Take a Look at Me Now

I've been waiting years for high quality remasters of Phil Collins solo catalog and now that the first two have arrived I can say they're virtually everything I'd hoped them to be. The album tracks sound better than ever and the extra tracks are a nice, if inessential, bonus. As evidenced by the product photos, each album is packaged in a fold-out digibook. I generally prefer standard jewel cases as they can be replaced when damaged (and I have several digibook CDs from the 90s in rather sad shape just from average use) but these digibooks are so beautifully done it's difficult to complain. The original liner notes and lyrics are included as well as new essays from Collins that give a bit of detail on the album and the extra tracks - though as fellow reviewer David Hennessy pointed out, it would have been nice to get details on when and where the live tracks were recorded.At least one reviewer has complained that the remastering was poorly done, trotting out the tired loudness war accusation that plagues nearly every remaster for the past decade. That hasn't been my experience here. The first thing I did with the MP3 files was open them on a sound editor using tracks from both from the original release and the remaster and the remaster is only slightly louder than the original - and listening to these songs I'm unable to find a downside to this. I'm sure a self-styled audiophile can breathlessly explain why it's hopelessly detrimental to the sound quality, but when I'm analyzing a remaster I take care to listen for the highs and lows being brought out in finer fashion and that's precisely what I've found with these remasters. Of course, audiophiles are a notoriously finicky bunch, so your mileage may vary!I think anyone considering this set is likely already well familiar with the original albums, so I'll focus on the extra tracks. Generally the live ones are best while the demos are odd curiosities at best. For instance, the Against All Odds demo is instrumental only while the Misunderstanding demo sounds much like the album version except Collins is singing what sounds like "no" repeatedly in place of the lyrics. Frankly I don't really see the point of including these as they're not something I'd listen to more than once. On the other hand, there's very good live versions of Misunderstanding and If Leaving Me is Easy. The live version of In the Air Tonight is solid but I still consider the definitive live recording is from the Serious Hits Live album. Most of the other live tracks are good though some are either too close to the album version or marred by excessive crowd noise. It would've been nice to see more outtakes instead of demos though, which is something I hope Collins has considered for the rest of the catalog. For instance, But Seriously is my personal favorite and I hope to see remastered versions of b-sides like You've Been in Love (That Little Bit Too Long) and That's How I Feel.The included box that has space to accommodate the rest of the remasters is a nice touch. The only album I'm not wild about is Going Back, because while I respect that it was a pet project of Collins and I'm pleased he was at a point in his career where he could release an entire album of the motown songs he's always loved, I was left underwhelmed by it. Still, I fully intend to buy a copy because after all, that's what these reissues are all about. The conceptual title is "Take a Look at Me Now", and though certainly a line taken from Against All Odds, it's also a conscious request by Collins inviting us all to reevaluate his work.Up next are Hello I Must Be Going and Dance Into the Light coming near the end of February. I can't wait!

A nice retrospect for new listeners to get to know one of Britain's greatest. For old fans, great, but Phil deserves more respect than this.

Those who bought this collector's edition are probably already big fans of Phil Collins and own previous versions of these on CD (or cassette or vinyl). I ordered the collector's edition on CD and can report that the remastering is excellent, most evident on Face Value. The only disappointing element is that more outtakes were not used. At least from the Both Sides sessions, there were other quality b-sides that were available on cd-singles that have not been put on the deluxe edition. That's a bit disappointing, relegating these tracks to remaining obscure, even among big fans. Most disappointing among the missing tracks for Both Sides are "For a Friend" and "I Can Change." Also missing are instrumental b-sides "Don't Call Me Ashley" and "Rad Dudeski."That being said, the live tracks added for the deluxe editions of each album are worthwhile. The live versions do include some new perspectives on these tracks and they are high-quality recordings. The liner notes are decent, but it would be nice if credits were provided for the extra tracks (such as crediting the live musicians, etc) and an indication of when/where each live track was recorded.One other note: The title of the collector's edition is "Take a Look at Me Now," obviously a line from "Against All Odds," written during the Face Value sessions. While an instrumental demo of the song is included (and it is quite pretty, even though the sound quality isn't great), it's a bit disappointing to not see the actual remastered studio version of the song included on the extras disc for Face Value. I know it's been remastered for other compilations, but it would be nice to include in the Face Value family since it grew out of those sessions and is very connected to the themes of heartache and accepting (or not accepting) loss as explored on that album. Thus, oddly, in this collection as it now stands, you'll never hear Phil sing the line "Take a look at me now..."

