Album Review: Phil Collins - Face Value (1981)

Loved ...But Seriously.  Very much liked No Jacket Required.  And of course, I would be mad to not have a copy of ...Hits in my possession.  But I've never got around to listening to Face Value, the album that effectively launched Phil Collins' solo career.  And it's a bit of a yo-yo kind of affair in terms of quality.  Everybody knows the opening track, "In the Air Tonight", which is easily the best song on this album.  The following two tracks, "This Must be Love" and "Behind the Lines" are nothing short of boring, and the album waits until "The Roof is Leaking" for things to really start picking up.  I hear fragments of "That's All" from his Genesis tenure among several tracks, including the respectable "Thunder and Lightning" and "The Roof is Leaking", and "Hand in Hand" is actually pretty good, as is the instrumental, "Drone."  I also kinda like "I'm Not Moving", and "I Missed Again" seems like a somewhat appropriate song title if the song is anything to go by.  The album once more ends on a duller note with "Tomorrow Never Knows."  Yeah, it's really a mixed bag this album, with some potential on display, but otherwise marred by too many lackluster numbers.  I'd by this album as collector's piece, but nothing more.  Otherwise, stick to streaming if you want to hear this album.  Overrated and not his best, in my opinion.  B

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-

Album Review: Phil Collins - ...But Seriously (1989)

It may be seen in certain music snob circles that to appreciate Phil Collins and all his works is punishable by either scaphism, being made to join the Navy and subject to flogging around the fleet or hanging, drawing or quartering. Or by being forced to admit to the world that you still live with your mother, and despite being 35, have to be home by half six and in bed by eight. Well, I'm 28, flatting, and go to bed at 4 in the morning. And given the size of the New Zealand Navy, being flogged around the fleet would ultimately mean being slapped on the wrist with a wet shoe lace. Oh, and I do like Phil Collins' music. A lot, actually. I partially credit him for introducing me to popular music at an early age back in the mid-eighties, long before the Spice Girls or the Backstreet Boys came along and buggered things up big time. Any music critic who says the Spice Girls were the best thing since sliced bread should be crucified upside down, in my opinion.

Now, I've been listening to Phil Collins well before 1989's ...But Seriously. But this particular album I hold dearly above many other records on account of the fact that there are so many good songs on it, including ones that got bugger all to zip radio coverage. And just like the low profile songs, there's bugger all bad songs here as well. From "Hang in Long Enough", to "Another Day in Paradise", this is an album that I would play if the stop and fast forward buttons on my CD player were shagged. My verdict - a better album than what most critics would call it, and possibly one of Phil Collins' best. A

Album Review: Phil Collins - Both Sides (1993)

Whenever I think of Phil Collins, I think of a musician who makes songs that, for the most part sound exactly the same as the others. I've heard people say that about Bruce Springsteen, but I tend to notice it a lot in Phil's solo work. Which some will hate, and others will loathe, but I can't help but appreciate Phil's apparent tendency to stick to a formula of sameness. It sounds great to me. Really. In fact, anything that deviated from this I will probably bin in great disgust and twice as angry as a Central Auckland bus driver on minimum wage with few dunny breaks doing a haka.

1993's Both Sides sounds like much of it's predecessors, such as ...But Seriously, except for the fact that apart from one song, "Everyday", it is twice as boring as a block of council flats. And to make things even worse, most of the songs are longer than the Great Wall of China, up to 7 minutes long in fact. Which is fine if it's a good song, or written by Jim Steinman, but given almost all songs have the charisma of a parliamentary backbencher, the only time you'll listen to the CD from start to finish is when you're asleep. I feel that "Every Day" really belongs on ...But Seriously, I can visualize it fitting in quite well with "Do You Remember?" and "Another Day in Paradise." Here, it sticks out like a pit bull amongst chihuahuas. B-