Testify (2002)


 

  1. Wake Up Call
  2. Come With Me
  3. Testify
  4. Don't Get Me Started
  5. Swing Low
  6. It's Not Too Late
  7. This Love This Heart
  8. Driving Me Crazy
  9. The Least You Can Do
 10. Can't Stop Loving You
 11. Thru My Eyes
 12. You Touch My Heart

 

Nothing stays the same—especially not in the music world. When Testify was released in 2002, some were still holding out hope for a return to the chart-dominating, arena-filling Collins of the '80s. But to expect that would have been unrealistic. Phil Collins was now in his fifties, decades removed from his Genesis debut, and years past his commercial peak. The musical landscape had changed, and so had he. And honestly, that’s how it should be.

In the early 2000s, Collins had entered a new chapter in life: a third marriage, a new baby, and, seemingly, a more settled personal outlook. Testify reflects that. It’s a mellow, unhurried album—more introspective than invigorating. Some listeners insist that artists create their best work when they’re miserable. That’s a fairly cynical (and possibly dangerous) take, but in any case, Testify finds Collins in a calmer, contented place. And that mood bleeds into every note.

There’s no tour to support the album—Collins had announced that ongoing hearing issues would keep him off the road—and there’s very little of the rhythmic fire or bite that characterized his earlier work. The drums are still there (he plays most of them himself), but they’re softer, more ornamental than foundational. The energy that once drove songs like In the Air Tonight is conspicuously absent.

Curiously, the lead single wasn’t even one of his own. The decision to release a cover—Leo Sayer’s Can’t Stop Loving You—as the first taste of the album raised a few eyebrows. Was this a sign that Collins was running low on original inspiration? Perhaps, but the rest of the record tells a more nuanced story. Tracks like The Least You Can Do and This Love This Heart show that Collins still knew how to craft an emotionally resonant ballad. The problem is that everything is delivered in the same low-key register, and by the halfway point, it all starts to blend together.

The only song that hints at the Collins of old is Through My Eyes, which—had it been given a little more production bite—might have broken the album’s uniformity. Instead, it too is subdued into the same gentle atmosphere. Longtime collaborator Daryl Stuermer is only present on one track, and a new producer and backing band might explain some of the overall softness.

Still, the songwriting itself holds up well. There are no outright clunkers, and taken individually, most tracks are quite pleasant. The issue lies in the sameness of the whole package. Testify is a quiet album, and not everyone was in the mood to lean in and listen. Commercially, it sank without a trace, though one suspects that would have been the outcome no matter how the record sounded. It’s the kind of album you can enjoy in the background, but it won’t demand your attention—or, for that matter, earn much of it.


Go back to the main page
Go to the Next Review