SO

Perhaps overly polished with its contemporary production values that were all the rage in the mid 80's. There's no doubting that 'So' is an excellent album. Full of big fat bass sounds and a great splitting of individual instruments in the mix where everything sounds crystal clear.

If you forget about the chirpy and cheerful 'Sledgehammer', this album is actually bordering on a slab of doom. It's a bit like waiting for a funeral to begin.

He's got the help of Kate Bush again - after her appearance on 1980's 'Games Without Frontiers' on the dreadfully sad 'Don't Give Up'. The older I get, the more that gets to me.

Maybe it's just Gabriel's voice that makes this album sound so... down. I mean, the instruments all sound cheery enough. I fully expected to be kicking lumps out of this cd after not having heard it for years, but it is in fact very good. Full of great tunes and for once a voice that's not overpowering.

'In Your Eyes' is another tune that for some reason sounds surprisingly downbeat considering the upbeat nature of the audio. 'Mercy Street' - my personal favourite is enough to reduce a man to tears with its sadness.

Ahh... I'd forgotten about 'Big Time' - phew an uplifter at last. Great bass and tripled vocal tracks make this a song to remember. 'We do What We're Told' sounds like an updated tune from the darkest moments of 'Melt'.

All in all, a far better album than I was going to give it credit for. Even the bonus Laurie Anderson tune right at the end is pretty good.