Phil Collins: Albums Ranked | Worst to Best

[@gmrada]

1. Face Value 2. Hello... I Must Be Going 3. But Seriously 4. No Jackett Riquired 5. Dance Into The Light 6. Both Sides 7. Testify 8. Going Back

[@WelshIron]

Great ranking. Ill agree with all but will swap Dance into the Light with No Jacket Required. Hope you feel better soon.

[@waynegoucher4503]

I am guilty .. I have been a music 'Snob' and denied the quality of many tracks released by Phil Collins, but I'm going to explore his work again .. i remember eagerly waiting to hear 'In the Air tonight' on my radio but couldn't/wouldnt admit to liking his work .. more fool me :( !!

[@mikedonoghues4018]

I see what you did there.

[@davidgeisler9885]

Guilty pleasures: Billy don’t you lose my number Something happened on the way to heaven Groovy kind of love Sussudio Against All Odds

[@moose6509]

It´s not cool to like Phil apparently but I´m sorry, if Dance into the Light, Something Happened on the way to Heaven and Easy Lover (to name but a few) don´t make you feel good then you´ve got no soul.

[@davidl570]

For sure! (On a side note, Something Happened has to be his cutest video! Love the doggie in that one).

[@briancox8518]

The first 3 albums are very good after that fairly hit and miss Great honest review

[@SwisstedChef2018]

totally agree

[@Punttipate62]

I would say first 4

[@maxfrasier]

first 4 albums

[@paulayers1111]

NOT A BAD ALBUM AT ALL! 8. Going Back 7. Testify 6. Dance Into The Light 5. But Seriously 4. No Jacket Required 3. Hello I Must Be Going 2. Face Value 1. Both Sides (controversial opinion but I think it’s his MASTERPIECE)

[@lucasjharr6]

Thanks man you're my hero. I was listening to Phil Collins today and I was hearing it very so clear. It is super honest. Phil Collins is great. I appreciate your ranking video - Genesis is still my favorite band.

[@BruceColon-BSides]

Great job here. Aside from your number 1 choice, this was an unpredictable list. Great body of work by Collins overall. Cool Police tee as well. Hopefully you can do a ranking of their 5 classic albums too in the near future.

[@MetalFriscoDude79]

In my opinion, No Jacket Required is his best album.

[@frommetoyou1981]

Yeah, i'm a big Phil Collins fan, i have all 8 albums. An incredible wealth of great songs across these albums. 'Face value' is fantastic and my favourite. 'No jacket required' is great, poptastic. Yeah i really like 'Dance into the light' too, its very...sunny. 'You can wear my hat' is so good. 'Both sides' is slow going but there's great songs there no doubt. He's a quiet genius is Phil. A fantastic artist AND a hit machine! What a songwriter.

[@vallaindigital]

Face Value is my #1 solo Collins as well. And actually is the only one I still listen to on occasion. The only other possible one would be Hello, I Must Be Going...

[@gwts1171]

Same ranking as me, except "But Seriously..." & "No Jacket Required" are flipped for me, mainly due to nostalgic reasons. I was happy to see "Dance Into The Light" high on your list, too. Thanks for the video! 😃

[@glauciodon.campelo8967]

Dance into the Light has the loveable song Oughta Know by Now, one of my Phil's favorites.

[@philipneville4207]

A great critique and some wonderful language, as always. Keep up the great work.

[@classicalbum]

Thanks, will do!

[@somethingyettocome]

I was basically gonna write the same comment. So thanx!🙃

[@tomhenninger4153]

I am a huge 70's Genesis fan. Phil was also amazing in Brand X. Not a huge Fan of his solo stuff... however, saw his first solo tour and was blown away! He had Earth Wind & Fire's horn section with him. It was like a wonderful pop band! And it jammed! Loved it. But overall, don't have time to waste on Phil solos albums. Hahah! Thanks for the videos!

