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So, why aren't you clicking on this link to go back to the main Peter Gabriel page? Sew
Overall Album Score: 7.9 out of 10 I had previously written a review of So a few years ago, and I gave it a mighty old beating! Part of it was that I wanted to sound cool, but another major part is that So much more pop-oriented than he should have gone! One of his earlier albums, Peter Gabriel III: Melt, is a masterpiece and one of the greatest albums of the decade. It was wholly artistic, amazing and the textures he came up with were unique and exotic. But by 1986, Gabriel was much more interested in coming out with hit pop singles and fiddling around with *gasp* adult contemporary. That didn't sit well with me then --- and frankly, it's still a hard pill to swallow! Oh man... Why Peter Gabriel felt the need to come up with the woefully uninspired "That Voice Again" is enough to rile me up! That song is so hopelessly bland and horribly misfired that it doesn't even sound like a Peter Gabriel imitator. However, I'm even more disappointed with Gabriel's collaboration with Kate Bush. Seperately, these two musicians were some of the top musicians of the '80s. Their combined powers should have been enough to cure cancer, but all that resulted from the collaboration was the hopelessly bland, pseudo-gospel "Don't Give Up." The final two tracks of So consisted of a marginal attempt for Gabriel to return to the world music that he was helping pioneer from his previous album, Security, but they're pretty pale in comparison. OK, now that I have all that negative stuff out of my system, I'm going to tell you how much I actually like this album. I listen to this album pretty frequently. It seems that the blandness of the songs I mentioned doesn't matter much to me in practice. The two main reasons why I listen to this so much is, convieniently, the first two tracks: "Red Rain" and "Sledgehammer." "Red Rain" is a freaking masterpiece --- it's not even a pop song, really. It's a glorious track that showcases Gabriel's orchestration abilities. "Sledgehammer" is a memorable and danceable '80s track that's incredibly fun to hear! These are the two reasons that So is worthwhile. Later in the album, we get songs like the atmospheric and hypnotizing "Mercy Street" and the dumb-fun "Big Time." They might make nice listens, but they don't represent Gabriel at his best. Likewise, "In Your Eyes" is wholly decent (and an enormous commercial success), but it's probably one of his worst ballads. All in all, So might be Peter Gabriel's worst studio album that's uncharacteristically sloppy and inconsequential, but there's still enough merit to make listening to it worthwhile. Overall Album Score: 7.9 out of 10 (This is hardly unlistenable, but it's a disappointment considering this is PETER GABRIEL we're talking about. I mean, sappy adult contemporary? Come on!!) Average Song Score: 8.2 (Two fantastic songs, a few formidable songs and a few unfortunate songs. That sums it up.) Album Tilt: 8.0 (For the hits, sitting through this album is worthwhile.) Artist Rating: 7.5 (Peter Gabriel???) Track Reviews Red Rain 10/10 This is such a great pop song that it almost hurts! ... OK, it doesn't really hurt. It's just a lot of fun to listen to. You have this song starting on the end-all introduction that puts nearly every other '80s synth introduction to shame. It's thickly produced, orchestral and utterly perfect. This continues throughout the whole six-minute running length, and it never seems to get old. It's not just the production that's great --- the melody is catchy as well! "Red Rain" is one of those songs that you have to listen to as loud as your speakers can go. Hm, I hope this doesn't cause me to go deaf. Sledgehammer 9.5/10 This song is notable for its extremely popular music video that was produced by the same guys who were later responsible for those charming Wallace & Gromit stop-motion cartoons. Plus, the song is great too! Whereas the previous track was orchestral, this one is danceable. The quasi-funk groove is catchy and so is the vocal melody. I'm sure you guys know this song by heart --- I hear it all the time. It's a classic '80s radio pop song, and it's certainly one of the best ones. If you're going to have an '80s dance party, it'd be at a loss if this song didn't pop up on the soundtrack somewhere... Don't Give Up 7/10 Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel are two of my favorite musicians, and I would have thought that it would have been awesome if they joined songwriting forces. But I guess the two weren't exactly meant for one another. That's not surprising --- and I've certainly witnessed worse. I just reviewed an album in which Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney attempted to join forces but they ended up colliding horribly... Anyway, this song really isn't that bad. The melody isn't bad, really, but that combined with the dreary instrumentation does nothing, but --- well --- make it bland. They don't help matters by making this thing extend well past six minutes. Zzzzz... (Maybe the two were trying to be so polite to one another that neither of them didn't want to do anything unique for fear that they would hog the spotlight. It might just be my imagination from endless years of fan worship, but both Bush and Gabriel