Face Value (1981)
1.In The Air Tonight
2.This Must Be Love
3.Behind the Lines
4.The Roof is Leaking
5.Droned
6.Hand in Hand
7.I Missed Again
8.You Know What I Mean
9.I'm Not Moving
10.Thunder and Lightning
11.If Leaving Me Is Easy
12.Tomorrow Never Knows
By 1981, the band Genesis had become one of progressive rock’s most successful survivors, releasing ten albums since Phil Collins took over drumming duties in 1971. But by the close of the decade, the group’s frontman was in personal disarray. A failing marriage led Collins to the brink of departure from the band altogether. Instead, the trio opted for a brief hiatus to pursue solo projects. And with reconciliation proving elusive, Collins found himself with time — and emotional material — to spare. The result was Face Value, an album that would not only define his solo identity but catapult him to the forefront of 1980s pop.
The irony, of course, is that Collins had always portrayed himself as the least “musical” member of Genesis — content, he claimed, to let Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford handle the heavy lifting. And yet, Face Value proved to be something far more significant than just a drummer’s vanity project. It was raw, personal, and in parts uncomfortably direct. That it became a huge commercial success was almost beside the point. Collins wasn’t aiming for hits — which may explain why so much of it works.
The album opens with In the Air Tonight, the track that would become synonymous with Collins for decades. It barely made a dent on initial release, but like many of pop’s more enigmatic creations, it grew in stature over time — helped along by the neon-lit glow of Miami Vice and the slow-boil tension of that famous gated drum fill. It remains one of the most unique singles of the era: haunting, spacious, and more atmosphere than structure. Crucially, it redefined the role of percussion in pop music. No longer just rhythm, the drums here were drama itself.
Elsewhere, Collins reveals his affection for jazz-inflected pop, complete with punchy horn sections and big band swing. I Missed Again served as the album’s lead single and video, all brassy swagger and jittery charm. Behind the Lines, lifted and rearranged from Genesis’s Duke album, is given a funkier polish and sits surprisingly well among the more personal material.
Collins would, of course, later become famous — or infamous, depending on your tastes — for his soft-focus balladry. If Leaving Me Is Easy is the first notable example of this tendency: tender, understated, and strangely overlooked in light of his later chart-busting love songs. It's arguably one of his most sincere performances.
The rest of the record leans into experimentation, with varying results. This Must Be Love is understated and gently odd, just enough synth embroidery to keep it from radio ubiquity. The Roof is Leaking is an unexpected detour into folk, banjo and all, segueing seamlessly into the eerie soundscape of Droned, and finally giving way to Hand in Hand, a quasi-instrumental plea for connection through music alone. There’s a thematic coherence, even if the sonic threads sometimes feel tenuous.
The album closes, rather audaciously, with a cover of Tomorrow Never Knows — one of the Beatles’ most psychedelic, least conventional tracks. Collins retains the one-chord structure and the sonic oddity, but adds enough of his own flavor to make it more homage than imitation. It’s an unusual but oddly fitting close to an album that refuses to play by the rules.
For the next decade and change, Collins would alternate between solo stardom and his Genesis commitments, releasing a steady stream of soundtracks, collaborations, and mega-hits. The sound would gradually become more radio-polished, the experimentation dulled by commercial expectations. But Face Value remains a singular entry in his catalogue — a portrait of personal upheaval, musical risk, and unexpected reinvention. If one album can be said to have defined Phil Collins as a solo artist, this is it.
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