Customer Reviews

But Seriously

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Phil Collins took a lot of critical heat for making this album, 1989's "But Seriously." Apparently, the critics just couldn't handle the idea of Phil Collins, of all singers, singing songs about the problems in Northern Ireland ("That's Just The Way It Is"), South Africa ("Colours"), the homeless ("Another Day In Paradise"), etc. I say too bad for them, and three cheers to Phil. He made a great album. Besides, not ALL of the songs here are political, for Heaven's sake. And as for the political ones, they're good songs! There's nothing wrong with a recording artist taking some risks every now and then, even if that artist's name is Phil Collins. Phil gets things up and roaring with the great brassy blast of "Hang In Long Enough," and the great tunes keep on coming, such as the quiet beauty of "That's Just The Way It Is" & "Do You Remember," and the fun of "Something Happened On The Way To Heaven." The most controversial song on the album, the South Africa-inspired "Colours," is arguably the most adventurous track Phil has ever done, and, with some very strong shifts in mood throughout, as well as some very heartfelt lyrics, Phil pulls it off. The uplifting sing-along vibe of "I Wish It Would Rain Down" is next, followed by the brilliantly powerful, Grammy-winning classic "Another Day In Paradise," one of Phil's most haunting tunes, which kicks off the second half of equally-great songs in fine fashion, including "All Of My Life" and "Father To Son." Phil's singing, songwriting, playing & arranging is first rate, and he gets excellent help from the likes of Eric Clapton, David Crosby, Steve Winwood & Stephen Bishop, as well as the expert "usual suspects" on Phil's team, including guitarist Daryl Stuermer, bassist Leeland Sklar and the Earth, Wind & Fire horn section.With the release of his previous album, 1985's mega-smash "No Jacket Required," Phil got unfairly put into a box of some sort by the music media, labeled "Top 40 Hits." With "But Seriously," Phil climbed out of that box (at least to a certain extent) and got chastised for it. 13 years later, though, the album holds up. "But Seriously" shows not only the serious side to Phil, but also his gutsy side in tackling stronger subject matter than, say, "Sussudio." Hey, I like a good pop song, but I also like it when a so-called "Top 40" artist branches out a little bit, which Phil Collins most certainly did with this fine disc.

In 1989, only a year after releasing 12"ERS, Phil Collins released his fifth album entitled, ...BUT SERIOUSLY. This album is SERIOUSLY an amazing album, focusing on songs that deal with the serious aspects of life, such as the poor as on "Another Day In Paradise", and a lost relationship on "I Wish It Would Rain Down".

HANG IN LONG ENOUGH
This was one of the greatest songs to start this album off. The message in the song has been used many times over the years. That message is just simply taking great advice and making it big in life. In 1990, a year after this song, the all-girl group WILSON PHILLIPS would go on to record a song with this same message. That song was their hit single, "Hold On".

THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS
Terrific song.

DO YOU REMEMBER
A great ballad. Phil's ballads are outstanding.

SOMETHING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO HEAVEN
Apparently, this is the only song on the album that is not considered to be SERIOUS. I guess Phil wanted to have a little fun, where this song describes a love gone bad. Is it about a love Phil had once had? Who's to say?

COLOURS
An amazing ballad, and possible Phil's longest song reaching over eight minutes. One hell of a tune.

I WISH IT WOULD RAIN DOWN
When I heard this song for the first time, I loved it. The music is just outstanding, complete with Phil's incredible vocals, a gospel choir, and Eric Clapton on guitars. I am not a fan Eric Clapton's, but his guitar playing is great on this track.

ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE
This is yet another great Phil Collins song that you will definitely hear quite often on radio stations. In this song, Phil goes into the depths of the needy and the homeless.

HEAT ON THE STREET
A great song, separating your usual people of the world from socio-misfits.

ALL MY LIFE
Great.

SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING
Nothing special. Just an instrumental piece here.

FATHER TO SON
A song where Phil gives advice to his own son. My advice is that all fathers should learn from this song and pass on advice to their own sons.

FIND A WAY TO MY HEART
A great way to end this SERIOUS album.