[@rightchordleadership]

Thanks Barry! Good stuff! Feel better.

[@SpaceCattttt]

His 80s output is tricky to rank. Most of his best songs are spread out across all 4 of those albums. I suppose No Jacket Required is the BIG one, and I don't think there's a bad track to be found on that, but on the other hand, But Seriously has "I Wish It Would Rain Down" which is the greatest of all Phil Collins solo songs, and it's also a bit underrated as an album, in my opinion. I would certainly rank Face Value below the rest of his 80s albums because, apart from a couple of songs, I find it to be excruciatingly boring and domestic. Divorce shit doesn't appeal to me at all. Both Sides is very underrated. Probably because it was a bit darker. And the title track on "Dance Into the Light" is arguably the last great Phil Collins song to date. However, I do think I enjoyed Going Back a bit more than a lot of other people. The only real turd in his discography is Testify. I've listened to it twice and I had to take a shower afterwards, both times. Fuck it. Here's my list: 1. No Jacket Required 2. But Seriously 3. Hello, I must Be Going 4. Face Value 5. Both Sides 6. Going Back 7. Dance Into the Light 8. Testify

[@jimmycampbell78]

I agree with your top 2 and the reasoning. I only know and have the three albums which I would then rank in your order. No desire to listen to or get any others. 1. No Jacket Required 2. But Seriously 3. Face Value

[@colingrace8295]

As always a concise and interesting review, and a guaranteed laugh out loud moment to boot great stuff👌👌

[@classicalbum]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@SuSaNa_PT]

Tks for reviewing Phil. Loved to see! I agree with nr1 and the last 2 but in the middle I'd choose a different order. Curious order.

[@63mckenzie]

I'm a huge Genesis, Brand X and Collins the drummer fan, but his solo albums have never gripped me.

[@Punttipate62]

@@DavidLazarus Phil was the perfect pick

[@DavidLazarus]

@@Punttipate62 - To a great degree, I cannot deny that you are correct. However, it was that move that lead to Phil's solo career. Prior to that, he had little desire to sing lead vocals. So, it acted as a double edged sword. I just lament that Genesis largely wasted the 90s and early 2000s when I truly feel they had some great music left in them.

[@DavidLazarus]

I accidently deleted this... I can understand where you're coming from. Though I do like a lot of Phil's solo material, I also wish he had never gotten up from behind the drum kit. Who would have replaced Peter? I don't know. Nad was a little too young at the time. I like Steve's vocals, but he would not have made a great lead for Genesis. John Wetton might have been able to pull it off as an interim lead if nothing else.

[@Punttipate62]

@@DavidLazarus it's not at all a double edged sword. we got great genesis albums in the 80s and great phil collins albums. 2 for one

[@DavidLazarus]

@@Punttipate62 - It is from the perspective that Phil was a better drummer than singer. I'm saying that knowing full well that he's a great singer, but Phil was a phenomenal drummer. Thus, his solo career did take away from his focus on drumming as that was obviously not his primary focus while writing his solo works.

[@ErnestIII83]

I applaud you for ranking Dance Into The Light so highly. It's my no. 1 favorite of his. Maybe because it is so optimistic-sounding? Maybe because all the drums on it are live? Both? Perhaps it was the trousers? Not sure, but either way, I think it's great and it's underrated. Even by Phil himself as you've pointed out. Get well soon also! :)

[@tondewit2000]

Hello I must be going I consider his best album....No fillers and heartbreaking songs.....but also heavy songs .....Like China... Phil I wish the best for you

[@andrewgraham5527]

Excellent stuff once more sir

[@bastianszjohn574]

Can you do a review of Neil Diamond's Jonathan Livingston Seagul soundtrack album. This is a great master piece.

[@michaeldaley5831]

🎉Just wondering if you bought/heard any Alex Harvey albums?I would love to see/hear what you thought of him,For me,such a great artist,totally original,and what a frontman he was.The sensational Alex Harvey Band were a great live band,& I love their albums.

