Customer Reviews

Face Value

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Regardless of how much criticism Phil Collins has received over the years for his solo career and for "what he did to Genesis", serious music listeners know better, and Phil's timeless, remarkably eclectic solo debut "Face Value", which came out in early 1981, is a masterpiece. It's an album that makes good on the theory that an artist does their best work in times of personal turmoil. Phil simply began 'fooling around' as a means to comfort himself in the wake of a painful divorce. Apart from a cover of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows", a retooling of the Genesis song "Behind the Lines", and a brief uncredited acapella snippet of "Over The Rainbow" at the very end of the record, Phil wrote everything here himself, and not only is his songwriting consistently terrific, Phil is really all over the map stylistically, and yet, somehow it all holds together beautifully. That said, this ain't some run-of-the-mill soft rock or adult contemporary album.

Even with all of the brilliant songs Phil has written over the course of his career, the first track here, "In the Air Tonight", remains a signature song that's perhaps his most enduringly popular, and for good reason. Although the idea of suddenly switching from a very quiet part to an ear-blastingly loud part was not a new one, the song is staggeringly powerful and was a very innovative production, containing ominous drum machine, creepy synth, atmospheric Fender Rhodes, vocoder, violins, smoky electric guitar (played by long-time Collins and Genesis cohort Daryl Steurmer), heavily echoing vocals, and of course, those ferocious, booming gated drums. Add to that the haunting lyrics and melody (I won't even get into that whole urban legend about the lyrics), and Phil`s passionate, tormented wailing on the fade, and you get one of the most cathartic songs ever recorded. Year after year goes by, and "In The Air Tonight" continues to just sound so damn cool everytime it comes on. It's a rare song in that I absolutely never get sick of it.

But the genius doesn't stop there. Side 1 of the album (i.e. the first six tracks in its vinyl release) is often very quiet, such as on the starkly affecting "The Roof Is Leaking" which seems to be about the hardships of a family living in the US in the mid 1800s, and has Phil's vocals backed by just piano, banjo, & slide guitar. The wistful "This Must Be Love" is a wonderful, mellow love song with excellent backing vocals from Stephen Bishop, whom Phil was a great admirer of--he even slips the phrase "never letting go" into the song, the title of a Bishop song. He gives a finger-snapping horn-laden treatment to "Behind the Lines", the Genesis version (also excellent) of which had appeared the previous year on "Duke". "The Roof Is Leaking" segues into the dramatic, fast paced wordless piece "Droned" which gives way to another instrumental-plus-wordless-chanting track with the feel good "Hand In Hand" (which features a children's chorus). Some pretty adventurous stuff indeed, and not exactly busting with "radio fodder" either--it's easy to see why Phil was surprised at the album's huge commercial success. It seems that "In the Air Tonight" simply captivated the public, and carried the rather uncommercial album.

The first song on `side 2' didn't hurt either though. "I Missed Again" was also a hit, and it's a hook-heavy song that brilliantly 'updates' the sound of '60s Motown for the '80s, with bright-sounding horns and uncanny, sophisticated chord changes. Again, this tune just absolutely never gets old for me. I'm hard-pressed to keep from singing along everytime I happen to hear it come on the radio.

"You Know What I Mean" is a gorgeously melodic and tender ballad which segues into the defiant, catchy kiss-off song "Thunder and Lightning". The following track, the musically and lyrically contemplative "I'm Not Moving", is another big personal favorite of mine, a little marvel of a song, clocking in at well under 3 minutes (although Phil himself seems to think little of this song these days, as it doesn't even get a mention in the DVD that chronicles the making of the album, which I mention later). The extremely sad, but hopeful love song "If Leaving Me Is Easy" is terrifically soothing --it has atmospheric strings, Fender Rhodes, and high falsetto vocals from Collins--rarely would you hear Collins' voice get this high on record ever again after this album.

He then gets psychedelic for "Tomorrow Never Knows", which he does in a slower rendition than the Beatles version. Phil has explained he wanted to perform this song in a more melodic manner than the Beatles original, and it also has ominous, cathartic looping drums, and punchy Collins vocals. I don't think it's a stretch to say it's the best cover of a Beatles song ever recorded, and personally I think it beats out the Beatles version.

Phil tacks on a brief reprise of him singing "Over the Rainbow", which I have heard is intended to be a tribute to John Lennon, who was murdered right around the time "Face Value" was being completed. The cover of "Tomorrow Never Knows" itself though was something Phil had already wanted to do, as Phil has stated that he already had the whole track completed well before Lennon was killed.

