Label: Real World Records (Europe), SAPGCD 5 LC3098
Style: Art Pop, Progressive Pop
Country: Chobham, England (13 February 1950)
Time: 46:28
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 303 Mb
Charts:
UK #1, AUS #5, CAN #1, FRA #61, GER #2, ITA #1, NLD #1, NOR #1, NZ #1,
SWE #2, US #2. FRA: Gold; GER & NLD: Platinum; UK & AUS: 3x
Platinum; US & NZ: 5x Platinum.
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 " the Fairlight synth and 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".
(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_(album))
01. Red Rain (05:40)
02. Sledgehammer (05:12)
03. Don't Give Up [duet with Kate Bush] (06:33)
04. That Voice Again (04:53)
05. Mercy Street (06:22)
06. Big Time (04:28)
07. We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37) (03:22)
08. This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds) [duet with Laurie Anderson] (04:25)
09. In Your Eyes (05:29)
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