[1] In the Air Tonight (P.Collins) - 5:32
[2] This Must Be Love (P.Collins) - 3:55
[3] Behind the Lines (A.Banks/P.Collins/M.Rutherford) - 3:53
[4] The Roof Is Leaking (P.Collins) - 3:16
[5] Droned (P.Collins) - 2:55
[6] Hand in Hand (P.Collins) - 5:12
[7] I Missed Again (P.Collins) - 3:41
[8] You Know What I Mean (P.Collins) - 2:33
[9] Thunder and Lightning (P.Collins) - 4:12
[10] I'm Not Moving (P.Collins) - 2:33
[11] If Leaving Me Is Easy (P.Collins) - 4:54
[12] Tomorrow Never Knows (J.Lennon/P.McCartney) - 4:46
ERIC CLAPTON - Guitar
DARYL STUERMER - Banjo, Guitar
STEPHEN BISHOP - Vocals, Backgrond Vocals
GARY WRIGHT - Violin
RONNIE SCOTT - Tenor Saxophone
SHANKAR - Violin, Drums, Tamboura
RAHMLEE MICHAEL DAVIS - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
LIZ EDWARDS - Violin
JOHN GIBLIN - Bass
MICHAEL HARRIS - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
BRIAN HAWKINS - Viola
ALPHONSO JOHNSON - Bass
CHRIS LAWRENCE - Double Bass
ARIF MARDIN - String Arrangements
DON MYRICK - Tenor Saxophone
JO PARTRIDGE - Guitar, Slide Guitar
PETER ROBINSON - Keyboards, Prophet Synthesizer
LOUIS SATTERFIELD - Trombone
SHOVOKAV - Percussion, Violin
MAURICE SPEARS - Music Preparation
THE CHOIR - Vocals
CLIVE ANSTEE - Cello
IRVINE ARDITTI - Violin
RICHARD STUDT - Violin
NIGEL WARREN-GREEN - Viola
DAVE WOODCOCK - Violin
BILL BENHAM - Violin
TONY PLEETH - Cello
SIMON WHISTLER - Viola
TOM TOM - Arranger
HUGH PADGHAM - Engineer, Assistant Producer
NICK LAUNAY - Assistant Engineer
BOB KAUS - Liner Notes
TREVOR KEY - Photography
1994 CD Atlantic Gold Standards 82520-2
1981 CD Atlantic SD-16029-2
1981 CS Atlantic CS-16029-4
Collins proves himself a passionate singer (and distinctive drummer)
with a gift for both deeply felt ballads and snarling rockers. His
debut album transformed him from the frontman of Genesis to a solo star
who happened to be in Genesis, too. Contains "In the Air Tonight" and
"I Missed Again."
William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
In the Air Tonight
After introducing 1981's Face Value with the bright horns of "I Missed
Again," Phil Collins followed it up with a song of an altogether
different tone. "In the Air Tonight" peaked at number 19 on Billboard,
as did "I Missed Again," but Collins' second single would be a complete
opposite of the first, led by an ominous pace and creeping rhythm, as
well as an effectively echoed vocal track. "In the Air Tonight" helped
Face Value enter the British charts at number one, with the song's
lyrics drawing as much attention as its somber milieu. The song tells
the story of a man who is drowning as another man watches without
offering any aid, while all of this is witnessed by Collins at a
helpless distance. Later it was learned that the song was a symbolic
allegory about Collins' failing marriage to wife Andrea at the time.
But truly it's the song's instrumentation that makes it work,
especially the resounding drum work that explodes near its finale,
which contrasts Phil Collins' rather reserved yet macabre vocal prowl
through three-quarters of the track. With its apprehensive and moody
instrumental crawl, one that simulates Genesis' "Mama" in many ways,
Phil Collins made "In the Air Tonight" one of his most famous singles
that still harbors a distinct feel.
The beginning of Phil Collins's massively successful solo career
coincided with the discord in his first marriage, turning Face Value
into a compelling churn of emotions, from the utter disgust of "In the
Air Tonight" (where Collins dryly comments, "If you told me you were
drowning / I would not lend a hand") to the delight he feels in
exploring a new relationship ("This Must Be Love"). Collins's
thundering drums and punchy horn arrangements--a close approximation of
Earth, Wind & Fire's sound, actually--clicked with the public,
turning "I Missed Again" and "In the Air Tonight" into Top 20 singles
and launching Collins's career as one of the biggest and most unlikely
stars of the '80s.
