Phil Collins’ Hits released

First posted 9/15/2020.

Hits Phil Collins

Rating: 4.174 out of 5.00 (average of 4 ratings)

Released: October 5, 1998 Recorded: 1981-1998 Peak: 6 US, 11 UK, 13 CN, 2 AU Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 1.8 UK, 13.1 world (includes US and UK) Genre: mainstream pop-rock Tracks: (1) Another Day in Paradise (2) True Colors (3) Easy Lover (with Philip Bailey) (4) You Can’t Hurry Love (5) Two Hearts (6) I Wish It Would Rain Down (7) Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) (8) Something Happened on the Way to Heaven (9) Separate Lives (with Marilyn Martin) (10) Both Sides of the Story (11) One More Night (12) Sussudio (13) Dance into the Light (14) A Groovy Kind of Love (15) In the Air Tonight (16) Take Me Home Total Running Time: 74:01

Awards:

A Brief History: Phil Collins made his name as the drummer of Genesis, later becoming the band’s lead singer after Peter Gabriel’s departure in 1975. In 1981, he released his first solo album. Through the ‘80s and ‘90s, he continued to work with Genesis and release solo albums. The Hits compilation he released in 1998 covers six of those studio albums, indicated below. The Studio Albums: Face Value (1981) Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982) No Jacket Required (1985) …But Seriously (1989) Both Sides (1993) Dance into the Light (1996) Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies below are noted. If the song charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to singles charts. Face Value (1981): Face Value was only represented by one song on the Hits set although four songs from the album charted, including the U.S. top-20 hit “I Missed Again.” In the Air Tonight (1/17/81, 19 US, 19 CB, 2 AR, 2 UK, 3 AU, 2 CN, sales: 3 million) Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982): Like Face Value, this album was only represented with one song despite eight chart hits, most notably “I Don’t Care Anymore,” a top-40 hit which also hit #3 on the album rock chart. You Can’t Hurry Love (11/6/82, 10 US, 10 CB, 9 AC, 24 AR, 1 UK, 9 CN, 3 AU) No Jacket Required (1985): Three top-ten hits from this album were included on Hits, but the top-five “Don’t Lose My Number” didn’t make the cut, nor did four other charting songs from the album. One More Night (12/30/84, 1 US, 1 CB, 4 AR, 1 AC, 80 RB, 4 UK, 1 CN, 2 AU, gold single) Sussudio (1/14/85) 1 US, 1 CB, 10 AR, 30 AC, 8 RB, 12 UK, 10 CN, 8 AU, gold single) Take Me Home (7/25/85, 7 US, 7 CB, 2 AR, 2 AC, 19 UK, 23 CN, 64 AU) …But Seriously (1989): Six songs from this album made various charts; three are included on Hits. Most notably absent was the top-five hit “Do You Remember?” Another Day in Paradise (10/7/89, 1 US, 1 CB, 1 AC, 7 AR, 2 UK, gold single) I Wish It Would Rain Down (1/6/90, 3 US, 3 CB, 3AC, 5 AR, 7 UK) Something Happened on the Way to Heaven (4/28/90, 4 US, 3 CB, 2 AC, 34 AR, 15 UK) Both Sides (1993): Collins’ heydays were behind him as this album failed to match the success of his last two albums, 1985’s No Jacket Required and 1989’s …But Seriously. Both albums hit #1 and produced four top-ten hits each in the United States. Both Sides, however, failed to send any songs into the top 20 and the album didn’t even make the top 10. The album did produce two top-40 hits, “Both Sides of the Story” and “Everyday,” the latter which wasn’t included on the Hits collection. Both Sides of the Story (10/8/93, 25 US, 20 CB, 10 AC, 24 AR, 7 UK, 2 CN, 41 AU) Dance into the Light (1996): Like Both Sides, this album failed to hit the U.S. top 10 and didn’t even generate a top-40 hit in America. Dance into the Light (9/28/96, 45 US, 45 CB, 6 AC, 9 UK, 7 CN, 36 AU) Hits (1998): Collin’s 1998 Hits collection gathered some of his biggest singles from six studio albums as well as cuts from several different soundtracks: “Against All Odds” from the 1984 soundtrack of the same name, “Separate Lives” from 1985’s White Nights, and “A Groovy Kind of Love” and “Two Hearts,” both from 1988’s Buster soundtrack. Also included was “Easy Lover,” his duet with Philip Bailey from 1984, featured on Bailey’s Chinese Wall album. The collection included one new song – a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.” All told, the compilation included fourteen U.S. top 40 hits, seven of which reached #1. Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) (2/25/84, 1 US, 1 CB, 2 AC, 1 AR, 2 UK, 1 CN, 3 AU, gold single) Easy Lover (with Philip Bailey) (11/20/84, 2 US, 1 CB, 15 AC, 5 AR, 1 UK, 1 CN, 4 AU) Separate Lives (with Marilyn Martin) (10/5/85, 1 US, 1 CB, 1 AC, 4 UK, 1 CN, 14 AU) A Groovy Kind of Love (8/22/88, 1 US, 1 CB, 1 AC, 1 UK, 1 CN, 2 AU, gold single) Two Hearts (11/14/88, 1 US, 1 AC, 6 UK, 1 CN, 13 AU) True Colors (10/10/98, 66 US, 2 AR, 26 UK)

