Face Value
| Face Value | ||||
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| Phil Collins studio album | ||||
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Publication |
February 9, 1981 |
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| Label (s) |
Virgin Records , Atlantic Records |
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Format (s) |
CD, LP, MC, 8-track cassette |
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Title (number) |
13 |
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running time |
47:49 |
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| occupation |
Phil Collins : vocals, drums, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Roland drum machine, Prophet-5 , vocoder Daryl Stuermer : guitar, banjo |
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Studio (s) |
Winter 1979 to January 1981 |
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Face Value is the first solo album by British singer Phil Collins , who was previously known as the front man and drummer of the band Genesis . It was released in February 1981. The most successful single from the album is In the Air Tonight .
Album title and cover
The album title is a play on words between the term Face Value , which describes the printed face value of a postage stamp, for example, and the literal value of a face . The close-up of Phil Collins's face on the cover reinforces the latter sense. The back of the cover shows Collins' head from behind. The inside of the hinged cover contains a collage of private photos and notes that were made during the shooting. Spread over it are slips of paper on which the titles, the line-up of the individual pieces and acknowledgments are written in Phil Collins' handwriting.
Content and style
The album contains the song In the Air Tonight , one of Collins' greatest hits, which was also used to background music for a scene in the television series Miami Vice . As on the follow-up album ( Hello, I Must Be Going! ) , Most of the songs are about pain and anger, as Collins was in a marriage crisis or in divorce at that time. According to Collins', the album is not just about the divorce from his wife, but thematically a time of change. In the songs This Must Be Love and Thunder and Lightning there is talk of a new relationship.
In terms of sound, the music is strongly inspired by rhythm and blues and the Motown sound, as co-producer Hugh Padgham and the arranger of the horn section "Tom Tom" Washington prove. Both argue that in the 80s it was by no means a matter of course for a white musician to use a black wind group (here the Phenix horns). How strongly the two worlds were apart can also be seen in the fact that Washington reported in an interview how he was invited by Collins to take over the brass arrangement. He himself had never heard of Phil Collins and he didn't know the band name Genesis either and just for fun he goes on to say that he thought everything was exceptionally good because Phil Collins paid exorbitant fees.
Phil Collins came up with the idea of using a wind group while listening to the Genesis version of Behind the Lines . Due to time constraints, the tape machine was set to double speed, which means that the joint use of the guitars and synthesizers sounds much shorter than at normal playback speed. The wind instruments imitate this sound through their staccato-like playing in various pieces on the album.
Another distinctive feature is the frequent use of a Roland drum computer , which seems unusual for a drummer's record. Phil Collins says in that the steady rhythm of a drum computer expresses a kind of relentlessness for him, which should be reflected in the pieces. In direct contrast to this is the typical snare-emphasized Phil Collins sound, as can be heard especially in the second half of In the Air Tonight . It is created when the dynamics of the drum sound are limited by gates and compressors. This sound has also inspired other drummers like Max Werner , who also released his piece Rain in May in 1981.
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Track list
- In the Air Tonight - 5:32
- This Must Be Love - 3:55
- Behind the Lines - 3:53
- The Roof Is Leaking - 3:16
- Droned - 2:55
- Hand in hand - 5:12
- I Missed Again - 3:41
- You Know What I Mean - 2:33
- Thunder and Lightning - 4:12
- I'm Not Moving - 2:33
- If Leaving Me Is Easy - 4:54
- Tomorrow Never Knows - 4:46
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow ( Hidden Track )
Description of individual pieces
In the Air Tonight
The song appeared as Collins' first solo single and quickly became one of his greatest hits. It was released about a month before the album and featured the song The Roof Is Leaking on its B-side , which can also be heard on Face Value . Set in D minor, the tonal foundation consists only of the three chords in D minor, C major and B major, which are repeated over the entire piece according to the abcba pattern. The intervals are identical to those on the B-side of the single The Roof Is Leaking , only that the latter is set in F sharp major. Formally one can distinguish two parts: The first part of the piece, from the beginning to 3:41, is dominated by the mechanical rhythm of the drum computer, against the background of a soft-sounding synthesizer base according to the above-mentioned chord scheme. The second part is introduced by the use of the drums at 3:41 and lasts, dominated by various breaks and fills, until the piece fades out.
