So (album)
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So is the fifth studio and seventh album overall released by British rock musician Peter Gabriel, released in 1986. Many of its songs reflect a more conventional pop-writing style which became radio hits. Others still retained Gabriel's dark, brooding sense of experimentalism and are held as classics by his more eclectic fans.
This is Peter Gabriel’s second album produced by Canadian artist Daniel Lanois. The previous year, the two of them had worked together on Birdy. Lanois had been previously known for his ambient collaborations with Brian Eno as well as producing U2 since 1984. As he had with the soundtrack to the film Birdy, Lanois brought many of his own ambient sensibilities to this recording.
Songs
The album begins with an emotionally charged piece titled "Red Rain." Its lyrics vividly depict dream imagery that reflect a sense of vulnerability.The second track is Peter Gabriel's most popular single, "Sledgehammer." "Sledgehammer" is an upbeat piece with strong Motown influences, and a world music touch from its famous use of the shakuhachi flute. An eccentric video was made for this song which won MTV's 1987 Top Music Video Awards. This video features stop motion animation by the Aardman Animations company who later created the famous Wallace and Gromit series. The video ends with a shadowy dancing figure covered with lights. While performing "Sledgehammer" in his 2002 tour, Peter Gabriel recreated this image by wearing a jacket covered with LED lights.
Tracks 3-6 cover more serious emotional content. These tracks are a duet with Kate Bush titled "Don't Give Up," "That Voice Again," "In Your Eyes" and a piece about the poet Anne Sexton titled "Mercy Street," whose song title is taken from the name of her play 45 Mercy Street (1969)
Track 7 is the album's last upbeat pop piece, "Big Time". This song is a wicked sendup of the narcissism of the 1980's. It was also accompanied by a video in the vein of Sledgehammer, although to less popularity.
Then comes the album's darkest and most experimental track titled "We Do What We’re Told (Milgram’s 37)." The title refers to the 37 out of 40 compliant subjects of Milgram Experiment 18.
The album ends with a pictorial and meditative piece titled "This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)." This song features vocals with Laurie Anderson, who co-wrote the piece. This track is not included on the original vinyl release of the album, but was added to the audio cassette edition and later CD reissue. Anderson had previously recorded her version of the song entitled "Excellent Birds" for her 1984 album, Mister Heartbreak, which also featured vocals by Gabriel.
Notes
When the album was remastered, with most of Gabriel's catalog, in 2002, the song "In Your Eyes" was moved from the 5th song to the 9th song. This was what Peter Gabriel originally intended. Oddly, the credits in the booklet were not changed to show the change in order (so, Youssou N'dour, instead of being credited with back up vocals to "In Your Eyes" is given credit for back up vocals on "Mercy Street").In 1998 Q magazine readers voted So the 81st greatest album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 282 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2003 the TV network VH1 placed it at number 91.
Track listing
All songs written by Peter Gabriel except as indicated.- "Red Rain" – 5:39
- "Sledgehammer" – 5:12
- "Don't Give Up" (with Kate Bush) – 6:33
- "That Voice Again" (Gabriel, David Rhodes) – 4:53
- "In Your Eyes" – 5:27
- "Mercy Street" – 6:22
- "Big Time" – 4:28
- "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" – 3:22
- "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)" (Laurie Anderson, Gabriel) – 4:251
Remastered CD Track Listing
- "Red Rain"
- "Sledgehammer"
- "Don't Give Up"
- "That Voice Again"
- "Mercy Street"
- "Big Time"
- "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)"
- "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)"
- "In Your Eyes"
Personnel
The track numbers only correspond to the original release, not the remastered version.- Peter Gabriel – vocals, synthesizers, piano on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, percussion on track 4, Linn on tracks 3, 7, 9, Synclavier on track 9
- Tony Levin – bass on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9
- David Rhodes – guitar on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, backing vocals on tracks 1, 5
- Jerry Marotta – drums on tracks 1, 5, 8, drumstic bass on track 7
- Manu Katché – drums on tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, percussion on tracks 3, 4, 5, talking drum on tracks 5, 9
Additional personnel
- Chris Hughes – Linn programming on track 1
- Stewart Copeland – hi-hat on track 1, drums on track 7
- Daniel Lanois – guitar on tracks 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, tambourine on track 2
- Wayne Jackson – trumpet on tracks 2, 7, cornet on track 7
- Mark Rivera – saxophone on tracks 2, 7, processed saxophone on track 6
- Don Mikkelson – trombone on tracks 2, 7
- P. P. Arnold – backing vocals on tracks 2, 7
- Coral Gordon – backing vocals on tracks 2, 7
- Dee Lewis – backing vocals on tracks 2, 7
- Richard Tee – piano on tracks 3, 5, 6
- Simon Clark – synthesizer on tracks 3, 7, organ on track 7, bass on track 7
- Kate Bush – vocals on track 3
- L. Shankar – violin on tracks 4, 8
- Larry Klein – bass on tracks 5, 6
- Youssou N'Dour – vocals on track 5
- Michael Been – backing vocals on track 5
- Jim Kerr – backing vocals on track 5
- Ronnie Bright – bass vocals on track 5
- Djalma Correa – surdo, congas, triangle on track 6
- Jimmy Bralower – Linn on track 7
- Laurie Anderson – vocals on track 9
- Bill Laswell – bass on track 9
- Nile Rodgers – guitar on track 9
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Billboard 200 | 2 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "Big Time" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 |
| 1986 | "Big Time" | Billboard Hot 100 | 8 |
| 1986 | "In Your Eyes" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 1986 | "In Your Eyes" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 26 |
| 1986 | "Red Rain" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 |
| 1986 | "Sledgehammer" | Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 1 |
| 1986 | "Sledgehammer" | Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 3 |
| 1986 | "Sledgehammer" | Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 61 |
| 1986 | "Sledgehammer" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 1986 | "Sledgehammer" | Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| 1986 | "That Voice Again" | Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 14 |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – USA | Gold | July 22 1986 |
| RIAA – USA | Platinum | August 13 1986 |
| RIAA – USA | Double Platinum | July 21 1987 |
| RIAA – USA | Triple Platinum | December 4 1991 |
| RIAA – USA | 4X Platinum | December 9 1994 |
| RIAA – USA | 5X Platinum | October 25 1996 |
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