So DNA – this is nothing more and nothing less than a deep insight into the evolution of the songs from So. For each of the nine tracks of the album, different developmental stages were mixed together into a more or less continuous piece, so that in the end you get to hear four, sometimes five, six or more different stages. This is a highly exciting approach that provides a detailed insight into Peter Gabriel’s work and represents a truly special CD within the So25 Deluxe box set. One begins to understand what actually keeps Gabriel so extensively occupied during recording and why he needs so infinitely long (and since he was even relatively quick with So, that’s saying something). In the following, we want to try to provide an overview of this release.

Three Phases

Basically, all songs in the DNA version go through three phases:

In the first phase, Gabriel is always heard alone at the piano – occasionally accompanied by a beatbox. Here, basic compositional structures are developed – almost always without real text: Gabriel sings only half-sentences and unintelligible sounds, which he himself once described as “Gabrielese”.

In phase two, the song is further elaborated. For this, Peter plays piano or synthesizer, flanked by Lanois and/or Rhodes on guitar. Often, a more or less elaborately worked out rhythm track runs along with it. Here, musical elements appear that make it into the final mix.

In phase three, the final arrangement is finally compiled. Here you hear various attempts, detours, further developments, and the steady condensing of ideas.

These three phases are represented in most songs on So DNA with at least one excerpt, but sometimes with several. It also happens that there is switching back and forth between two of them. A uniform sequence for all tracks is not followed – fortunately, but probably also necessarily. In any case, the resulting pieces are significantly longer than the originals – hardly any is under six minutes, the longest even over ten.

The Individual Tracks

Red Rain

Phase one is represented here by a first sketch of the melody line. Completely raw and unfinished but quite recognizable. There are no understandable lyrics yet. The second phase begins shortly after with a driving (and unfamiliar) rhythm loop. Gabriel sings a drawn-out “Red Rain”, then a sustained and deeper “On a red, red sea”. Now there is a clear cut, a rhythmic guitar sets in and Gabriel sings completely unknown lyrics to a completely unknown, but swinging verse melody: “So crazy here, so crazy there – we keep our eyes closed.” The chorus that follows is more familiar again – albeit without finished lyrics. This is followed by a groovy, completely unknown piano solo (is that really Peter?). With another change, the spatial sound becomes fuller, already reminiscent of the finished original, although the almost shouted chorus still sounds completely different. Throughout all this, the demo rhythm loop continues. But now, towards the middle of the entire track, the final part of the song rises in an almost familiar arrangement. It represents phase three, which here consists of only one section. The sung lyrics are still unfinished, also much more elaborate, but everything is already very close to the final version: the culminating build-up and the gradual fading out. Unfortunately, it fades out. But this first DNA track already offers a lot: unknown elements, energy – and some quite listenable elements.

Sledgehammer

Sledgehammer has a completely different effect. Phase one begins here with a dull beat box and piano. PG works on the melody, singing Gabrielese. However, the phrase he plays already sounds like the famous brass riff. In phase two, you hear organ and some guitar in two further elaborated arrangement variants between which there is switching back and forth twice. The verse melody is still different, lyrics, if present, are virtually incomprehensible, but final instrumentation elements can already be recognized. At the beginning of phase three, a familiar bass sounds and also drums. Parts of the intro theme of the maxi version are audible, followed by the outro with the finished text “I kicked the habit, shed my skin…” The distinctive brass and other familiar elements sound, but also a whistling interlude. However, everything remains in beta demo quality. Less magic than in Red Rain, but more rhythm work. After 6:30 minutes, the track ends without the word “Sledgehammer” being sung once

Don’t Give Up

A hard start to phase one with PG singing Gabrielese text against synth strings. Sometimes you hear “cloud”, sometimes “sky”, but nothing really makes sense yet. This is followed by a different synth sphere. PG now sings the Kate Bush part “Don’t give up now, you still have us” in a familiar key – but with text variants and differences in the melody. Phase two adds a later discarded rhythmically grooving electric guitar while PG experiments with melodies. Phase three begins with “Moved on to another town”. The arrangement is almost finished and Kate Bush can also be heard, along with an echoing background vocal. Towards the end, the familiar bass line of the outro can finally be heard, as well as some voice and synth experiments that continue until the fade-out.

