Phil Collins - Face Value

Phil Collins is one of those guys it's cool to hate, like Bryan Adams and Michael Bolton. I've always had a grudging respect for him though, because unlike the other two, he's never set out to be blatantly commercial, writes his own material from the heart, and dammit, In The Air Tonight still sounds pretty fresh to me.

This documentary delves into the period where Collins left Genesis and began working on his first solo album, taking his love of black music (think early Michael Jackson and Earth, Wind & Fire), and infusing it with his working class English background and the emotion of his recent divorce (in fact, while reminiscing about an unreleased track, Collins seems close to tears).

Standard Classic Albums quality, very good recent interview video, with decent black levels, sharpness and colour. Older archive material from the Genesis days and footage from the 1980 recording session and early tour obviously look worse, often soft with oversaturated colour, though never unwatchable.

I'm running out of ways to describe documentary audio - I've got to stop reviewing this series! Well recorded interviews, and the live concert audio has been captured nicely; this is actually one of the better Classic Albums for sound quality.

Strangely, when Collins is playing drums to demonstrate the parts at the end of In The Air Tonight, they're ringing quite horribly. I would have expected his drum tech to have tuned them a little tighter..

The discography.

If you're a Phil Collins fan (and your secret is safe with me), you should enjoy this disc. Obviously, others won't waste their time.