. It’s full of a lot of the 80s sounds in not that big of a fan of. It also feels like a worse Phil Collins, and I don’t really particularly like Phil Collins.

I knew some of these songs, but didn’t realize how much I enjoyed them within the project of the album. Genesis was quite technically sophisticated in their sound, and it seems like Peter Gabriel continued with just as much skill as Phil Collin’s did (although with less commercial success it seems). Really liked this, 4.5/5

Love, love, love this album.

Nicht meins

A favorite! Part of my teenage soundtrack.

Fine, not really my speed.

One of my favorite records.

Great stuff. Mid 80s but a distinct Pink Floyd influence mixed in.

Sledgehammer is still a banger (side note - I didn’t realize it was about his dick until now) and Big time kind of does (the poor man’s Sledgehammer which is also somewhat about his dick). The rest pretty much sucks. We do what we’re told randomly sounds like a bonus track from OK computer which is kind of cool I guess.

3.5 Sledgehammer is a burner. A standout was the bass on Dont Give Up, had a great sound and took over the percussion parts of the song, pretty cool stuff. Overall I would say the almost all of the instmentals were pretty interesting, maybe just starting to sound a bit dated

Great great mix. The impressive videos that came out don't hurt my appreciation. Often haunting. An exemplary achievement.

Peter Gabriel at his most accessible and yet totally ground-breaking, innovative and consistently great. Every tune is a winner. I’ve had this album in my collection since its release and it never fails to elevate me. ‘Don’t give up’ deserves 10 stars by itself. A truly beautiful song and the others are all bangers. Outstanding!

This one has a bit of a special meaning for me. 1989 was when I first started indulging in cannabis, and a good friend of mine insisted we hang in the bedroom and crank on an album that could be enhanced by the experience the first time I got high. I picked this CD out of my collection as I thought it was just an incredible sounding record. (Just recently, I stumbled upon a video of Harry Styles (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqm7-zN5s8k) on the Stern show, and he mentions how he thinks this is the "best mixed" album ever). Admittedly, I don't LOVE all of Gabriel's work — I'm in for most of the hits and a handful of others but he's not on my "must have" list — but this album stands out as absolutely brilliant. I didn't fall into a trance on this listen, Gabriel's vocals actually wore on me just a little, but hell, for the personal history and the extraordinary material on here, this was never in doubt of being a 5. Add in duets with two of my all-time faves (Bush and Anderson) and we're further elevated. I appreciate that he still gets weird in the midst of a seriously pop effort, and damn, this record does sound incredible.

God, what an album. Such a fine example of an artist achieving superstardom without compromising their vision. While I enjoyed this at this time, I never loved it. I was wrong. Too young to grok how great this was. Every song is catchy and accessible but also densely populated with intricate and often weird details. Strange time signatures, exotic instruments, songs that take unexpected turns. The lyrics are fantastic. The guest performances iconic. And Peter's singing is expressive without being over-emotive. This gets my vote for best album of the '80s.

What an album. What a guy!

Better than Coldplay

Best Pop album of the 80ies. Powerful sounds, unsual chord changes and the melancholic voice of Peter Gabriel driven by dynamic beats. I celebrated it back in 1986 and do celebrating it still!

Not really impressed by this one, definitely enjoyed PG's first solo album much more, as well as his work with Genesis. It's still a lot more interesting and better than pretty much all over-produced bubblegum pop. But there's nothing here that really grabs the listener's attention. It all sounds like perfectly fine filler material, but without anything standing out. People might point out Sledgehammer, but it hasn't aged well. Sounds like a generic soundtrack song from a mid 2000's movie playing in early 90's or late 80's New York. 3.5 rounded down.

Love “In Your Eyes” and of course grew up on the videos for sledgehammer & big time. Decent album would say 2.5

Owned this album at some point. Never got into it and gave it away when someone rummaging through my record collection when gooey over Peter Gabriel.

sledgehammer best track.

