Phil Collins 2015 remasters

[BigH]

Collins played electronic drums on the Invisible Touch album; there's no mention anywhere of him or the band using a drum machine. Perhaps some of the percussion was programmed?

On his later solo albums, such as Both Sides, he used a drum machine at home when writing and recording new songs but added real drums to some tracks in the studio later on.

I was in HMV yersterday and saw his other solo albums are now out too. He was on the radio the other week and asked why the albums had not been re-released chronologically. He said it was simply because Face Value and Both Sides were his favourites so he wanted to talk about those first. I think he was unsure of how he would be received after a long quiet spell. He said himself he was everywhere for a while and was very conscious of that. In this Country we always knock successful people.

Really: http://diffuser.fm/genesis-invisible-touch/

http://genesisgts.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=musicians&action=display&num=1377191642

http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/03/dusting-em-off-genesis-invisible-touch/

 

[gpi]

I am open to every genre of music and love all kinds of stuff from all eras, really struggle with Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Sting and Bon Jovi though - All huge in the 80's, it must be that corporate greedy overly polished thing which really really turns me off..

Collins wrote and recorded almost all of his solo work in his home studio. It's certainly not too polished but quite basic. He would often use his first vocal take as subsequent takes did not have the same freshness or sincerity. Best not to generalise too much because you could miss out on a lot of good music (Bon Jovi aside - can't stand them).

 

[BigH]

I am open to every genre of music and love all kinds of stuff from all eras, really struggle with Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Sting and Bon Jovi though - All huge in the 80's, it must be that corporate greedy overly polished thing which really really turns me off..

Collins wrote and recorded almost all of his solo work in his home studio. It's certainly not too polished but quite basic. He would often use his first vocal take as subsequent takes did not have the same freshness or sincerity. Best not to generalise too much because you could miss out on a lot of good music (Bon Jovi aside - can't stand them).

No wonder I lost interest in music in the 80s. I tried Face Value, it started off OK but then just drifted into mediocrite by the 5th track I had to switch it off. Good music to some is bad music to others., as they ones man's meat is another man's poision.

 

[gpi]

Collins played electronic drums on the Invisible Touch album; there's no mention anywhere of him or the band using a drum machine. Perhaps some of the percussion was programmed?

On his later solo albums, such as Both Sides, he used a drum machine at home when writing and recording new songs but added real drums to some tracks in the studio later on.

I was in HMV yersterday and saw his other solo albums are now out too. He was on the radio the other week and asked why the albums had not been re-released chronologically. He said it was simply because Face Value and Both Sides were his favourites so he wanted to talk about those first. I think he was unsure of how he would be received after a long quiet spell. He said himself he was everywhere for a while and was very conscious of that. In this Country we always knock successful people.

Really:

OK I take some of that back. Collins used a Simmons electronic drum kit with a drum machine and some of the percussion was produced by Banks on his keyboards.

 

[knaithrover]

I am open to every genre of music and love all kinds of stuff from all eras, really struggle with Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Sting and Bon Jovi though - All huge in the 80's, it must be that corporate greedy overly polished thing which really really turns me off..

Collins wrote and recorded almost all of his solo work in his home studio. It's certainly not too polished but quite basic. He would often use his first vocal take as subsequent takes did not have the same freshness or sincerity. Best not to generalise too much because you could miss out on a lot of good music (Bon Jovi aside - can't stand them).

Generalising apart I think there's more than enough great music out there for me minus the above people.

 

[gpi]

I am open to every genre of music and love all kinds of stuff from all eras, really struggle with Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Sting and Bon Jovi though - All huge in the 80's, it must be that corporate greedy overly polished thing which really really turns me off..

Collins wrote and recorded almost all of his solo work in his home studio. It's certainly not too polished but quite basic. He would often use his first vocal take as subsequent takes did not have the same freshness or sincerity. Best not to generalise too much because you could miss out on a lot of good music (Bon Jovi aside - can't stand them).

Generalising apart I think there's more than enough great music out there for me minus the above people.

Such as? What you like I may not. You don't like Collins so had to make the point, which was of no benefit to this thread.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I am open to every genre of music and love all kinds of stuff from all eras, really struggle with Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Sting and Bon Jovi though - All huge in the 80's, it must be that corporate greedy overly polished thing which really really turns me off..

Collins wrote and recorded almost all of his solo work in his home studio. It's certainly not too polished but quite basic. He would often use his first vocal take as subsequent takes did not have the same freshness or sincerity. Best not to generalise too much because you could miss out on a lot of good music (Bon Jovi aside - can't stand them).

Generalising apart I think there's more than enough great music out there for me minus the above people.

Such as? What you like I may not. You don't like Collins so had to make the point, which was of no benefit to this thread.

From what I've read of his posts, knaithrover has eclectic and educated taste in music, which I can't say for you.

Phil Collins played on expensive hi-fi is pointless. Feed **** in, **** comes out.

 

[knaithrover]

I am open to every genre of music and love all kinds of stuff from all eras, really struggle with Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Sting and Bon Jovi though - All huge in the 80's, it must be that corporate greedy overly polished thing which really really turns me off..

