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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of PC's best, May 26, 2000
In my review for ...But Seriously, I implied that his 1989 chart-topper was the only essential Collins album. I was wrong. "Hello, I must be going!" is a great collection of songs, and one in the eye for anyone who thinks all PC songs sound alike. The variety here of moods, tempos and ideas is striking. I've never done this before on an amazon review, but here is a track by track analysis:"I Don't Care Anymore": Listen to this one in the car on the way home from work--it will make you feel much better. Make sure to scream along with Phil. A hard rocker, rather In the Air Tonight-ish with its drums...still heard occasionally on classic rock stations. "I Cannot Believe it's True": As a whole, HIMBG is less funky than Face Value, but PC brings the funk on this song. Great performance by the Phenix Horns. Good song, but my least favorite on the album (that should tell you something about the album!) "Like China": Can Phil rock? This is one of PC's only songs with a straightforward guitar riff rock beat...and also, a good hook and great lyrics from Phil--tells a story of a young cockney lad (Phil) who promises to hold his young inexperienced girlfriend "like china." "Do You Know Do You Care": Phil is phenomenal when he's pissed off (see In the Air Tonight, Domino, and track one of this same album!)...this is a slow and powerful song filled with rage at Phil's ex-wife (let us all prey to have better luck with marriage than Phil). Great when you're in the mood to let off some steam. "You Can't Hurry Love": Okay, I don't have to fill you in on this one cos you all know it. A great pop song and ode to Motown. "It Doesn't Matter to Me": Another good pop song from Phil with a nice hook and appealing horns, but all together one of the less special songs on the album. A very happy song, considering the title and the subject matter. "Thru These Walls": PC used to introduce this song with, "This is for all you perverts out there," or something to that effect. A slow drum machine rhythm sets the tone for this one, which has Phil enjoying listening to a couple make love through the walls (presumably his ex-wife and her lover). An interesting song. "Don't let him steal your heart away": When Phil brings the funk, he's good. When he's pissed off, he's even better...but he's at his best with plaintive, deeply personal compositions where we all feel the same emotions he's feeling. This song is a perfect example of the latter. "The West Side": The funk is back! A driving and powerful musical piece, much better than its Face Value companion piece, "Hand in Hand." "Why Can't it Wait Till Morning": Another one of those plaintive, deeply personal compositions...a great one to just close your eyes and listen to, it ends the album on a positive yet solemn note. HIMBG is an absolutely essential album for anyone who likes Phil Collins' music, and is a Godsend for those of us who have come to appreciate the magic of his voice and his works.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Collins Goes Away Mad On This 1982 LP, March 24, 2000
Phil Collins dedicated "Hello, I Must Be Going" to his wife and children, "who put up with it all!" When the music starts, the divorce and family strife they put up with comes to blinding light and sound.Over war drums, thunderous synth lines and wall-tearing horns (the EWF horn section is more pronounced here, sounding like Chicago's and less effective) Collins washes his hands of previous mistakes. "Let me by!" he shouts in "I Don't Care Anymore." "I've got better things to do with my time!" Like similar albums following well-known breakups (Sinatra's "Wee Small Hours," Marvin Gaye's "Here, My Dear") this deals with the stages and emotions of separation: denial ("I Cannot Believe It's True") regret ("What else can I do but say I was wrong?" Phil asks in "Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away") accusation (the menacing drum/synth workout "Do You Know, Do You Care?") paranoia ("Thru These Walls" features a variation of "In The Air Tonight" drum fills) and finally, apathy (the previously mentioned "I Don't Care Anymore") The songs closing the first and second halves of the LP balm the salted wounds. Collins' faithful rendition of "You Can't Hurry Love" seeks solace not only in parental advice, but in the radio classics of his youth (Motown is saluted in the liner notes, and Phil returned to these songs in Genesis encores). The gentle piano ballad "Why Can't It Wait 'Til Morning?" (later covered with Fourplay), features Phil sweetly singing, "You're going nowhere without me." It's a stark lyric beautifully performed, much like "Hello! I Must Be Going" itself. Success would evolve this anger into impishness helped Collins create his public image; meaning, regardless of future disappointments, this will remain Phil Collins' most angrily sung set ever. Recommended with balled fists when vulnerable.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Or call this No Vest Required--the prelude, July 8, 2005
Another Genesis album, Abacab, was followed a year later by another Phil Collins solo album. Hello, I Must Be Going was a clear indication of the Earth, Wind, & Fire type soul-pop that would yield the Grammy-winning No Jacket Required. For the most part, gone were the "weird" songs like "In The Air Tonight" or the cover of "Tomorrow Never Knows." His note-for-note cover of the Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love," which went to #10, is ample evidence of the pop/soul direction that would hit pay dirt later on. It's still infectious and has its place in the 80's, a decade and a half before the original hit #1.
The closest thing to "In The Air Tonight," with the airy synths, is "Thru These Walls," of how loneliness feeds upon the need to listen with a glass to the wall or stare out at the window at goings on, where a genuine need to touch someone isn't an option in the cold world. Next up is the disgust and apathy of being ridiculed and having one's name dragged in the dirt of "I Don't Care Anymore," which made it to #39. However, there was none of the haunting eeriness which made "Air" a hit. The slow "Do You Know Do You Care" has a droning synth and guitars, with Collins' vocals overlaid on that airy soundscape. It sounds more like later day Genesis, come to think of it.
The third single, the upbeat "I Cannot Believe It's True," only made it to #79 despite the snazzy horns. This is puzzling given how similar-sounding singles by him shot to the Top Ten in later years. The Phenix Horns, his brass band, gives this song, and others like "It Don't Matter To Me" quite the kick.
Two piano ballads are "Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away," which gains a bit of momentum with his steady drumming, the strings matching the pounded piano chords, and the sad but tender "Why Can't It Wait Till Morning," which is Phil on piano, the strings, and nothing else. Another singleworthy song and one of my favourites here.
Collins was also at the producer's helm this time, with assistance from Hugh Padgham, the brains behind Face Value and the Police's Synchronicity, and would continue with him in his Grammy-winning triumph. And Daryl Steurmer, whose snarling guitar would be most noticeable in "Don't Lose My Number," has guitar chores here.
Whereas Face Value showed many sides of Collins, this is basically a prelude to the hit that No Jacket Required would become. Maybe call this No Vest Required? Yet one can't help but think that Collins' solo success also fed upon the success of his group. Following this, Genesis would gain their first Top Ten hit with "That's All," and during that time, Collins would pave the way to superstardom with a few non-album hits and some big events. So, goodbye, I must be going.
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by Phil Collins 