The production of this album, by Collins and assisted by Hugh Padgham, is masterful and supremely tasteful, and in the end, this album is truly timeless. Phil puts himself into the recording, and he ends up with an album that is oozing with deep feeling and is all the better for it--"Face Value" is a brilliant album from one of the finest artists the so-called 'rock era' (I'd even go as far to say, of all time). Although this CD version is not an "original recording remastered" version of the album, the sound quality is still truly excellent, a testament to how well it was originally recorded--I think a lot of the credit should go to engineer Hugh Padgham, who continued to work with Phil and Genesis with glorious results on subsequent '80s releases. I highly encourage you not just to get this album (if you don't already) since it's absolutely essential, but also the "Face Value" DVD that's part of the "Classic Albums" series--it prominently features Phil himself, including performances from him, and it's a terrific look at the making of this incredible work of art. The 1993 Gold CD version (pretty hard to find at this point and probably quite expensive) is also a wonderful item, with fantastic sound quality, excellent liner notes added, and a faithful reproduction of the original gatefold album that is missing from the 'standard' CD edition.

A Previous review boasts an absurd, supposedly "totally true" (!) story about the meaning behind In The Air Tonight, and as my title states, I cannot allow this nonsense to continue. That story has been told many a time, and, contrary to ignorant belief, it is a complete falsehood. The song is about Phil's split from his wife. One need not look farther than Phil's own explanation of the song in countless interviews. She cheated on Phil. He saw it. "Saw it with my own two eyes..so you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been - it's all been a pack of lies..." please, people... let's not be so stupid. Phil did not see a man drown. Are we so idiotic that we think the line "If you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand" means that he did? C'mon... the lyrics speak for themselves. Enough of the moronic lyric analysis. The song fits in with the theme of the rest of the album. The split from his wife in '79 and the subsequent feelings surrounding Phil. Apologies for the somewhat harsh tone of this post, but I can't bear to hear that "True" story one more time.

It's a shame that most people only remember the signature drum beat at the end of In The Air Tonight, because Face Value is much more. The album reverberates with a powerful depth and intensity stemming from the breakup of his first marriage - you can feel the intensity oozing thorugh every song, though especially on the opener In The Air Tonight and the closer Tommorrow Never Knows (which in my opinion blows away the Beatles' original). As much positive press as it recevied (Phil did win a Best New Artist Grammy), except for In The Air Tonight and I Missed Again, Face Value is still an underrecognized album. It's a shame that most people don't know about standout tracks like I'm Not Moving, Thunder and Lightning, and Tomorrow Never Knows. Buy and listen to a great rock album.

A strong blend of artsy experimentation (without being highbrow), sublime R&B pop, and smooth ballads makes Phil Collins' 1981 album Face Value a unique and cohesive musical experience.

Phil Collins got his start behind the drum kit of the progressive rock band Genesis. In 1975 lead singer Peter Gabriel left the band for a solo career and eventually Collins got the front man gig. From that time on Collins grew as a singer and gifted composer.

As a song writer Collins has a great talent for expressing his inner emotions quite clearly and without unnecessary flourishes- and Face Value more than any other project he did (either solo or with Genesis) seems to express a very personal statement with a wide spectrum of subjects and musical styles.

Mixing between ballads and rhythmic anthems Collins shows all the sides of the man- his loves, fears, frustrations and joys. With the ballads he has sometimes walked a pretty thin line between syrupy sentiment and deep tenderness; later in his career he totally surrendered to the syrupy side. But on Face Value songs like This Must Be Love and If Leaving Me Is Easy show a genuine and mature emotion that shows a gutsy honesty. (In my opinion personal ballads like these are very hard to express because it usually comes off as phony sentimentality, emotionally manipulative or sappy and shallow.)

Then you have the more gritty songs like the atmospheric In The Air Tonight (which still sounds fresh to me even though I've heard it hundreds of times) and The Roof is Leaking "trilogy" that starts with an eerie isolated sound and culminates in a joyous horn and rhythm experience. Also I Missed Again is a great pop song. His cover of The Beatles' Tomorrow Never Knows seems a bit of an odd choice for him, but he pulls it off quite nicely and sums the tune and the album up with a distant sounding Somewhere Over The Rainbow; very fitting.

