Peter Gabriel – So

Quality control appears to be an issue with this release. Both copies I purchased had visible and audible scratches on the vinyl out of the box. Pop and crackle completely ruined the high-hat opening of side 1, with noise in quiet spots throughout the album. Half of the CDs and DVDs had fallen out of their sleeves in the package and were sliding around in the box. I returned both and don't think I'll try again. If I'm paying over $100 primarily for a single audiophile pressing of an album, I expect much better than this. Too bad, the mix and mastering are very good.

Such a fabulous "deluxe" edition of this great record. LPs, CDs, DVDs, and a 60-page hardbound book. Extras include So DNA, Classic Albums - So, and the excellent Live in Athens 1987 recording on both CD and DVDs. I couldn't have asked for a better anniversary edition than this. Well done!

The LP doesn't sound good, a disappointment, it's definitely far from being an audiophile edition, lots of background noise, pops and clics. I bought the Half Speed ​​edition which is amazing. I only keep it for collecting purposes as I'm a fan of this album. The CDs are fine but you have to take them out and put them in sleeves otherwise they get scratched. The DVDs are the same.

..in my case, what will make me determine if I want to BUY this CD or not are the CONCERT DETAILS...!!! which I don´t find anywhere here, what I needed to know is: concert at Lycabettus Theatre, Athens, Greece on October 6, 1987

..the publisher / seller should always include thins kind of info., please, if the concert would be a NEW one from 2011 or so I would not be interested in buying, but since it´s an OLD cobcert from the right "so" tour, then it´s definetly worth buying if the concert information is specified, it´s actually THE most important detail of this whole release / reissue, since the concert is what had never been heard before in 87´s original LP release...!!

Just cracked this open new from 2012. Miles did a great job on this mastering. Crisp. Deep bass. Good flat pressing. I am happy.

This is about Peter Gabriel’s “So” Limited Edition 25th Anniversary Box Set…

On the whole it is wonderfully and simply packaged with the CDs and DVDs slotted inside the cover of the glossy pictured 12” by 12” book. The vinyl album and 12” single are nicely weighted at 180 grams, packaged inside separate plain blue and red cardboard covers respectively with inner cardboard sleeves in the reverse colours.

The sound is crisp and clear on the CDs, a lot brighter compared to the original release that I had back in the 80’s, which I can’t complain about, because back then I was a teenager who was simply in love with the music. That was one of the reasons why I purchased the box set… Oh, those memories!!

I it that I haven’t played the vinyls, due to the lack of a turntable system, but I wanted the box set for collector's purposes; hence I don’t know what the quality of sound is like, but… I did the 24-bit FLAC version of the album to my PC, which does include the rare tracks from the 12” single; so it was a nice bonus since I got to hear the alternate version of “Don’t Give Up”.

On that point, this is my only complaint about the box set… It provides you with the remastered album, the out-takes / demos and the 1987 Live Athens Concert on CD / DVD, but just 3 rare tracks on vinyl only (apart from the promotional digital , which by the way, is no longer available after 31st December 2013). With such a high quality product that this is, which is not cheap by any means, one would think that the powers that be at the record company would have supplied the rare 12” mixes and remixes on CD (or at least along with the ) to complete the box set.

Apart from that, I think this is still a good buy, especially for Peter Gabriel fans. I’m happy with it, since it was the first Peter Gabriel album that I bought back in the 80’s, which intrigued me to listen to his back catalogue and introduced me to Genesis and that genre of music.

Danny (8th December 2013)