Serious Hits Live (1990)
1.Something Happened on the Way
to Heaven
2.Against All Odds
3.One More Night
4.Who Said I Would
5.Don't Lose My Number
6.Do You Remember
7.Another Day in Paradise
8.Separate Lives
9.In The Air Tonight
10.You Can't Hurry Love
11.Two Hearts
12.Sussudio
13.A Groovy Kind of Love
14.Easy Lover
15.Take Me Home
By 1990, Phil Collins had amassed the kind of commercial momentum most artists only dream about. His solo career had been nothing short of a juggernaut throughout the 1980s, and by the time ...But Seriously concluded its chart-topping run, it was clear Collins had more than enough material for a full-blown greatest hits tour — even if, technically, he hadn’t yet released a greatest hits compilation. Enter Serious Hits… Live!, a collection that doubled as a de facto best-of and served to remind audiences just how deep Collins’ catalogue had become.
Unlike many pop stars of his era, Collins was as much about performance as polish. His shows regularly stretched past the two-and-a-half-hour mark, a mix of musical virtuosity, theatrical pacing, and easy charm. He could sing, play drums, sit at the piano, crack a few jokes — and still hit every note. Perhaps more impressively, he did all this without ever leaning on his Genesis back catalogue. Despite being the frontman of two separate commercial empires, he kept the brands separate. Genesis shows were Genesis shows. Phil Collins shows were Phil Collins shows. Very few artists can say the same.
Serious Hits… Live! captures the solo show in all its radio-friendly, crowd-pleasing glory. The setlist is a parade of familiar melodies: Against All Odds, One More Night, Another Day in Paradise, Take Me Home, Sussudio — the list goes on. And while many of the arrangements stick closely to their studio counterparts, there's enough live energy and crowd interaction to make the performances feel worthwhile.
Collins was no minimalist on stage, either. Touring with a tight, professional ensemble, he brought along a four-piece horn section to power through the brassy numbers, three backing vocalists for the duets and harmonies (key on songs like Separate Lives and Easy Lover), and a second drummer to mirror his own distinctive rhythmic style while he took center stage. It was an operation built for precision and impact, and it worked.
Though critics might point out that some of the live versions hew a bit too close to their studio originals, the benefit here is clarity. For fans who wanted high-fidelity versions of Collins’ hits in a concert setting — without the indulgent flourishes or vocal compromises that plague many live records — this was ideal. And with no prior greatest hits album on the market, Serious Hits… Live! doubled as a solid entry point for anyone looking to catch up.
Perhaps the biggest treat, though, came with the concurrent release of the full concert on home video — a show that featured nearly twice the number of tracks found on the audio release. For the completist or curious newcomer alike, the video version was the more comprehensive experience. Thankfully, it’s since been made available on DVD, preserving the full scope of Collins’ live charisma in all its early-90s glory.
Serious Hits… Live! was designed to document him at his commercial and professional peak. And in that regard, it succeeds. The hits are here. The polish is here. And so is the reminder that, for a time, Phil Collins wasn’t just everywhere — he was at the very top.
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