Overall I think Face Value is one of those great records that came out when there was an extremely high level of creativity going on around the music biz so in the history books it doesn't necessarily shout out for recognition. Phil Collins and Genesis were one of the most popular bands in the world at that time and Face Value showed why. Although today it appears a bit passé for some to admit that they like Phil Collins one can't deny his amazing talent or the contributions he made through his music.

Phil Collins' reputation has suffered substantially over the past twenty years. He may not have been mentioned by either David Brent or Alan Partridge, but it feels like it. Many Genesis fans haven't quite forgiven him for admitting that, before the 'We Can't Dance' album, the band deliberately decided to "sell out", in his words. Maybe it was the rapid drift towards MOR in his solo albums, the chain of failed marriages, or simple jealousy of his money-making, but the critics have not been kind to our Phil in recent years.

I bought this as an LP when it first came out, and have now bought it as part of the new 3CD pack released in 2004 that is excellent value. I must admit I hadn't played the album for 20 years, and it really takes me back. In 2001, his stock was really high: he had been a fantastic vocal replacement for Peter Gabriel in Genesis, and he had won critical acclaim for his spare-time band, the jazz-rock specialists Brand X. So what if he did the odd cover of a Motown hit, or did the occasional pop video? It just added to the fun, and potentially seemed capable of bringing a mainstream audience to jazz-rock.

People coming to 'Face Value' for the first time may wonder what the dominant style is, 'In the Air Tonight' apart. And the answer is jazz-rock. Well, one band in particular: Weather Report. Listeners are strongly advised to buy that band's 'Heavy Weather' and 'Black Market'. (It is no coincidence that Genesis's concert drummer was Chester Thompson, who had also played drums on 'Black Market', nor that the bassist on that album was Al Johnson, who also plays on 'Face Value'.) Basically, 'Face Value' was a popularised version of Weather Report, updated with vocals and drum machines.

(Incidentally, the following year, long before the Prince's Trust ever existed, Phil was invited to play alongside Eric Clapton on John Martyn's 'Glorious Fool' LP.)

But Collins has always been a great opportunist, and he was sensitive to whatever style of music that the greatest number of fans liked. So the jazz-rock tendencies disappeared from subsequent albums, to be replaced by the MOR fug. The trouble was that Phil was a fair singer, drummer, pianist and composer, without being brilliant at any one of these activities. It's no clear if he will be remembered another 25 years from now for anything except 'In the Air Tonight', and to be frank, engineer Hugh Padgham deserves much of the credit for the sound of that song.

Enjoy this album for what it hoped to achieve -- i.e. to bring jazz-rock to a larger audience -- and weep for the fact that the larger audience later pulled Phil away from jazz-rock and towards the MOR.

I remember jamming this album (especially in the air tonight) with my partner Tubbs in my Ferrari. Usually something dramatic would happen everytime we put it in the tape player. It seems like we spent so much time listening to this tape that we always forgot to shave or put on socks.

With the release of Genesis's Duke album, which featured "Misunderstanding," it was clear that the group was approaching the mainstream more and more. The next step would be Abacab, but before that, lead singer and drummer Phil Collins would release his first solo album, Face Value, an album of longing that also details the emotional wasteland of a sundered relationship. As if to test the waters, he did a more pop updating of "Behind The Lines," originally on Duke, with speeded up vocals and a snazzy brass section (as opposed to the soundscape of Tony Banks' keyboards, such as the instrumental opening) that would become a calling card on his subsequent solo albums.

Two singles from that album both reached #19 on the charts. The first one was the upbeat "I Missed Again," highlighted by a strong brass section. The other, "In The Air Tonight," a UK #2, is one of Collins' signature tunes, with its moody and atmospheric keyboards highlighted by Collins' haunting vocals, and the snarl of Daryl Steurmer's guitar. The chorus itself has an eerie echoing effect that matches the minimalist sound, as does the electronic gimmickery of the vocals. The song and sound then burst to a crescendo when Collins lets loose with the drums through the rest of the song.

