Phil Collins - Face Value

Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series)

Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records!

Face Value — Phil Collin's smash solo album featuring "In The Air Tonight"

180-gram 45 RPM double LP release

Mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering and cut to lacquer from a 1/4" EQ'd Dolby tape copy of the original master tape

Pressed at Quality Record Pressings

Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing

For a YouTube comparison of the Atlantic 75 Series edition with the original click here.

The 5x platinum-selling album in the U.S., Face Value, was the debut solo album released by Genesis drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins, released in February 1981 by Virgin Records. The album was recorded from mid-1980 to early 1981 with Collins and Hugh Padgham as producers. Additional musicians include the Phenix Horns, Alphonso Johnson, and Eric Clapton.

Face Value was an instant commercial success and reached No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart for three weeks and No. 7 on the U.S. Billboard 200. It has since sold more than 5 million copies in the U.S. and more than 1.5 million in the U.K. The album received widespread praise from critics. Its lead single "In the Air Tonight," released in January 1981, reached No. 2 on the U.K. Singles Chart and became known for its drum arrangement and use of gated reverb.

This Analogue Productions (Atlantic Series) reissue of Face Value has the essential elements that make it a standout for your collection. First, we turned to Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering to cut lacquers from a 1/4" EQ'd Dolby tape copy of the original master. Pressing is by Quality Record Pressings and RTI, and the album is housed in tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.

Like "Misunderstanding" (one of Genesis's best songs), Face Value is pop music about personal turmoil: in this case, the dissolution of Collins' marriage. Rolling Stone wrote: "At times, the singer's broken heart is too clearly on his sleeve, and musical missteps abound: the annoying Munchkin-like Vocoder effects in 'I'm Not Moving,' some rote horn charts, a batch of indistinguishable ballads and a flaccid cover version of the Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows.'

"But Collins hits more often than not, adeptly blending moody keyboard trills and bone-crunching drumbeats in 'In the Air Tonight' and shifting with surprising sure-footedness from the Eno-esque repetition of 'Droned' through the percussive horn blasts of 'Hand in Hand' to the persuasive intimacy of 'If Leaving Me Is Easy.'"

AllMusic gave the album 5 stars, with reviewer Tim Sendra writing: "Phil Collins' first solo album, 1981's Face Value, was a long time coming, but it proved worth the wait, both for the Genesis drummer/vocalist himself and fans of thoughtful, emotionally charged pop. ... (He made)an album that stands as a classic moment of '80s pop/rock. ... Collins felt driven to make this album to help him heal. It's not a career move or a cash grab; it's a transmission from a wounded soul delivered with a soft touch and sensitivity."

 

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. Thunder And Lightning

10. I'm Not Moving

11. If Leaving Me Is Easy

12. Tomorrow Never Knows

Customer Reviews (4.94 Stars) 16 person(s) rated this product.

The Ultimate Phil Collins Album posted on 05/31/2024 5 Stars Reviewer: Johnny The recording is just fantastic. Beat the original issue, one to keep.

Another winner posted on 11/20/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: Robin Wyatt Chad and the team made yet another of my favorites sound better. It’s great to know classics I have played to death can be enjoyed again afresh and better than original. Well DONE AP!

Very Nice posted on 10/28/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: Brian Received this yesterday. Very well done. I recommend . I compare to my original pressing, which I have always thought sounds good, and I would say the differences are subtle but noticeable to me. On "In the Air Tonight" Phil's voice is more forward on the OG and has more bite. The remaster sounds more natural on the voice. IMO the drum intro on this song is more forceful on the OG but the remaster you can hear the different drums more clearly and it's less compressed sounding. On "This must be Love" you hear more detail and the guitar is sublime. Anyway. I hope this helps. I'm not great at explaining what I hear but thought I would pass along. I love this LP.

The Be This Album Has Ever Sounded posted on 10/27/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: Salvador Zurita I own several versions of this album, including an original press, the remaster Audio Fidelity Gold CD, the 2016 reissue in 24bit FLAC file, and a German Half Speed master issued in 2021. None of them sound as fantastic as this 45RPM. Chad has done it again; he has created the best pressing I have ever heard. This album surely can be found in the $5 bin of any used record store, but if you want to own an actual experience of this music, this is the album to get. It doesn't matter how many times you may have heard this album, you will enjoy this pressing as if it was the first time you heard this record.

Amazing! posted on 10/26/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: John It is incredible how a great pressing can turn you back on to an album. Every song had me sitting forward in my chair. Simply amazing!

Explosive dynamics posted on 10/21/2023 5 Stars First spin of this today and when the drums kicked in on track one I was mesmerized by the clean and explosive dynamics. AP hit this one out of the park in my opinion, very glad I bought it.

EXCELLENT !!! posted on 10/16/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: wfish Excellent pressing and remaster. great sound quality. A must have.

Quiet and clean sounding record! posted on 10/16/2023 5 Stars Enjoyed this 2LP at 45RPM. Excellent pressing. Look forward to other Phil and Genesis 45RPMs. Great job with mastering this one!

Thank you, Analogue Productions posted on 10/14/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: mtbtruth Absolutely incredible from start to finish. Thank you Chad, and equal thanks to everybody involved with this project. I couldn’t be happier!

Wonderful remaster and pressing! posted on 10/14/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: CB Sonics are incredible. I hope SACDs are forthcoming for these Phil Collins 45's! I am really looking forward to everything else. Hope that there will be additional artist like Aretha Franklin, Zepplin, Cream, etc in this series as well!

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