But Seriously (1989)
1.Hang in Long Enough
2.That's Just the Way It Is
3.Do You Remember?
4.Something Happened on the Way to
Heaven
5.Colors
6.I Wish it Would Rain Down
7.Another Day in Paradise
8.Heat on the Street
9.All of My Life
10.Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
11.Father to Son
12.Find A Way to My Heart
By the close of the 1980s, Phil Collins had all but perfected his musical formula: a solo album, a Genesis album, a soundtrack contribution, the occasional duet — rinse and repeat. The result was a decade of near-uninterrupted chart dominance, with Collins firmly ensconced as one of pop’s most prolific and recognizable figures. The following decade wouldn’t be quite so forgiving, but he closed out the '80s on a strong note with ...But Seriously, a record that balanced his trademark accessibility with a newly sharpened social conscience.
The cover image — a pensive, brooding Collins gazing into the middle distance — and the album’s title suggested a thematic shift. Gone, perhaps, was the cheeky Collins of No Jacket Required. But appearances, as ever, were only partly accurate. Yes, ...But Seriously tackles weightier themes than its predecessors, but it also contains plenty of the melodic, horn-fueled fare that made him a mainstay of both FM radio and supermarket soundtracks. Collins hadn’t lost his touch — he’d just added a furrowed brow.
The album opens with Hang in Long Enough, a brassy blast of up-tempo pop that sounds like it could’ve easily slotted onto No Jacket Required. But the tone shifts quickly with Another Day in Paradise, the album’s flagship single and Collins’ first foray into explicitly social commentary. A gently observational track about homelessness — originally titled “Homeless” — it avoids overt finger-pointing, instead choosing quiet empathy. The single resonated widely and earned Collins the role of reluctant spokesman, prompting benefit performances and charity drives.
He continues down this path with That’s Just the Way It Is, a sober meditation on religious conflict, made all the more effective by the warm harmonies of David Crosby. Colors is arguably the angriest song Collins ever recorded — an eight-minute indictment of apartheid that unfolds with surprising fire. Elsewhere, Heat on the Street nods toward inner-city unrest, although its polished production softens the message somewhat.
Having addressed the state of the world, Collins then shifts gears and returns to more familiar territory. I Wish It Would Rain Down is the album’s best-known single — a slow-burning power ballad featuring the unmistakable guitar work of Eric Clapton. It’s lush, immediate, and unabashedly emotional. Something Happened on the Way to Heaven and Hang in Long Enough provide the necessary brass-heavy buoyancy, while Find a Way to My Heart attempts to replicate the grand, climactic energy of Take Me Home — not quite as powerful, but still a strong closer.
The ballads, as ever, are plentiful. Do You Remember and All of My Life fall squarely into Collins’ “Where did we go wrong?” catalog — earnest, soft-edged, and radio-ready. Father to Son, a gentle piece written for his child, rounds out the personal side of the record and offers a moment of tenderness amidst the broader cultural concerns.
...But Seriously may lack the spontaneity and risk-taking of Collins’ earlier solo work, but what it offers instead is polish, purpose, and a more balanced emotional range. It doesn’t reinvent his sound so much as recalibrate it. Whether your preferred version of Phil Collins is the globe-trotting balladeer, the rhythm-driven pop craftsman, or the socially aware everyman, you’ll find a version of him here — not wildly different, but perhaps a little more serious.
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