Track Listing

1. In The Air Tonight
2. This Must Be Love
3. Behind The Lines
4. Roof Is Leaking
5. Droned
6. Hand In Hand
7. I Missed Again
8. You Know What I Mean
9. I'm Not Moving
10. If Leaving Me Is Easy
11. Tomorrow Never Knows
12. Thunder And Lightning

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4059 in Music
• Released on: 1983-03-11
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
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' 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' career as one of the biggest and most unlikely stars of the 1980s. --Daniel Durchholz

CD Description
The risk that Phil Collins took in displaying painful lyrics at an obviously harrowing time could have been taken as self-indulgence, but 18 years on this album is still seen as his best and most assured. The Genesis drummer displayed dynamic arrangements ('In The Air Tonight'), melancholy piano ('You Know What I Mean') and Philadelphia soul ('I Missed Again'), and wrapped up with a cover of 'Tomorrow Never Knows' at which even John Lennon would have tipped his hat. After this album Collins embarked on an extraordinarily busy career that included a rejuvenated Genesis, film roles and huge solo success. This will always be the album closest to his heart, with the paint pot on the piano.

Customer Reviews

Early peak
In 1981, before he discovered his social conscience, he wrote a great album about problems that he really understood, and sentiments that he really felt. There's real edge here, in the menacing bassline and explosive drums of 'air tonight'. There's some funk in the riffs 'behind the lines'. And genuinely exotic world influences in 'droned' and 'the roof is leaking'. He even picked a great, neglected Beatles track to cover. So don't buy anything he's ever written - except this. 20 years ago, he got it absolutely right. Swallow your pride and put it in your basket.

Warm, meaningful and musically "on the money".
I first heard this album in the season of autumn and, for me, it will always be an autumn album. That said, it is an outstanding piece of work and a musical rarity i.e. not a weak song in sight. "In the air tonight" is so listeningly beautiful that,up until that famous drum solo occurs, you can almost heard a pin drop. Then there is the most romantic of love songs "this must be love" before the mood is again broken by the dispairing tones of "roof is leaking" and "Droned". The album takes this high to low mood swing throughout but it certainly keeps you interested. My personal favourite is "thunder and lightning" with lines as strong as " I never believed in second chance...you just get one crack of the whip and thats all...". Overall the album has great variety, great lyrics and music that seems as important now as it did in 1981. My only regret is that it was never repeated. Perhaps a case of too many eggs in the one basket..?

Brilliant
His first solo album and he never bettered it. He will never write anything as good as In The Air Tonight. The man talents are immense and he has done great things since but this is Collins at his best.