[@PhilBaird1]

Yes, that would be a good work-out for Barry's vocabularly. Plenty to go at with the great Alex Harvey.

[@ericcampbell6370]

My favorite is Hello, I Must Be Going. I think it's his most consistent effort, building on Face Value to better effect.

[@davidatkinson-Music-and-More]

Nice job. 👏🏻

[@chaky1978]

Starting to pay attention to your channel, me like a lot !!!

[@classicalbum]

Awesome, thank you!

[@stepheng1690]

Massive Phil fan Barry especially Genesis & up to a point i loved his solo output & my least favourite to favourite is.... 8 - Going Back 1.5/5 7 - Testify 2/5 6 - Dance Into The Light 2/5 5 - Both Sides 3/5 4 - No Jacket Required 4/5 3 - But Seriously 4.5/5 2 - Hello I Must Be Going 5/5 1 - Face Value 5/5 Fairly standard ranking as his later albums were pretty bad!

[@XFLexiconMatt]

Phil is way too vilified for his solo work, yes, it isn't Genesis, but Phil managed to work around his limitations as a keyboardist and found a way to write. I agree with the list, but I would have ranked "Hello, I Must Be Going!" Even higher, I listen to that album and "Face Value" the most. Thank you again for doing this.

[@Jojo-yl4qx]

Are you fond of blue oyster cult? Love to see a ranking if so

[@yankeehank1897]

As the video progressed, I was in increasingly disbelief that "Dance Into The Light" was not yet named...until #2!?! I ranked it toward the bottom 🙂

[@FatNorthernBigot]

As a teen in the 80s, I loved myself a bit of P.C. I didn't understand the stuffy of gits of the previous generation who looked down their nose at him. He was the ELO of the 80s... An underserved backlash.

[@biggishdantan]

I think you have tones of Charles Dance. Came to see the content. Your voice is what left an impression. Hope this doesn’t come across as weird.

[@WorseReviews]

Whoaaa, No Jacket Required is by far my fav, coming behind it is Hello, I Must Be Going

[@jeremymorrison3494]

Nicely done. Get well soon

[@DavidLazarus]

On another note, I've been listening to a lot of Saga lately. Phenomenal band! I have to wonder why no one of note on KZbin reviews, reacts, analyzes, etc their music. I think they are very underrated and never received the attention they should have. At minimum, they should have had the size following that Rush enjoyed. Yet, their popularity, especially in the US was a "blink and you'll miss it" sort of thing. Saga still has a dedicated fan base in Germany despite being a Canadian band with a Welsh lead vocalist. Happy birthday Michael Sadler! I jokingly say that every day is Michael's birthday because it has been immortalized on their Detours live album. Which album should you review first? Well, despite it being their fifth album, I'd say Heads or Tales. There honestly isn't a bad track on it! The unabridged version of Catwalk (which should have been the ONLY version save for, perhaps, a single edit) is outstanding! Ian Crichton's guitar work on it is absolutely stellar! In contrast, he barely has time to warm up in the shorter version. Ian is entirely self taught and, I think, truly has a style of his own. He has folk roots which stand out on albums like Beginner's Guide to Throwing Shapes and the more recent "acoustic" album Symmetry. The latter isn't merely an "unplugged" album like so many bands did in the early and mid 90s. It's reworks and re-orchestration of the tracks. The choice of instrumentation is impeccable! It's top notch as far as acoustic albums go. Well worth a listen. Getting back to Ian, don't let his folk roots fool you! He's a real rocker! He really rips on guitar on most of their albums; especially their first concept album called Generation 13 and the completely shifting gears follow-up Pleasure and the Pain. Many fans seem to hate that album because it is so different, but how can a band be progressive without changing? IMO, any great band has progressive elements whether the music is truly progressive rock or not. Saga is such a band.

