05-16-2022, 01:34 AM
People have mixed feelings about this 1989 album by Phil Collins. Some people love it. The Academy was one such body. My mom loves it. Other people think it's a massive step in the wrong direction musically, generally those who prefer his earlier rock material. I fall in the later group. Now let's be clear. This is still far better than much pop music today, especially in the music. However, this is where Phil seems to have finally lost his edge, with perhaps two exceptions. I will admit I did sort of like the short instrumental track too, although it is too short to be of any real consequence to the overall level of cheese this album brings.
One definite exception is "Hang In Long Enough," the opening track of the CD. It goes hard. Because of the theme of ambition one could even call it a sequel to "Inside Out" from No Jacket Required. That brass opening is beastly, Phil's vocals are the most intense they are on the entire album, and I like the occasional shuffles in the drum beat.
First thing that really annoys about this album. When Phil wants to bring attention to certain social issues on this album, they are so dispassionately delivered that he fails miserably, and that is at its snoozeworthy worst in "That's Just The Way It Is," which according to Phil is about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. This echoes an opinion from the San Jose Mercury News, while I also stand with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's reviewer of this and say that the lyrics in this case are too vague to have any oomph. Example of a better track about Northern Ireland? Try "Zombie" by the Cranberries. This and "Another Day In Paradise" feature David Crosby on guest vocals.
He does also put a few laments on this album, with a couple about failing relationships (hardly surprising considering the source) including "Do You Remember?" Like about half the songs on this album, it could put me to sleep faster than it made me sad. "Something Happened On The Way To Heaven" is a little better because of Daryl Stuermer's guitar and the brass, but the whiny lyrics are off-putting.
Probably the best "social issue" song on the album (there are four of them) is "Colours," which is much less vague than "That's Just The Way It Is" and has at least a little bit of passion, unlike "Another Day In Paradise." This is very pointedly about apartheid ("You can keep your toy soldiers/to segregate the black and white"), and the track's original title had it even more narrowly directed, at P.W. Botha. Where this track IMO falls flat in the more upbeat second half. The slower first half is powerful, even faintly echoing the first half of "Domino" on Genesis' Invisible Touch. But Phil could have shown a little more passion in the second half - the lyrics lend themselves well to it.
"I Wish It Would Rain Down" is the opposite - the lyrics are kinda whiny at times, but the delivery is just too good to overlook. It's also my second-favourite track on the album after "Hang In Long Enough," in spite of some of the lyrics being corny as hell. Part of it is Phil going ham with his vocals, something he could have done much more of on this album. The choir may be a bit over the top, but it certainly doesn't detract from anything. But probably the biggest plus on the track is ol' Slow Hand himself, Eric Clapton, being on the track as lead guitarist!
I'm not going to go the low road that some have gone with "Another Day In Paradise" and accuse Phil of being hypocritical or virtue-signalling by talking about homelessness here. It's a subject that needs to be talked about. I say this as being from the part of Canada with one of the most visible homelessness problems (and indeed, I have been through the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and down Pandora Avenue in Victoria - I've seen it firsthand). But he is far too dispassionate-sounding about it. I'd rather ram "Avarice" by Earth Groans into your ears than put you to sleep with this Grammy-winning snoozefest. (I guess this is a case of "familiarity breeds contempt" on my part because my mom played this song ad nauseam when she had this album. On repeat. ) By today's standards it's still a good pop/AC song. By my standards, it's annoying.
There is a bit of oomph in "Heat On The Street," but you have to wait to the end for Phil to really start belting it out. This is about street gangs and violence. Daryl Stuermer's solo is beast. The brass is there, but underused. Sometimes the lyrics are admittedly a bit vague.
And into another sometimes-whiny track. I initially thought "All of My Life" is another generic heartbreak song, but it's actually about his father, albeit with a decidedly different slant than "No Son Of Mine" from his last Genesis album two years later. But this is like "One More Night." I will give this track this much - it does have some musical oomph, in the song's chorus. It's basically a lament version of "Inside Out." It's this track where the drums come out the most IMO. This also features Steve Winwood of "Higher Love" fame on the Hammond organ. So I kinda approve of that.
I'd like "Saturday Night And Sunday Morning" more if it were longer. It's only just under a minute and a half long. But come to think of it, I'd also like it if Phil had put out more of this rather than adult contemporary cheese - and I know that later in his career he actually did at least do an album of Motown covers. I like jazz. Phil really was an immensely talented drummer and gave us just a tiny taste of what he could do here. I'd bet that in 1989 (when this came out) he could still handle "Behind The Lines" with relative ease.
"Father And Son" is an exercise in irony. Phil Collins giving relationship advice? Musically it's kind of a snoozer by the standards of the time - it actually has a lot of similarities with "One More Night" in its execution, even being in the same key signature. It's targeted towards oldest son Simon, who would have been 13 at the time. But yeah, I don't care for this one at all.
You could be forgiven for feeling baited by the opening of "Find A Way To My Heart," which could potentially make you think it was going to go all hard rock. Instead, you get a bit of jazzy but repetitive soft rock. I'll admit, though, coming back to this after several years has me going easier on this song. I used to hate it. Now I think it's okay. One criticism I will put in though, is he could have done much more with the toms.
About the album on the whole, I'll say that coming back to it after a while has me newly appreciating some of the songs (especially "I Wish It Would Rain Down"). But I still believe that this was a step in the wrong direction that he didn't remedy until much later. I do have to wonder if part of that was him getting sick of the experimental stuff he'd done in the earlier 80s, both with Genesis (starting with Abacab) and in his solo work.