That Voice Again

Phase one: “Just wanna talk to you, with nothing in the way”, PG solo on the electric piano. The magic is immediately there and with the next line also a part of the melody framework of the song, which is different but already recognizable. But after a short time this beginning ends abruptly in echo… Restart, phase two: guitar playing, piano, drum patterns. Peter whistles and sings unintelligibly. In phase three, the recognizable intro chords set in, along with synth bass and guitars. The verse melody is there, but the text is still Gabrielese. The bridge then sounds more familiar. Peter continues to experiment with the right text: “nobody cares that I’m coming in peace”, “everything that doesn’t fit, can quickly be removed” (how fitting for this DNA project), “got no justice, got no case, nothing to defend” – nice to hear these early lyrics. Finally, another demo, partly already with final production. Here now the actual surprise of this version, because the voice of Youssou N’Dour can be heard! Finally comes the familiar coda “what I carry in my heart…”, followed by the almost final album version of the chorus. Text and melody are finally finished – unfortunately, so is the DNA version.

Mercy Street

The evolution of Mercy Street is presented relatively calmly, although there is a big break here. In a hard start with simple electric piano accompaniment, Gabriel sings familiar melodies, but unfinished or varied text. Looking down on city streets…”). In phase two, an energetic synth bass kicks in, and – alongside familiar samples and some guitar – also percussions. Thus, Mercy Street suddenly becomes an up-tempo song and one can finally understand why Peter once described Don’t Break This Rhythm as a beta version of Mercy Street years ago. However, all this ends abruptly in echo. Phase three continues with a completely different mood, rather minimal and more familiar. A familiar keyboard effect can be heard and an unknown saxophone! Towards the end, a far elaborated final part, which quietly in the background finally includes the significant triangle loop. The piano is more dominant – overall, however, everything is already quite close to the album version.

Big Time

Everything begins with a powerful, grooving piano and a ticking drum machine. No vocals. This is probably the very first idea and one can hardly guess Big Time. Suddenly, a big jump to a far elaborated version with drums follows. Work is being done on the verse vocals – albeit still without real text. And the melody is completely unfinished as well. But the funky (synth) bass is already there. In the further course, various arrangement solutions are tried out: synth brass, the jazzy organ,… percussions, the female choir – everything still has a demo character. From minute four on, an almost finished version can be heard. Only some instruments are still sampled and here and there elements are still emphasized differently. On the whole, this DNA version has an almost continuous groove, but also many convoluted experimental snippets.

We Do What We’re Told

Dramatic piano chords, PG whimpers melody voices – We Do What We’re Told begins much darker than the album version. After a minute and a half, this first phase flows into the “we do” vocals and a sampled guitar sound that fades into echo. Then a restart to phase two with powerful electric guitar chords, and the familiar intro section. A powerful drum set is added and the arrangement sounds increasingly familiar. From minute three, a Bowie-like vocal sounds, which is significantly more dramatic than on the album. The “We do what we’re told” is answered with a “Yes we do”, wild, exalted background screams and sound effects are also audible. The whole thing finally fades out and omits the “one doubt” coda. This DNA version is probably the most suitable to be listened to repeatedly like a whole song.

This Is The Picture (Excellent Birds)

This is the DNA version with the fewest experiments. Probably because it was just a matter of editing an already finished song version. After the opening by an ethereal voice sample, a rhythm section rattles off, quite funky. Vocals with lyrics set in, and at least those are already very close to the album version. This is followed by a change to a less rhythmic variant, which now sounds closer to the final mix as a whole, later containing at most some cautious sound experiments. There is now switching back and forth three times between these two versions. This is how the song is traversed up to the coda. The whole thing finally ends completely abruptly.