...BUT SERIOUSLY had to have been Phil Collins' greatest album since that of HELLO, I MUST BE GOING! & NO JACKET REQUIRED. The seriousness to this album is so intense that you could feel it. Great album all the way.

Whether you are a big fan of Phil Collins, or you thought Phil Collins was just some ridiculous 80's phony popstar, I would recommend you give But Seriously a listen. Of course, if you are a fan, then you probably already have heard this album a thousand times and agree with me, but if you are the latter, you will be surprised at how intense and how artisitic this album is.

Up until 1989 Phil dominated both TV and radio airwaves with his suave and cool music videos and songs, ranging from the sweet rock coolness of In The Air Tonight to the bubbly pop of Two Hearts. But Seriously gave Phil a new credibility. Here he is more than just that, he is a perfectionist artist.

The first single showed, for the first time, Phil Collins singing a different tune from his past hits, a song about the poor and homeless, Another Day In Paradise. The song became a worldwide anthem that year sparking repeated airplay and earning the grammy for best song. For many, this song is the highlight of the album. But in truth, its just one of a lot of hightlights. Actually, the entire album was the highlight of the moment.
The maturity of That's Just The Way It Is, Father To Son, and All Of My Life can easily cast over Another Day In Paradise. The sweet love ballad Do You Remember?, which appears in the soundtrack of Nicholas Cage's 1990 bomb Fire Birds, is deliciously good. The chilling rock epic I Wish It Would Rain Down that features guitar work from Eric Clapton dawns as a remarkable highlight on the album. Colors follows in the theme of Another Day In Paradise as a moment to give a thought to the poor and homeless. The album's closer Find A Way To My Heart, another track that was featured in the soundtrack to the Nicholas Cage flop Fire Birds, is an excellent pick for the closing of such a genuine album. The song opens up with some really cool electronic sounds and then slowly escalates and progresses into one big bang of a song.

Phil Collins still is around today, still making music but nothing as good as But Seriously. You might still think his earlier stuff from the early 80's was amazing, but seriously, this is Phil Collins' best album!

A+

Yes, I have said in other reviews Phil Collins is one of my favorites, I expecially love his drumming and he is a good songwriter and singer as well, but let's not forget he's a drummer! This album has some great moments, and some flat ones for me. I love Father to Son, a great song which I used to find myself listening to a lot when I was younger (oh those whistful days of being 20-25 years old) and Find a Way to my Heart. These are underrated and not as well know as the other hits on here, but to tell you the truth, I wasn't entirely taken with some of the hits. In fact, I remember when paradise came out I thought this album would [need help] I am glad I was wrong. The other 2 albums that came out after this weren't nearly as good, so get this one, and Hello, I must be going, and No Jacket, jsut for a trip down memory lane.....oh, those 80's......

I have heard a couple of Phil Collins albums that came before this, the 'Face Value' album, which is good, but not consistent, and the very patchy 'hello, I must be going'. This is, for the most part, much more melodic. I particularly like 'that's just the way it is', very nice harmony vocals by Crosby, and 'colours' has a beautiful opening section and a memorable next part, one of the best songs of his career, that is really long, but doesn't feel like that.
'Another day in paradise' is a fantastic, meaningful song with touching lyrics and a good harmony vocal again from Crosby. 'Father and son' is a touching ballad, one of the best songs he has done.
Recommended.

