Best sounding Peter Gabriel So CD

On the original vinyl it ended with "We Do What We're Told".

Quite honestly the remaster sounds fine, too. You can just rearrange it. I also don't care for the rearranging of the album (reportedly the latest with "In Your Eyes" was the way Gabriel would have arranged the album if there weren't issues with the time constraints on vinyl. That doesn't explain though why when it first came to CD why he didn't do it then).

 

To comment further.....SO is one of My desert island disks.
Having In your Eyes come before Mercy Street is really important to me.

 

Good points, jojo and Wayne. I always liked how strong an opener 'In Your Eyes' was for side 2.

He opened the encore with IYE; the "closer" was always 'Biko' until the later tours.

 

The Dutch pressing matches the Swindon pressing, which is 0.758 times the 32VD pressing.

 

Has anyone noticed the remix in the middle instrumental part of "Sledgehammer" on the current remaster? The horns are more prominent.

On a related note, there are four extra bars in the middle of "San Jacinto" on the Security remaster.

 

I bought SO when it came out and before the US pressing was out. In '86 it was easier to get imports than domestic pressings of CDs because the pressing plants were just starting up here. My copy is the Virgin Nimbus pressing, which has always sounded nice and warm to me. I have the SACD and it's a brighter and louder, which some may prefer.

I remember reading that Peter had recorded So both in analogue and digital at the time, but prefered the analogue master because it sounded warmer and chose to use that. I wonder if the digital master still exits or has ever been used"?

 

I prefer the 32VD thus far, though it's not the smoothest 32Vd I have. I've heard the Japan for USA and the UK Nimbus (with sticky label) as notable 1st edition choices. So far 32VD comes out ahead, but would be interested in other "reference choices" out there. (not SACD please)

 

I never did a shootout with SO, just heard the Classic Records 200g vinyl yesterday and it sounded really good. Since I don't have vinyl playback at home right now, I will stay with the Black Triangle.

 

Well, I can't say I've heard ALL the releases of it, but I still like my US Geffen copy I bought the day it came out, and had signed by Tony Levin years later as you can see!
<-----It's my avatar!

 

I found one today. I haven't been able to compare it to anything yet (all I have is the SACD) but I was initially surprised at how smooth it sounded. Nice fat bass, which I don't remember from other pressings. I'll have to compare it to the SACD and maybe a domestic copy before I can comment.

I'll post EAC peak values too.

 

I liked the US Geffen LP BUT didn't like the CD that much. The SACD was very well done. Not the warmest SACD BUT very revealing.

 

I have the SACD and a geffen japan-for-US pressing.

Both sound a little off to me in the EQ. A bit bright and not very full sounding.

I have the vinyl too, but I have not listened to it in ages, since it is "stored" at my parents' house.

 

Although I haven't heard most of the versions discussed, I recall buying the domestic cd when it came out--and we certainly had it in heavy rotation at the time. I can also remember serious fatigue setting due to the brightness--so much, that I've never really wanted to revisit this disc in the twenty some years since. I'm also surprised to hear that this wasn't a digital recording. Are all of the versions equally bright?

 

Nope, recorded on two analog 24-track machines, a Studer A80, and a Studer A80, per Kevin Killen, the engineer.

 

Thanks for the update!

 

My Japan-for-USA matches the peak values that darkmatter posted for the 32VD Japan pressing:

100/100/100/100/100/90.4/100/100/100

The matrix code is simply: 170

 

I have this version as well. The Black Triangle mastering.
Matrix: 170 1 (perhaps you missed the additional # Keith? It's 6'oclock from the 170.) The numbers are stamped, and are very clear, with serifs - compared to other stamped matrices I've seen.

But wait... I have another copy of a Japan for USA Geffen "So.":

(stamped) 9-24088-2 -U2E (DIFFERENT FONT - rougher, STAMPED) 25

All Tracks
Album gain : -3.93 dB
Peak : 0.992767

Track 01 : 0.980682
Track 02 : 0.992767
Track 03 : 0.967773
Track 04 : 0.965668
Track 05 : 0.986267
Track 06 : 0.878723
Track 07 : 0.983093
Track 08 : 0.977081
Track 09 : 0.976868

SO, there are at least two different masterings, and pressings of the Japan for USA Geffen cd's. Or, is the second listed here just a level-shifted version of the first. Doesn't sound like it to me.

 

In several interviews at the time Gabriel admitted that he was letting higher-frequency instruments back in the record after having banished them for a time, in part because of the association he felt they had with the music he created with Genesis. Things like the hi-hat, cymbals, 12 string guitar, etc. That process of making aural peace with the past continued even to the album Up, as his published remarks indicated at the time.

 

This album sounds great in any version. Whilst I have collected a few Black Traingles of it, I don't believe they sound any better than the original UK Virgin Cd imo.

 

Agreed, picked up a UK, Nimbus mastered copy, which is very impressive. The SACD is good too I thought. Quite expansive sounding, but the gap between the two isn't as wide as you might expect.

 

Yup, you are correct! I have the 1 just opposite the 170.

 

Interesting Keith, so far it appears my pressing, 1A4 TO is possibly from another pressing plant. What is everyone else's matrix numbers?

 

Dave

The matrix code on my BT is 32VD-1021 1A3 TO