[@jimmycampbell78]

Yes good points, I know that SoT (Sea of Tranquility) did an album ranking of Saga but Pete has not done much more on them and I never see anyone else discuss them

[@DavidLazarus]

@@jimmycampbell78 - Pete did? Really? More than just Symmetry? . . . which I do seem to recall him doing. I'll have to search it out. Thanks. I once did a 2-CD definitive collection of Saga songs that included at least one track from every album from their debut up through Full Circle. I did my best to take tracks that best showcased their musicianship rather than just making it a collection of hits. One day, I'll complete it up through their final recording. I don't know this for a fact, but I have a strong feeling that Saga is going to release an album of new material before the end of this year (2023). That despite being semi-retired.

[@yamishogun6501]

@@DavidLazarus I only knew the great "On the Loose" as a teenager but had no idea how great the entire album is. From there I listened to the post 1997 albums and found great songs on all of those but the 1983 to 1996 albums have less on them to me.

[@DavidLazarus]

@@yamishogun6501 - That's weird being that Heads Or Tales is a very logical progression, stylistically, from Worlds Apart. Then again, the first album I bought was In Transit. My logic is that if a band sounds great live, they're a great band. Saga's definitely a great band. If you haven't done so in a while, I suggest revisiting the first five albums. They're absolutely stellar in my opinion. In my view, Saga has only released a couple of mediocre albums. Those would be Steel Umbrellas and 10,000 Days.

[@yamishogun6501]

@@DavidLazarus I agree with Steel Umbrellas but not 10,000 days. For me, the first 4 albums are great with somewhat a drop in Heads and Tales and then more so from Behavior but picks up again with Generation 13. But you've convinced me to go back and relisten to the albums I have less interest in. In the latter period I think 20/20 is the least interesting but will try again with that one as well.

[@rramoreproductions2083]

8 Dance into the light ( its his only album that there is not a single song worth ever playing ) 7 Both Sides 6 Goin Back 5 No Jacket Required 4 Testify 3 Hello I Must be going 2 But Seriously 1 Face Value ( in the air is one of the greatest songs of all time )

[@Railway_Railfan]

Big Genesis fan (mostly '70s) albums...Peter Gabriel led, but really enjoy a few Phil Collins solo tunes. My favorite is, oddly enough, "The Roof is Leaking". So we'll done, but sad.

[@Railway_Railfan]

Tangent: Great live versions of "In the Air..." and "The Roof is Leaking" on an '80s album called, The Secret Policeman's Other Ball - The Music". ...Note: "In the Air..." without drums, but still really good and almost more of a dark feeling because of the starkness.

[@bertkarlsson1421]

I very much agree with your ranking!

[@jhillst]

I will always defend Phil Collins as a musician, even though I'm not a fan of most of his post-1982 solo output. I maintain that he gets an unfair share of the blame for Genesis's creative downfall -- fans often blame it on his pop influence while in reality it was more a case of the entire band getting more and more pedestrian with their songwriting methods. His initial songwriting contributions (Misunderstanding, Please Don't Ask) are just as well-crafted and executed as any of the band's earlier pop songs, and his first two solo albums are as good as any other blue-eyed soul recordings of that period. Anyway, my ranking: 7. Testify 6. Dance Into The Light 5. No Jacket Required 4. Both Sides 3. But Seriously 2. Hello, I Must Be Going! 1. Face Value

[@zenergy01]

Hello I must be going is his best. All killer, no filler. Well produced, and "I don't care anymore" is a good starting point for converting Collins haters. Love the cockney on "Like China", and "Thru these Walls" is likely inspired by doing studio work for Peter Gabriel (a little "Intruder" anyone?). "The West Side" is a great track, the groove could go on for hours. But Face Value is a very close second. Hearing "In the air tonight" in concert, I had an out-of-body experience, the brain awash in adrenaline.

