{"id":40718,"date":"2008-01-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/no-jacket-required\/"},"modified":"2008-01-27T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-01-27T00:00:00","slug":"no-jacket-required","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/no-jacket-required\/","title":{"rendered":"No Jacket Required"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to his solo work, Phil Collins has always been something of a one trick pony to me. His 1985 release, No Jacket Required <\/i>is his best by far, and even won the prestigious Grammy for Album Of The Year. Anomaly or not, it is the indeed the album that Phil deserves to be remembered for. Sure, he\u2019s had an impressive number of hit singles over the years, and his time with Genesis was certainly well spent, but this third solo album remains his finest and most consistent statement as a solo artist.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Any of the first seven tracks on No Jacket Required <\/i>could have made the cut as far as choosing radio-friendly singles was concerned. The first one chosen for release ahead of the album\u2019s launch date was the dreamy ballad \u201cOne More Night,\u201d which was a suitable choice, considering Collins was known primarily as a singer of love songs up to that point.\u00a0 But then, seemingly from out of nowhere, came the monster track known as \u201cSussudio.\u201d\u00a0 This is a song that chugs and churns along at a gingerly pace, set to a beat that is sure to get car speakers thumping. At the time, it was like nothing you had ever heard before on the radio. The word \u201cSussudio\u201d may not have meant anything, but the song itself was pure magic.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the tricky science of pop music \u2013 to find an original way to stand out or be heard.\u00a0 Producer Hugh Padgham surely steered this ship in the right direction. The track \u201cOnly You Know And I Know\u201d is even faster-paced than \u201cSussudio,\u201d and suddenly you realize that you\u2019ve never quite heard Phil Collins sounding this alive before. Not bad for a guy who would go on to pen the tune \u201cI Can\u2019t Dance.\u201d The two other singles chosen from No Jacket Required <\/i>are the fun \u201cDon\u2019t Lose My Number\u201d and the percolating anthem \u201cTake Me Home,\u201d which are also deserving of their hit status. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

But wait, there\u2019s more! \u201cI Don\u2019t Wanna Know\u201d is something that fans of guitar rock are sure to dig, while \u201cWho Said I Would\u201d picks up where \u201cOnly You Know And I Know\u201d left off. Lesser known fare like \u201cDoesn\u2019t Anybody Stay Together Anymore\u201d and \u201cInside Out\u201d are pretty much swallowed up by the other hard-driving songs, but as filler tracks they hold up fairly well (thanks to some great drumming by Collins).\u00a0 <\/o:p><\/p>\n

The piece de resistance of No Jacket Required <\/i>has got to be \u201cLong, Long Way To Go,\u201d a heaven-sent duet with Sting. It is one hypnotic tune that is even more affecting than Collins\u2019 debut single, \u201cIn The Air Tonight,\u201d making it the perfect choice to perform at the Live Aid show. Phil Collins, as you remember, did double duty that day by taking the stage at both shows. After his gig in London<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, he flew via Concorde to perform the exact same set in Philadelphia<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> and play drums for other acts. Yeah, he suffered from over-exposure as a result, but at least he showed how committed he was to the cause of eradicating hunger in Africa<\/st1:place>. Add him to the list of many heroes (with David Bowie, Bono and Freddie Mercury) who stole the show as a result of participating in that incredible day of music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":29180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5661],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-40718","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-phil-collins","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40718"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=40718"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=40718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}