1001 Albums Summary

I'm not really feeling this album—it feels awfully dated. While I was already familiar with the two big singles, Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes, the rest of the album leaves me feeling unfulfilled. One of the main reasons is the production. The 80s synth-heavy sound and the polished, almost sterile production techniques haven’t aged well for me. It’s a product of its time, and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it feels like So leans too heavily into the trends of the era, rather than transcending them. Emotionally, while Gabriel grapples with personal and political themes throughout the album, there are moments where it doesn’t connect with me as deeply as I'd hoped. Don’t Give Up, for instance, is a beautifully crafted duet with Kate Bush, but the emotional weight of the lyrics feels diluted by the overly polished production. It’s almost as if the emotion is there in theory, but not in execution. Maybe pop music is just not the thing for me. It needs to be way more visceral and raw. That said, I do understand its cultural significance. So marked a pivotal point in Gabriel’s career, merging art rock with mainstream appeal, and songs like In Your Eyes are undeniably iconic. However, even with that context, I’m left feeling like the album is more a relic of its time than a timeless piece of work. For me, it doesn’t quite transcend the 80s sound enough to feel relevant or emotionally resonant today. 2/5