Peter Gabriel - (1986) So

This little album was taken very well by all radio stations and retailers, but some fans, like myself, were a bit disappointed. What happened to Gabriel's old sound? His mix of progressive rock, excellent lyrics, and moving melodies? All we have here is a commercial set of songs, and very confident singing (which isn't always bad). Milgrim's 37 is very moving, and my favourite track. Mercy Street has fantastic lyrics, as well, and Red Rain has nice melodies and lyrics, but besides those three (and the bonus track), I always found this album to be very commercial, daunting, and not at all touching. Gabriel was using many electric sounds, which never appealed to me. (May God, in his infinite wisdom, burn the drum machine!) However, after many listens, I've come to love this memorable album. So produced some of Gabriel most known radio hits (Red Rain, Sledgehammer). Though I am not overly fond of the 80s, this album is very good.

Studio Album, released in 1986

Track Listings

1. Red Rain (5:39)
2. Sledgehammer (5:16)
3. Don't Give Up (6:33)
4. That Voice Again (4:53)
5. In Your Eyes (5:30)
6. Mercy Street (for Anne Sexton) (6:21)
7. Big Time (suc cess) (4:29)
8. We Do What We're Told (milgram's 37) (3:22)
Bonus track on CD and K7
9. This Is The Picture (excellent birds) (4:18)

Total Time: 46:23
Line-up/Musicians

- Peter Gabriel / lead vocal, piano, keys, synths, percussion etc... (All)
- Jerry Marotta / drums (1), Drumstick bass (7)
- Chris Hughes / Linn programming (1)
- Stewart Copeland / Hi-hat (1), drums (7)
- Tony Levin / bass (1-5), Drumstick bass (7)
- David Rhodes / guitar (1-5, 7-8), background vocals (1, 5)
- Daniel Lanois / guitar (1-2, 4), tambourine (2), Surf guitar (7), 12-string guitar (9)
- Manu Katché / drums (2-5), percussion (3-5), talking drums (5, 9)
- Wayne Jackson / trumpet (2, 7), cornet (7)
- Mark Rivera / saxophone (2)
- Don Mikkelsen / trombone (2, 7)
- P.P. Arnold, Coral Gordon, Dee Lewis / background vocals (2, 7)
- Richard Tee / piano (3, 5-6)
- Simon Clark / Chorus CS80 (3), Hammond, CMI, bass (7)
- Kate Bush / guest vocal (3)
- L. Shankar / violin (4, 8)
- Jerry Marotta / additional drums (5), drums (8)
- Larry Klein / bass (5-6)
- Youssou N'Dour / guest vocal (5)
- Michael Been, Jim Kerr / background vocals (5)
- Ronnie Bright / bass vocals (5)
- Djalma Correa / Surdu, congas, triangle (6)
- Mark Rivera / Processed sax (6), Alto, Tenor and Baritone saxs (7)
- Jimmy Bralower / Linn kick (7)
- Laurie Anderson: Voice (9)
- Bill Laswell: Bass (9)
- Nile Rodgers: Guitar (9)