CLASSIC ALBUM SO
(^1) RED RAIN
Having gone on record stating his hatred of
cymbals and hi-hats and banning them
entirely from his previous two albums, Gabriel
was convinced by Daniel Lanois to reintroduce
them for So and it is the hi-hat, courtesy of The
Police’s Stewart Copeland, that opens the LP
as the intro to the dramatic Red Rain.
A sonic thunderstorm, the percussive
build-up of cascading drums (the result of
drummer Jerry Marotta’s eight takes being
pieced together bar-by-bar) is apt to
compound the drama of the song’s lyrics which
deal with social ills and the threat of nuclear
war. Inspired by a vivid dream Gabriel had,
the cinematic descriptions within his lyrics
perfectly illustrate his vision, with references to
the parting of a red sea and torture (both
literal and mental). Fans of Gabriel’s earlier
work were rewarded by the song’s
continuation of the story of Mozo – a character
threaded throughout his first two albums.
(^2) SLEDGEHAMMER
A funky homage to Gabriel’s love of classic
soul music – in particular the sound of the
legendary Stax record label and Otis Redding
whom Gabriel had seen live in London in
- As well as being inspired by Redding,
Peter also pulled off a major coup by recruiting
his trumpeter Wayne Jackson, once dubbed
“the greatest horn section ever” to play on
the song.
A swaggering display of braggadocio
(entitled after the sex act – something which
bypassed the censors), Sledgehammer
stemmed from an idea Gabriel had at the very
end of the So sessions.
As the musicians were preparing to leave
his studio, Peter asked them to lay down a
demo of the song with him, so that he could
mould it into something with a view to putting
it on his next album. Unable to leave it alone,
he completed the track and added it to So.
When the label heard the album for the first
time, they agreed with Gabriel that the song
would be a perfect lead single, a decision
which paid off as it was a Top 10 hit in the
UK, topped the charts in the US (knocking
Genesis’ Invisible Touch off the top spot), and
became his biggest hit around the world,
thanks in part to that innovative video.(^3) DON’T GIVE UP
After the bombastic opening salvo of the
previous two tracks, the soothing Don’t Give
Up offers respite in the form of a haunting
sonic embrace which has transcended its
original inspiration – that of a man facing
unemployment and an uncertain future, to
be regarded as an anthem of resilience
and support, thanks to Kate Bush’s wonderfully
tender performance.
Originally inspired by the haunting
photographs of Depression-era America by
Dorothea Lange, Gabriel wrote the song with
Dolly Parton in mind, but when she refused,
Bush agreed to duet with him.
The sentiment of the track was pertinent to
the situations of many in Thatcher’s Britain
who had suffered under her leadership. A Top
10 hit in the UK, the single unbelievably stalled
at No.72 in the US.
(^4) THAT VOICE AGAIN
Co-written with David Rhodes, That Voice
Again utilises the technique of the music
mirroring the lyric as its deviation from loud
to quiet accentuates the lyric’s theme of
judgement – veering between conscience and
superego, “I’m listening to the conversation
judge and jury in my head,” he sings.
(^5) IN YOUR EYES
Written during a trip to Barcelona, In Your
Eyes began life as a song called Sagrada,
based on the Sagrada Familia and architect
Antoni Gaudí, before being reworked into a
track rumoured to have been inspired by
actress Rosanna Arquette. According to
director Cameron Crowe, it was she who later
convinced Gabriel to allow him to use the
song in a key scene of his film Say Anything.
Originally intended to close Side One of
the record, In Your Eyes was moved to the
beginning of Side Two to accommodate the
deeper grooves in the vinyl required for the
song’s bassline and frenetic final minute which
featured vocals from Youssou N’Dour. It was
reinstated to its originally intended place as
the closing track on subsequent CD reissues of
the album.
(^6) MERCY STREET
Having been introduced to the ‘forro’ sound
by Djalma Corrêa during a trip to Brazil,
Gabriel had written a piece called Forro.
While experimenting in the studio, the tape
was played at a slower tempo than it was
supposed to, making certain instruments
sound more prominent in the mix. Peter liked
the sound of it and used it as the foundation to
Mercy Street.
A song inspired by the work of poet Anne
Sexton, particularly Rowing, The Rowing
Endeth and 45 Mercy Street, in which the
suicidal, bipolar sufferer protagonist seeks the
approval of her father and God, the fusion of
the haunting lyrics and lilting, stripped-back
production provide a stunning alchemy.
(^7) BIG TIME
The third single from the album, Big Time was
a return to the amplified funk sound of
THE SONGS
“MUSIC HAS ALWAYS BEEN
THERAPY FOR ME. THERE’S THE
IDEA OF CATHARSIS, LEARNT
IN MY REALM OF INTEREST
FROM THE BLUES.”
PETER GABRIEL
Gabriel’s desire to instil more
fun into his music came from
feeling that he had emerged
from what he called “18 months
of torment” in 1983/84.
Arriving home from his
1982 tour left him “hollow and
empty”, feelings which drove him
and wife Jill further apart and
into couples therapy in a bid to
save their marriage – an
experience Gabriel found
“powerful and humbling”.
“I uncovered a lot and it’s all in
the songs of the album,” he told
Rolling Stone magazine in 1986.
“Music has always been therapy
for me. There’s the idea of
catharsis, learnt in my realm of
interest from the blues. When the
blues singer sits there and pours
out his heart he’s purging his soul
a little bit, and he’s doing so for
all the audience, who can
sympathise and maybe get a
little emotion out, too. I know that
when I can get emotion out, I
suddenly feel more alive, just as
if I was pulsing with new blood
in a way I simply don’t when I try
to suppress things.”
Confident that he was through
the toughest times, thanks to Jill
and Daniel, Gabriel’s newfound
optimism saw him ready to begin
work on the record in March
- Not wanting to jeopardise
his positive state of mind, and
keep pressure while making the
album to a minimum, rather than
feel the constraints of time and
money that working in a major
studio would place on him, he
converted the cow barn at
Ashcombe House into a
recording studio and bought all
of the necessary equipment
feeling it would ultimately prove
cost-effective.
The initial sessions for So saw
the barn split into two rooms,
with Gabriel immersed in one,
writing lyrics and developing
song ideas, while Lanois, along
with guitarist David Rhodes (who
had just worked with Talk Talk)
worked in the other, before the
trio came together to develop the
results and brainstorm. The
sessions were light-hearted and
fun, with the musicians regularly
donning yellow hard hats (their
going-to-work attire) and
nicknaming themselves The Three
Stooges after the legendary
vaudeville act.