One of my faves

One of the best albums of the 80s, just perfect

Nice

The production is aggressively '80s. I don't hate it at all, but it did feel like just listening to adult contemporary radio. It didn't piss me off so I won't give it a 1, but I also didn't especially like any songs and I'll never listen to this again.

Tried to get into it, but just couldn’t. Nothing stood out. Didn’t feel it in the lyrics, the vibe, or the voice. Not for me.

I liked it! 4 stars

Prior to So, Peter Gabriel seemed to have one foot firmly in the art world and another firmly in the pop world. If that is the case, then on So, he seems to walk around a bit, and end up with one foot in the art-pop world and another just in the pop world. To put it differently: this is the one with the hits. Sledgehammer, In Your Eyes, Don't Give Up, and Big Time were all, on some level, a hit. However, this album is also known for achieving this without sounding like Gabriel is trying to "sell out", the songs here all feel very distinct and personal, and he keeps his art cred intact. Especially since the deep cuts here do *not* sound like they were made for the radio. Mercy Street, We Do What we're Told and This Is The Picture all sound thickly atmospheric, future-forward and mysterious. My personal favorite on here is This Is The Picture, Laurie Anderson (check her out by the way) appears and performs an incredible vocal duet with Peter Gabriel. Not to brush by the singles, they are mostly great as well. Sledgehammer, for example is iconic for a reason: funky, catchy, and just a *touch* art damaged. The only song on here that I specifically don't like is Big Time. It just sounds kind of on the nose and silly to me, but I would like to give credit where credit is due to the bass-work. I overall enjoyed this quite a bit, but I get the sense I may personally get more out of Peter Gabriel's earlier work.

Rock, 1986 -> 4

I had only heard Sledgehammer from this album before going in, but I was familiar with Gabriel's reputation as a formidable musician. However, nothing prepared me for this stonking great album. I was listening on a pretty crap set of headphones and it sounded killer. Switched to the proper set-up and So sounded even better. How is this possible? Great! And that's before you get me started on the songs. Intelligent pop music with hooks to spare and interesting little books everywhere. I realised I had heard "Don't Give Up" with Kate Bush before - on that track I really fell in love with Gabriel's tone of voice. I was so in the zone with this album that I was shocked when it ended after just 46 sublime minutes. Sidenote: I found it interesting that this album was released about a month after Tim Finn's Big Canoe album. Two 1970s art school kids in a weird band going big 80s pop with wider cultural commentary. But oh wow, Gabriel's album just drowns out what Tim Finn achieved with Big Canoe. So does everything Big Canoe did but just better and stronger. Must've felt pretty devastating to release the album you thought would be your big commercial breakthrough and just a month later Gabriel's album lands. Ooft.

Good Art Pop Album, Maybe not my favorite Genre but i certainly caught my self toe tapping the hits. It's kinda just Dentist office music but not in a bad way?

MASTERPIECE!

A classic.

not bad, but completely not my cup of tea. I would like to return to this and relisten. Maybe it just didn't speak to my mood

Peter Gabriel's best album. His creative mind shines throughout this. 10/10

Incredible music from an incredible artist that I’ve listened to for almost 45 years! I’ve seen him twice and actually touched him once when he used to crowd surf during ‘Lay Your Hands On Me’. No question that this is a true 5 star release both in objective quality and my love for the recording.

was okay. my dad thought i’d really like this one and i just did not care for it. 2/5.

Classic 80's album with some excellent tracks but loses steam in its 2nd half. Peter Gabriel's voice was pretty great though and it has some interesting world music influences.

Masterpiece

Utterly forgettable

good stuff

This is one of those albums where I'm super familiar with the hit single (Sledgehammer) but haven't heard the rest of it, and yeah, it's a pretty solid bit of 80's pop rock. The slower ballad tracks are a little sappy for my taste, but tracks like That Voice Again, Big Time, and previously mentioned Sledgehammer are tons of fun.

