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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