Huge Phil Collins fan here, and though you'll read glowing reviews above and below I can't go higher than 3 stars. The music on the albums proper is 5 star material - even on "Both Sides" which I kind of dismissed at the time of release, yet have rediscovered here. But the mastering is not an improvement on any previous remasterings, IMHO. They're just louder, with more bass and treble. Most people love loud and bassy/bright, so there go the rave reviews. (The original CDs of "Both Sides" and "Face Value" are very good as they were, IMO. And "Face Value" got even better on two Gold disc remasterings from Atlantic and Audio Fidelity.)The bonus discs are where my real disappointment lie. No attempt seems to have been made to find decent, master tape or multi-track tape quality versions of this material. Some of the live material sounds like they were taken off VHS soundtracks, some sound like they actually might have been sourced from mp3 files. (Disclaimer: I'm not a fan of live tracks as bonuses, but at least if they sound good I can get some enjoyment out of them. Not here.) And much of the live performances seem to come from the '90s - yet great live performances exist from the era of these albums. I can't say for sure when/where the live tracks were actually recorded - because there is NO SIGN OF CREDITS for them in the liner notes! Demos are largely scratch versions, so I don't expect those to sound great. But live and studio tracks are a different story.It just feels as if the music portion of these sets were an afterthought. More thought seems to have been put into the packaging than the content. I'm hedging on the future releases now. (And if "The Man With The Horn" doesn't show up as a bonus on "No Jacket Required," that will be a total dealbreaker for me.)

１，昨年10月下旬に注文確定してから発送予定（２月８日～１１日着予定）になっても発送されず２月１１日夜に発送状況確認したら２月２１日～２２日着に案内メールもなしに勝手に予定日変更。２，その日にカスタマーセンターへ連絡。調査に１週間から１０日ほど時間がかかると言われ長すぎるので回答を早めて欲しいと伝える。３，２月１３日、回答の返事をいただく。あと１週間ほどで納品できますとの返事。４，２月１４日。もう一度配達状況確認すると翌日（２月１５日）配達予定に変更されていた。以上の点から今回はアマゾンさんからの購入は断念いたしました。回答が最初から２月１５日なら待ってました。本日（２月１４日）の商品案内では在庫３点ありに変わっていた。こちらからアプローチしなければそのまま放られたままでしょう。これからは、自身の方からもその点を留意しながらアマゾンさんを活用していこうと思います。本題に変わりレビューとしてはCDのボックスも買いましたがアナログジャケットの存在感がとても良いです。内容はCDはボーナスCD付きですのでメインはCDで聴く予定。リマスターは８枚出るみたいです。ボックスも８枚入るように作られてます。（その内の２枚が今回は入ってます）自分としてはFace Valueが一番楽しみに待っていたので星は１０個です。個人の好みの問題なのでBoth Sidesについてはコメントしませんが、Face ValueについてはPhil Collinsの中で１番聞いて欲しい、いや、聴くべき１枚です。

「face value」「borth sides」どうせ買うからセット物がいいかと安易に購入きめました。商品来てから知りましたが、オリジナルアルバムを順次発売し、そのタイトルが収納できる化粧箱がついてお得な感じがしました。　音質・音圧もいい感じだと思います。ボーナスディスクも味もの。定評のあるライブ音源やらデモやら収録されてます。ジャケットも当時のものをそのまま使うのではなくPhilは現在の彼の写真に差替えていて気が利いてます。基本顔のアップに自信がある人でジャケットもほとんど顔のアップが多い。お年をめしてもいい顔しているなと思いますよ。「borth sides」は当時あまり好きになれずほとんど繰り返して聞かなかった記憶がありますが、改めて聞くと悪くないと感じましたので、好きになれそうです。　アルバム８枚が出るようですが、Philはサントラやフィリップベリーのduetなど未収録なものも多いのでどこかのタイトルのボーナスディスクに収められるといいんだけど。「Take a look at me now(against all odds)」マイフィバリットソングの１つですので是非お願いしたいです。今回収録のデモはボーカルなしのカラオケのデモでちょい残念。

全てリリースされ、8作がこの箱に収まりました。予想はしていましたが収納するとキッツキツになって、1作だけの取り出しが困難です。取り出し口天井部に少しだけでも切り込みがあれば取り出しやすかったと思います。デジパックの表面がスレが目立ちやすい加工になっているので余計に気になります。そもそもこのデジパック、トレイの背景に写真などがあるわけでもなく必要以上の分厚さはなんとかならなかったのでしょうか？ブックレット代わりのポスターのジャケ写もデジパックと同じ現在のもののみなのが面白みに欠けます。きわめつけは背に記されたタイトルの統一感のなさ。Phill Collinsの位置を始め見事にバラバラという残念さです。海外で製作されるとこういうところには全く神経が注がれていないものなのでしょうか。国内盤は持っていないので変更されているのかどうか判りませんが。。。唯一星5つにしたいのは作品の本編ディスクの音の素晴らしさ。これには満足しています。

今回のPhil Collinsソロアルバムのリイシュー2CDシリーズは計8枚が発売されましたが、今度はSinglesアルバム3CDとして10月に発売予定とのこと。来年辺りは新譜のソロアルバムを期待しています。

時間が，とれずまだ聴いていないので，時間を，作り聴きたいと，思います。