Phil Collins
Face Value

THE REVIEW

In 1981, "Face Value" was released, the solo debut of Phil Collins, an album that heralded the stylistic changes of the whimsical Genesis drummer, which would bring many disappointments to 70s fans, but an enormous commercial success both for the band and for Phil.

The work opens with "In The Air Tonight", a song that had an immense impact on audiences worldwide and made Collins a pop star, which probably led him to continue his solo career alongside Genesis. The piece is very beautiful in my opinion, although there are too many overdubs that unnecessarily weigh it down, exaggerating its atmosphere. "Face Value" continues between excellent tracks and terrible slip-ups; among the most beautiful pieces is certainly "Behind the Lines", which is not by chance originally present in "Duke"; the best track on the album is surely "If Leaving Me Is Easy", a poignant ballad with Clapton as the guest of honor on guitar, which, to be honest, you don't hear much. The piece is fundamentally driven by Collins' voice and a poignant saxophone. Another standout track is the cover of "Tomorrow Never Knows" by the Beatles, very faithful to the original; "I Missed Again" has a good groove but remains quite harmless. An unbearable song is "Droned", a mishmash of poorly assorted ideas in a kind of samba-pop-ethnic mix that is truly useless, with whiny choirs that annoy the listener even more. Another terrible slip-up Phil encounters with "You Know What I Mean", a banal, ugly, and filler ballad. The rest of the CD is irrelevant, neither bad nor good, slides into the ears without leaving a mark.

Phil Collins destroyed Genesis, it's true, but tell me which band hasn't had changes or hasn't died out over time. In my opinion, this album is worth listening to even just to understand the transition that led to the stylistic shift of a genius artist and, one might say, a bit sold out to the god of money. All in all, it remains a good pop album with all the above-mentioned limitations, yet I would pay for modern pop to resemble this and not be the crap that is being served to us.