Exceptional album

Sledgehammer & In Your Eyes are the monster hits off this album that got played everywhere, and I'm more familiar with Big Time because the WWE played the shit out of this song for Wrestlemania 22. This isn't overly my kind of music, but I respect the artistry at play here.

Perfect album. Excellent vocal. Sledgehammer and Big Time are the masterpieces. This Is The Picture, Red Rain and Don't Give Up are the perfect hits too.

Soso

Not unlistenable but its not special on really any way. Sledgehammer is very catchy but I dont think its good. Just an ear worm. Its like any other mid 80s pop album. Doesn't stand out. Also this is probably me getting my wires crossed cause Phil Collins was also in genesis, but this is the missing music review from Patrick Bateman. This is serial killer music so long as you didn't grow up with it. Yall get a pass. Everyone else no

This album has too much content and should just be Red Rain, Sledgehammer and Big Time.

So this is my second album of the day(The Modern Dance by Pere Ubu, dogshit). Peter Gabriel can write bangers about his penis 5/5 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fFHPUk4TS3Y

A brilliant songwriter at the top of his craft. One of my all time favorite albums. “Mercy Street” alone is worth 5 stars

This is, perhaps, my favorite album of all time. From the opening "Red Rain" to the real closer, "Excellent Birds," to me, it's just a perfect record. Some of that is nostalgia, of course, but it's the combination of instrumentation, emotional resonance, and incredible production...and some of the best songs of his career. Some might think of it as his "commercial" album and, yes, I've gotten pretty tired of "Sledgehammer" over the years, but this is the one for me. I don't understand why "In Your Eyes" was moved to the end of the album. For me, it will always be the start of side 2. Other than that, perfection.

So has everything.. gigantic pop hooks on Sledgehammer and Big Time, evocative lyrics, percussion and vocals from Brazil to West Africa, Kate Bush. Pretty easy 5 stars, sound is very 80s but in the best way

Love this album!!!! 4/5 #musicsky #albumsky #musicchallenge

Gabriel's style can be a tad melodramatic at times. Borderline two stars but it's not bad.

ok

Great album, I remember listening to it a lot when it came out. Truly not a bad song on the album, some tracks are better than others but nothing is skip-worthy. Hits "Red Rain", "Sledgehammer", "Don't Give Up" with Kate Bush, "Big Time" & "In Your Eyes" are all still heavily played on the radio today. Even "Mercy Street" was a minor hit. That's a helluva lineup of songs! Huge video success as well for most of those tracks. Glue tracks like "That Voice Again" & "We Do What We're Told" help connect the 9 tracks. Great voice, top notch musicianship, a sound that has stood up well and still gets tons of airplay. Very worthy album to make the Top1001. 4 solid stars. Forced me to explore older PG albums today, thanks!

Musically very good. Good recording, nice layers, solid execution.

What else can be said about this masterpiece?

I had not listened to this album in a long time. It is great again, with such a special voice. Maybe not every track is perfect but the album as a whole has such a special vibe that it merits five stars.

Couple good tracks. Nice revisit Some haven’t aged well but Peter Gabriel is still rad

If the aim is to make an album I’ll listen to on repeat for half a day, this one has succeeded. Love it.

Let's be real, the singles are so, SO good. Fortunately the rest of the album holds up to this as well, this was a great listen all round. Also, did not expect a moody, mostly instrumental track about Stanley Milgram's obedience to authority experiment, but here we are i guess

not my type

This album is flawless.

Muy banda sonora

boring as hell.

very nice. nostalgic af

Perhaps it is because I have heard "In Your Eyes" a million times but it is difficult to really say with confidence that (at least, as far as So goes,) Peter Gabriel succeeds in the realm of romantic ballads... That isn't to say that he is bad at gentle tunes because I do really enjoy "Mercy Street" and "Don't Give Up." Really great album :)

Did not like at all

A little tired of these songs

Dull after the first two tracks

Had great moments for me with the rhythms and bass lines. Fantastic vocals with a lot of character and emotion. A 3 feels too low but a 4 feels excessive for me personally. I feel like he doesn't quite reach the dramatic peaks he had the potential to reach within the album. Overall very enjoyable - I could see myself blasting it in the car with the windows down and feeling alive.

