Peter Gabriel

So

Doesn't Hurt To Be Commercial After All

Review Score:

(10/10)
All I remember about this album's original release was that 1) I had received an advance promotional copy and predicted that Sledgehammer would be a number one song and 2) all my friends who were die-hard Gabriel/Genesis fans hated it. I mean, really despised it because Peter Gabriel had decided to "sell out". My answer to that is the same then as it is now...so what?

In listening to this album, it doesn't really come across that he's trying to write hits for the radio. What does come across is perhaps the most atmospheric album ever recorded. Every song seems to blend and support the others, even if you hit random play on your CD deck. That can't be unintentional. This is a mood piece, a record to listen to time and time again when you need to reach a part of your soul that you haven't heard from in a while. Okay, so Sledgehammer is a funky hit single. What about Red Rain, In Your Eyes, Mercy Street, and especially Don't Give Up? I had a tremendous amount of hope for the future of popular music when this album received the accolades it did. Sadly we've devolved back into the no-thinking-required garbage of teeny bopper boy bands. It's time to tap back in to true creativity and musical power.

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