Deep, yet accessible

Review Score: (10/10)
Much like the Police's "Synchronicity," which was a commercial smash while being musically adventurous, Peter Gabriel's "So" showed how music could be experimental while being catchy. Certainly the funkiness of "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" got many toes tapping. It's the other songs that make this a timeless wonder, however. "Red Rain," "Don't Give Up," and "In Your Eyes" are complex, while instilling themselves in your brain for eternity. For me, the most hypnotic song on the album (and probably the most hypnotic song EVER) is "Mercy Street!" I have never heard keyboards sound as human as they do on this song. And the lyric "Words support like bone" is a simile that I've been toying with for 16 years. I am anxious to hear this album on remastered CD, as I have only had the cassette since 1986 (it's a wonder I haven't worn it out).

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
• Excellent but definitely a Step Down
• 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
• 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