Album Review: Phil Collins – No Jacket Required (1985)

Phil Collins has being copping flak for a while now, from music critics to satirical animated comedies such as South Park, it appears the former Genesis drummer is seen as being a soft target for a myriad of reasons. And some of this criticism is purportedly viewed as being a catalyst for his seemingly short-lived retirement from the music biz in 2010. But I would like to put it out there that I have nothing against Mr. Collins and his music – au contraire, if it wasn't for hits such as “Two Hearts”, “One More Night”, and the David Crosby duet, “Another Day in Paradise”, I wouldn't have this blog at all. Indeed, “One More Night” is one of the first songs I remember listening to back in the mid-late 1980s, when I was just a kid.  It was a somewhat somber number, emotively powerful, slow-paced but not too tedious, yet when I hear it and the nostalgia kicks in it reminds me of the time when my love of music was being developed in an era in which I really understood the meaning of being happy. But whilst my appreciation of this particular song and its nostalgic properties dates back around 28 years or so, experiencing the rest of the album from which it derives from, No Jacket Required, has been a relatively recent event. And the experience I must say has been a surprisingly pleasant one. Most of the songs on here, I shall admit, have kept the repeat button rather busy as of late - “Don't Lose My Number”, “I Don't Wanna Know”, “Who Said I Would?”, “Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore?” and of course, the very familiar “Sussudio” and “One More Night” are all equal favorites of mine. Less significant, but still pleasing to the ear nonetheless are “Long Long Way To Go” and “Inside Out”, both of which still manage to score a worthy thumbs up from yours truly. Everything else on the album, I must confess, I'm rather apathetic to.  But that's purely my personal opinion. A-