Peter Gabriel – So

When I listened to the half speed mastered Version (PGLPR5, 884108004548 2016 Europe)
I was wondering if it actually sounds very similar to my 1986 European pressing Virgin – 207 587-630. I recorded both versions on a high res audio system and listen to both back to back. Apart from slightly more level on the half speed mastered (or less dynamic on the new version) and maybe the syllables are a tat less annoying on the new version, it is the same.

So (for SO) the sound as we're talking about here is untouched and the same than on the original record, apart from the De-essing that seemed to took place..

No need to buy new expensive half speed master versions like I did. The original 1986 version sounded good at the time and still sounds good today. At least that is my experience with So.

I was under the impression this edition also contained "This is The Picture", just unlisted. Am I wrong? Please change if I'm not.

Who is this musician, who has received more honors in his homeland in Great Britain over the past two years than other figures of musical culture, although at the same moment the American company that sells his gramophone records hastened to announce his imminent "commercial suicide"? ..

The path of Gabriel as a musician began in 1966 at the English privileged private college Charterhouse, where Peter and his classmates founded the ambitious, rather elite at that time group Genesis (Gabriel's classmates were the current "rock stars" Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Tony Phillips ). Within 10 years Genesis released 7 albums on the market and became the best band of the 1970s thanks to the spectacular stage show of Peter Gabriel. The work of the group of that period was the embodiment of intellectual rock music, which created music freed from electronics, based on classical examples, and texts of significant з. In concert programs, Gabriel made attempts to realize his dream of a real rock theater. Along the way, he had more thorns than roses.

When in 1975 "Genesis" with his album "Slaying the Lamb on Broadway" was at the height of fame and began to reap the benefits of its popularity, Gabriel left the group and became a soloist. Fans of "Genesis" experienced a real shock, and Gabriel had to publicly explain his act, which violated all the rules of the deal: “I began to think only about the deal. For a musician, often vulnerable, previously timid, it was very useful. just money so I can get away from them".

With his wife and children, Gabriel leaves for the village and is engaged in self-education there. The rock circus of the conveyor show business was no longer interesting to him. "There was no more risk. I felt alienated from people. As an individual, I no longer wanted to live in the old way. It became a lifestyle." Far from the hustle and bustle of the city, he diligently practiced useful things like piano and composition.

Two years later, Gabriel reappeared on the musical horizon and presented his village exercises to the audience in the form of his first solo album. He finished his first public concert without Genesis all in white and in a straitjacket, from which he freed himself while playing the song "The End of a Sweet Life". Like both of his subsequent albums (1978 and 1980), his first solo disc is titled "Peter Gabriel".

The musician became an outsider hostile to the authorities, who no longer gave interviews, did not appoint hours for shooting, and at the same time very frankly explained what he did not like in the Western music show business: “Every band is now trying to sell the record as a new product. themselves, like soap powder, at discounted prices, as very often they sell the same chemical, only in a different package. " Many respected music critics agreed that Gabriel, on the other hand, always sells something new in almost the same packaging. Changing studios and producers, he is constantly expanding his musical spectrum. The third solo album appeared in two versions at once: in English and German. None of the English rock stars have dared to do this, except for the legendary Beatles. Peter's laconic explanation was again a challenge to the establishment: "I find the absolute dominance of the English language in modern rock music arrogant, I even consider it cultural imperialism."

In his albums, Peter Gabriel portrayed a world that is darker than it is difficult to imagine. The cascades of drums shaking the chest, the rhythms harsh to the sharpness and the terribly screaming singer himself give the pessimistic texts a hell of a deep despair. With the help of modern musical computers, our "country eccentric", constantly interested in electronics, transforms arbitrary sounds, noises of factories, landfills, schools into viscous combinations of tones. He always stands firmly on the rock scene, his magnificent music is ready to awaken "death to life" and is capable, like a Jericho trumpet, to crush walls. New wave producer Steve Lilliwhite brought the right edge and tension to the sound of Gabriel's music. If the texts of his first records were, despite the beauty of the sound, hard to understand by ear, then over time, the main tone of his compositions became clearer to the youth audience. Sadness about mental disability, political terrorism, consumer thinking and alienation of people increasingly permeates Gabriel's songs. At times, his expressive voice takes on the timbre of Bruce Springsteen. In his songs about trashy life, Peter never falls into tearfulness and self-pity. One of his strongest songs begins almost idyllically about the South African student leader Steve Biko, brutally murdered by racists in prison. The text is short and laconic: "September 77th. Port Elizabeth. Sunlight. At last it is calm in cell 6-1-9, only one chair has come unstuck ..." At the same time, an African choir is heard, mixed with distant sounds of bagpipes.