I thought it was really cool to hear all the different sounds, I thought his voice was very unique and was very emotional which I liked. I don’t know if I would listen to it again but I didn’t mind it, and I can see how people would love this album it’s just not one I would personally put on and listen to so for that reason I gave it a 3.

Not my cuppa, bit 80's, bit poppy.

One of my favorite all time albums. Nothing really sounds like it 40 years later.

Still weird this made him a huge MTV star. In Your Eyes is amazing

This album was a little rough. I got a heads up from Jordan on her dislike of this album, I liked it more than her but not great.

Holy Velveeta was this cheesy. 2 stars because sledgehammer kicks ass.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to rate this album. Loved it when it came out and would have given it an easy 5. But that hasn’t always been the case with other albums that were favorites 35 years ago. But this one holds up. Layers of sound - and Peter Gabriel certainly knows how to put together a song.

Full of world class musicianship and complex themes. And hits - rightfully so.

Its a little like Paul Simon's Graceland, but with zero soul or overall point of view.

Твёрдый середнячок - альбом звёзд не хватает, но слушать фоном приятно. 6,5 из 10.

Good variety of moods. I prefer the less funky songs, but I find This Is The Picture to be the weakest song. I find it unclear whether I should count that song though, because it wasn't on the original vinyl release, but it was on the cassette and CD. I guess most people count it, so it's a 4 for me.

The slower songs are great.

I’m… not sure. I love Gabriel-era Genesis but never really delved into his solo work as much. I did listen to Melt a lot which I love but this is different. Gabriel draws on a bunch of influences here, you get eighties sophistipop sense reminiscent of Sting and Tears For Fears, you get world beat that can sometimes sound like talking heads, you get some post punk of the claustrophobic kind he had in Melt, especially on the last two songs. It’s a strong record and Gabriel is an amazing vocalist and songwriter, I just don’t think it’s his best work.

Mans got a lot of Hits but this is maybe the quintessential album.

Correcto

So... I've already had I (Car) and III (Melt) and after a decade of experimental art pop, Gabriel seemingly says "fuck it, how about some dirty commercialism instead?". So... it produced monster single with an even bigger monster of an MTV video in "Sledgehammer" but I adore "In Your Eyes" and "Big Time" also, mainly the latter because it sounds like it was ripped from the Talking Heads. So what? So 80s.

I’ve got to admit that I had heard of Peter Gabriel but hadn’t heard any of his songs or albums. My first thought on listening to this album was that it sounded like Phil Collins… imagine my surprise when I did a little research and found that they were in Genesis together! Hoping my ignorance is forgiven by my age and the fact that I pieced them together from sound alone. In terms of the music itself, I found the drums especially strong in “Red Rain” which was a standout for me. I liked the funky elements of “Sledgehammer”, definitely feels classic 80’s. I thought “Don’t Give Up” was a nice change of pace, definitely showed range and solidified the album as solid rather than a few individual songs.

Hyped me up

Sound like productions rather than songs. Highly polished 80’s style production. Pass.

A talented man performing very dull music. 1.5 stars.

The new wave anthems that sounded so good in my generic Walkman in 1986 like "Red Rain" and "That Voice Again" don't grab me anymore, but I am struck by what a grown-folks stone jam "Sledgehammer" still is. An updated remix of "Don't Give Up" would've been right on time with the recent Kate Bush renaissance. Peter Gabriel should have left "world music" for David Byrne to handle and just gone full R&B elder after this album.

