Written By Braddon S. Williams

Peter Gabriel: So

Peter Gabriel became famous as the lead singer of Genesis, but he became an international superstar with the release of So (1986).

So featured the song (and revolutionary video) Sledgehammer, which won 9 MTV video awards for its innovative visual style.

As much as I love Sledgehammer, I thought Big Time and Red Rain were even better. Other great songs from So included In Your Eyes, Don’t Give Up, Mercy Street, and This Is The Picture (Excellent Birds).

The focus on rhythm and the extensive use of non-traditional instrumentation gave So an exotic world music feel, but the overall pop sensibility made it more accessible than Gabriel’s earlier work.

So remains Peter Gabriel’s best selling work, and it still sounds pretty impressive even now.