Фил Коллинз – «But Seriously» альбомы туралы

1989 album by Phil Collins

But Seriously is the fourth solo studio album by English drummer and singer songwriter Phil Collins. It was released on 20 November 1989 in the United Kingdom by Virgin Records and by Atlantic Records in the United States. After Collins finished touring commitments with the rock band Genesis in 1987, the group entered a four year hiatus, during which Collins starred in the feature film Buster (1988). By the spring of 1989, Collins had written material for a new solo album, which addressed more serious lyrical themes, like socio economic and political issues, as opposed to his previous dance oriented album, No Jacket Required (1985). But Seriously was a huge commercial success worldwide, reaching No. 1 in the UK and the US for 15 and 4 non consecutive weeks, respectively. It was the best selling album of 1990 in the UK, eventually selling 2.75 million copies there and 4 million in the US. The lead single, "Another Day in Paradise", won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Collins supported the album with the Seriously, Live! World Tour in 1990. In 2016, the album was remastered with additional studio, live, and demo tracks, and updated artwork.

In July 1987, Collins finished touring commitments with the band Genesis and resumed his solo career. He had scored a series of hit singles with his previous solo album No Jacket Required (1985) and with Genesis on Invisible Touch (1986), and recognised this period as "severe danger of overkill" due to the high amount of radio airplay the songs had received. To combat this, Collins took a year out solely from music and accepted a lead role in Buster (1988), a romantic comedy film based on the Great Train Robbery. Collins recorded "Two Hearts" and "A Groovy Kind of Love" for the soundtrack, which led to his belief that people thought his songs had become "Very, very light. That wasn't where I was coming from." As the title suggests, the album is a change of pace from the lighter tone of Collins's previous work. Collins expanded his focus to the exploration of socio economic and political themes. There is emotional turmoil underneath the polished studio production and many of the songs are unambiguous and unveiled in their melancholy. While incorporating political themes, But Seriously does not abandon the theme of relationships. But unlike some of his earlier work, Collins takes a more mature and reflective approach when looking at the relationships in his life. As with his previous albums Collins wrote the sleeve notes by hand because "that's all part of the personal statement"; the exception being No Jacket Required. The album was a departure from the dance pop of the No Jacket Required album. Unlike No Jacket Required, this album was a pop rock album, but also included various styles and influences, like R&B, dance pop, jazz, soul and gospel. "Hang in Long Enough" is the opening track on the album. It is a dance pop song, with influenced soul and rock, and talks about ambition. "That's Just the Way It Is" is an anti war ballad about The Troubles in Northern Ireland and features David Crosby on backing vocals. Collins had wanted Crosby to perform on his first solo album Face Value (1981), but he was unavailable at the time. The two met at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert in 1988, and Crosby was keen to participate on the album. When recording moved to Los Angeles, Collins prepared several mixes of the songs that he wanted Crosby to sing on and recalled that Crosby "did exactly what I expected him to do [ ] He just picked a few notes out of the air that I would never have thought of". Its working title was "Homeless". and became the second best selling album of 1990 in the US, according to Billboard. It was the last number one album of the 1980s and the first of the 1990s in the UK and in the US. In Germany, it is the second best selling album in the chart history of certified albums, and the best selling album within the foreign repertoire.

In his review for AllMusic, Geoff Orens praised the decision to use more live instrumentation than No Jacket Required, saying "there's no doubt that tracks such as 'Find a Way to My Heart' and 'Hang in Long Enough' have enough bite to outlast his more dated sounding mid 80s material." He criticised the album for "too many generic ballads", but added that "when Collins moves out of his formula", citing "the dramatic gospel influenced 'I Wish it Would Rain Down', [ ] the results are staggering." At the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards "Another Day in Paradise" won the award for Record of the Year. But Seriously received further nominations for Album of the Year, Producer of the Year (Non Classical) and Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical. "Another Day in Paradise" was further nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, while the instrumental piece "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. But Seriously received two American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. At the Brit Awards in 1990 "Another Day in Paradise" received the award for British Single, while Collins was named British Male Artist, for which he was nominated again a year later.

In support of the album, Collins' embarked on a worldwide tour, called Seriously Live!. In total, there were 113 shows over three continents and it led to the release of a live album and video Serious Hits Live!.

The vinyl release features a rearranged track listing and is missing two tracks from the CD/cassette version, "Heat on the Street" and the instrumental "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning". This listing applies only to original 1989 releases of the album. Vinyl releases of 2016 remaster feature all tracks and the same track listing as for CD and cassette releases, split between two discs, three tracks per side.