If you wanted to distill what the ‘80s were like musically to someone who never experienced them, you could do worse than nominate Peter Gabriel’s “So.” The album was obviously huge, for starters, with several songs that received heavy rotation on radio and MTV. But it also encompasses a good span of the sounds and styles that defined the decade. There’s the anthemic, strident “Red Rain,” the tender ballads (“In Your Eyes” and “Don’t Give Up”), the blue-eyed soul of “Sledgehammer” and its pioneering video, and the Talking Heads-esque funk of “Big Time.” The synths, backing singers and glossy production are hallmarks of the era and keep everything on this side of accessible to wide audiences, even as Gabriel, like his peers Paul Simon and Sting, is indulging plenty of African and other global music styles and developing an interest in political and social activism. Regarding the non-hits, “We Do What We’re Told” brings some great aural textures but seems out of place on this album with its authoritarian subject matter, while “That Voice Again” is a dud and “This Is The Picture” sounds like a throwback to his prog-phase Genesis days.

Sledgehammer is an automatic extra star on top of whatever this album would have earned anyway.

Hadn't realized his 3 monster hits were on here. Idiosyncratic enough to not be a pure pop album, but he can write a hook when he wants to. I'm not a fan of the slick production but I think this has aged pretty well.

As a kid, this was the only Peter Gabriel I really knew. And it was fine. Maybe overplayed in my limited exposure to music at the time. Later I began to explore a bit more of his work and eventually, a few decades later, I finally started understanding his full body of work. He absolutely belongs on this list. And this album sounds amazing even today.

2/3 star, in your eyes got it to a 3

Sounds very 80s so far. Nothing new.

red rain- he sounds like he just woke up and had to record this. 5 sledgehammer- 5 or 6. reminds me of fame dont give up- so true, pete. 4 that voice again- 5 mercy street- 4 or 5 big time- 5 we do what we're told- 6 this is the picture- 5 or 6 in your eyes- 5

So so

Really good, even after all these years.

Wow i went in excited and really only liked Sledgehammer…

Never cared for whatever I heard on the radio but as a whole this album was quite good. Just needed some patience and a good set of headphones.

It seems people like to crap on successful albums, but career-defining albums like "So" are successful for a reason. This album delivered a sound that exemplifies and also set the standard for pop-dance albums in the mid-1980's, a period where the industry was consolidating under multinational corporate names. Big money made big sounds like never before. (Later, the resistance to this and the increasing affordability of digital recording led to the rise of the indies, but that's a story for another day.) Peter Gabriel and a band of incredibly talented musicians (most who kept their skills sharp as studio musicians) produced this very big-sounding album. Tony Levin's bass and Chapman Stick in particular, set a standard for pop-dance music at the time. Also of interesting note--1986 was a year where CDs were really on the rise, but people were buying their music on legacy media too (cassette and LP), and this was mastered with an ear for all of these. The dense production sounded great on our portable player/headphone sets, as much as it did on our big home systems.

So has some cool synth and drum parts. I've always liked Gabriel's voice as well. The album has a weird mix of darker toned songs that are intriguing intermingled with poppy sounding 80s jams. Lyrically it didn't do much for me. Standouts were "That Voice Again" and "In Your Eyes," which is a classic and I love it and I will unabashedly belt it every time it comes on. Overall, the album was kind of slow for me, but I liked the mood. It was a good length too, any longer and I think it would have dragged and overstayed its welcome. So was cool sounding and it was a good listen but didn't really move the needle away from an average 3 stars.

I saw a review that said something to the effect of "Phil Collins if he was talented." That is a shit take, but I do enjoy Peter Gabriel and this album. It's a little bit too cheesy white guy 80's music to truly blow me away, but I did enjoy the track list and I'm certain that had I been alive at the time, I would've enjoyed this album a even more within the context of its release

I regret not giving him a chance earlier. This is shaping up to be a great album. It has that nice unmistakable 80's sound. I sense this might require more listens to really stick, but I like what I hear.

So amazing and so 80s.

Very ‘80s! I enjoy the big hits and Red Rain is a great opener but the majority of the songs ran together for me… not a resounding success for me but Peter Gabriel has a great voice and Sledgehammer’s about his penis so I have to assume he also has a great penis. Great song.

