Excellent but definitely a Step Down

Review Score: (8/10)
This is Gabriel's first thoroughly Yuppie-Friendly album & though meticulously crafted, a definite step-down from all 4 previous albums. The weirdness & bizarre elements that made his first four masterpiece albums so dangerous (and they're all masterpieces with 3 & Security being the peak period)is toned down towards sentimental overstatements like "Red Rain" & "Don't Give Up," infectiously silly but quite shallow hit tracks like "Sledgehammer" & "Big Time" ( rather than awesomely nutcase ones like "Shock the Monkey" & "Games Without Frontiers") & the album would get only 3 stars if not for great 3 track combination of That Voice Again, In Your Eyes & Mercy Street & the great "We Do What We're Told Milgram's 37" that comes after the annoying distraction of the loud & funky "Big Time."

More Reviews:

• You were alive in 1986? Then you've heard this...
• A well-deserving classic.
• Peter Gabriel one of the most prolific in music today!
• probably worth a 3.5
• "So" Amazing
• I really didnt want to like this album..
• So, What's Your Favorite Peter Gabriel Album?
• Closest to pop
• an utterly brilliant album by a real genius
• Dreaming of mercy...in your daddy's arms again
• note regarding musician credits
• SO wonderful! Happy birthday Peter!!!!
• SO amazing!
• Overrated 80s pop album (3.5 stars)
• The bomb!
• A Good CD but...
• The Best; in a sort of sappy heart felt way
• I Wanna Be Your Sledgehammer
• So - Uno de los mejores discos que tengo
• Outstanding Sound Remastering!!!
• SO this is what made him a
• Peter Gabriel's best album ever
• Gabriel's most accessible and FUN work
• Mr. Gabriel's Most Commercial Record, And His Best
• So wonderful.
• For his 'cashing-in' album, Gabriel still resonates
• Commercial and innovative
• Gabriel's Pinnacle
• SO what, it's a great CD.
• Finally, a classic is remastered!
• Beatiful!
• So Perfect
• Just Wow...
• Rearranged SO still more than humdrum experience
• Deep, yet accessible
• SO good I cannot live without it
• Essential
• Phenomenal
• So Remastered (ltd ed packaging)
• Finally, they're here.
• Succeeds despite
• Most Commercial Peter Gabriel Album? Not Quite...
• Type your review in the space below
• Gabriel's Commercial Breakthrough
• A Classic. One of the best rock albums ever.
• a modern day John Donne
• Perfection
• Sheer genius
• A wonderful record...
• "I come to you defenses down, with the trust of a child..."
• This is "Big Time" Peter Gabriel
• Doesn't Hurt To Be Commercial After All
• One of my absolute favorite albums ever
• one of the '80's best records
• What Else Would You Expect?
• Almost Heaven
• Almost Utopian
• Classic Peter Gabriel
• "So" is beautifully composed art
• Desert Island Album
• One of my favourites!!
• Very Gripping CD - Holds many memories
• Big Sounds, Excellent Production
• "Big Time"
• SO its his best album
• Prolific, Profound and worth the money
• Worth the Cash
• COMPLEX, DEEP AND BEAUTIFUL
• A truly great artist at his peak
• Emergent popular Gabriel
• One of the best CDs in my collection
• Terrific Gabriel CD
• Excellent introduction to Peter Gabriel
• On the verge ...
• great
• Eternal Music
• One of His Greatest!
• A Flawed Masterpiece
• One of the fine great albums of the '80's.
• Tops~
• The soundtrack to a generation's teen agnst
• A splendid tapestry of sounds and lyrics--woven for the poet
• it's got it's faults
• SO Brilliant
• Almost a masterpiece
• Awesome!
• This is some of the best work he has done.
• The critics loved it. Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice
• Excellent Album
• Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes are top notch for me
• Gabriel's music and lyrics are sensual, a genius of our time
• Mixed
• Peter Gabriel's Magnum Opus!!
• Not his best, but very close
• A musical genius
• PETER IS GOD
• An incredible album, no other way to say it
• Desert Island material
• SO is one of the best of the 1980's
• "In your eyes" can melt a heart