Genesis singer/drummer/songwriter Phil Collins released his fourth solo album ...But Seriously in November of 1989.
In the four years between solo efforts, Phil played both Live Aid locales of London (solo and with Sting) and Philadelphia (a Genesis stronghold and played solo and played drums for Eric Clapton and the world shocking Led Zeppelin reunion). Phil also did another Genesis album and tour with Invisible Touch in 1986/87. Produced an album for Eric Clapton and even did some shows with him. Plus guested on albums by Beatle Paul McCartney, Tina Turner and Tears For Fears. Plus did some acting. First with an appearance on Miami Vice as Phil the Shill (a con game show host who looks for dishonest ways to make cash (he doesn't die thank goodness) and starred in the British film Buster as the notorious train robber Buster. That soundtrack did spawn two more Phil singles out of "A Groovy Kind of Love" (his version was the best IMHO) and "Two Hearts". Then in 1989, Phil went back in the studio with guitarist Daryl Stuermer, bass player Leland Sklar (with help from Nathan East* and Pino Palladino+) plus guests David Crosby, Steve Winwood, Sting guitarist Dominic Miller and Clapton himself. What emerged was an about face from the fun upbeat of No Jacket Required with a slightly more serious choice of song subjects. (My review pertains to sequence on original vinyl LP which differs from CD and cassette and IMHO the better sequence of the album).
Phil gets things up and roaring with the great brassy blast of "Hang In Long Enough"* which may make it "Sussudio 2" but not as it has live drums (played by Phil who did all drums and keyboards on the album as always) and screaming guitars from Dominic Miller and horns by The Phoenix Horns and funky playing from Stuermer. "That's Just The Way It Is" follows and addresses problems in Northern Ireland and featured David Crosby (the same one from Crosby Stills Nash and Young) supplying backing vocals. "Find a Way to My Heart" is another great piece. We then get to the adventurous epic "Colours" which is arguably one of the best pieces Phil has ever done. The epic features some African rhythms and the lyrics were about the apartheid issues in South Africa. We then have the instrumental "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" (not on LP due to time constraints) which is the first instrumental on a PC album since "The West Side" from 1982's Hello I Must Be Going. The first side of the vinyl ends with "Father to Son" (no, not a remake of the Queen song from Queen II but) an original. Great tune by the way.
Side two of the album starts with Phil's second song written about the homeless crisis (after "Man On the Corner" on Genesis' 1981 album Abacab) called "Another Day In Paradise". It again features David Crosby on backing vocals and Dominic Miller on guitar. This song was another #1 hit in the US for Phil and got some airplay on US rock radio. Next is the jazzy and bluesy "Heat On the Street" (which didn't appear on the LP version). Then it's "All Of My Life" featuring some fiery organ work from Steve Winwood (the same Winwood from Spencer Davis and Traffic). Then we have the nice ballad "Do You Remember"+ (another US hit) which is a great song. We follow with the fun of "Something Happened On The Way To Heaven"*. This Top 20 hit was a superb number and ends with a fiery Stuermer solo. The vinyl LP closed with the Gospel sounding classic "I Wish It Would Rain Down"+. This track was always one of my favorites and had Eric Clapton's bluesy guitar work all over this classic. Plus the gospel choir made this track sound more powerful. The track was another US Top 10 and a huge US FM Album Rock Radio smash. This track works well as a closer.
...But Seriously would become Phil's second (and to date last) album to hit #1 on the Billboard charts and its sales were equal to No Jacket Required. Also, this album in my view aged better than its predecessor.
RECOMMENDED!

phil collins' album...but seriously has good music. another day in paradise was a #1 hit. i wish it would rain down hit#3. do you remember and something happened on th way to heaven hit#4. hang in long enough hit #21. colors,father and son,and find a way to your heart are other good songs. good follow-up to no jacket required. ed wilson

Following the mediocre, yet extremely sucessful 'No Jacket Required', Phil Collins got two of his previous feats and combine them; take great and varying music and add a lot of commercial success. It is true that four of these songs become GIANT hits and two others were pretty big hits (Top 20). This album is the best of his sucessful period (1981 - 1990).

Track-by-track Commentary

01 - Hang in long enough

A very good up-beat song that is used frequently on his world tours. One of the singles that maintained Top 20 hit power, but wasn't a huge hit. In this, Phil gives advice to someone who is thinking about making it big. The horns give the song its power.

02 - That's just the way it is

A more quiet song in the form of a typical ballad follows. The other Top 20 song. In this, Phil (and back-up singer David Crosby) discuss the subject of war and conflict that never seem to end. The line 'I don't know why, why do we keep going on, pretending to be oh so strong' illustrates the song well.

03 - Do you remember?

Yet another ballad that would probably be best off someplace else on the album. It is a good ballad that I like, but it is possibly the weakest song on the album. It's about Phil discussing with his past lover (Andrea??) about whether she remember what their relationship was like. A huge hit from the album.

