...Hits in Bloomington, MN

If
Hits
seems a little inadequate, even though it weighs in at 16 tracks, that's because
Phil Collins
had such a long, productive run. Also, to casual listeners (and possibly even some fans), it's hard to tell which singles are by
Genesis
and which ones are solo cuts. So, it's almost a certainty that listeners will find something missing from this disc -- and not just because
cuts are absent, but because there's not enough space to fit all of
Collins
' solo hits, especially since the compilers decided to include a couple of lesser, latter-day hits at the expense of some earlier, bigger ones, while adding his non-LP cover of
Cyndi Lauper
's
"True Colors"
to entice hardcore fans. Thus, there are only 13 hits, which means some other big hits and good songs are absent --
"I Missed Again,"
"I Don't Care Anymore,"
"Don't Lose My Number,"
"Do You Remember?"
are all MIA. A few of these omissions are quite regrettable, but in the end,
is nevertheless a representative and pretty entertaining collection. The sequencing is not chronological, so it doesn't develop a nice flow (although
"Take Me Home"
is admittedly the ideal closer), but the chief strength of this collection is that it puts all of the big hits - including
"Easy Lover,"
"Against All Odds,"
"In the Air Tonight,"
"Sussudio,"
"One More Night"
and
"Separate Lives"
-- in one place. No, it's not perfect -- and it's hard not to wish that it was -- but
still contains the majority of
' solo smashes, and that alone makes it a nice addition to his catalog. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine