Peter Gabriel is soliciting his fans for any So-era memorabilia they may still have as he continues work on an expanded, slightly belated 25th anniversary reissue of the 1986 album for release next year — a package that may include a re-edited, full-length version of the Martin Scorsese-produced concert film “PoV.”
Gabriel first announced plans for the So reissue in October 2010, with an eye toward a 25th anniversary release this year. Now he’s set up a page on his site for fans to upload material, and also filmed a video about the project, which you can see below.
According to a message on Gabriel’s site:
“We are in the 25th anniversary year of So and in 2012 will be celebrating one of the most important albums of Peter’s career with a special edition. We want you to help us build the story of So with your own memories. We would love to see your memorabilia from back in 1986. Do you have any original So merchandise, posters and tickets for the So tour? Your photos relating to the album release or the concerts? Even a diary entry from 25 years ago which tells a special story about the album release or So tour?”
In a separate video — the December installment of his monthly “Full Moon Update” series, which you can also watch below — Gabriel further discusses the So reissue and also reveals that he’s revamping the “PoV” concert film, which was produced by Scorsese and mixed footage of a 1987 concert in Athens, Greece, with what Entertainment Weekly dismissed as “standard backstage filler reminding us once again that the concert video is a form fast approaching meaninglessness.”
Gabriel, in the video update, says he now plans to dump the non-concert footage for a new edit of “PoV”: “I think we might now try to strip it back to the original film and get a concert performance of the material in that time. We’re just trying to find all those bits and get them transferred back over.”
No release date has been announced for the So reissue — but if you don’t have the standard CD, we’re currently giving that away, along with 11 other Gabriel albums and a signed lithograph.
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Contest: Win Peter Gabriel 12-album prize pack, plus signed ‘New Blood’ lithograph
- Video: Peter Gabriel and the New Blood Orchestra play full concert on Letterman
- Peter Gabriel to release orchestral ‘New Blood’ album, 3-D concert film in October
- Peter Gabriel sets 12-date ‘New Blood’ orchestral tour of North America
- Peter Gabriel reissuing ‘So’ with bonus mixes, demos, new artwork for 25th anniversary
Wow, that condescending EW review is a great find. How did the reviewer manage to type that up with one hand busy pinching their nose to avoid the stink?
I watched my VHS copy of PoV to death, and am glad to hear Gabriel’s team is bringing it back to life in one form or another. Personally, I’m hoping for an audio-only release of the soundtrack. As is his custom, Gabriel re-recorded much of it in the studio, but it’s a fantastic recording with some definitive versions. As far as I know, “Games Without Frontiers” surfaced on the Shaking the Tree cd single, “In Your Eyes” was released on a promo cd compilation called Before Us, and “Mercy Street” mingled with some 90s live recordings on Secret World Live EP.
I have a pretty spectacular So-era poster featuring artwork I’ve never seen anywhere else, so I think I’m going to try and upload it to Gabriel’s site. Maybe they already have it in their archives, maybe not…
Belated, but I tend to get increasingly annoyed with artists that reckon we want to spend AUS$40 on a CD we already have (!!!) so we can get the live DVD that goes with it. Argh! I’ve never seen “POV” but would very much like to as a remaster of DVD quality. Sounds great in principle, but why not just issue it a a straight release?