As a Phil Collins fan for many years, I was really glad to see a compilation of hits that included many of the songs I have loved for a long time. To just mention a few tunes, one of my favorites of all time, "Against All Odds", is on this CD, and if you have never heard the song, the CD is worth buying for this song alone. No wonder it was nominated for an Academy Award as part of the soundtrack for the movie bearing its title. "Against All Odds" is a song that certainly makes you feel something, and his voice stirs deep emotion, at least in me. Another of my favorites, "Easy Lover", is a fast-paced hit that makes the best of a combination of Phil Collins and Phil Bailey on vocals. Definitely a likable hit. The passionate "Separate Lives" is also a duet, a beautiful one, and one of the reasons I truly love this CD. If you turn up the volume when Phil comes on the radio, you can bet that you will covet this CD full of hits. "In the Air Tonight" is one reason to turn up the volume, with its smashing drum beats and the sultry, almost angry, lilt in Phil's vocals. Upbeat hits like "Two Hearts","Can't Hurry Love" and "Dance into the Light" really throw an added spark into the mix. Phil's remake of Cindy Lauper's "True Colors" is well done and of course what Phil Collins hits CD would be complete without the catchy "Sussudio". Songs like "Groovy Kind of Love", "I Wish it Would Rain Down", "Take Me Home", "One More Night" and "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" round out this album. Many of the songs included on the CD were favorites of mine that I hadn't heard in a long time and hearing them again was truly great. A must-have CD for any Collins or Genesis fan. It earns every one of the five stars I gave it.

When you think about it the 1980's was a terrific decade for popular music. I would compare it to the sixties. There were so many creative forces at work and pop music was vibrant and a lot of fun. When I think of the eighties I think of Phil Collins. He was not only churning out hit after hit as a solo artist but he was also hitting the charts on a regular basis as the lead singer of Genesis. And it seemed that every time you turned on the TV there was Phil performing his latest hit. He was everywhere and to be honest the unlikeliest of rock stars.

Atlantic Records released "Phil Collins.....Hits" back in 1998. And in spite of the fact that another new 2 disc collection was released in 2004 if you are primarily interested in his biggest hits then this is still by far your best buy. I particularly enjoyed Phil's upbeat pop offerings like "Two Hearts", "Sussidio", "You Can't Hurry Love" and perhaps my favorite tune of the decade "Easy Lover". You'll also find #1 tunes like "Another Day In Paradise", "Against All Odds" as well as the highly annoying "One More Night". How I hated that song!!!! Am I the only one? Then there is the unlikely remake of the 1966 hit "Groovy Kind of Love". Phil managed to take that one all the way to the top of the charts in fall of 1988. Speaking of remakes I also enjoyed Phil's version of the Cindy Lauper hit "True Colors". In fact, I think it is far better than the original. I also wanted to make you aware that a couple of Phil's biggest hits were left off this disc including 1985's "Don't Lose My Number" and one of his last big chart hits "Do You Remember?

This is a fine collection of one of the seminal artists of the 1980's. However, I stopped short of a five star rating due to the complete lack of any meaningful liner notes. Instead of the usual 8 or 12 page booklet Atlantic instead chose to make this a fold out mini poster. Some may enjoy it but it does nothing for me. But in spite of this shortcoming I am certain that pop music buffs will enjoy this disc. Recommended.

Phil Collins was one in a rather select club of pop-meisters in the 80's that just seemed to turn all they touched into gold. Along with Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson, it seemed that every time you turned on the radio, you would hear something either by them or a pale imitation. For Phil Collins, that meant being the cottage cheese of British nice-guy pop for most of the decade, and into the early 90's.

His divorce in 1980 was the grist that created "Face Value," and before you could say "mike up those drums," "In The Air Tonight" became the new sound of percussionists everywhere. Only Phil and Peter Gabriel had this kind of pummel in their music, and the song's inclusion in "Miami Vice" burned it into the national subconscious...even enough to start an urban legend about the lyric's subject matter.

There was still some left-over emotional baggage for "Hello, I Must Be Going," but it was Collin's choice of a Motown cover that landed him on the charts. "You Can't Hurry Love" was the beginning of his nascent blue-eyed soul string of hits. By the time the monster album "No Jacket Required" appeared, Phil was making songs that aped Prince ("Sussudio") and carried a full-on horn section that was reminiscent of Earth Wind and Fire. He even became an in-demand producer, and gave EWF's Phillip Bailey his only major solo hit by duetting on "Easy Lover."

That demand extended into films. He added the Oscar nominated "Separate Lives" and "Against All Odds" to his resume and starred in "Buster." (He also had a memorable cameo in the HBO AIDS drama "And The Band Played On.") But he was also beginning to push for larger things. On the next album, "But Seriously," he tried to get - well - serious. "Another Day In Paradise" took a look at homelessness, but it was balanced by the peppy "Something Happened On The Way To Heaven" and the more rocking "I Wish It Would Rain Down," featuring Eric Clapton.

But on the increasingly introspective and world-weary "Both Sides," the title track addressed urban and domestic violence...perhaps a bit too much for the popsters awaiting another catchy "Sussudio" or a dreamy ballad like "One More Night." It took three more years for "Dancing Into The Light" to appear, but by 1996 Phil's hitmaking days had passed. It was a good album, and the title track appears on "Hits." But the time had passed.

There is one new song here, the Babyface produced cover of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors." It won't make you forget Cyndi's version. How much you need "Hits" will likely depend on how nostagic you are for Phil's 80's omnipresnce. Also, since this "Hits" set was released in 1998, there have been a few missing links since then. His album "Testify" was a strong return (even without the mammoth commercial success) and Phil won an Oscar for "You'll Be In My Heart" from the Disney version of "Tarzan." There were enough omissions from the earlier albums that were hit singles to merit an eventuall "Ultimate" two disc set ("I Missed Again," "Everyday," "I Don't Care Anymore" to list three), so maybe it's time for Rhino to raid the remastering vaults.

(PS = Why "Face Value" or "No Jacket Required" haven't yet been remastered is beyond me.)