Daniel Durchholz, Amazon.com
Die Geschichte hinter Face Value, Phil Collins erstem Soloalbum aus dem
Jahr 1981, dürfte hinlänglich bekannt sein: der kleine
Engländer mit dem schütteren Haarwuchs war ziemlich
gelangweilt von seinem Job als Sänger und Schlagzeuger seiner
Haus-Formation Genesis, er wollte weg vom Bombast Rock-Sound dieser
Gruppe, die Plattenfirma Atlantic Records hatte ihm einen lukrativen
Solistenvertrag angeboten und zudem hatte Collins sich soeben von
seiner (ersten) Ehefrau und den beiden Kindern getrennt. Diese
Hintergründe sind wichtig, um Face Value in seiner Gänze zu
begreifen -- es ist die Platte eines erfolgreichen Musikers in einer
ernsthaften Lebenskrise, wovon die meisten der Texte Zeugnis ablegen.
Trotz aller Sinnsuche beginnt die Platte mit einem gewaltigen
Donnerschlag: dem Klassiker "In the Air Tonight", der eines der
bekanntesten und dabei virtuosesten Drum-Soli der Rock-Geschichte
enthält. Jedenfalls ein Monster-Track, doch auch etliche der elf
anderen Stücke auf Face Value haben es in sich. Etwa das
spannungsgeladen-mysteriöse "The Roof Is Leaking", der heitere
Soul-Fetzer "I Missed Again" oder die gänsehauterzeugende,
tieftraurige Ballade vom verlassenen Liebhaber "If Leaving Me Is Easy".
Man mag Phil Collins' späteren Arbeiten Beliebigkeit und
Emotionsarmut vorwerfen -- Face Value jedoch ist der akustische
Überlebensversuch eines unsicheren Menschen, der gleichzeitig ein
fabulöser Musiker mit einem todsicheren Gespür für
eingängige Harmonien ist. Kein Wunder, daß das britische
Fachmagazin Record Mirror damals empfahl, man möge diese Platte
spielen, bis die Tonabnehmer zu Staub zerfallen sind.
Michael Fuchs-Gamböck, Amazon.de
Als Phil Collins mit in The Air Tonight solistisch durchstartete, war
das Pulikum verblüfft. Das Album mit den schnittigen Earth, Wind
& Fire-Bläsern macht auch heute noch Spaß - und Kasse.
Q Magazine (11/96, p.64) - 3 Stars - Good - "...He never bettered the monumental 'In The Air Tonight'..."
With the notable exception of the three Peter Gabriels, every solo
album from a Genesis member or ex-member has proudly displayed the
lessons learned in that band–and been the worse for it. But Phil
Collins' initial foray is neither art-rock nor the fusion jazz that
Collins favored in Brand X. Instead, he keeps the fluid vocal tone he's
lately developed in Genesis, yet ignores the group's high-blown
conceits in favor of some basic pop and R&B lessons apparently
gleaned from Face Value's backup musicians, the Earth, Wind and Fire
horn section and Stephen Bishop.
Like "Misunderstanding" (the best song from the last Genesis LP), Face
Value is pop music about personal turmoil: in this case, the
dissolution of Collins' marriage. At times, the singer's broken heart
is too clearly on his sleeve, and musical missteps abound: the annoying
Munchkin-like Vocoder effects in "I'm Not Moving," some rote horn
charts, a batch of indistinguishable ballads and a flaccid cover
version of the Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows."
But Collins hits more often than not, adeptly blending moody keyboard
trills and bone-crunching drumbeats in "In the Air Tonight" and
shifting with surprising sure-footedness from the Eno-esque repetition
of "Droned" through the percussive horn blasts of "Hand in Hand" to the
persuasive intimacy of "If Leaving Me Is Easy." Face Value is far less
ambitious and important than Gabriel's solo debut, yet it's also
unmistakably the most worthy Genesis product since that record.
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh Lord
I've been waiting for this moment, all my life, Oh Lord
Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh Lord, Oh Lord
Well, if you told me you were drowning
I would not lend a hand
I've seen your face before my friend
But I don't know if you know who I am
Well, I was there and I saw what you did
I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off the grin, I know where you've been
It's all been a pack of lies
And I can feel it corning in the air tonight, Oh Lord
I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, Oh Lord
I can feel it in the air tonight, Oh Lord, Oh Lord
And I've been waiting for this moment all my life, Oh Lord, Oh Lord
Well I remember, I remember don't worry
How could I ever forget, its the first time the last time we ever met
But I know the reason why you keep your silence up, no you don't fool me
The hurt doesn't show but the pain still grows
It's no stranger to you or me
THIS MUST BE LOVE
It must be love, I'm feeling
This must be love
Oh this must be love, I'm feeling
This must be love
Well I wait in every day just in case,
You decide to call
And I can hardly wait, cos I never thought time could pass so slowly
It must be love, l'm feeling
This must be love
Oh this must be love, I'm feeling
This must be love
Happiness is something I never thought I'd feel again, but now I know
lt's you that I've been looking for
And day by day more and more
I know, what you think, you've heard it before
Don't tell me I know
But this feeling inside my heart,
You know I'm never letting go
'Cos I think that . . .
