187 - Peter Gabriel - So
I think I heard the album on a campout when So originally came out. Otherwise, by the time I was interested enough in Peter Gabriel, I found that his Shaking the Tree greatest hits collection had most of the tracks from this album, so I haven't really felt a need to hear So.
While I am glad to have access to so many songs on the Shaking..., here is another good example of how an album creates and maintains a mood that binds the songs together as a unit even when songs can vary in sound from the soul-pop of "Sledgehammer" to the atmospheric "Mercy Street". The dynamic aspects of the songs make such transitions smoother since "Red Rain" finished on a march and "Sledgehammer" starts off with a conch-like intro before kicking into gear. Peter melds moody synth with Afrobeat rhythms, American R&B, and pop. It is a kind of futuristic "world music" that focuses on the ethereal drone of synths and wails over the acoustic pluck and thump of folk music with primitive instruments. And despite all of the various disparate elements that influence Peter's creativity, it all comes together into something unique and its own instead of a wacky collage.
So is now an album I would put near the top of my list of ones I'd put on to chill out. An album that can be background music but rewards careful listening. Even though the album has quite a bit of quietness and gentle music, there is an optimism to the music that keeps it from being a downer. After Peter and Kate whisper and comfort each other on "Don't Give Up," it finishes with an energetic choir emploring us with the title of the song.
Songs I Knew I Liked: "Red Rain," "Sledgehammer," "Don't Give Up," "Mercy Street," "Big Time," and "In Your Eyes"
Songs I Now Like: "That Voice Again"
Songs I Don't Want to Ever Hear Again: None