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Rating:
I set out to write this review, as I have done other times, with a sense of challenge. A challenge especially against clichés: Anyone who writes about Phil Collins inevitably struggles to shake off the idea of an artist capable only of crafting sugary ballads and upbeat tracks with trumpets and trombones. Yet the reality is different: Like all artists, Collins has had his ups and downs, and what I want to review is a beautiful, very beautiful album!
"Both Sides" is the end of an era for Collins, the supreme pinnacle of his poetic style. A poetic style that began with "No Jacket Required", continued with "But Seriously", and culminated precisely with "Both Sides". Whereas the first two albums are much less poetic and expressive than one might imagine, and in the first, not even the cover of "Tomorrow Never Now" is enough to redeem it. The surprises of "Both Sides" are many and all moving. Absolute music again here? Well, let the music tell us;
Collins' unmistakable drumming opens the curtain of "Both Sides of the Story" with an epic arrangement rare even for Collins... The voice is calm and relaxed but tense at the same time; it's the voice of someone who knows what they're saying, because this is Collins' most heartfelt album. The peak of the track is found in the middle: The voice increases in power until it subsides, and then only a muffled drum rumbles in the distance... but the voice resumes in a surge of hope emphasized by a gem: a small bagpipe chord that grows, reaches its peak along with the voice, and everything fades into the most extreme poignancy. Well, two years ago my 92-year-old grandmother passed away, may her soul rest in peace; when I listen to this piece, I wish she were still here... sorry, but if it's almost impossible to explain in words what absolute music is, I'll try this way, perhaps with better chances.
"Everyday" is a run through a field of weeds, still free from real estate speculation. But what dominates the album is undoubtedly the sense of the epic, as in the beautiful "Survivors", "Survivors in the night," it says, and how many things that can mean. Also worth mentioning are the ballads where the drums always play a leading role, but always elegantly. To conclude, it must be said that the final triad deserves a place of its own: They are three expressive pillars that fit perfectly with one another. "There's a Place for Us," is apparently a languid ballad, yet beneath this veneer, there's also a sense of poignancy like the one that dominates the entire album. A sensual yet almost religious bass. The voice, towards the end, has a surge of self-assertion, and then fades almost into resignation but... Launched with full trumpet, so to speak, the majestic "We Wait and We Wonder", Beautiful, very beautiful, masterfully constructed, Collins' voice is the sun in the sky, a bass from archangels, an instrumental part with a reprise that gives chills, what more could we ask for? Nothing. And then, closing with the graceful "Please Come Out Tonight", come out with me tonight. And I think of a friend, a woman, a dog, a cat, is there more beyond our lives...
One last note: Collins played all the instruments.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
03 Everyday (05:43)
I got lost, couldn't find my way
And I guess there's nothing more to say
Love can make you blind, make you act so strange
But I'm here and here I will stay
So everyday I cry (everday...)
Yes everyday I fall (everyday...)
Do you ever wonder why
why I love everything about you
But everyday I say I'll try
to make my heart be still
'til then every way there is to cry
ourselves to sleep we will
It picked me up, knocked me off my feet
I've got no way to explain
Still I love you, love you, love you but this fire inside
Will never see the light of day
So everyday goes by (everday...)
And everyday I fall (everyday...)
It makes me wonder why,
My life's worth nothing without you
But everyday I say I'll try
To make my heart be still
'cos every way there is to cry,
Ourselves to sleep, we will
You'll never know, no, no, no, no, no
You'll never know just how close we were
You'll never know, no, no, no, no, no
You'll never know
No you'll never see
(instrumental break)
The book closes and we try to forget
But I know that things won't change
How we feel, how life goes on
And that seems so strange
And so the light fades away (everyday...)
Try, try, try as I may (everyday...)
I can't stop thinking about you
It seems my life's worth nothing without you
But everyday I say I'll try
To make my heart be still
'til then every way there is to cry,
Ourselves to sleep, we will
Everyday, everyday you know I try so hard
Everyday, everyday it gets a little harder
(repeat...)
04 I've Forgotten Everything (05:15)
I've forgotten everything about you
'til someone says your name
I've forgotten all the reasons I loved you
'til someone tells me that you rang
The memories are hazy now
I don't recall at all
there's nothing, there's nothing there
just me
and I don't understand why
I can't recollect my feelings
'til someone mentions that they saw you
I really don't remember all the things you said
'til someone shows me where you live
Why is everything so hazy now
I don't recall at all
there's nothing, there's nothing there
just me
and I don't understand why
I can't recall your smile
the touch of your hand holding mine
and I can't remember why
holding you seemed so right
The memories they're hazy now
I don't recall at all
there's nothing, there's nothing there
just me
and I don't understand why
I've forgotten everything about you
'til someone says your name
I've forgotten all the reasons I loved you
'til someone tells me that you rang
07 Survivors (06:05)
No I never meant to hold you back
I never meant to turn away
please forgive me
I never meant to break your heart
I'd give my last breath before I do
please forgive me
No I never meant to hold you down
I never meant to break your heart
somehow, somehow
we are survivors
No I never meant to hold you back
I never meant to turn away
here we are standing here
survivors in the night
No I never meant to break your heart
I'll always be here for you
here's my word, take my hand
survivors in the night
No I never meant to let you down
I'd give my last breath before I do
all I ever wanted was to be right here
survivors in the night
When all is said and done
we'll find a way
to put all this behind us
we'll find some way
'cos you know that I won't be leaving
yes I'm here and i won't be leaving
No I never meant to cause you pain
no I never meant to hurt you
all I want to do now, is to try my best
survivors in the night
When all is said and done
we'll find someday
we can forget all this
somehow, some way
And as long as I'm here
there'll be no worries any more
and all these promises I'm making now
I'll hold each day
So don't ever. don't ever, don't forget
that I never, never meant to break your heart
all I ever wanted was to stand beside you
survivors in the night
We are survivors in the night
09 There's a Place for Us (06:53)
'...There's a place for us, somewhere a time and a place.'
So here we are together
just you and me
sitting side by side
don't know why
with time just racing by
but I don't want to go
Well I don't know much about it
'cos all I am is what you see
in front of you
there's no more
feels so close and yet so far
but I don't want to go
Here I am, take my hand
here I am, please take my hand
I'd like to sit here with you if that's alright
if you don't mind I could sit and stare all night
sit here waiting for you to hold me tight
It's sad but I know it's true
you see I know you well
you'd only laugh at me
and that would hurt me so
just look at me here
you've got me pleading with you
but i don't want to go
'Cos you know that I love you so
yes you know that I love you so
Here. I will be here love
for you love, I will always be here love
If you look real close
you'll see my heart is on my sleeve
and it'll be here waiting
waiting for you, waiting for me
someone once said that if you truly, truly believe
you can make things happen
make things appear to be all that they seem
tell me do you believe?
We'll find a hideaway
together we'll find a way
somewhere, somehow, we'll find some way
there must be somewhere
there must be someplace
we can find somewhere
where they don't know my face
believe me we can find it
yes we can find it
somewhere, there's a place for us
somewhere, a time and a place for us
somewhere
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