Hello, I Must Be Going!

Anchored by a percussive and ominous exorcism on par with “In the Air Tonight” (“I Don’t Care Anymore”), and a gleaming '80s update of a Motown hit (“You Can’t Hurry Love”), Hello, I Must Be Going! is very much an extension of Face Value, Phil Collins' hugely successful 1981 debut. But where the after effects of Collins’ bitter divorce ignited Face Value, this album points in a new direction: to the spry and upbeat songs he would craft in the years that followed. While just a few years earlier Collins had been ensconced in Genesis' moody progressive rock, “I Cannot Believe It’s True" and “It Doesn’t Matter to Me” bring him closer to the work of a singer like Gloria Estefan. Though they mirror the glamor of the '80s, Collins’ songs are authentic and substantial, and they're bolstered by his old-world musical chops. Moreover, the stocky English vocalist proved as nimble and light on his feet as a youthful samba musician. In another surprising turn, “Why Can’t It Wait ‘Til Morning” confirmed the mischievous and moody Collins as one of the decade’s great ballad singers.