[@SuperPhunThyme100]

Hello, I Must Be Going! has to be my favorite of his. Its the epitome of that early 80's hard edge bite Phil Collins that I think existed from like 1981 to around early 1984, right before he adopted that big 80's pop sound with Against All Odds and onward.

[@ralphacton]

I like Dance into the Light as well, maybe my #3 or 4. Larenzo was my favourite from that one.

[@themindseyecmh]

I love Dance Into the Light!

[@markbateman9222]

Collin's first album was truly great, the follow up was pretty good too but from then on nothing matched that quality. Some good moments on almost all of his solo LPs but for sustained quality nothing matches his first two efforts. How about a ranking of Rod Stewarts albums? At least half a dozen absolute classics here!

[@mercster]

Thanks buddy.

[@trevordixon1427]

Love phil.

[@LowKeyTired-q7d]

Phil collins is a great dude and truly suffered for his art ....

[@jonnobloggs8642]

Listening to Wind And Wuthering recently one can hear the beginnings of Phil's solo career on You're Own Special Way .

[@leproghead]

I believe YOSW is writen by Mike Rutherford

[@jonnobloggs8642]

You are absolutely correct Rob however it is the first Genesis track which explores an entirely different musical landscape away from their trademark more complex progressive sound .This more AOR sound was further explored in successive albums eg Follow You Follow Me (Banks/Rutherford/Collins Co writers 😃)until Phil finally started to produce his own solo albums in that AOR style . I'm sure that you will agree with me that it can all be traced back to Ruthers composition in 1976 .

[@yamishogun6501]

Collins has said his favorite is "Both Sides" where he also played all the instruments.

[@JCStorm76]

Swap Dance Into The Light with No Jacket Required which is too low. It could even be at number one

[@michaelfavreau7617]

I could only get through Phil`s first 3 albums. After that I couldn`t bother to pay the attention the pop industry gave him. Having said that I feel his second effort Hello I Must Be Going is his best. Great vocals, great drumming, great musicianship, great production and really good songs. I Don`t Care Anymore/ Do You Know, Do You Care/ It Don`t Matter To Me/ Thru These Walls are all highlights. But the greatest tune is The West Side. A fantastic instrumental with tricky bits and soaring horns.

[@sspbrazil]

Hello, I Must be going is my number 1, I love that album.

[@YesSabbath5]

How about a Brand X album ranking?

[@DavidLazarus]

As much as I like Phil's solo stuff, and much of it is quite good, I truly wish he had stuck with Genesis. In many ways, I think We Can't Dance was the peak album of the Collins era. There were really only two mediocre songs on it in my opinion. The rest, even the more poppy, tongue-in-cheek songs, are fantastic. Had Phil stayed, I think Genesis would have had three or four more great albums. Instead, they closed with Calling All Stations which had Ray Wilson filling in for Phil on vocals. That album has a few great songs, but Ray is neither Phil nor Peter. His vocals have a completely different timbre. It's kind of like the John Payne era of Asia versus the John Wetton eras. Personally, I got to truly love Payne's vocals. However, I honestly don't think the band should have been called Asia at that point. Payne's a nice guy and very down to earth. I got to talk to him for a bit during Asia's 2000 tour. Among other things, we talked about the lesser known track Dusty Road. That's a favorite of mine from the Payne era. Getting back to Phil, I really need to listen to the latter part of his catalog again. That said, I think my ranking would be fairly similar. Aside from In the Air Tonight, some of my favorites include Something Happened on the Way to Heaven, Take Me Home, and Another Day in Paradise.

[@theskidmarkoforion4829]

A dose on a club 18 30 holiday. Man I’m howling 😂

[@paulbrookes413]

He's on The Pentateuch 🙂

[@bossoli60]

I tend to agrée with tou,hello.But seriously really impressed my youth like Soul cages for Sting.A sad and a happy album😊

[@mrkitewine7700]

I’ve never been much of a fan of his solo stuff, the exception being the song Against All Odds, which I don’t think is on any of his studio albums

[@mikedonoghues4018]

I blow hot and cold for his solo stuff, but I agree that “Against All Odds” is a great song, with a brilliant vocal performance that I couldn’t imagine anyone but him pulling off - for both grit and vulnerability in equal measure.

