Phil Collins - Testify

	€		18
	$		21

Allgemein

Trackliste LP - 1

Trackliste LP - 2

Beschreibung

Beschreibung

On his first regular studio album in six years (fans having been tided over by a live album of swing standards and the soundtrack to Tarzan), Phil Collins turns in a song cycle with a story to tell. Without commenting on any autobiographical implications, it follows the life of a man who gets up in the morning ("Wake up Call"), expresses his love for his child ("Come With Me") and his companion ("Testify"), then pauses to condemn the drift of world affairs ("Don't Get Me Started"). He has another child ("Swing Low") and begins to realize that there's trouble in paradise ("It's Not Too Late"). Much as he loves his companion, a separation occurs ("This Love This Heart"), and despite his desperate efforts to keep things together ("Driving Me Crazy"), he finds that it will be permanent ("The Least You Can Do"), even though he still cares for her ("Can't Stop Loving You"). He takes comfort in his ability to offer parental advice to an older child ("Thru My Eyes") and in his love for the younger one ("You Touch My Heart"). Collins gives a consistency to the songs, with dense, rhythmic musical beds topped by his expressive, breathy tenor. His lyrics are full of clichés and a bit too involved, usually lacking strong hooks, which may explain why the album's hit single, "Can't Stop Loving You," which is practically all hooks, was written by someone else. Years after being a top album-seller, Collins has continued to score in the adult contemporary market; in fact, "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan became the biggest adult contemporary hit in history. "Can't Stop Loving You" also became a big hit, but it's atypical of an album with mature themes expressed sincerely yet without much wit or insight over repetitious music. [Testify was re-released on LP in 2016.] ~ William Ruhlmann

William Ruhlmann

Beschreibung

Phil Collins took a long time to deliver Testify, his first record since redemptive post-divorce album Dance into the Light. On that 1996 affair, he was open to all the possibilities that may arrive during this new act and, accordingly, the album felt expansive. He dabbled with new sounds, perhaps excessively so, but it helped mirror his newfound freedom. In contrast, Testify feels a bit hemmed in, the sound of a singer/songwriter marching through the drudgery of life. This isn't to say that Testify is underpinned with despair -- it certainly lacks the melancholy undertow of Both Sides, one of his moodiest and best records -- but rather it feels diligent, with Collins intent on hitting all of his preordained marks. He writes songs about love gained and lost, fatherhood, and society -- all the staples of his mature work after No Jacket Required -- but his musical world-view has shrunk. Instead of attempting new sounds, he excises his eccentricities right along with his trademark thunderous drums, so Testify winds up feeling stiff, sequenced, and safe. An adult contemporary album, in other words, one that's clearly patterned after his big hit "You'll Be in My Heart," his Oscar-winning original song from 1999's Tarzan. Testify sways gently to its interlocking drum loops, a record that relies on mood, not melody. Which isn't to say this album is devoid of melody -- it's there; it's just not hooky, which is a conscious decision. Collins made Testify as a mellow meditation on everyday life, never pushing his themes or his songs too hard, and while that can mean it's pleasurable enough as background music, it also means that the album can feel a little listless, as if he's not sure what he wants to say. Given this vague aimlessness, it's not entirely a surprise that Testify turned out to be his last studio album of original material (as of this writing in 2016). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Mitwirkende

• Artist: Phil Collins
• Record Label: Rhino
• Record Label: Warner Bros.
• Guest Artist: Daryl Stuermer