strike me as fairly modest people...) That Voice Again 6.5/10 The most unfortunate thing about this track is that there just isn't an interesting melody whatsoever. The instrumentation sounds so boring and the development is *shockingly* clunky. If you compare it to "Red Rain," this just sounds inadequate to me. This track is unlike Peter Gabriel --- I feel betrayed! It's really unfortunate that this song even bears his name... In Your Eyes 8/10 A Trivial Pursuit question once asked me what song John Cusack played on the radio in the movie Say Anything, and I actually got it wrong. What's wrong with me? Anyway, this song is alright. At least the melody means something to me this time, and the instrumentation is smoother and better conceived. Unfortunately, this is uncomfortably close to '80s adult contemporary, and that's not something I like hearing from this man. This song is rather boring, and it's probably one of Gabriel's worst ballads. Mercy Street 8.5/10 This is a dark and atmospheric track that sort of grew on me over time. It's easy to feel overwhelmed and bored through it since it's more than six minutes long and very slow. But at least Gabriel took the time to orchestrate this song properly! The instrumentation is rather pretty. Not only is there the obligatory heavy background synths, but there's some hypnotizing twinkly sounds keeping the beat. Honestly, this still seems pretty cheap compared to his classic album --- well, I guess he'll always be living in that album's shadow! Big Time 9/10 This song is pretty empty-headed, but it's a whole lot of fun. Personally, I'd rather hear an '80s song that's incredibly loud, obnoxious and danceable instead of a sappy ballad. In fact, this song cursed me forever, because whenever I hear someone say "Hi there," this song starts playing in my head. Well, I guess that just proves that it's infectious! The melody is pretty catchy, and it's quite fun to pipe up if you want something with a beat to dance to. We Do What We're Told 8.5/10 This atmospheric track contains with tinges of world music seems like an attempt for Gabriel to return to his work from Security ... Or rather, it's much simpler, so it sounds a little more like an attempt to dumb those ideas down for the pop audience. Oh well... at least they caught a glimpse of the real Peter Gabriel... (Oh god that statement sounded horrible. Like I know the real Peter Gabriel --- Well, I'm a fan, so I must!) The atmosphere is pretty dark and captivating, so that's good enough for me. This is the Picture 7/10 This is the spiritual follow-up to the previous track. It's quite a bit more Gabriel-like in the way I like to remember him! The instrumentation has close ties to world music, and the feeling of the track is a little dark. But this continues to come off as Gabriel-lite. The atmosphere and the textures are nowhere near as wonderful as he has made them in the past --- The melody certainly isn't catchy, so what's left? ... Um, well, this is kinda boring and plodding. I didn't like this album much. So??? Tell me what you think about it here! slb23@shaw.ca (Simon B.) received Dec. 22, 2004 Hmmmm... Peter Gabriel goes pop while still making valuable
artistic statements...in the mid 80's...Add in 3 or 4 hit singles ("Red
Rain", "Sledgehammer", "In Your Eyes, "Big Time")... one (or two - if
you count "Big Time") visually/tecnically awesome video = the first very
commercially successful Peter Gabriel album.
P.S. I also don't like "That Voice Again", and I didn't like "Don't
Give Up" for a while (because of Kate Bush's voice), but I don't really
agree with your rating of "Mercy Street" - IMHO, it's one of the best
songs on here, and the lyrics and atmosphere are very affective
(melancholy, sad, even a bit haunting).
Don Ignacio responds: I should really get this album (and all the other Gabriel albums) in my permanent collection. Songs such as "Mercy Street" can only be an acquired taste through long periods of listening to it! ... I still think it's kind of boring, but maybe one day I won't. Thanks for your intricate comments! sean.umphlet@gmail.com (nosebleed) received March 16, 2006 Actually, the flute used in So is a synthesized shakuhachi flute, which is actually a Japanese instrument, not Native American. I know this has nothing to do with your review, but I was just correcting you, MAN! carrotkins@hotmail.com (egle) received May 24, 2007 i'm sorry for writting you once more, but you finally came to disappoint me. how can you dash-bash-kill SO like that? and this time your review wasn't even funny. it was angry and mad for i don't understand what reason. PG3 also sold well, and there were already similrities to So on THAT SAME ALBUM, WHICH YOU LOVE SO MUCH. i don't know which year you done this review in, but i hope this will be one of the reviews you'll redo first. this is the picture is just a masterpiece song, and it's not hard to notice that you hate it just becus it's on the most *popular* album by peter. i bet that if it had been on one of his earlier albums you would have given a much higher rating. anyway, it's weird how you came to call So all those names, becus it's an awesomely produced, deep and sensitive album. and that's tony levin's bass on big time, not a synthesizer. sorry for bothering you. |
All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. Cheery Cherry.
