PHIL COLLINS: No Jacket Required (POP): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

If only one year separates the first two productions of Phil Collins as a solo artist, we had to wait three years to see "No Jacket Required" appear. Less marked by the resentment linked to his divorce, this third opus is musically less dark than its predecessors, and remains, as it was foreseeable in view of the success of the previous versions, in the same pop-rock style tinged with horns which prevailed until then.

The album contains two worldwide hits, the dynamic 'Sussudio' and the lymphatic 'One More Night', which have the common point of being based on improvisations. Both of them are also quite repetitive but they marked their time. More interesting is the work done on the sounds of the drums, the drum machine cleverly completing the classical set. Often supported by electro keyboards, the rhythmic takes a coloring close to the albums that Mike & the Mechanics will release some years later. Sound programming became increasingly important in the sounds used by Genesis members - a path that even the more classic Tony Banks would follow, especially in "Strictly Inc." But in this area, it is indeed Phil Collins who is the forerunner and who will notably influence the sound of percussion.

Served by a precise and deep production, "No Jacket Required" appears more homogeneous than its two predecessors, and always supported by the Phenix Horns (the brass section of Earth, Wind and Fire), the faithful Daryl Stuermer on the guitar, who co-wrote three tracks, and two renowned backing singers (Sting and Peter Gabriel). It is difficult to single out a track from this rather optimistic set (only two slow tracks), except for the most ample 'Take Me Home' whose progression does not lack allure and takes all its dimension in live.

The album was a huge commercial success: 25 million copies sold, two n°1 in the States. The titles appear perhaps less original than 'In the Air Tonight' or 'I Don't Care Anymore', and the album is less focused on singing than "Hello I Must Be Going" which was much darker, but the excellence of the realization and the homogeneity of the whole carry the adhesion. - Official website

PHIL COLLINS

NO JACKET REQUIRED

WEA

POP