Product Description

Recorded during the US tour for his fourth solo album, 1989's BUT SERIOUSLY, 1990's SERIOUS HITS...LIVE! is Phil Collins' first solo live album. True to its title, the album functions neatly as a live greatest hits summation; indeed, Collins' band, featuring longtime guitar sideman Darryl Steurmer,is so impeccably rehearsed that at times it's difficult to tell the difference between these recordings and the original studio versions.
Highlights include a solo piano rendition of "In the Air Tonight" that's nearly as thick with dread and atmosphere as the original, and a hypnotic, extended version of the Peter Gabriel-like "Take Me Home". If you're aPhil Collins fan, SERIOUS HITS...LIVE! is a pleasant diversion.

Track Listing

1. Something happend on the way to heaven
2. Against all odds (Take a look at me now)
3. Who said I would
4. One more night
5. Don't lose my number
6. Do you remember?
7. Another day in paradise
8. Separate lives
9. In the air tonight
10. You can't hurry love
11. Two hearts
12. Sussudio
13. A groovy kind of love
14. Easy lover
15. Take me home

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23772 in Music
• Released on: 1990-11-05
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Truely awsome
Amazing sound track, Phil at his best with backing vocals from the legendary Arnold McCuller and Fred White!!!

A fairly unusual live album.
As has already been noted, some of the tracks on "Serious Hits Live" are almost note for note replays of the studio versions, which is maybe a bit pointless, unless it was intended to show that the - then relatively new -digital music technology had made it possible to faithfully repro studio cuts at live concerts.

As a generalisation I steer clear of live albums, preferring the controlled and somewhat more disciplined studio versions of my favourite tracks. Live albums can be great for those who were there, but for the rest of us I find that often the artists do needlessly elongated, or uncoordinated and emasculated versions of their stuff. For me, that quickly gets very tedious. Then, usually there's the disruptive attempts by idiots and drunks in the audience to get "in on the act" by making silly noises during quiet parts of the music which get's really annoying on repeated listenings - and so on.

However, a few tracks on "Serious Hits Live" actually achieve that rare thing: They *improve* on the originals. I've only felt that a few times before with a live album (Paris by Supertramp was one such). On this album I'm thinking of "Do You Remember", which here features an almost acapella ending that I much prefer to the fade on the studio track, and also the hauntingly bleak version of "In the Air Tonight". They do "Another day in Paradise" pretty well too, and Phil performs his reworking of Carole Bayer-Seger and Toni Wine's "Groovy Kind of Love" most excellently.

On the downside, the performance of "Easy Lover" is flat and uninteresting compared to the studio cut and "Against All Odds" is not quite up to par. "You Can't Hurry Love" almost completely lacks the tight excitement of the studio version - though the audience do add some great handclaps at some points. For most of the rest of the tracks? Well apart from a little audience noise, you could be listening to the originals.

Should you buy this album? If your view of live albums is the same as mine, then yes you should. This album is mainly not heir to the usual problems of live albums. If you disagree with my view of live albums, then no - leave it alone.

Phil Collins Serious Hits Live
This was my first ever CD when I was 5 or 6 and I still listen to it even to this day. And that was over 10 years ago.
If you like Phil Collins, then the live songs on offer are for you. It includes all of his hits to the time of the consort and offers powerful performances in some of his best songs.
'Another Day in Paradise' and 'In the Air Tonight' are great performances. There is much change in the sounds from the studio versions but I prefer that.
Its well worth hearing him in this Live performance as much as hearing on studio albums.
An album for anybody, especially those who like Phil & Genesis.