Phil Collins

Hits

It's a Game of Give and Take...

Review Score:

(8/10)
"Hits" takes 16 of Phil Collins' best known songs and brings them together on one disc. This is far removed from his work with Genesis in the 1970s, where he was the drummer and later the singer. Rather than progressive rock, his solo career from the 1980s onwards has been a bit poppier, love songs mostly, with the odd social commentary slipping in. He still plays the drums too!

I grew up with Phil Collins on the radio. "Groovy Kind of Love" was playing in the car when I went home from my first day at school, and most of his other hits remind me of something from my childhood. So hearing his soothing voice and those gated acoustic drums always bring a smile to my face.

His best known songs are all here. Amongst the collection are the uptempo "Easy Lover" and "Two Hearts", the horn fuelled "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" (it was used for a car ad down here in Australia, of all things) the ballads "Against all Odds", "On Seperate Lives", the classy covers "Groovy Kind of Love", "You Can't Hurry Love" the bonus track "True Colours" and of course, the slightly sinister "In the Air Tonight". You also the electronic tinged "Sussdio", "I Wish it Would Rain Down" (featuring guitar work by Eric Clapton) and the 1990s hits "Both Sides of the Story" and "Dance into the Light"

It's not every single hit Phil ever had, though. There are quite a few missing from the playlist "Don't Lose My Number" in particular. It is a bit disappointing. The CD has a good few minutes on it. They could have squeezed at least one more high charting song on it. But in the end, definitive compilations and "best of"s are all a matter of personal opinion. Just like love, it's a game of give and take - put this song on, get rid of this one, etc.

One thing I would have liked is to have had a booklet with lyrics. However, there are liner notes on each song, detailing who played and produced what, which I found interesting. (I had no idea that Sting did backup vocals on "Take Me Home", for instance). There are also some larger shots of the Phil face paintings from the front cover. Nothing spectacular.

I'd recommend "Hits" to fans of 1980s pop music. Though it's not exhaustive, it's probably the one disc casual fans will need. (If they want his 1980s Genesis hits, like "Invisible Touch", they can pick up "Turn it On Again", the best of Genesis)

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