Resources and Related Links: Phil Collins’ DMDB Encyclopedia entry WK Wikipedia

Phil Collins released No Jacket Required

No Jacket Required Phil Collins

Released: February 18, 1985 Peak: 16 US, 15 UK, 18 CN, 13 AU Sales (in millions): 12.0 US, 1.93 UK, 26.45 world (includes US and UK) Genre: pop/mainstream rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Sussudio (1/14/85) 1 US, 10 AR, 30 AC, 8 RB, 12 UK, 10 CN, 8 AU, gold single) Only You Know and I Know Long Long Way to Go I Don’t Wanna Know (4/13/85, 42 AR) One More Night (12/30/84, 1 US, 4 AR, 1 AC, 80 RB, 4 UK, 1 CN, 2 AU, gold single) Don’t Lose My Number (4/6/85, 4 US, 33 AR, 25 AC, 11 CN, 10 AU) Who Said I Would? (2/2/91, 73 US, 34 CN) Doesn’t Anybody Stay Together Anymore Inside Out (3/30/85, 9 AR) Take Me Home (7/25/85, 7 US, 12 AR, 2 AC, 19 UK, 23 CN, 64 AU) We Said Hello Goodbye (4/2/88, 34 AC) Total Running Time: 50:27

Rating: 4.183 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Prior to 1985, Phil Collins had released two solo albums in between albums with Genesis and topped the charts with “Against All Odds” in 1984. He’d already accomplished more than most musicians could ever dream of – and then came No Jacket Required. “The record established him as a major commercial force, and as one of the most recognizable voices of the 1980s.” AMG Newsday’s Stephen Williams said the album “was loaded with musical hooks and textured arrangements.” WK It definitely had hooks. Eight of the album’s eleven songs (on the CD version, there were only 10 songs on the cassette version) hit one chart or another, with four of those songs hitting the top-10 of the Billboard pop charts. No Jacket Required won the Grammy for Album of the Year. With more than 25 million sales worldwide, it is one of the biggest sellers of all time. Rolling Stone’s David Bricke said, it “is not an album that waits to be liked.” WK The title of the album came out of an incident in Chicago. Collins and Robert Plant were denied entrance to the Pump Room, a restaurant with a distinct “jacket required” dress code. Collins argued that he was wearing a jacket, but he was told it was not proper. Collins said he was never so mad in his life. WK He subsequently shared the story on late night talk shows and was sent an apology from the restaurant along with a complimentary sport coat. WK The lead single, One More Night, was a #1 hit in the U.S. It showcased his shift to “sentimental ballads [such as with “Against All Odds”] over his previous darker and more dramatic solo material.” AMG Lori E. Pike of the Los Angeles Times said of Collins’ ballads, “When he slows down and lets his smoldering moodiness take over, the effect is magical.” WK b>Sussudio was the follow-up single in the U.S., where it also hit #1, and the lead single in the UK. The title was a nonsense word he improvised and when he tried to replace it, he decided to keep the original and crafted lyrics around it about a schoolboy crush. WK Collins has said this is the song most people sing to him when they see him on the street. WK The song demonstrated the other side of No Jacket Required which “found Phil Collins fully embracing horn-driven pop music, drum machines.” AMG Collins said the album was “a conscious attempt to move to a more uptempo sound.” WK The sound was similar to what he’d done with previous top-ten hits “Easy Lover” and “You Can’t Hurry Love.” The third single, Don’t Lose My Number, was written mostly during recording sessions for his first solo album, 1981’s Face Value. Stephen Holden of The New York Times described the song’s lyrics as “vague, sketching the outlines of a melodrama but withholding the full story.” WK Collins himself said he didn’t fully understand the meaning of the lyrics. WK “The pulsating Take Me Home utilizes the drama of ‘In the Air Tonight’ on a more wistful track.” AMG The song was the fourth from the album to reach the top 10 in the U.S. Collins has said that the lyrics refer to a patient at a mental institution and that it was inspired by the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. WK “Take Me Home” and Long Long Way to Go were both featured in episodes of Miami Vice. The latter “is one of Collins’ most effective ballads” AMG and was considered his most political song at that point in his career. WK Backup vocals were provided by Sting, who Collins met through Band Aid, the 1984 all-star gathering of British musicians who sang on the charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” “Although the major hits…quickly came to sound dated, the album contains several standout tracks…Only You Know and I Know and Inside Out…show an effective aggressive side to the singer.” AMG Doesn’t Anybody Stay Together Anymore was Collins’ response to everyone around him getting a divorce. He sang the song at Prince Charles’ 40th birthday party, not knowing that Charles and Diana would get divorced a short time later. WK We Said Hello Goodbye originally appeared as a B-side on “Don’t Lose My Number,” but was later added as a bonus track to the CD version of the album. A remix of the song was released on the soundtrack for the 1986 movie Playing for Keeps. Caryn James of The New York Times assessed the song as being “a straightforward comment on leaving home.” WK In summing up the record, Holden said it “is an album bursting with soulful hooks and bright, peppy tunes. But beneath its shiny exterior, Mr. Collins’ drums and his voice carry on a disjunctive, enigmatic dialogue between heart and mind, obsession and repression.” WK Geoff Orens of All Music Guide said “it’s not a completely satisfying recording, but it is the best example of one of the most dominating and influential styles of the 1980s.” AMG Notes: “We Said Hello Goodbye” was a bonus track on the CD version of the album. In 2016, a deluxe edition of the album included a second disc with 11 live cuts and demos of “One More Night” and “Take Me Home.”

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Phil Collins AMG All Music Guide review by Geoff Orens WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/28/2008; last updated 9/21/2021.