Definitely an 80's album, there is not a song on here that you would confuse as a more modern track. Peter Gabriel definitely has a distinct voice and the music is very catchy. The second song, Sledgehammer, is listed as the most popular song on the album by YouTube Music plays, but it's one I'm honestly not familiar with. Red Rain and In Your Eyes are way more iconic to me and continue to get more play/pop culture reference so that's interesting to me. In Your Eyes always has been and always will be an absolute banger.

And my heaven will be a big heaven / And I will walk through the front door So much I love about this album. It was important to sensitive kids in the 80s. It’s great, maybe not perfect but close enough.

Absolute snoozefest

I remember Dad playing this in the car occasionally; I quite liked it then and quite like it now. Not sure this album is the front-to-back Peter Gabriel masterpiece I was hoping for, though, despite some notable big hitters in its ranks. Like other PG records the generator has thrown up the consistency isn’t quite there. To be fair though, several tracks are growers and I’m pretty confident they’d continue to grow with further listens. Also, who knows, without Sledgehammer perhaps there’d be no Wallace and Gromit, and what kind of world would that be?

3/5 good but not my favorite style

Very good album. Better than the majority on this list

Gabriel embraces his commercial side (which was always lurking) but still enough of his trademark sonic sensibilities to keep things interesting. Consistently good with some outstanding tracks and ace vocal collaborations with Kate Bush and Laurie Anderson. Is the production too Eighties? Can agree a bit in hindsight but would argue that So in part defined the sound of mid- to late Eighties records which makes it hard to criticise in that way. BTW it’s only 4 stars for me since it’s not as good as Peter Gabriel 3.

Really great pop with great lyrics and sound.

Sledgehammer, Don't Give Up, That Voice Again, Big Time, In Your Eyes

One of the first albums I was ever obsessed with. Love. Every. Track.

Super fun first track

3.5

Peter Gabriel "So" came out when I was 16. And songs like In Your Eyes were iconic at the time. But at the same time, I was never a huge fan of this album. I always thought it was kind of cheesy and overwrought. The song Don't Give Up with Kate Bush. Is one of my least favorite songs in the history of music. And listening to it now. It hasn't gotten any better. Definitely feel like it is extremely dated.

A good listen. Was more interested to see what he is like as I hadnt been much of a listener before. It was good. Not opposed to a second listen but not super impressed

Whispy vocals, cool rhythms. Very indie sound. Not the kind of music I normally gravitate towards, but overall a pretty enjoyable album.

I like Peter Gabriel, but I feel like some of these songs could have been shorter. Overall, a very good sound.

No idea

I wanted to like this album but really couldn't bring myself to care for it. I love prog music but this album was genuinely boring, and ONLY BARELY passes as prog at all. It has too much of an 80s stagnancy to it. Usually when it comes to prog pop and prog rock of this era, it still sounds fresh and experimental today, just look at Yes, Rush, Emerson Lake & Palmer, King Crimson, the list goes on. But this album doesn't even sound new for the 1980s, more like an artsy-fartsy take on some the generic pop of the decade (cough cough, Genesis, cough cough). The quality and memorability of the songs barely varies throughout the album. Even Sledgehammer, upon relisten and framed in the context of the full album, sounds much more dull and my opinion of it has gone down a little. Peter Gabriel has certainly done great work, but this album is not the magnum opus that it's lauded as. Not low quality or low effort by any means, but very forgettable. I can't see myself returning to any song, and definitely not to the album as a whole. 4/10

Some great tracks.

Some great tracks, I struggle with the whole album though

Very good album, already know of this

If you don't like Sledgehammer, get help for your lack of taste

Listened Before? N An absolute 80s classic. A perfect blend of pop, new wave keyboards, and glam - this is one of the best albums of that decade for sure and probably the previous two as well. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Red Rain

Overall a pretty decent album with two big standouts. I love sledgehammer.

Too much filler.

