So (album)

So
Studio album by Peter Gabriel
Released	19 May 1986
Recorded	January 1985 – March 1986, Ashcombe Studios, near Bath, England
Genre	Progressive rock, pop rock, New Wave, ambient
Length	46:25
Label	Geffen (United States) Charisma (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland) Real World (2010 reissue) Virgin (South and North America)
Producer	Daniel Lanois, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel chronology
Birdy (1985) So (1986) Passion (1989)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	(Mixed)[2]
Los Angeles Times	(Positive)[3]
PopMatters	(very favorable)[4]
Q
Robert Christgau	(B-) [5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

So is the fifth studio album (and seventh album overall) by British rock musician Peter Gabriel, released in 1986. Many of its songs reflect a more conventional pop-writing style and became radio hits, while others still retain Gabriel's dark, brooding sense of experimentalism.

It 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.

The album charted at number 1 in the UK Album Chart, and number 2 on the Billboard 200 in the US.^[7][8] It is certified triple platinum in the UK, and five times platinum in the US. So ranked at number #14 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "Top 100 Albums of the Eighties".^[9]

Contents 1 Songs 2 Title 3 Notes 4 Track listing 4.1 Remastered CD Track Listing 5 Personnel 5.1 Additional personnel 6 Charts 6.1 Chart positions 6.2 Certifications 6.3 Year-end charts 7 References 8 External links

Songs

The album begins with "Red Rain". Inspired by a recurring dream which Gabriel had of swimming in a sea of red water, its lyrics vividly depict dream imagery that reflect a sense of vulnerability. The song is one of the works in the story of Mozo, a wandering stranger who appears in several Gabriel songs. Of all the tracks on the album, Gabriel considers "Red Rain" one of his favourites.^[10] Other Mozo works include "On the Air" and "Exposure".

The second track is Gabriel's most popular single, "Sledgehammer". "Sledgehammer" is a piece with Motown and world music influences, from its famous use of the shakuhachi. The video for "Sledgehammer" won MTV's 1987 Top Music Video Award, and Best British Video at the 1987 Brit Awards.^[11][12] Directed by Steven Johnson, it features stop motion animation by Aardman Animations of Wallace and Gromit fame.^[11] The dancing chickens were animated by Nick Park. The video ends with Gabriel dancing in silhouette, covered with lights taped on his suit by a runner who later became a producer for the Wallace and Gromit films. While performing the song on his 2002 tour, Gabriel recreated this image by wearing a jacket covered with LED lights.

Tracks 3–6 include a duet with Kate Bush titled "Don't Give Up", "That Voice Again", and "In Your Eyes". "Don't Give Up" was about the devastation of economic hardship, with the support and wise counsel sung by Bush in the refrain. "Mercy Street" is dedicated to poet Anne Sexton and takes its title from her 1969 play, Mercy Street (Sexton also posthumously released a book of poetry, 45 Mercy Street). "In Your Eyes" was used in the famed boombox (ghetto blaster) scene from the film Say Anything... (1989).

Track 7 is "Big Time". This song is a send-up of the narcissism of the 1980s and was also accompanied by a video in the same vein of "Sledgehammer", although to less popularity. The next track is 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 "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)". This song features vocals with co-writer Laurie Anderson. This track is not included on the original vinyl release of the album, but was added to the audio cassette and CD editions. Anderson had previously recorded a different arrangement of the song entitled "Excellent Birds" for her 1984 album, Mister Heartbreak, which also featured vocals by Gabriel. A video rendition of the song featuring Anderson and Gabriel was included in the 1 January 1984 TV satellite broadcast Good Morning, Mr. Orwell. Anderson also performs the song in her concert film Home of the Brave, released around the same time as So.

Title

This was Gabriel's first studio album to bear an official title from its inception. His previous regular albums were simply titled "Peter Gabriel," including 1982's Security, which was retitled by Gabriel's US label at the time, Geffen Records. Peter Gabriel said in a interview with Smash Hits in 1986 the title "doesn't mean anything. We just liked the form of the word and the two letters. That's all."

Notes

When the album was remastered in 2002 with most of Gabriel's catalogue, the song "In Your Eyes" was moved from the fifth song to the ninth song. This was what Peter Gabriel originally intended, but because of the limitations of the vinyl release format it was moved up to be the first track on side two. Oddly, the credits in the booklet were not changed to show the change in order (so, Youssou N'Dour, instead of being credited with backing vocals to "In Your Eyes" is given credit for backing vocals on "Mercy Street").

The songs Red Rain, Sledgehammer, Don't Give Up, Mercy Street, and We Do What We're Told were featured in episodes of the T.V series Miami Vice.

The song Mercy Street was featured in the opening sequence of 1991 Brazilian telenovela O Sorriso do Lagarto.

In 1998, Q magazine readers voted So the 81st greatest album of all time. In 2001, the TV network VH1 placed it at number 91. Rolling Stone magazine places the album at 187 on its list of 500 greatest albums of all time ^[13] and #14 in Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of The 80's survey.^[14] It was also included in College Music Journal's list of "Top 25 College Radio Albums of All Time" ^[15] and ranked #1 in CMJ's "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1986".^[16] The album came fifth in Kerrang! magazine's Albums Of The Year 1986.