It must be love, I'm feeling
This must be love
Oh this must be love, I'm feeling
This must be love
Words can only say so much
I its hard to express
The things you do to me
You're everything I could ever dreamed you'd be
THE ROOF IS LEAKING
The roof is leaking and the wind is howling
Kids are crying 'cos the sheets are so cold
l it woke this morning found my hands were frozen
I've tried to fix the fire, but you know the damn things too old
Its been months now since we heard from our Mary
I wonder if she ever made the coast
She and her young man, they both moved out there
But I sure hope they write, just to let us know
And me, I'm getting stronger by the minute
My wife's expecting but I hope she can wait
'Cos this winter looks like it's gonna be another bad one
But Spring'll soon be here,
Oh God I hope it's not late
Ma and Pa lived here, and theirs before them
Tried their hardest to make it a home
Seems so long now since they passed over
Hope my children'll try to make it their own
The roof is leaking and the wind is howling
Kids are crying, cos the sheets are so cold
I woke this morning found my hands there frozen
I've tried to fix the fire, but you know the damn things too old
And me, I'm getting stronger by the minute
My wifes expecting, but I hope she can wait
Cos this winter looks like its gonna be another bad one
But Spring'll soon be here,
Oh God I hope its not late
I MISSED AGAIN
So you finally came right out and said it girl
What took you so long
It was in your eyes, that looks been there for too long I'm waiting in line
Would you say if l was wasting my time
Or did I miss again
I think I missed again oh
l think about it from time to time
When I'm lonely and on my own
l try to forget and yet, still rush to the telephone
I'm waiting in line
Would you say if I was wasting my time
Or did I miss again
I think I missed again oh
Or did I miss again
I think I missed again oh
Well, a feels like something you want so bad
Then you think you've got it, but it's something you already, had
You can feel it all around you, but it's something you just can't touch
And I feel it coming at me
I can feel it coming at me
Or did I miss again
I think I missed again oh
Or did I miss again
I think I missed again oh
I'm waiting in line, but would you sap if I was wasting my time
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN
Just as I thought I'd made it
You walk back into my life
Just like you never left
Just as I'd learned to be lonely
You call up to tell me
You're not sure if you're ready
But ready or not, you'll take a what you've got and leave
Leave me alone with my heart
I'm putting the pieces back together again
Just leave, leave me alone with with my dreams
I can do a without you, know what I mean . . .
l wish I could a write a love song
To show you the way I feel
Seems you don't like to listen
Oh but like it or not, take a what you've got and leave
Leave me alone with my heart
It's broken in two and I'm not thinking too straight
Just leave, leave me alone with my dreams
You've taken everything else, you know what I mean
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING
I never thought I'd ever get tired of playing games
But I've been holding back for too long
Now the time has come gonna get it right
Now is the time to show them all that they're wrong
'Cos they said thunder and they said lightning
It would never strike twice
Oh but if that's true, why can't you tell me
How come this feels so nice, Oh it feels alright
Never ever did believe in guiding lights
'Cos what you didn't bold, slipped away
Oh but there's a feeling deep down in my shoes
'Cos things look like they're going my way
'Cos they said thunder and they said lightning
It would never strike twice
Oh but if that's true, why can't you tell me
How come this feels so nice, Oh it feels alright
I never ever did believe in a second chance
You get, just one crack of the whip, that's all
If you played the game, you got treated right
Oh but I'm not playing the game, no more
'Cos they said thunder and they said lightning
It would never strike twice
Oh but if that's true, why can't you tell me
How come this feels so nice, Oh it feels alright
I'M NOT MOVING
If you feel it do it,
You don't need a reason
For all you know it could be good for you
To show your feelings
Don't just leave them
Do the things you believe in, it's alright
Don't worry turn around, I will still be here
I'm not moving. . . no really
You just try and push me out
No, I'm not moving . . . no really
No, I'm not going anywhere tonight
If you thank it, say it
'Cos no-one will stop you
Don't keep quiet, just 'cos you think you ought to
Feel free to shout it loud, speak your mind, spit it out
'Cos I'm not moving... no real,
You just try and push me out
No I'm not moving I can sit it out
No really there's no burr,
So don't worry turn around, I will still be here
If it hurts don't do it
'Cos no-one can take you make you drink
And none can tell you what you think
Remember if your spirit starts to sink
Don't worry turn around, l will still be here
IF LEAVING ME IS EASY
I read all the letters, I read each word that you've sent to me
And though it's past now, and the words start to fade
All the memories I have, still remain
I've kept all the pictures, but I hide my feelings so no-one knows
Oh sure my friends all come round, but I'm in a crowd and on my own
It's cos you're gone now, but your heart, still remains
And it'll be here if you come again
You see, I'd heard the rumours, I knew before you let me know
But I didn't believe it, not you,
No you would not let me go
Seems I was wrong, but I love, I love you the same
And that's the one thing that you can't take away but just remember...