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Review of
Phil Collins' Testify
Phil
Collins has sold millions of records (back when
they were records). He can be heard on lite-FM stations
throughout the world. His songs are catchy and express
sentiments that just about any thinking, feeling human
being could relate to. (Including, apparently, people
who buy lots of beer.) Yet, he's either mentioned
with a snicker, in the same league as women with '80s
hair (never his problem) or as if guilty for crimes
against humanity. Crimes against his old band, Genesis?
That's one thing. But for humanity, Phil Collins represents
that stable uncle who takes his orphaned nieces and
nephews in from the cold, cruel world.
Testify
is a perfect album for anyone who still treasures
Face
Value, Hello,
I Must Be Going and No
Jacket Required. One listen to "Come With Me"
or the title track and it's as if Live Aid was only
yesterday. In this album, Phil Collins favors a sleek,
subdued sound that finds him daubing the yearning
"This Love This Heart" and the equally lovelorn "Swing
Low" with ethereal keyboards and stately, occasionally
splashy rhythms. Other low-key highlights that are
an obvious nod to these major life changes are "Come
with Me" -- a touching pledge of protection from father
to child set atop soothing synths and rendered by
Collins in an emotive, reassuring tone -- and the
aching, modestly rocking title track, an expression
of unfettered devotion bolstered by a beefy electric
guitar line and a gospel-tinged choir. The biggest
highlights, however, are a bright, shiny interpretation
of Billy Nicholls's buoyant "Can't Stop Loving You"
(a hit for Leo Sayer in 1978) and "Don't Get Me Started,"
which boasts crisp harmonies and arrangements reminiscent
of late-'80s Genesis. Testify finds Phil Collins confirming
his commitment to family and to fans of sophisticated
adult pop alike.
Phil
Collins Testify Tracks:
1. Wake
Up Call
2. Come With Me
3. Testify
4. Don't Get Me Started
5. Swing Low
6. It's Not Too Late
7. This Love This Heart
8. Driving Me Crazy
9. Least You Can Do
10. Can't Stop Loving You
11. Through My Eyes
12. You Touch My Heart
