ALBUM OF THE WEEK # 299 PHIL COLLINS - ...BUT SERIOUSLY (1989)

[RJhog (Admin)]

Disclaimer: All info that does not reside in my brain is gathered from wikipedia.com (mostly because Jon can't stand it) unless otherwise noted.

Continuing with the current theme of number one Billboard albums, this week we look at ...But Seriously by Phil Collins.  This was Collins' fourth solo album and it was released in late 1989.  It reached number one the first week in January, 1990 and spent a total of three weeks at the top.  It was a big seller as well, checking in at over 4 million units sold in the U.S.  Also popular in the U.K., it reached number one there and spent a total of 15 weeks there.  It was the second best selling album of 1990 in the U.S. and the best selling album of 1990 in the U.K.  The album spawned three Top 5 singles, with Another Day In Paradise claiming the number one slot. The same song won a Grammy for Record Of The Year.  The album was nominated for several other Grammy's as well.

To say the album was successful is a bit of an understatement.  It was huge.  And it's a pretty good album too.  I know Another Day In Paradise was a huge single, and I really like it.  Did you know that David Crosby sings backing vocals on that song?  But I think my favorite is Something Happened On The Way To Heaven.  It's just a great song.  Steven Bishop makes a vocal appearance on Do You Remember?  Steven Winwood plays the Hammond organ on All Of My Life and Eric Clapton plays some awesome guitar on I Wish It Would Rain Down. There's some other good guitar playing as well and some fine use of horns.  

...But Seriously is readily available on the world wide web.  Amazon has it for just under ten dollars, but if you wait just a while, I'm pretty sure the Deluxe Reissue version will be coming out soon, as several of his others are already available in this format.  So do you own this album?  If so, what do you think of it?

Tracks:

1. Hang In Long Enough

2. That's Just The Way It Is

3. Do You Remember?

4. Something Happened On The Way To Heaven

5. Colours

6. I Wish It Would Rain Down

7. Another Day In Paradise

8. Heat In The Street

9. All Of My Life

10. Saturday Night And Sunday Morning

11. Father To Son

12. Find A Way To My Heart

[TageRyche]

I have this album on cassette. I'm waiting for the reissue to come out so I can pick it up.

It is a decent enough album.

[Jon]

Nope, never owned it......

...and kind of glad I never did.

Except for "Colours", nothing really stood out. It quickly became background music and I don't know if I actually listened to this whole album three times or two because it seemed to go on and on and on. Hey, I like long albums as long as they hold my interest all the way through. This one didn't.

I did start singing along to trakc #7 and then stopped and wondered what I was doing. And why.

I guess solo PC just ain't my thing.

 

[Niels (Mod)]

I have to listen another day, but I'm not exactly looking forward to it.

Collins is the cover-story on the newest PROG-magazine, and therefore I tried to listen to one of his solo-albums the other day (the first one), but stopped after 40 sec or so.

I remember "Another Day In Paradise" being played several times per day on the radio, and I hated it.

[RJhog (Admin)]

His solo work is all pop.

[Niels (Mod)]

No, poop.

[TageRyche]

I have this feeling, I'm likely to be one of the few who actually love his solo work.

[Niels (Mod)]

I've heard this album many times before. Either that, or most of the songs have been played countless of times on the radio. I had a lot of friends at that time, who played this stuff at their parties, and there were a lot of parties.

I've never cared for Collins-solo. It's music, that people who have a rotten taste in music, like, just like Prince, Michael Jackson aso.

The lyrics on this late 80's album also reminds me of Michael Jackson-lyrics. Ydrk!!

Some of the songs have terrible drum-machine sounds. But also the trompets and especially the saxophone annoys me.

The production is a terrible late 80's-production.

Sure, there are worse albums than this one, but it's "danish radio"-music, that I never, ever would listen to, if I didn't have to. I had to, didn't I?!

I did buy one Collins-album in 1985. "No Jackett required", but after 1 or two listenings, I gave it to my sister.

I also did buy the Genesis-album released only 2 years after this one. I guess, I needed new music, and it was actually a good album. But not the "Collins-songs", like the singles. I think at that time (as before), it was when Tony Banks wrote the music, it was the best sounding.

Collins is just another drummer (like Dave Grohl) that imo, should stay put behind the kit.

[Scott]

I own Face Value and then I bought the next one as well - Hello, I Must Be Going, and then I checked out on Genesis and Collins totally...  I like Face Value still though I never repurchased it on CD until the recent remaster, but I've never considered repurchasing Hello, I Must Be Going on CD, even as a remaster (maybe I should listen again?)...  for now it sits in my vinyl collection relatively brand new.

The difference from Face Value to this is purely commercial.  I don't hear the same top 40, made for Mtv, song style in Face Value as I do here.  And there's a sense of "already been done on earlier Collins albums" in a lot of what's on here.  By the time I got to Colours, I was ready to start skipping through stuff, and then I noticed the song was 8:51 minutes long, so I said to myself, maybe there's something a little proggy here?  So I re-focused... and was kind of let down, thought it would get interesting with those African beats, but it just poppy.

Way too many horns and way too much sameness.  The guy is a genius no doubt, this had have been the album where over exposure became real, and I think that's what I hear more than a bumping heads with Grunge.

Of everything here, the closer worked the best for me , though I will admit to still liking some the radio stuff that's here like I Wish It Would Rain Down, that's still a cool tune...

Fine post...