Phil Collins

Hits

Missing quite a few 'hits' but still a great collection.

Review Score:

(8/10)
Phil Collins is another 80s pop artist who has sadly been relegated to Adult Contemporary (i.e 'uncool to most people under 20 or 25') status. Although, with many of his recent songs, that categorization might not be too far off. However, it was songs like this which rightly made this guy a superstar in the 80s and early 90s.

He started out more dark, in the early part of the decade. The accusatory slow song (I wouldn't quite call it a ballad--it's still edgy) 'In the Air Tonight' was his first solo hit. Next year, the ultra happy cover of 'You Can't Hurry Love' hit big too. His real success came with 1985's "No Jacket Required" which was a pop/rock masterpiece. The happy, somewhat funky uptempo 'Sussudio', the jazz flavored yet melodic (non boring) ballad 'One More Night' and the mellow classic rock styled 'Take Me Home' are all included. I would however, still recommend that album along with this, as there were many non hits that were just as good.

1989's "But Seriously" is where I'd call the turning point in PC's career. Like the title says, he did get more serious, and focused more on ballads, yet retained his 80s pop (and slight rock) edge. The darker 'I Wish it Would Rain', the melodic yet sad, touching ballad about the homeless, 'Another Day in Paradise' were the big hits. 'Something Happened on the Way to Heaven' was a more rocking song that he could've been on the previous album.

From here, his solo career took a downturn. 1993's "Both Sides of the Story" is another socially consious dark pop/rocker about street violence, taken from the album of the same name. 1996's uptempo happy "Dance Into the Light" was a minor hit, but by than, Rap and other cr*p music had wiped this kind of stuff off the charts. This song was okay, but you almost get the feeling Phil was trying a little too hard to have another hit. The one new song here is a slightly R&B tinged, more uptempo cover of 'True Colors' which is good but not great.

One thing I haven't covered, which is really the good reason to get this collection -- the soundtrack/non-album songs. The mid tempo, slightly angsty and ballad-like 'Against All Odds' is one of the most underrepresented songs of the decade. The upbeat, urgent sounding rocker 'Easy Lover' is a duet with Philip Bailey and is a god send, since it was a pretty rare song before. 1988's Motown sounding, happy 'Two Hearts' and slow, moving ballad (cover) 'A Groovy Kind of Love' are great additions which make the "Buster" soundtrack unnecesary now. The only one I didn't care for was 'Separate Lives' which is more sappy, and does point to the direction he'd end up taking.

The misses here are still plenty, just because he's had so many hits. 'I Missed Again' 'I Don't Care Anymore' are dark rockers from his earlier albums. 'Don't Lose My Number' is the best song from "NJR" and a great rocker. The sad 'Do You Remember' and the rocking 'Hang In Long Enough' from "Seriously." The biggest omission was 1993's ballad 'Everyday'. Even though there's some sappyness here, it's still a great song which would've been huge 5 or 10 years earlier. I think that was the last great song he's ever done. The only reason I can think that all of these weren't included is that it would hurt the sales of his other studio albums. This makes sense, I would seriously (no pun intended) sell all his albums, besides "NJR" if this collection had those songs.

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