In Your Eyes

At over 10 minutes, the DNA of In Your Eyes is perhaps not the most detailed, but the longest version. It begins with a familiar-sounding percussion loop including guitar and bass overdubs – obviously a pre-produced accompaniment for arrangement development. After a short time, this changes and real drums and the voice of Youssou N’Dour can be heard. Then everything ends abruptly in echo again and it switches to something completely different: an early vocal version of Peter at the piano. Melodies are vaguely recognizable, the text Gabrielese. But once again everything ends in echo. Another restart: a more elaborated version – many gentle percussions, the text is created, the chorus arrangement almost finished. At about minute five comes an unknown passage: “look around, I don’t like all the things I see” and “so much pain, so many people who want to live free”. This is also more demo-like again, even if it sounds familiar. There is a switch back to the almost finished version. The chorus now with many vocal experiments. Finally, everything drives back to a simpler version, more piano and synth based. Unknown texts and vocal lines, which more and more reduce to piano and PG’s voice, with which the So DNA ends.

Comclusion

Some may have been skeptical. Can this concept work? Wouldn’t it have been better to set it up like U2, who simply released an entire album with the songs in earlier versions? No, So DNA is a mercilessly exciting work of art that tells the story of Peter Gabriel’s working method. Besides documenting the three phases, one can also understand how much Gabriel experiments, tries out, expands, discards, and doesn’t give up. Many songs sound quite clumsy in between, some completely different, some things would certainly have suited the final versions well. But now we have it on the So DNA. And considering that we only get to hear a tiny excerpt here, it’s all the more remarkable. This is a jewel, a document of music history. It is part of a strangely compiled box, but it is unique. Peter Gabriel, we want more of this! The DNA of the other albums must be decoded, it’s “So” simple…

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Peter Gabriel – So25 DNA 

Cutting list

Seconds may vary slightly depending on the playback medium

1 Red Rain DNA Version (6.15)

0:00 PG with piano and drum computer, sings Gabrielisch. Very rough and unfinished
0:40 A lively rhythm track and a familiar electric piano are added. PG now sings about ‘Red Rain’ but the melody is still unfinished
1:19 A rhythmic guitar is added and different lyrics ‘so crazy here, so crazy there, keep our eyes closed…’; a groovy piano solo follows
3:13 Switches to a slightly different version, fuller arrangement, but still the rhythm track with demo character
3:31 Switches to the more or less final mix, but the lyrics are still unfinished.

2 Sledgehammer DNA Version (6.30)

0:00 Beatbox with piano, PG howls in the background, works on the melody, sings Gabrielisch
1:28 A more elaborate arrangement with organ and some guitar. The verse melody begins to become recognisable, the lyrics are still unfamiliar
1:57 Another version comes in. More organ and a double main vocal part
2:28 Back to the previous version
2:37 Back to the following version. The arrangement contains final elements but PG continues to sing in Gabrielian
3:18 A familiar bass and drums come in, lyrics still Gabrielic. Vocals quite quiet in the mix. The arrangement approaches the final version. At 4:30, parts of the intro theme of the maxi version can be heard, followed by the outro with the finished lyrics ‘I kicked the habit, shed my skin…’
4:56 The distinctive horns! More work on the outro and other final elements. Whistling! Lyrics still unclear
6:30 The track ends without ‘Sledgehammer’ being sung once!!!

3 Don’t Give Up DNA Version (6.10)

0:00 Hard introduction with PG singing Gabriele lyrics against synthstrings
1:05 Another synthsphere. PG sings the Kate Bush part ‘Don’t give up now, you still have us…’ but with text variations and differences in the melody
2:26 Rhythmic electric guitar swings while PG experiments with melodies
3:37 ‘Moved on to another town…’ Arrangement almost finished. Kate Bush appears, with reverberant background vocals
5:08 The familiar bass line of the outro. Some vocal and synth experiments until the fade-out.