[@philanderson5138]

thank you for your ranking, as I like the genesis output of the early eighties I prefer face value above the rest, as I combine that with 'Duke', and I think little of the pop stuff later, as I started to lose interest in Genesis too as time went on...

[@storymansworldofdiscovery1831]

What a review - you are bold sir - bravo 👏

[@Pedro2706]

Collins is a major talent and a world class drummer but his last century solo output has aged badly to my ears-maybe the production values as some of the songs are timeless.Reminds me that he collaborated with the late great John Martyn on a couple of albums so maybe a review/retrospective/best on JM at some stage?T

[@phillipanderson7398]

How is a labor of love of someone playing their own personal favorite songs " pointless" ?

[@classicalbum]

Badly done, been done before, adds nothing new, artisticallly vapid... And most 'covers' album are misjudged, made by those that have nothing else to offer or to fulfill a contract.

[@slowmarchingband1]

For me Phil wrote several brilliant songs and a lot of filler across those albums: The Roof is Leaking, I Wish it Would Rain Down, Inside Out and ITAT are among the diamonds in the rough. I loved his backing vocals on John Martyn's albums, I thought their voices blended perfectly

[@filosphere]

On the contrary, in my humble opinion, Phil Collins ruined this John Martyn album. Let me explain: Martyn was one of my favorite artist in the 70s, and Genesis (with PG) as well. But Collins' voice has always been unpleasant to my ears (except in A Trick Of The Tail which is huge despite that). And hearing it all over the 80s, with the awful sound of the 80s, and ending up finding that all-too-recognizable (and ubiquitous at the time) voice in Martyn's music, that was a very unnerving shock to me, plus of the production of this record which also sounded really too 80s to me. To be honest, I felt like Collins had pushed Martyn into the 80s, and I blamed him for that.

[@eddiemethot8925]

Face Value is my favorite album from his solo years.

[@lawrencejhutchinson]

1.Face Value 2.But Seriously 3.Hello, I Must Be Going 4.No Jacket Required (the others I didn't buy).

[@johnbeagley1195]

Nice. But Id have put Both Sides second from bottom and No Jacket in the top 3. The songs are stronger on NJR than Both Sides. I really dont like the synth bass on BS. Hope you feel better soon!

[@boomshankah1123]

The Ray Hudson of Classic Rock.

[@SwisstedChef2018]

Great Ranking, except Into the LIght

[@Willowphase2]

I have to put ‘No Jacket’ higher personally but that’s about not being able separate my youth from music criticism. In my own opinion when Collins left Genesis he lost some of his songwriting mojo.

[@Guedingen]

Anyone who can sit down and slog their way through hours of that voice certainly deserves our compassion:-)

[@mikebull1972]

Tricky because his best stuff is a little spread out, but I guess I would go... Face Value (Bit of a gap!) ...But Seriously No Jacket Required Hello, I Must Be Going ...and then I wouldn't thank you for any of the rest; 'Testify' in particular was just a dirge.

[@glennpowell3444]

The issue with him back in the 80,s that he tried to be pop at a time the pop world was buldging with great new sounds and bands.I always thought his solo stuff was way behind the likes of the true pop bands selling millions of records at that time that encapulated the first half of the 80,s.The likes of Erasure and Bronsky beat etc etc etc were the real deal by compare to Collins lack lustre effort to become "pop" back then.

[@jimmycampbell78]

Legions of housewives disagree 😊

[@herrdwabash]

"Dance Into the Light" is my least favorite Phil Collins album. Maybe because it is so happy and optimistic, I haven't connected with it, compared to more introspective albums like "Both Sides," which is my favorite. To me, the song "Wear My Hat" sounds like a rip-off of a Paul Simon song from "Graceland."