There are other surprises present, such as the instrumental "Droned," which begins with a slow piano and violins, an airy soundscape, before going full throttle with an uptempo conga and piano section, the violin turning more folky, and Collins' vocalizing proving that Peter Gabriel doesn't have the monopoly on droning vocals. That yields to "Hand In Hand," beginning as a sci-fi Giorgio Moroder-type instrumental (think Metropolis soundtrack) that features the Children from the Church of LA as a choir, before launching into an uptempo brass and piano soul number. "I'm Not Moving" is the closest thing to disco Collins would do until "Something Happened On The Way To Heaven" nearly a decade later,

One of the other highlights is the piano and strings of the post-breakup tune "You Know What I Mean," the emotional devastation which can be felt: "leave me alone with my heart/I'm putting the pieces back together again/just leave me alone with my dreams/I can do without you..." "If Leaving Me Is Easy," with its sad sax, is another melancholy song along the same vein, but this time through the presence of old letters and the false front one put with friends. Collins' pain is felt through the strained vocals, as he sagely sings the refrain in an eerie falsetto, "if leaving me is easy, going back is harder."

"The Roof Is Leaking" details the hardships of a rural family living in poverty, but with the hope of the coming spring. Daryl Steurmer is on banjo here instead of his usual guitar. Other songs are more optimistic, such as the slower and leisurely melodic "This Must Be Love." My opinion on his cover of the Beatles' LSD-influenced "Tomorrow Never Knows" is mixed, as nothing compares to the original, but I do credit him with the swirling noise and sound bursts that duplicate another kind of trip. And if one listens carefully at the fade-out, he sings a snatch of "Over The Rainbow."

At this point, Phil Collins had enough to create a different sound from the one he was doing with Genesis, and it shows in his wondrous solo debut.

Trust me, if you're going through a divorce, this record will give you the comfort and solace you need. Accept no imitations. From the shock of finding out about an adulterous afair "In the Air tonight" to the resolution" This Must be Love" this record will be a new friend. Wonderful band, wonderful cause - an instant classic.

"Face Value" remains the freshest, if not quite the best, music Phil Collins has made solo. Bringing his prog-rock and jazz drumming technique along, adding a newly-found gift for balladry and R&B, Collins blueprints the style that made him a music/film/TV star for the next 20 years.

The Earth, Wind, & Fire horns, poured like catsup over future Collins sets, are peppered over tracks like "Thunder and Lightning," the Count Basie-ish remake of "Behind The Lines" and the instrumental "Hand In Hand." Two elegant, bitter ballads, "You Know What I Mean" and "If Leaving Me Is Easy" (later covered by the Isley Brothers), establish an approach to the style that Collins would later charge on like a platinum MasterCard.

Now a concert highlight, urban legend, and commercial jingle, "In The Air Tonight" is to Collins what "My Way" was to Sinatra or "Thanks For The Memories" to Bob Hope: a summary of public image rather than a musical statement. Heard again atop the stark, spare songs here, it regains context and power even as you air drum along. The more appropriate song that provides a signpost for Collins' career is the last, a tumbling, trippy remake of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows," closed at the fade with a verse of "Over The Rainbow." A prog-rock standard crossed with schmaltzy movie music -- now THAT's Phil Collins at face value. Recommended.

To those unfamiliar with Collins-Genesis history, this album was recorded after Collins took a break from Genesis to dwell on his recent divorce. That is reflected painfully throughout this album in the lyrics to his own songs, and the covers he chose to include, such as the Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows". In no future albums would Collins recapture the soul put into this album, though "Hello, I Must Be Going" might be a slghtly better, more polished album. Painful ballads like the jazzy, smoky "If Leaving Me Is Easy" are balanced by R&B selections like "Missed Again, Thunder and Lightning" the pulsating, toe tapping "Hand in Hand," (appreciated best when played full blast or with head phones), or the jazzier version of the Genesis tune "Behind the Lines". Yet the best selections are indeed the ones that let him bleed from his divorce. "You Know What I Mean (the ballad lead-in to)/Thunder and Lightning" seems the theme to Collins' failed marriage. "This Must Be Love" poses those questions we ask ourselves about our relationships. Of course, we all know about the tune "In the Air Tonight". This album had a 2-fold effect - the introduction of Collins as a genuine soloist, and the rise, or fall (depending on how you look at it) of Genesis. Future Genesis albums would pack more radio play wallup due to Collin's take over in direction, but at the cost of departing from their progressive roots for the sake of commercial success. There have always been 2 such camps in Genesis following, though their earlier fans are more passionate obout that era than the newer fans are about their newer music. Anyone looking for a Genesis type album, look elsewhere. This album was to get the Collins musical side out of his system, to express himself without any Genesis conflicts. Regardless, anyone who's ever had their heart broken or just likes to indulge into some brooding, Face Value is a sumptuous listen.