The success of the album earned Peter Gabriel two awards at the Brit Awards in 1987: Best British Male Solo Artist and Best British Video for "Sledgehammer".^[12] The album also received four Grammy Award nominations: Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, Song of the Year, Record of the Year (all for "Sledgehammer"), and Album of the Year.^[17]

In 2006, World Wrestling Entertainment used "Big Time" as the main theme song for Wrestlemania 22.

Track listing

All songs written by Peter Gabriel except as indicated.

Side one

1. "Red Rain" – 5:39
2. "Sledgehammer" – 5:12
3. "Don't Give Up" (featuring Kate Bush) – 6:33
4. "That Voice Again" (Gabriel, David Rhodes) – 4:53

Side two

5. "In Your Eyes" – 5:27
6. "Mercy Street" – 6:22
7. "Big Time" – 4:28
8. "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" – 3:22
9. "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)" (Laurie Anderson, Gabriel) – 4:25^†

^†Not included on original vinyl release.

Remastered CD Track Listing

1. "Red Rain" – 5:39
2. "Sledgehammer" – 5:12
3. "Don't Give Up" (featuring Kate Bush) – 6:33
4. "That Voice Again" (Gabriel, Rhodes) – 4:53
5. "Mercy Street" – 6:22
6. "Big Time" – 4:28
7. "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)" – 3:22
8. "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)" (Anderson, Gabriel) – 4:25
9. "In Your Eyes" – 5:27

Personnel

The track numbers only correspond to the original release, not the remastered version.

• Peter Gabriel – vocals, synthesizers, piano (except on track 7), percussion on track 4, Linn on tracks 3, 7, 9, Synclavier on track 9
• Tony Levin – bass (except on tracks 6, 8), drumstick bass on track 7
• David Rhodes – guitar (except on tracks 6, 9), backing vocals on tracks 1, 5
• Jerry Marotta – drums on tracks 1, 5, 8, drumstick 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 – trumpet on track 2, 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 – Tenor saxophone on tracks 2, 7, processed saxophone on track 6
• Reggie Houston-Baritone Saxophone on tracks 2,7 Distorted Saxophone on track 7
• 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 track,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
• Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan-background vocals track 5
• Renard Poche - piccolo trumpet on track 2,7 Silent trumpet on track 6
• 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

Chart positions Chart Peak position Australian Kent Music Report[18] 5 Austrian Albums Chart[19] 1 Canadian Albums Chart[20] 1 Dutch Albums Chart[21] 1 French SNEP Albums Chart[22] 12 Italian Albums Chart[23] 1 New Zealand Albums Chart[24] 1 Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[25] 1 Swedish Albums Chart[26] 2 Swiss Albums Chart[27] 2 UK Albums Chart[7] 1 U.S. Billboard 200 [8] 2 West German Media Control Albums Chart[28] 2 Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments France (SNEP)[29] Gold 237,900[30] Germany (BVMI)[31] Platinum 500,000^ Netherlands (NVPI)[32] Platinum 100,000^ United Kingdom (BPI)[33] 3× Platinum 900,000^ United States (RIAA)[34] 5× Platinum 5,000,000^ ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Year-end charts Chart (1986) Position Australian Albums Chart[18] 31 Austrian Albums Chart[35] 9 Canadian Albums Chart[36] 7 Italian Albums Chart[23] 13 Swiss Albums Chart[37] 9 UK Albums Chart[38] 19 U.S. Billboard 200[39] 35 Chart (1987) Position Australian Albums Chart[18] 28 Canadian Albums Chart[40] 63 UK Albums Chart[38] 38 U.S. Billboard 200[41] 21

References

External links

• So at MusicBrainz
• http://www.theofficialcharts.com/all_albums_album.php?id=469

Chart procession and succession Preceded by Street Life: 20 Great Hits by Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music UK number one album 31 May – 13 June 1986 Succeeded by A Kind of Magic by Queen Preceded by Now This Is Music 4 by Various artists Dutch Mega Chart number-one album 7 June – 5 July 1986 Succeeded by True Blue by Madonna Preceded by Hunting High and Low by a-ha New Zealand Chart number-one album 6 July 1986 Succeeded by True Blue by Madonna Preceded by Whitney Houston by Whitney Houston Canadian RPM 100 number-one album 12 – 19 July 1986 Succeeded by Invisible Touch by Genesis Preceded by Geld oder Leben! by Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung Austrian Chart number-one album 15 August 1986 Succeeded by Nuovi eroi by Eros Ramazzotti Preceded by Secret Dreams And Forbidden Fire by Bonnie Tyler Norwegian VG-lista number-one album 23 – 28 / 1986 Succeeded by Revenge by Eurythmics

Peter Gabriel Studio albums Peter Gabriel ("Car") • Peter Gabriel ("Scratch") • Peter Gabriel ("Melt") • Peter Gabriel ("Security") • So • Us • Up • Scratch My Back • New Blood • I/O Live albums Plays Live • Plays Live Highlights • Secret World Live Soundtracks Birdy • Passion • OVO • Long Walk Home Compilations Shaking the Tree • Revisited • Hit • Peter Gabriel (The Mail on Sunday) Films CV • Secret World Live • Growing Up Live • Growing Up: A Family Portrait • Play: The Videos • Still Growing Up: Live & Unwrapped • New Blood: Live In London German albums Ein Deutsches Album • Deutsches Album Other Genesis • WOMAD • Passion – Sources  • Plus from US  • Big Blue Ball • Xplora1: Peter Gabriel's Secret World  • EVE: Peter Gabriel  • Myst IV: Revelation • I'll Scratch Yours Peter Gabriel discography