We thrashed Gabriel in a doubles match on the crazy golf course in Brighton seafront. He thought he’d bought a ringer by inviting Mike Rutherford. He didn’t realise that Brighton was basically Len Houmous’ home course. He hit an incredible 18 hole in one’s in a row! 3.4

Gabriel is another artist who’d be better served with a compilation. Sledgehammer is amazing. Don’t t give up is really incredible. Though I suspect he’d fervently disagree he is a singles artist rather than album guy.

So is such an 80s album; the schmickly produced pop, the Fairlight CMI, the synth pads, the fretless bass, the digital reverb sheen are all very much of the time, but it still sounds great. It's smart, literate pop music that still has a great beat and some banging tunes. Gabriel skirts with the cultural appropriation issue, but I would argue that his work with "world" musicians is much more collaborative than the more exploitative work of, say, Paul Simon or Malcolm McLaren. 'Sledgehammer' cashes in on the nostalgia for 60s black RnB in a way that I am a bit uncomfortable with, but you can't argue that it is a cracking tune with an all-time classic video. Gabriel weaves a delicate line between his art-rock pretensions (check out the subject matter of many of these songs), with the need to be accessible and enjoyable. It's a fine line, and he dances it perfectly. This fits the criteria for a great album of "three great songs and no bad songs". (Interestingly, I was reading various reviews, and there is little agreement on what the three great songs are, which speaks to the high quality and broad appeal on this record). Personally, I prefer his earlier 'Melt' album, but that is a bit creepier and unsettling (which is to my taste), but for an example of an album with mass pop appeal that doesn't make you feel dumber for listening to it, this is hard to beat.

h: sledgehammer c: red rain

Hated this. Every backing track was repetitive and annoying and the vocals got on my nerves after a while

Sledgehammer is an all-timer. Nothing else even really gets close to it on here. But still enough to scrape a 4. Simpsons: Yes

Love this album and every song hits for me. Teasing me with some Kate Bush in don’t give up will always make me happy.

Wyśmienita uczta

better than I expected but a lot of it was too much like paul simon

04/05/2025 This was an okay album.

not my type. sounds like a phil collins style, doesn't sound fresh. 1/5

This album was my first introduction to Peter's solo work. It is a very well-written and well-produced album. The instrumentals, lyrics, and overall atmosphere it creates make me want to listen to it on a cloudy, rainy day. It showcases great musicianship and is a perfect example of a truly talented, dedicated, and inspirational individual - leaving Genesis in its peak, yet becoming a successful solo artist

Absolutely solid album from start to finish. Could even be a 5.

Gabriel deserved a better career than Phil Collins.

Stupid Sexy 80s

Kinda missed the mark for me, it felt like alot of songs just didnt quiet hit the high i was hoping for. Epic, but not epic enough, for my taste. But can see why people like it.

Prime 80s. Loads of synths, African and Brazilian music. Movie soundtrack. His most accessible album. Some outstanding songs.

Great album, one that I had forgotten over the years.

I was surprised to learn that many of the songs on this album still have relevance.

unexpectedly solid and contemporary sounding.

I really enjoyed this, but Sledgehammer is an annoying song

Aardige muziek met af en toe wel leuke melodie.

Outstanding production, albeit 80s-dated and unsuccessful at covering some of the weaker song efforts. But "Red Rain" and "In Your Eyes" are particular standouts, and "Sledgehammer" is tons of fun.

I like Peter Gabriel, but I’ve not a huge fan. You can hear Genesis throughout this album. “Sledgehammer” and “Don’t Give Up” are classics. The rest of the album is alright, but nothing to go back for.

Good album - very 80's sounding

6/10. Several tunes I really like.

Surprise Kate Bush!

I like Peter Gabriel so, anything by him is great. :)

A couple good ones but overall a boring album.

One of the most innovative, impactful albums ever made. 5/5

It’s not without filler in the back half but come on… red rain AND sledgehammer!!! Also in your eyes IK isn’t the ‘actual’ closer but fuck it works and shouldve been! 4/5