Peter Gabriel - So

So is the fifth studio album by British rock musician Peter Gabriel, originally released in May 1986 via Charisma Records.

After working on the soundtrack to the film Birdy (1984), producer Daniel Lanois was invited to remain at Gabriel's home during 1985 to work on his next singing project. Initial sessions for So consisted of Gabriel, Lanois and guitarist David Rhodes, although these grew to include engineer Kevin Killen, bassist Tony Levin, and drummer Jerry Marotta who became significant contributors, and were aided by percussionists Manu Katché and Stewart Copeland and violinist L. Shankar.

Although Gabriel continued to use the pioneering Fairlight CMI synthesizer, songs from these sessions were notably less experimental than his previous material, and fused pop and art rock with elements of traditional world music, particularly African and Brazilian styles.

It is Gabriel's first non-eponymous album, So representing an "anti-title" that resulted from label pressure to properly market his music. Widely regarded as his best album, as well as his most accessible, it transformed Gabriel from a cult artist into a mainstream star.

So's most prominent political statement, “Don't Give Up”, was fuelled by Gabriel's discontent with rising unemployment and follows a narrative of an unemployed man and his lover, which was written as a conversational piece, and features vocals by Kate Bush. “In Your Eyes” has been described as Gabriel's greatest love song. Inspired by the Sagrada Família and its architect Antoni Gaudí, Gabriel sings over a drumbeat of only feeling complete in the eyes of his lover. The track's powerful atmosphere is created through the scat singing of Senegalese musician Youssou N'Dour, who sings in his native language.

The album received positive reviews from critics, who praised its melodicism and fusion of genres, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year (losing to Paul Simon's Graceland).

Gabriel toured So on the This Way Up tour (1986–1987), with some songs performed at human rights and charity concerts during this period.

So is Gabriel's best-selling solo release, and has been certified fivefold platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.

It spawned five singles, “Sledgehammer”, “Don't Give Up”, “Big Time”, “In Your Eyes” and “Red Rain”.

“Sledgehammer” achieved particular success, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and winning a record of ten MTV Video Music Awards. The success of “Sledgehammer” can be seen, in part, due to its hugely popular and innovative stop motion music video, designed by Aardman Animations, which was amazing for it's time.

So has been deemed one of the best albums of the 1980s and is listed at number 187 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

This LP record is a 2016 reissue on 180 gram black vinyl housed in a single pocket sleeve with a printed inner sleeve, download and half speed remastered audio, pressed in Europe via Real World Records.