4 That Voice Again DNA Version (6.39)

0:00 Solo piano, PG sings Gabrielese. The melody is different, but recognisable. Ends abruptly in echo reverb…
1:05 Restart. Guitar playing, piano, drum patterns. PG whistles
1:58 Half-finished intro chords. Synth bass and guitars. The verse melody is there, but the lyrics are still Gabrielian
3:15 The mix changes, but the demo foundation remains the same. PG searches for the lyrics, the bridge already sounds familiar
4:56 Another demo, partly already final production, the voice of Youssou N’Dour, organ
5:41 Coda, PG sings ‘what I carry in my heart…’ The chorus lyrics and melody are finished, close to final production and mixdown.

5 Mercy Street DNA Version (7.50)

0:00 Hard introduction: PG and simple electric piano accompaniment, familiar melodies but unfinished or varied lyrics. Looking down on citystreets…”)
2:08 Energetic synth bass and percussion join in. Familiar samples and some guitar
2:43 Another version begins; more elaborated vocals, heavy piano chords. Further percussion reminiscent of Don’t Break This Rhythm; ends abruptly in echo reverb…
3:53 Restart, more minimal and familiar. Voice very clear, accompaniment in the background. The familiar keyboard effects. Unfamiliar saxophone joins in
6:14 Very smooth transition in a slightly different mixdown, partly with the triangle loop, final part is very elaborate.

6 Big Time DNA Version (6.54)

0:00 Powerful, grooving piano and ticking drum machine. No vocals
0:51 Big jump to a more elaborate version with drums and verse vocals in Gabrielian. The funky synth bass is already there
1:26 Instrumental refrain with synth brass. Arrangement solutions are sought
1:51 ‘So much larger than life’ Female voices there, also the funky organ – but all with a demo character
2:35 Experiments with sampled percussion and electric guitars. The background loop is there
2:59 Powerful drums darkened by reverb, plus the synth bass riff, no vocals
3:57 Start of vocals for ‘I’m on my way I’m making it…’ Already close to the final version, but still with sampled instruments.

7 We Do What We’re Told DNA Version (5.01)

0:00 Dramatic piano chords, PG tries melodic voices. Ends with the ‘we do’ phrase and a guitar chord sample that fades into echo reverb…
1:36 Restart, now with powerful electric guitar chords – the intro section with percussion accompaniment and piano
2:15 Powerful drums. Arrangement sounds familiar
3:05 Bowie-like vocals are heard – bigger and more dramatic than on the album. Wild, discordant background voices and sound effects audible. Fades out towards the end, omitting the ‘one doubt’ coda.

8 This Is The Picture DNA Version (3.56)

0:00 Ethereal voice samples
0:20 A rhythm section, quite funky; still seems familiar. Vocals and lyrics very close to the album
1:12 Change to a less rhythmic version that sounds closer to the final mix
1:32 Drums return, synths also become clearer again
2:17 Back to the more restrained version, cautious sound experiments after the chorus
2:44 Switches back to the drum version for the coda
3:50 Ends abruptly.

9 In Your Eyes DNA Version (10.15)

0:00 Pre-produced accompaniment: percussion and guitars with bass overdubs
0:23 Switches to the bridge and a familiar arrangement, real drums and the voice of Youssou N’Dour – ends abruptly in echo reverb…
1:05 Restart: piano and PG, Gabriel sings. Recognisable melodies. Ends again in echo reverb…
2:55 restart: further elaborated version – many gentle percussions. Lyrics are written, the chorus arrangement is almost finished
5:15 Switches to another version – demo-like, but familiar. PG sings Gabrielic again
6:09 Switches to the finalised version with complete lyrics. Refrain with many vocal experiments
7:49Go back to a simpler version, more piano and synth based. Unknown lyrics and vocal experiments. Reduces more and more to piano and PG’s voice.