^ Thanks fellas...will check it out. I have "Inside Out" on repeat in my brain...great tune.
^ Thanks fellas...will check it out. I have "Inside Out" on repeat in my brain...great tune.
Apparently Phil himself considers Face Value and Both Sides his best records, fwiw.
I personally can't get into Both Sides and think it's really the start of his decline. Too ballad-heavy and synthetic sounding for my taste. I'm not certain the decision to play everything himself was the best one as there ended up being a lot of digital keyboards on it. But the man himself and many fans think it's the best thing he ever did, so maybe you should make your own mind up.
I would not recommend subsequent efforts TBH. Dance Into The Light has a few OK songs, Testify is pretty dreary.
I heard Dance Into The Light once. It had all live drums which was cool. I wasn't big on the songs as one was a "Biko" rewrite and another was a "You Can Call Me Al" rewrite.
'Wear My Hat', which IMHO has a whingey lyric.Originally Posted by pb2015
The underperformance of DITL and Testify does not feel unjustified really. Neither is particularly good IMHO.
Yeah, "Inside Out" is a great song!
"Colours" from ...But Seriously is another song I would recommend -- the second part in particular, which begins around the 2:45 minute mark.
There's also "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" and "Hang In Long Enough". "Two Hearts" from Buster is also a favorite of mine.
"what's better, peanut butter or g-sharp minor?"
- Sturgeon's Lawyer, 2021
A very dear friend of mine (who passed away 5 years ago) bought Both Sides for me as a gift, because it was his favorite Phil Collins album and he wanted me to hear it. I was going through my prog-snob phase at the time and was pretty down on Phil's solo material -- this was about 20 years ago.
It's still in my collection, and I'm glad to have it. Like you said, not every track is a slam dunk, but it was Phil trying something a little more like what he did on his first album. Definitely prefer it to Testify, which was disappointing to me when it came out. Dance Into the Light has its moments though.
"what's better, peanut butter or g-sharp minor?"
- Sturgeon's Lawyer, 2021
One on Both Sides I'd definitely have ditched is 'We're Sons Of Our Fathers'. I have always hated that.
Some of the other songs are good (I agree on 'Can't Find My Way' being a highlight, 'I've Forgotten Everything' is another) but I'd have preferred a more organic sound. For me, it isn't that much like Face Value because that debut had some more edge and a sense of experiment ('Droned', for instance).
I think 'Testify' is a strong record...a step up from DITL, IMO.
Out of Both Sides, Dance and Testify I like Dance best and it was a great tour. The title song is very good as is Just Another Story, Ougtha Know By Now. Lorenzo and River So Wide are superb, great drumming on those.
When it was first released, felt Hello, I Must Be Going was his best album, but Face Value had the best song. Now I feel Face Value is both. Both Sides is a good album. Dance into the Light was a major disappointment. I bounced out before the last two albums
Happy birthday and long live Phil Collins!
Ditto! I hope Phil had a great day... and thanks for all the memories and music. He was truly a huge part of the soundtrack of my life.
I recently watched the documentary on The Last Domino?-tour again (it was aired by ARTE after the When In Rome-movie). Great to see how this all got together, but also because it gives a wonderful view on the history of the band. Collins' role in the band is one of the important discussion-points in the movie. Although he looks fragile, his performance during the rehearsals is strong.
Martin Levac (Phil Collins tribute artist) may not be a very well known musician in the states because he basically only tours in his native Quebec but his shows are very professional and gives great performances, this brief sample give you an idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d90Qj-jelNk&t=74s
I saw him way back in 2014 after his "Musical Box" days when he went independent, he's a nice guy who does free meet & greets after most of this shows, his band plays flawlessly both Collins and Genesis material. If you ever go to Quebec and he is around, try not to miss Martin.
Martin was superb in The Musical Box probably the best "actor" the band has had. I was lucky enough to see them with him and see his first few solo tours. His band Turn it on Again was outstanding. They recreated the Three Sides Live Tour brilliantly. His solo LP's are worth a listen as well. A couple of clips, one of his band and one of him playing with Daryl Stuermer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ErO50MKHlf0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV4C-zmDd-o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK15U6ibwFE
Saw (and posted to another thread here several weeks ago) a great Home By The Sea performance and it turns out it's the same person you're talking about above.
https://youtu.be/pHfH9PCuUX4?feature=shared
I remember the other musician in this video, from a great Eye In The Sky performance, also on YouTube.
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