This must be love
In terms of content, This Must Be Love describes the happiness of an unexpected and unexpected love after a disappointment left no hope. Formally, the complex rhythm structure deserves a special mention. The refrain alternates between two bars in 3/4 and two bars 5/4. The drum computer plays a 4/4 time over it, so that the focus of the rhythm is constantly shifting.
Behind the lines
Phil Collins borrowed this song from the first track on Genesis' Duke album . It is seen as defining the style of the entire album in that the brass section stylistically takes over the sound of the guitars and synthesizers emerging at faster playback speeds.
The Roof Is Leaking
As Collins explains, this title describes a tragic family story in the southern United States, in which the narrator is worried about his family. It's winter, his wife is pregnant ("I hope the child won't be born before it gets warmer"), his children are crying because of the cold, but in memory of his ancestors who laboriously built the house, he tries to to keep his household. In terms of sound, a banjo played with a bottleneck in the manner of a steel guitar sets important accents.
I missed again
In I Missed Again , Phil Collins describes an unrequited love in a self-deprecating way . Instead of the plaintive text Miss You Babe in earlier demo versions, there is the succinct I Missed Again , which you can freely translate with again beside it. The title was released as another single, along with the song I'm Not Moving on the B-side.
If Leaving Me Is Easy
If Leaving Me Is Easy is the last single from the album. The song was once called I Miss You, Babe , and a demo appeared on the single under this title. Eric Clapton also worked on the song .
Tomorrow Never Knows
Tomorrow Never Knows is a Beatles title from 1966 that appeared on the album Revolver . With his unusual sound collages and the drums that dominate them, he represents a milestone in the representation of psychedelic music. Phil Collins takes up this model and transfers it in his interpretation to the 80s.
New edition 2016
On January 29, 2016, a Phil Collins authorized new edition of the album was released for the first time. The cover shows a current picture of Phil Collins in the style of the original publication. The album was re-released as a 180g vinyl LP as well as a 2CD in digipak and digital album. The original recordings were remastered by Nick Davis and their sound is state-of-the-art. The CD and digital version contain additional pieces in the form of live and demo versions, including demos of the Genesis songs Please Don't Ask and Misunderstanding , a live version of And So to F… ( Brand X ) and a demo of Against All odds (which also created the album as part of the sessions and at that time the title How Can You Sit There was). There is also a live recording of Misunderstanding , among others , which was made during the 2004 tour in North America. Also of particular interest is an early demo version of The Roof Is Leaking , in which Eric Clapton also participated. The release is part of the reissue of all Phil Collins albums and was released with Both Sides . The CDs or LPs are also available in a box called Take a Look at Me Now with space for the other six albums. The box set Take a Look at Me Now reached number 9 in the German album charts at the beginning of February.
Sales figures and awards
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
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 Argentina (CAPIF)
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 platinum
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60,000 |
 Australia (ARIA)
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4 × platinum
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280,000 |
 Germany (BVMI)
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 7 × gold
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1,750,000 |
 France (SNEP)
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2 × platinum
|
600,000 |
 Hong Kong (IFPI / HKRIA)
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gold
|
10,000 |
 Canada (MC)
|
 diamond
|
1,000,000 |
 New Zealand (RMNZ)
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gold
|
7,500 |
 Netherlands (NVPI)
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2 × platinum
|
160,000 |
 Austria (IFPI)
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platinum
|
50,000 |
 Switzerland (IFPI)
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2 × platinum
|
100,000 |
 Spain (Promusicae)
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platinum
|
100,000 |
 United States (RIAA)
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5 × platinum
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5,000,000 |
 United Kingdom (BPI)
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5 × platinum
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1,500,000 |
| All in all |
3 × gold, 26 × platinum, 1 × diamond |
10,617,500 |
Main article: Phil Collins / Music Sales Awards
See also
Web links
- Face Value at Allmusic (English)