No Jacket Required (Deluxe Edition)

I'm a die hard fan of Phil & have been since the early 80's. He always does quality work & everyone of his albums have something to offer. But this 3rd album is, without a doubt, one of the best of the 80's if not all time & there was no bigger artist than Collins back in 1985. He even won a Grammy for Album of the Year & four of the singles were top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100. "Sussudio" & "One More Night" also reached #1 and were all over the radio. But this album is more than just a few hits. Although there is alot of synth (it was the 80's after all), the rest of the album is very solid & contains lots of high energy songs with great synth, percussion and guitar. There are also a few nice ballads. One of my fav deep cuts - "Long Long Way To Go, which isn't romantic in nature but is actually a political song, has a haunting & melancholy feel to it. It also features Asian styled keyboards & Sting on b/g vocals. Awesome track & would've made a great single. Sting would also sing b/g along with another pal & former bandmate of Phil's - Peter Gabriel on the popular & likable hit "Take me Home".

Ok, as far as this deluxe edition goes...

The original 1985 disc already sounded really good so there was only so much they could do to improve the sound. But the remastering is definitely noticable in a good way if you listen to music on an iPod or in the car. Doesn't sound compressed to my ears or like there is anything missing. Just somewhat louder & fuller overall with more bass & good fidelity. Also, a music site analyzed all the tracks on Phil's reissues & were quoted as saying "The dynamics remain nearly unchanged". I agree with that statement.

Most of the bonus material on the 2nd disc are live tracks of the album's songs. There's no info about them in the liner notes but they sound like they were taken from his concert videos which are a combination of performances from his 1985 NJR tour in Dallas, 1990 "But Seriously" tour in Berlin & his Farewell tour in 2004. I was fortunate enuff to attend concerts during the last two. "Sussudio" also sounds just like his performance from the Knebworth concert in England back in 1990, which I always felt was one of his most exciting & best performances. Some other highlights are live versions of "Only You Know And I Know" which has an extended re-mix sound to it but sounds very faithful to the original (I really dug it) & "Long Long Way To Go" which has kind of an Unplugged sound to it. Phil & his band do these versions alot of justice & Phil's voice also sounded great.

The rest of the bonus material are demo's for "Only You Know And I Know", "One More Night" & "Take Me Home". They sound very similar to the originals but slightly rougher and you could tell that Phil hadn't finished the lyrics yet cuz he only sang the choruses with actual words. For the rest, he just kinda makes sounds that sound like words but aren't. Almost sounds like he's singing in a foreign language which is very interesting.

Anyway, this is a welcome re-issue & even though there is not alot of rare stuff on this release, I still feel it's worth buying if you want better sound quality or to hear excellent live versions of this album's songs.

Like all the other recent remasters of Phil Collins' catalog, the 2nd disc is a major disappointment. However, I'm still giving this 5 stars just because the original album is so incredible. I haven't listened to No Jacket Required in awhile just because the disc was so outdated in its sound. But the remastering is amazing on this re-release. Of course, the hits are here sounding better than ever. One More Night, Sussidio, Don't Lose My Number, and Take Me Home brings your right back to 1985.

And now it's a pure joy to listen to the album tracks like Only You Know And I Know, Long Long Way To Go, Who Said I Would, and my favorite - Inside Out. And despite what some websites stated as being omitted, We Said Hello, Goodbye is on the 1st cd just like it was originally. Amazing album and now amazing sound. Now if only Collins had taken advantage of the 2nd disc and put some REAL bonus material on it.

I had forgotten how "punchy" this album is since I hadn't listened to it in many years. Sure...the hits were way overplayed on the radio or MTV in their time. But we also get PC gems or deep tracks such as, "Long Long Way to Go," "Inside and Out," and "We Said Hello Goodbye." Who can argue with Daryl Stuermer on searing guitar, The Phenix horn section (from Earth, Wing & Fire), and both Sting and Peter Gabriel on backing vocals? The live stuff on the bonus disc shows what a powerful performer PC is too. (Then again this reviewer is a huge fan of Genesis in both the Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins eras!) These PC solo album reissues were long overdue but worth the wait in my opinion as they simply couldn't sound any better!

Well, this might be a surprise, or maybe not, but of all of Phil Collins 80s solo records, this has never been my particular favorite. I am aware that it was Phil’s mega-hit album, with three or four big singles, but compared to his first two solo outings, there was something that was lost. The album always felt too heavy handed with the synths and drum machines, and the arrangements felt too forced. This is even more evident with the second half of the record, what was lost was the interplay with the musicians on a number of tracks, and what was lost was the organic feel that could be found on ‘Face Value’, and ‘Hello, I Must Be Going’. It was as if someone told Phil in order to be commercial you have to sound heavy, and while that’s fine in small doses, good songs were sabotaged in the process.

Context is pretty important, in 1983, Phil had a hit with the soundtrack ballad “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)”, the status of that single seem to move Phil’s solo career to a new level. By 1984, Phil worked with Philip Bailey on his solo record ‘Chinese Wall’, and the single “Easy Lover” a duet with Phil Collins took things to a new level with it’s up tempo, and a little more rock / pop edge. I suspect there was a conversation to repeat the formula, but it only half way works.

Actually “Sussudio” starts out fine, it’s a fun track, and an obvious nod to Prince at his height, but what could have been an aberration becomes too much of the norm. Many of Phil’s regular players can be found in doses, The Phenix Horns, Daryl Steurmer, bassist Lee Sklar, and horn player Don Myrick. A hint of the problem lies with the arrangement of “Only You Know and I Know”, but the rest of side one manages to be pretty eclectic. The moody and introspective “Long Long Way To Go”, brilliantly segway’s into the up tempo number “I Don’t Wanna Know”, a favorite track and a real showcase for Daryl Steurmer. In fact, Steurmur would record an instrumental version of the track on his ‘Steppin’ Out’ album that is just as great. Of course, the first half closes with the ballad single “One More Night”.

Side two’s third single “Don’t Lose My Number” is a fun up tempo narrative number, as I previously stated about something being done in small doses. But “Who Said I Would” is simply too heavy handed. “Doesn’t Anybody Stay Together Anymore” could have been a good ballad, but the heavy handed opening arrangement sort of sabotages it. “Inside Out” has an R&B element to it that again seems sabotaged by the arrangement. “Take Me Home” works best as far as its use of a drum machine and synth textures, and another perennial single. The closing bonus track, “We Said Hello Goodbye” is one of the strongest tracks as a final ballad, with a moving message about opening and closing doors, it remains a favorite.

Let’s address the bonus disc which validates what should have happened with the studio sessions. The live “Sussudio, Don’t Lose My Number,” and “Who said I Would?” have a slightly different feel with the live band, the live “Long, Long Way To Go” has a more stripped down feel with just piano and vocal. The live “Doesn’t Anybody Stay Together Anymore” is better with a more simple feel that builds up. The live “Easy Lover, Inside Out, One More Night,” and “Take Me Home” cover similar ground. The demos "Only You Know And I Know, One More Night" and "Take Me Home" are not that different from the studio tracks, just stripped down. The new package is nice with new re-mastering from Nick Davis, credits, full Lyrics, a reproduction of the sleeve photo, and the new Phil photo, which I remain mixed over the gimmick of the idea, the original photos should have been reproduced somewhere in the package. Phil’s liner notes are fun, and with a good nature jest behind them. Phil would soon learn some lessons from the music politics of this period with his next album. Well done, just not a favorite.