[@JCStorm76]

The title track is the only real memorable song.

[@rushbravado1972]

I will say I love all of Phil Collins solo albums but his work with Genesis is still better. I don't think any of his solo albums stand up to any Genesis material. 1 But Seriously: Crosby and Clapton make guest appearances on the album. Love every song on this album "Colors" and "Father To Son" are stand out tracks 2 No Jacket Required: Yes Phil Collins was everywhere between 1985 and 1986 but this album is stellar except I cant handle "Sussudio". Standout tracks besides the singles would be "Who Said I Would" and Sting making an appearance on "Long Long Way To Go" 3 Face Value: Sounds about as close to Genesis as possible. Love "In The Air Tonight" of course but you also have his solo version of "Behind The Lines", "The Roof Is Leaking" and "I Missed Again" 4 Hello I Must Be Going: Pretty good follow up to Face Value. "You Can't Hurry Love" is a great homage to the Supremes. Also got to love "Do You Know, Do You Care" and " I Don't Care Anymore" 5 Testify: This album gets a lot of backlash but one of my favorite Collins solo songs is "Wake Up Call". Very catchy and always find myself going back to it. Also love "The Least You Can Do" and "Can't Stop Loving You" 6 Dance Into The Light: The title track is a classic and I really like "Love Police" and "Wear My Hat" 7 Both Sides: I like the album but it is lower on the register. The title track is a fantastic song and I dig "We Fly So Close" and "Please Come Out Tonight" 8 Going Back: I don't mind cover albums but this one is just okay. Only listened to it a few times. I like the title track, "Nowhere To Run" and "Dancing In The Street" but normally not one I really listen to Really enjoyed this ranking video.

[@glauciodon.campelo8967]

Face Value has a bunch of great songs, mainly ballads. My favorite on them is the very sad If Leaving is Easy.

[@petecrane7553]

Phil Collins is a fantastic recording artist who needs to fire his art director.

[@michaelbaucom4019]

His first two albums were his best, IMHO. No Jacket Required was too poppy, the rest of the albums had great songs mixed with mediocre songs. The first two albums are still interesting to listen to, the rest not so much, other than the obviously great songs

[@blindpink]

Shouldn't this be "worst to dreadful".... ? Always interesting to listen to your opinions though, appreciate your efforts.

[@stevecowder4774]

Even though Phil's solo work has always been a little ' hit and miss ' for me, I can appreciate some of the songs, especially from " Hello I must be Going. " But I seem to be drawn towards his darker material rather than the lighter, poppier side. Never been a big fan of the trumpet filled songs.

[@mikemiller865]

I was with you until Dance into the Light. Dreadful album, but the rest I agree with.

[@welshhibby]

No Jacket should be number 1.

[@redbirdct]

Dance Into the Light doesn't get a lot of love but IMHO it's a very solid record, probably because there's not so much machinery behind the songs. It's a step up from "Both Sides", which was his first solo record I didn't care much for. That said, his cover of "The Times They Are A-Changin'" on Dance is just embarrassing. In 1996, the times weren't even changing that much so I'm not sure what the point of that was. I do have a hard time ranking the 80's stuff for similar reasons that others have mentioned. I'm still sick of the big hits off No Jacket except the wonderful "Take Me Home", which has a great video to boot. "Long Long Way From Home" off that record is a standout for me. I bought "Testify" for 99 cents in a used CD shop and overpaid for it. Wow, what a boring record that is. My impression is that he was unhappy with the relative failure of the upbeat DITL and had had a couple hits with ballads after that so he figured that's where his bread was buttered so he decided to make an adult contemporary record. I listened to it once and that was plenty. Can't disagree with "Face Value" up top.

