Classic Albums: Phil Collins – Face Value (Eagle reissue)
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Main Program: C+
Before
anyone was aware of him, many had heard Phil Collins drumming, then in 1975, he
took over from Peter Gabriel as lead singer of his band Genesis and they slowly
changed into a Pop/Rock outfit. They
were a trio by 1978 and in 1981; the first of many solo albums by Collins
arrived. That fateful volume was Face Value, a surprise hit that also
quickly led into his strong identification with the soon-to-be-hit TV show Miami Vice.
Boasting
the radio-friendly I Missed Again and
then-Pop-radio-challenging In The Air
Tonight, it was a success like his band had not had, but it was issued at a
time when going solo form very successful bands seemed more like a novelty and
experiment (why leave a money machine and/or critically acclaimed outfit?)
going back to the four solo albums original members of KISS had done in the
later 1970s.
Unfortunately
for us all in the long run, Collins was serious, though he still stayed with
Genesis until 1996 despite a hugely successful (and annoying) commercial solo
run. At least at this point, it was a
decent album. Unfortunately, he would
sell out by the next solo release, Genesis became lame as lame can get and
Collins became increasingly obnoxious, ignorant, pretentious and repetitive.
This Classic Albums installment is one of
the early entries made at a time before Collins solo career had finally
imploded like Lionel Ritchie’s did from 1980s/1990s burnout. This is Eagle Vision’s solid reissue. As compared to follow-up albums with and
without his band, this one is at least somewhat ambitious and serious before
Collins became an outright goofball. Had
he stayed in the more serious direction he started with on this album, he may
not have sold as many records, but he might still have a strong career. Unfortunately he did not and the rest is part
of what killed Rock Music.
The 1.33
X 1 image is about the same as the older cardboard-snapper version, while the
sound is not Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, but better PCM 16bit/48kHz 2.0 Stereo
like the original DVD release.
- Nicholas Sheffo
