Phil Collins

Hello, I Must Be Going (1982)

 

  1.I Don't Care Anymore
  2.I Cannot Believe It's True
  3.Like China
  4.Do You Know, Do You Care
  5.You Can't Hurry Love
  6.It Don't Matter To Me
  7.Thru These Walls
  8.Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away
  9.The West Side
 10.Why Can't It Wait 'Til Morning

Although the second Phil Collins album was released to a public who was now aware of who he was, he was nowhere near the superstar that he would become in a few short years. His first record was considered a "success" and he and bandmates Genesis climbed a bit higher in the popularity department with their latest release "Abacab" one short year ago. Unlike his debut, this record is a little more cautious, which is not to say a dissappointment. Most of the wild experimentations with sound and instruments are absent, but the record is graced with a unique style that was clearly Collins' own.

Consider the album opener I Don't Care Anymore. Musically, this one is a bit of a challenge to In The Air Tonight from Face Value. The song starts with the angry whacking of drum skins in a slow melodic fashion that is soon accompanied by the equally bitter electric keyboards until Collins belts out his frustrated emotions that, although are a bit empty on melody, he more than makes up with in energy. The song is clearly a style that Collins can claim is own, and although it was never a "hit", it remains a fan favorite. He's equally as angry on Do You Know, Do You Care and again we hear mostly drums and synthesizers accompanying the bitter wails.

It hadn't appeared yet, but Collins would be remembered for his soothing ballads as well as his heavy in-your-face drum style. There's two pieces here that illustrate an early incarnation of his romantic side, Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away and Why Can't It Wait 'Til Morning. The pieces are much more toned down than the above mentioned titles, but again we hear an individual struggling with relationships come through even though the melody is a bit sweeter.

As he always would early on, we have the traditional horn infested jazzy pop tunes - the most impressive here is the instrumental The West Side. Less impressive, but by no means a dissappointment, are I Cannot Believe It's True and It Don't Matter to Me. On the innovative side of things is the spunky Like China in which Phil mimicks a love struck whiny teenager amongst a strong guitar riff and, as usual, thundering drum beats. He pulls it off quite well.

Unfortunatly, the first single was the cover of the Supremes' You Can't Hurry Love which isn't bad, but doesn't give the listener the exposure to what makes Collins work so well. It should be mentioned though that Collins was still not really producing commercial music, so this one was a safe bet. All of that would change real quick.

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