FIRST PICTURES: Peter Gabriel / “So” super deluxe box set

Peter Gabriel‘s So deluxe box is out next week, and here are some exclusive photos of this new super deluxe edition.

Putting to one side the pros and cons of the audio/video content, the box superbly extends and maintains the minimalist Peter Saville and Brett Wickens sleeve design from just over 25 years ago. Design is by Marc Bessant at Real World.

A white hinged box, with the familiar album typography, contains a 60-page hard back book, which itself holds the six discs (4CD+2DVD) within this set. The ‘So’ and ‘Peter Gabriel’ are both foil blocked, in matt black and matt blue, respectively.

The book cover features Trevor Key’s original photo, which – without any fussy typography – was of course the original vinyl LP cover (not the CD, which added the type). The spine of the book subtly displays new iconography – one icon for each track on the album (a suggestion from Peter Gabriel himself).

Behind the book sits two vinyl records (So LP and bonus 12-inch). The heavyweight vinyl sits within classy sleeves of uncoated coloured board. Song icons are debossed (rather than embossed) onto the sleeves.

The strength of this presentation is its simplicity. Unlike the Pink Floyd’s ‘Immersion’ box sets which were full endless (useless?) stuff – marbles, scarfs, art cards, prints etc – there is something rather refreshing about the less-is-more approach to this set. A book, two records and six discs. That’s your lot.

What has been produced has been produced very well. The attention to detail in terms of the printing and production (by Daniel Mason/Something Else) is obvious once you get one of these sets in your hands.

As regular readers will know, the ‘less-is-more’ approach has also been optimistically applied to the audio content of this set. A live concert, a demo disc (So DNA) and the nine track album still feels stingy. Especially when you look at the price. In the US it’s $99 which equates to just below £65. This is a reasonable (even with the disappointing lack of B-sides or period remixes) for the quality of the set, but in the UK it’s £100 which is just too much money.

Ultimately, it’s a real shame that the price and/or audio content will discourage many from purchasing this set. Aesthetically, it’s hard to fault, but beyond that it’s rather easy.

• • UK Pre-order: So [Deluxe Box set]
• • USA Pre-order: So (Deluxe Box set)
• • CANADA Pre-order: So (Deluxe Box Set)
• • GERMANY Pre-order: So (Deluxe Box Set)

• • UK Pre-order: So [Deluxe Box set]
• • USA Pre-order: So (Deluxe Box set)
• • CANADA Pre-order: So (Deluxe Box Set)
• • GERMANY Pre-order: So (Deluxe Box Set)