[@IndigoJo]

I used to love the But Seriously album and the live album that spun off it, Serious Hits Live, but the love soured when I learned that Collins was a Tory. At that time homelessness was at its height in London and the government was refusing benefits to young people who were homeless, directing them to non-existent YTS programmes. Thatcher and other Tories of the time had mouthed anti-Apartheid platitudes while selling the regime weapons. I grew to see his political songs as sanctimonious and insincere.

[@johnholt890]

Nice you didn’t join the critical fashion to hammer PC. The songs will stand the test of time in my humble view.

[@stuartraybould6433]

Love Collins the drummer in Brand X and Genesis but his solo albums are pop pulp. Worst to truly awful. Couldn't believe what he was doing when Hello! I must be going came out. Then Genesis were already going pop before that. Loved the Gabriel/Hackett years... and then there were three was OK, Duke was good even though it has Misunderstanding and Turn it on but after that it just slowly went downhill. While Gabriel got better and better and Hackett kept his heart. Showed who the real talent was in Genesis, which Tony Banks really knows but doesn't like hearing. That's why nether show up in the reunion tours, money for their pension funds. Loved Brand X but there Collins was just the drummer, Percy Jones, Godley, Lumley and Co were the brains. Phil Collins, first rate drummer, third rate singer who got lucky when Gabriel left Genesis.

[@46metube]

You have to take things at Face Value. Period.

[@paulbrookes413]

I made it 333 🙂

[@offal]

Nonsense your the charles Dance of music reiview

[@mr.milehi9883]

Just don't forget to put the clothes pin on your nose next time you're impersonating Bob Dylan for better effect.

[@TheStoneageRomeo]

Sounding like Darth Vader.

[@classicalbum]

Who me or Phil....?

[@TheStoneageRomeo]

@@classicalbum Sorry. Should have clarified. Was referring to your good self, blocked nose n all. Your John Gielgud comment was most amusing.

[@anthonyscully2998]

why bother barry. coming in the night is great but the rest of his work is light weight r and b

[@tonynew3047]

My favourite Phil Collins album is..........wait for it....................

[@heavymetal6910]

Barry how can you give someone who writes bilge like you can't hurry love any credibility whatsoever ?

[@classicalbum]

Phil Collins didn't write 'you can't hurry love' it is a classic Supremes number. Incidentally, I'm currently working on a Metallica worst to best, which you might enjoy

[@mikedonoghues4018]

@@classicalbum Fair enough, but when he writes bilge like “A Groovy Kind of Love”….

[@heavymetal6910]

@Mike Donoghue’s Yep absolute garbage. I'm sure he is a nice guy but that radio friendly tosh he released belongs in a dustbin

[@mikedonoghues4018]

@@heavymetal6910 Oh dear. I think my sarcasm was lost, buddy.

[@davidl570]

@@mikedonoghues4018 I got it at least! Far as those two, always liked his cover of You Can't Hurry Love (think it blows the Supremes' version out of the water...................probably helps that I've never been a big Supremes fan), but never cared for his cover of A Groovy Kind of Love (BORRRRRRINNNNG......................the original is about 10X better).

[@curly_wyn]

1. Face Value (1981) = 2.5/5 stars 2. Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982) = 2.5/5 stars 3. No Jacket Required (1985) = 2/5 stars 4. But Seriously… (1989) 1.5/5 stars 5. Both Sides (1993) = 1/5 stars 6. Going Back (2010) = 1/5 stars 7. Dance into the Light (1996) = 0.5/5 stars 8. Testify (2002) = 0/5 stars

[@iancleere2281]

1st

[@PhilBaird1]

I thought that Face Value was a fantastic record. But then the '80s took over and it was all pumping horns, tom rolls, jacket sleeves rolled to the elbow and big production. A very talented guy but it soon became cliched and irritating. The right guy but the wrong time perhaps...

[@nathanadlerinc2790]

They are all THE WORST. Shortest video ever.