With his 1993 album "Both Sides", Phil Collins made an even more deeply serious (with a capital 'S') album than he had with his 1989 predecessor "...But Seriously". Certainly serious songs were nothing new for Phil--after all, this is the man who wrote songs such as "Man On The Corner", "In The Air Tonight", "Take Me Home", and so many others. Still, Phil really did turn a musical corner with "Both Sides"--that said, it perhaps figures then that this album marks the beginning of his considerable commercial decline in the US after having been absolutely huge from the mid-'80s to the early '90s. The thing is though, contrary to what certain people will try to lead you to believe, Phil was never a musical puppet, i.e., someone who just churns out mindless product in an attempt to cash in--through all of his massive commercial success, he's remained an ultra-sincere songwriter & performer. I was 12 years old when "Both Sides" came out in November of 1993, and I remember being extremely intrigued at the time to learn that Phil had played all of the instruments on "Both Sides". Don't get me wrong--Phil did indeed do an excellent job of doing the 'one-man-band' thing on here. The fact that he was able to make such a great album like this, writing everything himself, producing all by himself, doing all the vocals and playing all the instruments--i.e. a true SOLO album--is a major testament to Phil's incredible talent. However, I now realize that it wasn't really that much of a stretch--yes, Phil had gotten assistance on all of his previous solo albums from incredibly talented players, but he had basically always used his home demos as his basic masters, something he points out in the liner notes to "Both Sides". Here, he basically just went the next step, doing all the bass parts himself & so forth. However, Phil playing all the instruments does have a major significance in a number of respects. One thing is that it results in an album with none of the signature horns that were a huge part of Phil's sound on songs such as "I Missed Again" and "Sussudio". Instead, Phil relied a lot on atmospheric keyboards, among other things, to fill out the sound, & he really pulled it off. Add to this that there isn't a single feel-good song on the entire album like a "Sussudio" or a "Find A Way To My Heart", this album ends up being a big change of pace for Phil. And like I said before, it works--track upon track is incredibly effective. "Can't Turn Back The Years", the ultra-slow "I've Forgotten Everything", & the minor-keyed "Can't Find My Way" with its circular rhythm are all haunting gems. The sighing "Everyday" is a deeply moving love song with a gorgeous intro consisting of piano & light use of synth. The arrestingly dramatic "We Fly So Close" sounds like it was inspired by the Dream Academy's "The Power To Believe" which itself was clearly influenced by Phil's "In The Air Tonight", and it has what is seemingly an incredible simulation of acoustic guitar on a synthesizer that sounds like something Steve Hackett might play. Phil gives a nod to his affection for jazz/ traditional pop on the wonderfully romantic and bittersweet "There's A Place For Us". "Both Sides of the Story" a rousing cry for compassion and understand gets the album off to a great start, and "We Wait and We Wonder" is a catchy, uptempo track about terrorism--both of these tracks find Phil interestingly and effectively incorporating bagpipe sounds. The album's other uptempo track is the infectiously uplifting "Survivors". Bringing the album to a fitting finale is the wishful ballad "Please Come Out Tonight". It seems that "Both Sides" is not the album a lot of people wanted from Phil--indeed, if all you want is another "Sussudio" or "Don't Lose My Number", forget it. However, I say more power to Phil--this is the album he wanted to make, and in characteristic Collins style, the music is honest & affecting. If you're a serious fan/ listener, "Both Sides" is a treasure.

By the time late 1993 rolled around, Phil Collins was at the top of his career both as a solo artist and with Genesis. His last studio solo album "But Seriously" was a great success. He had followed up that album with a successful live album - "Serious Hits - Live!". Meanwhile with Genesis, he was part of that group's most successful effort to date - "We Can't Dance". At this point of his career, it wouldn't be a big surprise that Phil would look to go into different directions - particularly with his solo work. So, when "Both Sides" was released, it was with great anticipation by his fans - after all, everything Phil touched seemed to turn to gold. However, what Phil delivered on his album could best be described as an "experimental album" - something he hadn't done before. Phil would abandon much of the formula that made him a superstar. Many of his fans would be disappointed by his new approach. This album does take a bit of an unfair pounding from the fans and critics and while it isn't his best effort, it does have its moments.

