Now we're here, there's no turning back

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts

03/11/96 : Dance Into The Light - Phil Collins

I've must have heard of this album but I don't remember it in the slightest - how can that be the case?  Maybe, just maybe, it's because it's not very good?  But, before we get there, we've got THREE other albums to consider (and reject, obviously).

Firstly, at #4 with a new entry is Anthology 3 from The Beatles which features 50 demos, mixes and different takes of tracks from around their White Album days.  All of which makes it a hard "NO!" from me, but I was amused to read that there was a plan to release a single to coincide with the album (as they did, to some success, with "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love" for Anthologies 1 & 2).  A Lennon solo demo "Now And Then" was picked as the prospective track and plans were made - until George stated that it was "fucking rubbish".  Good old George.

Next, at #7 with another new entry is the OST of the film Evita.  In theory, I don't have a problem with soundtrack albums as long as they're not just a collection of random songs used in the film - so this was in with a shout.  But whilst it os the original soundtrack of the film, it's not exactly "original original" having already charted twice in the late 70s with the original album and the original cast recording.  It's not a bad album or a bad film though, so it nearly made the cut - but not quite.

And at #8 we've got another perfectly fine album with the best of Crowded House - which does meet the timely criterion because they split up earlier in the year, but I'm not sure it quite works as a best of for me.  I'd just bung Woodface and some of Together Alone on there and be done with it, but they stretch things out way more than that.  And then they got back together ten years later as well - I think they were just looking for attention really, so they don't make the cut either.  Which leads on to Phil and the album that time forgot.

And well, I can quite understand why - it's very forgettable indeed.  Some of it is sub-par Peter Gabriel, some of it sub-par Paul Simon and the rest of it is just sub-par.  Except for "The Times They Are A-Changing" which is just terrible.  Ffs it's got bagpipes on it - why didn't someone stop him?  Let's just leave it that this is not a good album in the slightest, which we have certainly never owned - 1/9.

We're down at #9 in the charts this week on its second week of a 15 week run, having peaked at #4 on its debut.  It then managed two more single weeks on the charts - one in 1997 and one in 2016.  How odd.  The top five this week were Boyzone (a new entry), Beautiful South, Simply Red, Beatles and Celine Dion (we've not mentioned her for a few weeks).  And we've mentioned all the new entries from the top ten already - the next highest one was the best of (was 1996 just all "best ofs"?) Everything But The Girl at #23, which features a song I've just listened to for tomorrow's entry.

Wikipedia doesn't have an awful lot on the album - it wasn't well received by the critics ("his polyrhythms are surprisingly stiff for a drummer" apparently) or, relatively, by the public, although it still got to #1 in quite a few European countries.  For no obvious reason, it also tells us he met Noel Gallagher around this time and, it's fair to say, they didn't get on - hard to imagine, huh?  Although I bet he hated Liam even more.  Phil's Wikipedia entry has an amusing section in it on how everyone hated him around this time - including some comments from Phil stating that, with hindsight, he can understand why.

"Customers also listened to" Genesis, Mike & The Mechanics and Peter Gabriel - nobody expected that, eh?  And you're far better off with any of them or pretty much anything else by Phil than this album, I'm afraid.  Just no.  I almost think I'd rather have listened to the 50 Beatles offcuts than this - and that's really saying something.

27/10/96 - Pleasant, if slightly insubstantial
10/11/96 - Very smooooooth