The Phil Collins Albums Part 5 - Both Sides
A full-on solo album marks the second half of the Collins career
The plan was for this post to review two albums – Dance into the Light as well as Both Sides. It turns out I had more to say about Both Sides than expected, so the Light will be switched off for a couple of weeks.
Both Sides
Click the cover and listen to Both Sides by Phil Collins on the streaming service of your choice.
Phil Collins is back in divorce mode for Both Sides. As with Face Value, this is reflected in his songs, here with varying degrees of success. This album differs from the rest of his catalogue, being the only record he made on which he plays everything himself. Phil had always made home studio demos of his songs, and there are places in Both Sides that could have done with a little more texture.
Yet this is not a collection of demos. His recordings were taken to the Genesis studio, The Farm, to develop the basic tracks, working with producer/engineer Paul Gomersall. This work included adding a guitar synthesiser patch; the ’acoustic guitar’ passages can sound charmingly clumsy.
This is a new Collins playbook. There are no horns. There’s only one uptempo single, ‘Both Sides of the Story’. This has pounding drums. Dynamism. Plus … bagpipes? Perhaps it’s my distant Celtic roots, but I love the sound of the pipes, and they drive the song. After noting the ‘guitar’ on this album is a synth, are the bagpipes digital? Yes, it would appear so. According to the Genesis online magazine ‘The Waiting Room’, audiences were treated to “memorable performances of "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes in the UK!” A post on a bagpipe forum from 20 years ago: “It looks as if he's about to drop his spleen playing A.G.” Well …
Phil Collins plays the bagpipes
Collins has called this his favourite album from a songwriting and creative perspective. From his perspective as a writer and player, I can understand why he would feel that way, but if I’d known he thought that in 1993, it would have baffled me. I found it a hard album to connect with.
Phil Collins, ‘Both Sides of the Story’
One of the joys of writing reviews such as this is returning to albums from my past and arriving in a different country. I wondered what other people thought of the album and so searched the Hoffman Forum where the question had been asked: ‘Is Both Sides Phil Collins's overlooked masterpiece?’ A discussion followed, and I found a connection I’d missed. Both Sides can be compared – and possibly it was influenced by? - Glaswegian band The Blue Nile.
Just as it’s taken me a long time to hear the strengths of Both Sides, it took me too long to appreciate The Blue Nile. Some music is like that. When you get it, it stays with you for a lifetime. Here’s a sample from their 1989 album Hats. Listen more than once.
The Blue Nile, ‘The Downtown Lights’
As a fan, my initial struggle with Both Sides baffled me. Being a fan doesn’t mean you have to like everything the artist ever releases, of course, but it can come as a shock to be out in the cold. There’s a desire to mend the broken connection.
The great stuff here is properly great. ’We Fly So Close’ is one of my favourite Collins tracks from any of his albums, with the next track, ‘We Wait and We Wonder’, not far behind. ‘Fly’ would have worked as a track on the 1991 Genesis album We Can’t Dance, although it hadn’t been written at that point. Apart from the emotion, conveyed brilliantly in Collins vocal, of a relationship sailing far too close to the edge, it builds beautifully. It’s a relative of ‘In the Air Tonight’ in terms of the atmosphere it creates. The drum machine is here, as are real drums, but nothing like that drum fill.
‘We Wait and We Wonder’ is also a deep dive into emotion, but this time arising from "the daily cloud of terrorism Britain seems to live under" – for the first time on this album, Phil wrote a listening guide to his songs. This return to political territory underlines his mental strength because he took a kicking for daring to write about homelessness on … But Seriously. This is a better song, with more depth, than ‘Paradise’.
Elsewhere, ‘Can’t Turn Back the Years’ was covered by John Martyn on his 2011 album Heaven and Earth. Phil had a great friendship with Martyn and he sings lighter backing vocals behind John’s growl.
John Martyn ‘Can’t Turn Back the Years’
It’s possible the record could do with some editing. By 1993 we were well into the CD era, and the 40 or so minute constraints of the album were lifted. So Both Sides plays for 55 minutes. What if we edit it down to 40? Here’s my six-track, 38-minute version. There are only six tracks because these recordings tend to be six or seven minutes. Music such as this needs room to breathe.
There were full band live performances of the Both Sides material. Phil gigged extensively – as usual – with the ‘Both Sides Tour’ in 1994 and the ‘Far Side of the World’ tour in 1995. Some live performances are included in 2016’s expanded and remastered version of the album, including this terrific version of ‘We Wait and We Wonder’, which expands the drum tattoo and bagpipery of the studio version.
Both Sides is a grower. Collins can be a great songwriter, drawing on his own experiences for better or worse. In previous pieces I’ve noted how ubiquitous he was in the 80s, and that was partly because a Collins track would always hit the spot, whatever else was happening in the room or what mood you were in. Both Sides, though, is an album better heard when you’re in the right mood to hear it. When those conditions apply, it really can hit hard. A masterpiece? No, but not far short.
Tracks
Both Sides
1 Both Sides of the Story / 2 Can’t Turn Back the Years / 3 Everyday / 4 I’ve Forgotten Everything / 5 We’re Sons of Our Fathers / 6 Can’t Find My Way / 7 Survivors / 8 We Fly So Close / 9 We Wait and We Wonder / 10 Please Come Out Tonight
Above is the original release. The album was remastered and expanded in 2016 along with the other Phil Collins solo albums.
All instruments played and production by Phil Collins.
Further reading
Phil Collins Not Dead Yet: The Autobiography
Andrew Wild Phil Collins in the 1980s
(Bookshop.org aff. links)
Previous posts in this series
Part 1: Face Value | Part 2: Hello, I Must Be Going | Part 3: No Jacket Required | Part 4: … But Seriously | Plus Drummer, And More. Subscribe now to ensure you receive the complete Phil Collins series.
The series continues with Dance into the Light in a couple of weeks. I’ll be back with LP>Play #053 in a few days, and I also post a track of day in Substack Notes frequently.
I loved this album immediately. I am surprised I did, because of its mellowness. It is a solid album through and through. Can’t find my way - is a gem in itself. As is Survivors and well, the whole album is great.