The formula for Phil's solo career was threefold and pretty simple: 1) The integration horns into many of the songs; 2) The use of a "dark psychedelic" element. (The best way I can describe this is this is the kind of music you might hear on a quiet, dark city street - with a touch of psychedelica); 3) The Thundering, Haunting Drums of Phil Collins In addition, Phil has infused keyboards and guitar in his solo work. On "Both Sides", you aren't going to hear much of this formula. On this album, this is a true "solo" effort. Phil plays all of the instruments himself and through the magic of mixing comes up with the final product. It is disappointing that the formula used on prior albums has been abandoned - particularly the thundering drums which have now been replaced by a drum machine. Phil continues the path he went down on the "But Seriously" album by focusing on those serious themes. There are relationship songs that have the mature, "reflective" element that Phil introduced on "But Seriously". Phil still looks at socilogical themes ("Both Sides of the Story" and "We're Sons of Our Fathers") and explores the theme of the impact that terrorism is having on his home country of England ("We Wait and We Wonder"). A positive thing I can say about this effort are there are some really good lyrics. Phil has shown he lost nothing as a lyricist. What really hurts this album is the majority of the songs are very slow songs. If you have seen or heard Phil Collins (or even went to a live Phil concert), you know he brings a tremendous amount of energy and "fun" to the table. This is missing from this album.

The liner notes from this collection are written by Phil Collins - and he does a nice job with them. There is an introduction written by Phil Collins who describes how he came to make this particular album. This does provide a nice introspective to the direction that the album takes. What I really like about the liner notes is that for each song, Phil includes a one or two line quote that sums up song is about. The quote is included over the lyrics of each song and although its short - it provides much more insight into the song.

This is the first time that Phil has used a song for the title of his album. The song that served as the title track is "Both Sides of the Story". When you first hear this song, it will sound very much like a continuation of "But Seriously". In this song Phil describes several conflicts and when looking at what the root cause may be for the conflict - there are "both sides to the story". This song also has some of the better music on the album and the result is a solid song that did crack the Top 30 in the U.S.. Another very good song is "We Wait and We Wonder". This song didn't chart in the U.S., but did in the U.K. This song describes what its like (in Britain) to live under the cloud of terrorism. Once again, great lyrics by Phil and there is some good background music - particularly the bagpipes. Another song that did crack the Top 30 in the U.S. was "Everyday". U.S. radio truncated out the keyboard intro - and its a shame because it is the best part of the song. This is a Phil Collins ballad, but it doesn't seem to have something intangible that doesn't make it the "same old Phil Collins ballad" - its pretty good.

Most of the other tracks fall into the "slow/mellow" category. Another very interesting song on the CD is "We're Sons of Our Fathers". From a lyrical standpoint this song discusses family values. Musically this track has some nice keyboards. It reminds me of Steve Winwood's "Vacant Chair" song with some of the melodies that start the song. Other songs worth mentioning that have great lyrics are "Can't Turn Back the Years" (looking back to the past) and "We Fly So Close"(walking on the danger zone). "We Fly So Close" does have a nice build-up in intensity with Phil's vocals as the song goes on. "There's a Place for Us" has almost a supper-club/crooning feeling, but like the other songs - it lacks the energy of Phil's previous works.

This isn't a bad album, but no it isn't what we are used to seeing from Phil. The die-hard Phil Collins fan will appreciate what this album brings to the table. The casual fan will probably pass on it.

Phil Collins may play every instrument on this album but do not be fooled, he will never play as many instruments or play them as well as his serious competators in the music world (notably Peter Gabriel) and hes still a weak vocalist and songwriter. Both Sides is an album with simple non real talent musical accompaniment and bland songs.

This was one of the most boring albums that I got to listen to! I can't believe that Phil Collins made this album in 1993! After all those classic '80s albums, he comes up with this album that put me to sleep during much of it. "Both Sides of the Story" is very hip-hoppish in terms of the beats, but that's the only good song on here. The rest of the album is a bunch of bland ballads, badly performed songs that don't rock and just uninteresting songs to me. Just drags for much of its 68 minutes!!!!! Phil can defend this album, but I just don't like this one. His later albums were far better than this dull effort!

On the first listen, i got bored, there were to many slow songs, now though after a few listens, the music becomes more appreciated. Some of his best work is on this album. Stand out tracks would have to be 'Both Sides Of The Story' 'We Wait & We Wonder' 'Everyday' 'Cant Turn Back The Years' 'We Fly So Close' & 'Please Come Out Tonight. A definite for any fan
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