So (album) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

So received mostly favourable reviews from music critics, although some have criticised the album for what they perceive as its overt commercialism and its 1980s production sounds.

Writing in Mojo in 2012, David Buckley contrasted the album with Gabriel's earlier, more experimental work, claiming "On 1986's So, he switched tack to write pop, and write big. The results are mixed. Sledgehammer, echoing both Stevie Wonder's Superstition and David Bowie's Fame, retains its punch. Elsewhere, Gabriel sounds airbrushed on Mercy Street, Red Rain and In Your Eyes, with only We Do What We're Told a reminder of a daring past."

Writing in Uncut in 2012, John Lewis claimed "Sometimes the state-of-the-art production is part of the appeal. The digi-funk bombast of Big Time is a defining totem of high-end '80s production, pitched somewhere between Scritti Politti's Wood Beez and Trevor Horn's Owner Of A Lonely Heart. And the funk shuffle of Sledgehammer now sounds almost timeless, thanks to it being a much-sampled hip-hop fixture. Elsewhere, the production interferes, like the bell-like Fairlight sounds that mar That Voice Again, or the whistling ambient accompaniment on Mercy Street."

Alexis Petridis, chief rock and pop critic of The Guardian, has claimed Gabriel "suffered a musical mid-life crisis", describing So as "an album packed with ultra-commercial priapic cod-funk" and "a ruthless bid for mainstream success."

On the more positive side, Mark Blake of Q wrote "Gabriel kept his oddness in check on So, but he did it without compromising himself. The exuberant, un-danceable dance hit Sledgehammer, like the rest of So, is carbon-dated to 1986, thanks to those blaring saxes and Fairlight CMI digital sampling synths. But the songs - Red Rain, the Kate Bush duet Don't Give Up, the Laurie Anderson collaboration This Is The Picture (Excellent Birds) - remain timeless. With So, Gabriel crafted an album of user-friendly pop that was still reassuringly odd."

Terry Staunton of Classic Rock wrote "Red Rain was familiarly pensive and politically charged, but the radio waves completely surrendered to the record's muscular dance rock (Sledgehammer, Big Time) and slower tempo eloquence (Don't Give Up, In Your Eyes). A year in the making, it captured Gabriel not so much at a crossroads in his career, as a roundabout with several potential routes to follow, embracing African rhythms, commercially-minded techno, statesmanlike prog-lite and effortlessly cool pop soul. If that makes the album sound scattergun and disjointed, Gabriel approaches each of his bow's many strings with a masterful confidence, delivering a satisfyingly unified whole."

In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Bruno MacDonald was especially effusive in praise of the album, claiming "...though the Sledgehammer video's ubiquity has bludgeoned the song, its parent album is a marvel...awash in delicate percussion, tasteful keyboards, and bubbling bass, Red Rain and Mercy Street are stunning. Of the epics, the Kate Bush duet Don't Give Up is heartwrenching, while In Your Eyes achieved iconic status after its appearance in the John Cusack movie Say Anything...Excellent albums followed, but the breathtaking So is the best introduction to a dazzling discography."