Ranking the tracks:
One definite exception is "Hang In Long Enough," the opening track of the CD. It goes hard. Because of the theme of ambition one could even call it a sequel to "Inside Out" from No Jacket Required. That brass opening is beastly, Phil's vocals are the most intense they are on the entire album, and I like the occasional shuffles in the drum beat.
First thing that really annoys about this album. When Phil wants to bring attention to certain social issues on this album, they are so dispassionately delivered that he fails miserably, and that is at its snoozeworthy worst in "That's Just The Way It Is," which according to Phil is about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. This echoes an opinion from the San Jose Mercury News, while I also stand with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's reviewer of this and say that the lyrics in this case are too vague to have any oomph. Example of a better track about Northern Ireland? Try "Zombie" by the Cranberries. This and "Another Day In Paradise" feature David Crosby on guest vocals.
He does also put a few laments on this album, with a couple about failing relationships (hardly surprising considering the source) including "Do You Remember?" Like about half the songs on this album, it could put me to sleep faster than it made me sad. "Something Happened On The Way To Heaven" is a little better because of Daryl Stuermer's guitar and the brass, but the whiny lyrics are off-putting.
Probably the best "social issue" song on the album (there are four of them) is "Colours," which is much less vague than "That's Just The Way It Is" and has at least a little bit of passion, unlike "Another Day In Paradise." This is very pointedly about apartheid ("You can keep your toy soldiers/to segregate the black and white"), and the track's original title had it even more narrowly directed, at P.W. Botha. Where this track IMO falls flat in the more upbeat second half. The slower first half is powerful, even faintly echoing the first half of "Domino" on Genesis' Invisible Touch. But Phil could have shown a little more passion in the second half - the lyrics lend themselves well to it.
"I Wish It Would Rain Down" is the opposite - the lyrics are kinda whiny at times, but the delivery is just too good to overlook. It's also my second-favourite track on the album after "Hang In Long Enough," in spite of some of the lyrics being corny as hell. Part of it is Phil going ham with his vocals, something he could have done much more of on this album. The choir may be a bit over the top, but it certainly doesn't detract from anything. But probably the biggest plus on the track is ol' Slow Hand himself, Eric Clapton, being on the track as lead guitarist!
I'm not going to go the low road that some have gone with "Another Day In Paradise" and accuse Phil of being hypocritical or virtue-signalling by talking about homelessness here. It's a subject that needs to be talked about. I say this as being from the part of Canada with one of the most visible homelessness problems (and indeed, I have been through the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and down Pandora Avenue in Victoria - I've seen it firsthand). But he is far too dispassionate-sounding about it. I'd rather ram "Avarice" by Earth Groans into your ears than put you to sleep with this Grammy-winning snoozefest. (I guess this is a case of "familiarity breeds contempt" on my part because my mom played this song ad nauseam when she had this album. On repeat. ) By today's standards it's still a good pop/AC song. By my standards, it's annoying.
There is a bit of oomph in "Heat On The Street," but you have to wait to the end for Phil to really start belting it out. This is about street gangs and violence. Daryl Stuermer's solo is beast. The brass is there, but underused. Sometimes the lyrics are admittedly a bit vague.
And into another sometimes-whiny track. I initially thought "All of My Life" is another generic heartbreak song, but it's actually about his father, albeit with a decidedly different slant than "No Son Of Mine" from his last Genesis album two years later. But this is like "One More Night." I will give this track this much - it does have some musical oomph, in the song's chorus. It's basically a lament version of "Inside Out." It's this track where the drums come out the most IMO. This also features Steve Winwood of "Higher Love" fame on the Hammond organ. So I kinda approve of that.
I'd like "Saturday Night And Sunday Morning" more if it were longer. It's only just under a minute and a half long. But come to think of it, I'd also like it if Phil had put out more of this rather than adult contemporary cheese - and I know that later in his career he actually did at least do an album of Motown covers. I like jazz. Phil really was an immensely talented drummer and gave us just a tiny taste of what he could do here. I'd bet that in 1989 (when this came out) he could still handle "Behind The Lines" with relative ease.
"Father And Son" is an exercise in irony. Phil Collins giving relationship advice? Musically it's kind of a snoozer by the standards of the time - it actually has a lot of similarities with "One More Night" in its execution, even being in the same key signature. It's targeted towards oldest son Simon, who would have been 13 at the time. But yeah, I don't care for this one at all.
You could be forgiven for feeling baited by the opening of "Find A Way To My Heart," which could potentially make you think it was going to go all hard rock. Instead, you get a bit of jazzy but repetitive soft rock. I'll admit, though, coming back to this after several years has me going easier on this song. I used to hate it. Now I think it's okay. One criticism I will put in though, is he could have done much more with the toms.
About the album on the whole, I'll say that coming back to it after a while has me newly appreciating some of the songs (especially "I Wish It Would Rain Down"). But I still believe that this was a step in the wrong direction that he didn't remedy until much later. I do have to wonder if part of that was him getting sick of the experimental stuff he'd done in the earlier 80s, both with Genesis (starting with Abacab) and in his solo work.
Ranking the tracks:
- Hang In Long Enough
- I Wish It Would Rain Down
- Saturday Night And Sunday Morning (would be second or even first if it were longer )
- Colours
- Heat On The Street
- Find A Way To My Heart
- Something Happened On The Way To Heaven
- All Of My Life
- That's Just The Way It Is
- Do You Remember?
- Another Day In Paradise
- Father And Son
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(06-11-2022, 10:13 PM)Kyng Wrote: I love how [Abacab] has a track with a section named "Lurker", when the album title itself looks like Lurker's attempt to spell "Abacus" or something .
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