With all the love for experiments with synthesizers and computers, despite the multi-television show and significant lighting technology, Gabriel's current concert programs are still created by a rock poet who does not allow technology to dominate him. He believes in new digital musical electronics, but it serves him both in concerts and in the quiet of recording studios in order to project human feelings. Instead of a spectacular show, its concept is "Theater of Emotions". In it, Gabriel is an incorruptible creator, stage director and actor all rolled into one. Peter embraced the controversial video technology with the euphoric enthusiasm of a creative person who immediately uses the technical possibilities for his fantasies. The video for the song "Blacksmith's Hammer" was created under his skillful control and was voted "Best Video of the Year" as a result.

In recent years, Peter Gabriel has been revolving at the junction of conventional rock and avant-garde "performance", without completely going over to one side. In general, after a walk into ethnological musical experiments, he returned to song forms, full of feeling, stylistically original and diverse, sometimes based on large examples of past style eras of rock music. His own need for renewal of stiff thoughts coincided with the growing needs of listeners who were fed up with destructive "punk" and monotonously pulsating "disco".

Who is this musician, who has received more honors in his homeland in Great Britain over the past two years than other figures of musical culture, although at the same moment the American company that sells his gramophone records hastened to announce his imminent "commercial suicide"? ..

The path of Gabriel as a musician began in 1966 at the English privileged private college Charterhouse, where Peter and his classmates founded the ambitious, rather elite at that time group Genesis (Gabriel's classmates were the current "rock stars" Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Tony Phillips ). Within 10 years Genesis released 7 albums on the market and became the best band of the 1970s thanks to the spectacular stage show of Peter Gabriel. The work of the group of that period was the embodiment of intellectual rock music, which created music freed from electronics, based on classical examples, and texts of significant content. In concert programs, Gabriel made attempts to realize his dream of a real rock theater. Along the way, he had more thorns than roses.

When in 1975 "Genesis" with his album "Slaying the Lamb on Broadway" was at the height of fame and began to reap the benefits of its popularity, Gabriel left the group and became a soloist. Fans of "Genesis" experienced a real shock, and Gabriel had to publicly explain his act, which violated all the rules of the deal: “I began to think only about the deal. For a musician, often vulnerable, previously timid, it was very useful. just money so I can get away from them".

With his wife and children, Gabriel leaves for the village and is engaged in self-education there. The rock circus of the conveyor show business was no longer interesting to him. "There was no more risk. I felt alienated from people. As an individual, I no longer wanted to live in the old way. It became a lifestyle." Far from the hustle and bustle of the city, he diligently practiced useful things like piano and composition.
Two years later, Gabriel reappeared on the musical horizon and presented his village exercises to the audience in the form of his first solo album. He finished his first public concert without Genesis all in white and in a straitjacket, from which he freed himself while playing the song "The End of a Sweet Life". Like both of his subsequent albums (1978 and 1980), his first solo disc is titled "Peter Gabriel".

The musician became an outsider hostile to the authorities, who no longer gave interviews, did not appoint hours for shooting, and at the same time very frankly explained what he did not like in the Western music show business: “Every band is now trying to sell the record as a new product. themselves, like soap powder, at discounted prices, as very often they sell the same chemical, only in a different package. " Many respected music critics agreed that Gabriel, on the other hand, always sells something new in almost the same packaging. Changing studios and producers, he is constantly expanding his musical spectrum. The third solo album appeared in two versions at once: in English and German. None of the English rock stars have dared to do this, except for the legendary Beatles. Peter's laconic explanation was again a challenge to the establishment: "I find the absolute dominance of the English language in modern rock music arrogant, I even consider it cultural imperialism."

Una referencia de la música pop de los 80’s Y también de un sonido mejorable muy por debajo de lo habitual en todo el mundo con un ruido de fondo que le quitó brillo y repercusión. Pudo ser igual de popular que Dire Straits con su Brothers in arms….

Looking for some help.
I am trying to track down the version I have which features the Blue /White vinyl label with Large CHARISMA word just above the centre hole.
Also, the front cover has the following printed in the top-left which my other copy does not which has a pure white centre label.

So
Peter Gabriel

The run out marking is just
PG 5 A
PG 5 B

I cannot find this in the listings.
Many thanks for any help.

I will agree with previous comments. Mastering and pressing quality is superb, it is one those LPs released in peak of analogue technology before CDs came with full force. Even if you don't like 80s pop give yourself a treat and buy this album, especially that you can get it really cheap in great condition.

One of the most sophisticated albums of the 80s. The ability to jump around from vulnerable/tender on tracks like "In Your Eyes" or "Don't Give Up" to braggadocious and carnival sounds of "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" is seamless. The mixing on this album is nothing less than perfect. A truly amazing piece of musical work.

In short, this is a must hear album, and the 1986 original when found in good condition is a must own. Love the inner and outer artwork, also it's quality glossy finish!

The mix does not fault in any area for me. The most minor amount of noise at some moments but given the bloody thing is over 30 years old it's incredible.

A 100% classic album, featuring as it does so many superb songs, especially 'In Your Eyes'. His best solo album by a million miles. Hardly a review, I know, but I simply cannot recommend this album highly enough!