Phil Collins - Face Value (1981)

Note: this release was received as a gift as an LP, later replaced by a CD. The CD I picked up is a West German target CD.

After all these years, it's apparent to me that Phil likes 1) drums - lots of 'em, hot in the mix, preferably gated, and 2) to put his face on album covers (it actually makes sense with this album title, but what about No Jacket Required?)

While the album contains a few good cuts, it's a slightly below average album as a whole. What we've got here are two hits that both peaked at #19, one with massive staying power (In The Air Tonight, which might be more popular now than it was in '81) and one that didn't even make the cut for the his greatest hits CD, I Missed Again (ironic, no?). Then there's a Genesis retread from Duke, an ill-advised Beatles cover from Revolver, and tunes that can't decide if they want to be Motown or Earth Wind & Fire. His writing and production styles would later become well-honed and in '81 he was still with Genesis and had recently left Brand X, so I should quit nitpicking and commend him for his impressive recorded output around the time of this release.

Press of the time:

• Musician: "seamless fusion of electro-poptones, jazzy inflections, cool R&B understatement, and sparing flashes of art-rock grandeur"
• Smash Hits (5 out of 10): "File under indecisive"
• Record World: "an album that's going to surprise people"
• Rolling Stone (★★★): "hits more often than not"
• Stereo Review: "on his own he is more than palatable."
• CashBox: "bridges the gap between pop and the avant garde"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #7
• Billboard Pop CD: #27
• Billboard Rock: #2
• CashBox: #12
• CashBox CD: #21
• Rolling Stone: #4

Tracks: I like the two hits and if I'd heard Phil's version of Behind The Lines first, I'd probably like it better than the earlier Genesis take (but I didn't, so I don't). Thunder And Lightning and I'm Not Moving are good little pop songs and if This Must Be Love had been released, I think it might have been a adult contemporary hit. The stinkers are The Roof Is Leaking, followed by Hand In Hand (just say no to children's choruses) and a song that should never be covered by anybody: Tomorrow Never Knows. The remainder is decent filler - it's apparent that Collins was figuring out how to write a hooky ballad, a skill he would later master.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: In The Air Tonight was the second single released from the album in the US and hit the top 40 in July 1981, peaking at #19 in mid-August (it had peaked at #2 in the UK back in February). That particular summer was my second to compete in a summer swim league in my area so that song always reminds me of those meets - long and boring with a lot of down time for music listening and general teenage clowning around. 98 degree Texas summer heat, the meet lasts 10 hours and you're actually in the pool maybe 4 minutes.  Another popular song at swim meets that summer? Billy Squier's The Stroke, for obvious reasons.

Years later, of course, In The Air Tonight owned the pilot episode of Miami Vice and then was introduced to my sons' generation in The Hangover.

And on a completely unrelated note, Phil is an honorary Texan and an Alamo fanatic so he's here in San Antonio every now and then. A few years back, Collins generously donated his collection of Alamo and Texana artifacts to the Alamo.

Previously revisited for the blog:
...Hits (1998)

Phil Collins - ...Hits (1998)

GREATEST HITS WEEK (JUNE 29 - JULY 5, 2015)

Now here's a man who isn't afraid to put his mug on an album cover! But I gotta admit there's some truth in advertising in the compilation's title. I prefer his '80s stuff with Genesis, put this is certainly a decent disc with lots of hits. For almost two decades, he was a hit-making machine, no? Other than closing with Take Me Home, the sequencing doesn't make any sense, but this is the kind of CD that's best listened to on shuffle anyway. All told, I prefer the Phil that wants to be in Earth Wind & Fire or a Motown group over the Phil that wants to be a crooner.

No liner notes; just credits and at least 8 more pictures of Collins' face. Below, I've marked my favorites with a ✔ and tracks I skip with a ✘.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #18

Tracks: 16 tracks, 75 minutes.

Title	Year	Pop	AC
Another Day In Paradise	1989	1	1
True Colors	1998	112	2	✘
Easy Lover	1985	2	15	✔
You Can't Hurry Love	1982	10	9
Two Hearts	1988	1	1	✔
I Wish It Would Rain Down	1989	3	3	✘
Against All Odds	1984	1	2
Something Happened On The Way To Heaven	1989	4	2	✔
Separate Lives	1985	1	1	✘
Both Sides Of The Story	1993	25	10	✘
One More Night	1985	1	1
Sussudio	1985	1	30	✔
Dance Into The Light	1996	45	6
A Groovy Kind Of Love	1988	1	1	✘
In The Air Tonight	1981	19		✔
Take Me Home	1985	7	2	✔

Missing Top 40 hits: I Missed Again (#19, 1981), I Don't Care Anymore (#39, 1983), Don't Lose My Number (#4, 1985), Do You Remember (#4, 1990), Hang In Long Enough (#23, 1990), Everyday (#24, 1994). Any of the first three listed would have been welcome additions to this compilation.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  I can't hear In The Air Tonight without thinking of Miami Vice. Also, songs from the Hello I Must Be Going album remind me of my friend Scott who loved the cover of The Supremes' You Can't Hurry Love and was in a big hurry to buy the album. We scoured our small town one Sunday afternoon and finally found a copy in a supermarket. He was so excited until remembered the blue laws. [sad trombone sound]

And, no, I've never seen Buster, and have no plans to see it.

Ed. note: I wanted to use the phrase "Hit-Philled" somewhere above but thought better of it. I mention it here so I get credit for my restraint.