Customer Reviews

No Jacket Required

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

On January 25, 1985, Phil Collins released "No Jacket Required", perhaps the best of his solo work. As has been talked about many times, the title of the album refers to an incident where Phil was denied admittance to an establishment (The Pump Room in Chicago) because of his attire. This has some of Phil's best known work, and in many ways some of the most contrasting work he has ever done. There are songs on here which people don't like mixed in with people's favorites. The album won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1985.

The album opens with "Sussudio", a rather unlikely single and hit, and yet it managed to reach number one in the U.S. What I remember most about the song is the way David Letterman used to make fun of it. The song isn't one I care for much, but it obviously had great appeal to a large number of listeners. "Only You Know and I Know" is next, a more likeable track for me, and one of three for which Daryl Stuermer wrote the music. "Long Long Way to Go" is a song which has Sting providing backing vocals and his voice works well with Phil's. I don't really care for the somewhat gimmicky end, but all in all it is a pretty good piece. "I Don't Wanna Know" is a more lively piece at just the right time. This is the second of the pieces where the Stuermer wrote the music and Phil provided the lyrics. "One More Night" is one of those songs which the critics panned but Phil's fans like. It made it to number one in the U.S., and while clearly not the deepest lyric or most complex piece, it does provide a nice ending to the first half of the album.

"Don't Lose My Number" is a high energy piece to open the second half of the album. Lyrically it doesn't really explain itself, but it is catchy and grabs the listener's ear, at least the first few times one hears it. "Who Said I Would?" is another high energy piece, though not as interesting as the ones which have come before. "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore?" is a piece about everyone splitting up, and is one of the better pieces on the album for me. It is also the last of the three pieces where Daryl Stuermer wrote the music. "Inside Out" is next and it adds to the strong closing section of the album, though perhaps not quite as strong as the songs on either side of it. "Take Me Home" is the show piece of the album, a very nice song which is either about going home, or about an inmate in a mental institution, depending on who you believe. The song also features Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Helen Terry on backing vocals. It was the closer on the album, but the CD also includes "We Said Hello Goodbye", a B-side release on singles, a nice enough song, but not quite up to the closing pieces which precede it.

Phil Collins did a bit of everything on this album: vocals, drums, percussion, keyboards, vocoder, kalimba, backing vocals, and bass. He didn't do it all alone though as also appearing are David Frank (keyboards), Daryl Stuermer (guitars), Lee Sklar (bass), The Phenix Horns, Gary Barnacle (saxophone), Don Myrick (saxophone), Sting (backing vocals), Peter Gabriel (backing vocals), Helen Terry (backing vocals), and Nick Glennie-Smith (keyboards).

Phil Collins' No Jacket Required is not only great, but very hummable! Loads of catchy pop songs all throughout! I can't tell you how many times I've hummed to Long, Long Way to Go. Probably more than the big hits of Sussudio, One More Night, Don't Lose My Number and others. I don't think that any album he's done afterwards has topped this, because the songmaking is so very strong on here as well as the writing and producing he did on it. "Long" sounds like the sister to In The Air Tonight, the way that the songs sound alike, with the exception of those bridges. From the songs, to the catchy choruses to the way it defined '80s music, this is Phil Collins' best solo album to me!

...emphasis on sub (low, way down dere). The last cut should have beeen the first: 'We said hello, goodbye (don't look back)'. WORD - take this apropos advice from them. To sum up this cd, it makes a wonderful choice when used for skeet shooting. Not recommended.

A GREAT CD FROM THE FORMER DRUMMER AND VOCALIST OF GENESIS.VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

One of the best of Phil Collins solo albums. The CD (with the added 11th song at the end) is to be thoroughly enjoyed by all Phil Collins fans!

Suitable for residential use in padded room with headphones and zoning variance only. 11 songs sure to satisfy no one in particular. One star.

phil collins was one of the 3 great masters of the 80s, along with grandma and jean-michel jarre. houston was the center point of 80s mania with jean-michel jarre's rendezvouz houston and grandma's house playing phil collins while everybody was always there. in the 80s the night ruled, with the michelob commercial that played "i move better in the night" and phil collins "in the air tonight" playing as the music for the commmercial. i wish it was still back then because i could ejaculate to 80s mayhem. if you dont know what i'm talkin about then you dont know the 80s.

This is the big smash album for Phil Collins. Just a couple of years after the big self-titled pop album for his band Genesis, this came out. The songs on here are for the most part good.(Particulary Take Me Home, and Don't Lose My Number, both big singles for him.) Despite it being his most loved album it also offers some of his most underated songs(Only You and I Know, Long Long Way to Go, Inside Out, We Said Hello Goodbye) as well as possibly his worst(Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore?) The production is pretty bad on here, especially on Sussido, Don't Lose My Number and Take Me Home. However the live versions of these songs more than make up for that. If you can tolerate pop music, buy it and enjoy yourself.

Phil Colins is, without a doubt, one of the finest singer/songwriters of recent years (not bad for a drummer, huh?) His talent was born while still in Genesis after Peter Gabriel ditched the band. Since then, he's lead the group into commercial success and then began a career as a best selling solo artist. No Jacket Required was released in 1985 in the midst of the pop frenzy of that era and the music video television madness. Phil was no stranger to pop/rock radio stations and MTV; he offered them a popsicle named Sussudio and that was that for the star. The rest of the hits came rushing behind; the groovy One More Night, the rock epic Take Me Home and the fantastic Don't Lose My Number, which spawned an unforgettable music video. However some other tracks that did not get commercial appeal are as equally good; the smooth low key Long Long Way To Go, which features obvious backing vocals by Sting, remains one of my personal favorites from No Jacket Required, Inside Out and We Said Hello Goodbye (Don't Look Back) which was originally featured as a B-side to the Don't Lose My Number single.

Phil went on to release better and more mature work with the Grammy winning But Seriously four years later. His career in the 90's fell short but still maintained good songs here and there; the early millennium saw Phil Collins return to form with groundbreaking productions, and Academy awards. However, No Jacket Required remains to be the album that sold the most copies and is most adored by his fans.

Recommended

A-

Phil Collins strikes back here after a bit cheesy first two albums with amazing pop album "No jacket required".yes,"Sussudio","One more night" or "Take me home" are classics.if you think that Phil is a funny hair-loose guy making shallow dance hits then you are wrong.the true is that many of his hits sound naive but is there anybody who won't apreciate the amazing duet with sting ("Long long way to go") or dark social commentry in "doesn't anybody stay together anymore?".in my opinion the album is amazing.
propably the most funny track here is "Don't you loose my numnber" - propably one of my Phil's favourite tracks.in here we have all that we used to call cheesy in eighties.pathetic guiar solo,raw beat,some amusing synths and mysterious lyrics (who is billy and why he's running?)...great song.
well,"No jacket required" remains one of Phil's biggest succes and still it sounds joyfull and interesting.the pop songs with some more depth beneath.a great gift for any eighties fan or for you,who want to feel the taste of eighties without embarrasment.