04 - Something happened on the way to heaven

Well, here's some relief from the two ballads. A very uptempo piece similar in terms of themes to 'Do you remember?' but with much better music, but with lacking lyrics. Another giant hit from the album.

05 - Colours

A very, very good piece of music. My favourite off of the album. Could be labeled as progressive-pop, as it is like two songs in one with an incredible middle section weighing in at 8:51. The theme sounds dated now, but it was a messagge to the leader of South Africa of the time. Racial discrimination was a big thing there at the time, but has since been lifted.

06 - I wish it would rain down

Another love song, another giant hit, but this is with a twist. Bringing Eric Clapton in on guitars and having a large choir come in makes this otherwise ballad-type piece into a very gospel-ish piece! I like the departure from normal ballads on a love song and if only Phil would do it more often.

07 - Another day in paradise

The last of the huge hits. This won a Grammy in 1990 for 'Best Original Song' and it lives up to that award even to this day, when the homeless are still a big concern, but are greatly ignored by both the media and the everyday folk. This is a great song, and definitely the best of the hits.

08 - Heat on the street

A nice short piece about the social-economic class spread in Britain, and equipped with the horns it makes for a fine listen. Not his best on here, but it is a listenable song.

09 - All of my life

A beautiful ballad unlike the others on here. The saxophone adds a very nice touch onto it. This is Phil talking about his great regrets in life, especially on the last few lines:

'All of my life there have been regrets that I didn't do all I could. Playing records upstairs while he watched TV, I didn't spend the time I should. That's a memory I will live with all of my life.'

10 - Saturday night and Sunday morning

A very short (1:25) instrumental that has two seperate moods to it, thus Saturday Night AND Sunday Morning. It is extremely good, but it makes you want more, and definately not of what follows.

11 - Father to Son

A gentle ballad of a father giving relationship advice to his son. Not that memorable, as he did a better job with this on 'Come with me' on his Testify album, but its climax really leads into the last song perfectly.

12 - Find a way to my heart

Wow! Now these are the type of songs that I wish Phil would make more of! There is a mixture of a space-age rock beginning, African inspired drums, the Phoenix horns and a Phil Collins power ballad to make perfection. Take me home, one of the best off No Jacket Required could not compare to this finalee. Just simply perfection as a musical piece.

Overall: An incredible CD full of different moods, but like any other, it has its lows (Father to Son, Do you remember?) and peaks (Colours, Find a way to my heart, All of my life, Another day in paradise).

If you are a passerby Phil Collins fan (who only knows the hits), I strongly recommend this, you won't be disappointed!

That of one who gets joyful looking at playgirl and getting molested by your rogaine played ol'pop isnt sayin much for your hilarious(not demented like you)overview of this very good album of social commentary and tales of love(not of your dad Rich jeez buddy)gosh no wonder why ya bashed this album it reflects on your life or authors it one way or another it is what it is great song after song from a legend and extremely talented musician who wrote tunes that made us think or reflect and in Rich's case made us cry from what phil's singing about. Awesome album to close the 80's with.

Sometimes in life, there is a album that really speaks out about the times in our society. From the worlds of Grunge, to the early cases of MTV in the front of our minds, with music videos from Madonna and Billy Idol. Then, there are some of the other albums, that let the music speak for itself. In that case, Phil Collins proved that case with his entire solo career, and his career with Genesis.

His 1989 album, But Seriously.., is still one of the most simple and understanding albums I've ever heard. The music from this album, is just as strong as you could expect. Each song tells a different story either about love, or about a important issue in society. That case came with Phil's mega-hit, Another Day In Paradise, which was #1 for four weeks on the charts. That would be one of five Top 40 songs Collins would earn from this album. Other songs like, Do You Remember?, Something Happened On The Way To Heaven, and All Of My Life, still showcase that state in the front of mind.

While many people don't think of Phil Collins music today, it will always remain in the hearts of millions of serious fans, that prove that the music speaks for itself, and speaks of a generation of the time as well.