Phil Collins

The Singles (Deluxe Edition) (2016)

 

 Disc One 
  1. In the Air Tonight
  2. I Missed Again
  3. If Leaving Me is Easy
  4. Thru These Walls
  5. You Can't Hurry Love
  6. I Don't Care Anymore
  7. Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away
  8. Why Can't It Wait 'Til Morning
  9. I Cannot Believe it's True
  10.Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)
  11.Easy Lover
  12.Sussudio
  13.One More Night
  14.Don't Lose My Number
  15.Take Me Home
  
 Disc Two
  1. Separate Lives
  2. A Groovy Kind of Love
  3. Two Hearts
  4. Another Day in Paradise
  5. I Wish it Would Rain Down
  6. Something Happened on the Way to Heaven
  7. That's Just the Way it Is
  8. Hang in Long Enough
  9. Do You Remember?
  10.Who Said I Would
  11.Both Sides of the Story
  12.Everyday
  13.We Wait and We Wonder
  14.Dance Into the Light
  15.It's in Your Eyes
  
 Disc Three
  1. No Matter Who
  2. Wear My Hat
  3. The Same Moon
  4. True Colors
  5. You'll Be in My Heart
  6. Strangers Like Me
  7. Son of Man
  8. Two Worlds
  9. Can't Stop Loving You
  10.The Least You Can Do
  11.Wake Up Call
  12.Look Through My Eyes
  13.No Way Out
  14.(Love is Like a) Heatwave
  15. Going Back

If you’re a recording artist with a few decades of material under your belt and it’s time to put out a proper “greatest hits” collection, you could do a lot worse than using The Singles as your model. For once, someone got it right. This is how a career-spanning retrospective should be done—comprehensive, chronological, and, most importantly, accurate. Far too often, these types of compilations leave off obvious songs for no discernible reason, leaving longtime fans scratching their heads and wondering if someone in marketing simply wasn’t paying attention.

This particular version is the deluxe three-CD set, and it's the one to get. There is a two-disc “standard” edition, but after seeing the scope and detail of this collection, it’s hardly worth considering. Just go with the deluxe. It’s clear from the outset that care was taken in assembling the tracklist. The material is presented chronologically, which makes the listening experience that much more enjoyable. You can actually feel the evolution of Collins’ sound, from the early post-Genesis solo years through to the later, more subdued work.

True, not every track here was technically a single—there are six songs from Hello, I Must Be Going! alone—but that’s beside the point. Everything on this set earned its place. The hits are here, the deep cuts are welcome, and the omissions are few, if any. For fans who’ve followed Collins across the decades, this plays less like a sales pitch and more like a thank-you note.

It’s also hard not to view this release with a bit of finality. Given Collins’ well-documented health issues—he’s publicly struggled with nerve damage, back problems, and mobility—there’s a strong likelihood that we’ve heard the last of new material from him. If that’s the case, then The Singles serves as a fitting capstone. It’s not just a celebration of a long career—it’s a reminder of just how much ground Collins covered, and how many times he connected with listeners around the world.

These songs were everywhere once, and listening now, they hold up far better than many might have expected. This isn’t just a hits collection—it’s a well-earned victory lap.