Collins wrote and recorded almost all of his solo work in his home studio. It's certainly not too polished but quite basic. He would often use his first vocal take as subsequent takes did not have the same freshness or sincerity. Best not to generalise too much because you could miss out on a lot of good music (Bon Jovi aside - can't stand them).

Generalising apart I think there's more than enough great music out there for me minus the above people.

Such as? What you like I may not. You don't like Collins so had to make the point, which was of no benefit to this thread.

From what I've read of his posts, knaithrover has eclectic and educated taste in music, which I can't say for you.

Phil Collins played on expensive hi-fi is pointless. Feed **** in, **** comes out.

That's quite a compliment BBB thanks and likewise.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I got into Phil Collins quite a bit when I was younger, my dad had a lot of his live videos.

 

[matthewpiano]

I am open to every genre of music and love all kinds of stuff from all eras, really struggle with Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Sting and Bon Jovi though - All huge in the 80's, it must be that corporate greedy overly polished thing which really really turns me off..

Collins wrote and recorded almost all of his solo work in his home studio. It's certainly not too polished but quite basic. He would often use his first vocal take as subsequent takes did not have the same freshness or sincerity. Best not to generalise too much because you could miss out on a lot of good music (Bon Jovi aside - can't stand them).

Generalising apart I think there's more than enough great music out there for me minus the above people.

Such as? What you like I may not. You don't like Collins so had to make the point, which was of no benefit to this thread.

From what I've read of his posts, knaithrover has eclectic and educated taste in music, which I can't say for you.

Phil Collins played on expensive hi-fi is pointless. Feed **** in, **** comes out.

Only pointless if you don't like Phil Collins' music. If you do, it isn't pointless.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Only pointless if you don't like Phil Collins' music. If you do, it isn't pointless.

I apologise, it was late at night, and someone was irritating me. Sorry.

 

[matthewpiano]

Only pointless if you don't like Phil Collins' music. If you do, it isn't pointless.

I apologise, it was late at night, and someone was irritating me. Sorry.

I know that feeling!

 

[Edbo2]

I'm sure this will attract the usual anti Phil Collins diatribe from the haters, but I've been listening to some of the remasters via iTunes Music, specifically Face Value and No Jacket Required.

Ok first off let's get the obvious overwith, they are mastered with a slightly higher average volume than the original CDs, I haven't checked scientifically but I'd guess by about 3-4db. Which is actually quite conservative compared to some. They don't sound ridiculously in your face and smashed, and one could easily argue this is the level they would have been mastered at had the technolgy of the time (LPs) allowed it without sonic compromise.

But what I'm definitely impressed with, compared to my early-pressing CDs of the same albums, is that the overall sound quality is much improved. These are very clearly better captures from the analogue master tapes than the captures on my early CDs (I *think* NJR was analogue...FV certainly was). Better bass extension, better instrument separation, better layering, less treble roll off. "The Roof Is Leaking" has depth and subtleties I hadn't heard even on my vinyl copy. Compared to my original CDs, the life and energy has been returned, horns are less harsh on tracks such as "Behind The Lines", "Sussudio" and "Hand in hand" (though the latter is still a bit messy at the end...I guess it's just mixed that way), and the sound is just far better balanced across the audio spectrum. "Only You And I Know" and "I Don't Wanna Know" are still noisy bu**ers, but they always were.

It's not so often I recommend remasters, but if you are a fan, I'd recommend giving these a listen via your preferred streaming service and decide whether a purchase is in order. It's very likely I will buy these two.

If I have one disappointment it's that the FV Deluxe Edition does not include the very rare (on digital) 7" single version of "In The Air...". It's always been difficult to find it on CD (though I did find it eventually) and I feel this is a missed opportunity to give fans a 'definitive' digital copy of it.

His recordings are a mixed bag. Some good and some painful to listen to

 

[Alantiggger]

Is anything remastered any better than how the sound was meant to have sounded from the origional 'cut' from the studio ?

 

[pauln]

Is anything remastered any better than how the sound was meant to have sounded from the origional 'cut' from the studio ?

Of course it can. Mastering is not a science that is either right or wrong, it's much more subjective and halfway to being an art. There are good and bad mastering engineers, the same engineer could produce two or more different sounding products from the original recordings and so on. It would be easy enough to remaster some more modern recordings to have more dynamic range for instance. Probably in the future, some of the 'classics' of the last 15 years might be remastered by proteges of the likes of Steve Hoffman for instance. I'd like to think so anyway.

 

[BigH]

Is anything remastered any better than how the sound was meant to have sounded from the origional 'cut' from the studio ?

Of course it can. Mastering is not a science that is either right or wrong, it's much more subjective and halfway to being an art. There are good and bad mastering engineers, the same engineer could produce two or more different sounding products from the original recordings and so on. It would be easy enough to remaster some more modern recordings to have more dynamic range for instance. Probably in the future, some of the 'classics' of the last 15 years might be remastered by proteges of the likes of Steve Hoffman for instance. I'd like to think so anyway.

I think that is already being done, if you look on the HDTracks site, the problem is there are a limited number, when they have gone then thats it, you can buy used but they tend to be very expensive. Or you can look at Analogue audio they have quite a few hi res downloads. Or you can try Japanese masters they tend to be the best but again can be expensive.