No Jacket Required - Collins, Phil (Cassette)

It's a pretty neat thing to have two jobs. Eh, I take that back. It's probably only neat when you receive the paycheck on Friday. But it's pretty impressive. Sh*t, I'm exhausted at the end of the work week after ONE job in which I sit at a desk for 8 hours a day. British pop star Phil Collins held down two gigs for nearly a 20 year span. No, the diminutive Collins wasn't supplementing his singing income by flipping burgers (I don't know that he would have been able to reach the grill). By day, he was 1/3 (or 1/4, or 1/5) of prog-rockers turned tight Top 40 outfit Genesis, first handling drums.

In 1985-86, Phil Collins career was at it's mountain-top. He truly could do no wrong. Quite fittingly, his best album is also from that span, No Jacket Required. It spent nearly 2 months atop the charts. And it spun off FOUR mammoth singles: "Sussudio", "One more night", "Don't lose my number" and "Take me home". "Who said I would" also garnered a decent amount of time on the airwaves. The liner notes are terrific. The all red back cover was a nice touch. There's no lyrics, but it gives thank-you's, credits, who-played what on each song and also gives info on where everything was recorded....

If the expression no jacket required truly epitomizes Phil Collins philosophy in real life, then he has to be the coolest guy in music today. This casual, nonchalant attitude about being famous will help in bridging the gap between celebrity and ordinary Joe. Phil Collins is the Everyman of the pop world and nowhere does this shine through brighter than on his 1984 release, No Jacket Required . Throughout his long career Phil Collins has managed to maintain an upbeat and down-to-earth persona, no matter where he might stand on the Billboard chart. As for my personal chart of Top 30 albums ...