If music really can soothe a savage beast, this CD would have been all Van Helsing needed to get through Dracula - plus all his offspring, and all Dean Koontz heroes (from his man-fiddling-with-nature stories) would only need a CD player to end the story swiftly on a quiet note.

This is a gigantic collection of ballads, with every slow Phil Collins song you ever (and never) heard of. Even fans of Phil's would consider themselves full with two CD's of slow songs - a somnambulist's dream.

You know most of the songs by heart, and maybe the perfect time to listen to this would be on a romantic evening with the rain falling softly outside.

Warning: Do NOT listen to this album while operating heavy machinery, while driving on a highway, or while driving heavy machinery down a highway.

Amanda Richards, November 11, 2004

First I have to say: All of you reviewers, PLEASE look into the fact file before you blast out all sorts of wrong information here. For instance, True Colours on this set is not the studio version from the 1998 Hits collection, and Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away is not a new song, but is taken from his 1983 album Hello, I Must Be Going.

Well, but back to the review. This collection is an excellent idea, as a follow up to his sorely incomplete Hits CD from 1998. That CD could EASILY have been a double CD, and missed important songs like Don't Loose My Number, Do You Remember, Everyday, It's In Your Eyes, No Matter Who, I Don't Care Anymore, It Don't Matter To Me and I Missed Again (never a favourite of mine, but still a significant song) to name some.

That may be as it was, but these CDs seemed like an obvious opportunity to collect some of the overlooked songs, and also include some of the gems from his career that were never hits. And so it does - to some extent. Do You Remember?, Everyday, It's In Your Eyes, The Least You Can Do, This Must Be Love and Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away were all minor hits or single releases that missed the airwaves, and thus didn't make it to the Hits album. So, good to see them here.

Along with those are a handful of favourites that never made it as single, but which are among his most treasured works - Please Come Out Tonight, If Leaving Me Is Easy, Testify, I've Forgotten Everything and Can't Turn Back The Years. However, there are a lot of songs that SHOULD have been included on this list that didn't make it - We Fly So Close, The Same Moon, No Way Out, Why Can't It Wait `Til Morning, All Of My Life and You Know What I Mean are obvious examples. These songs range among his finest works, and would all have been absolutely obvious cuts on a `love songs' collection. Instead we get a dodgy collection of hits that were also on the Hits collection - One More Night, Against All Odds, Groovy Kind Of Love and Two Hearts to name some. True Colours and Separate Lives are also included for the second time, but these are included in live versions which would justify for a second re-release - in fact, this would have been a real treat for the fans, there are some amazing live recordings of One More Night (1997 tour) and Groovy Kind Of Love (1994 tour) that never made it to the fans, at least not from official sources. Also, some excellent live takes on Wish It Would Rain Down exist from the 1994 tour and would have made a nice surprise for the fans.

All that being said, there ARE some really nice things even for the die-hard fans here. There's only one new song - Tearing And Breaking - but it is indeed an excellent song, stunning vocal arrangement with the backing group. The new take on True Colours from the 2004-rehersals is well worth all the money for this collection in my opinion. It's a knock-out, way better than the 1998 version. Rare tracks I've Been Trying and Somewhere - and we are talking genuinely rare tracks here - are definitely aimed for the hardcore fan group. Somewhere is a really wonderful recording, I'm less enthusiastic about I've Been Trying, but it's not a bad song. The live take of My Girl was a surprise to me, I love this recording and I'm delighted that it made it onto this collection. The live version of Always is good, but I think he did it much better on the 1997 tour - this recording is from the 1990 tour. Another rare live recording is The Way You Look Tonight - not my favourite, but I appreciate that this rare track is included.

All in all, I think it's a good release - there are some genuine rarities here, and the inclusion of some live cuts make for a nice surprise as well. However, they could've made it even better: A lot of songs that were obvious takes didn't include it, and some more live recordings of the tracks already on the Hits release would've been awesome. Perhaps someday we will be treated with a full 4CD+ box set spanning Phil's career including ALL his hits as well as some of all the lost treasures in the live archive. That'd make at least one more happy man on Earth!

OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10. Fans will find something here and good for newcomers.

PS: A special "valentine" edition featuring a DVD with 6 rare videos exist for the dedicated follower. Price is not so much more than standard version.

I picked up the CD the day it came out. Being a big fan for many years now, I figured I had to have a copy!
The first track, "Tearin' and Breakin' " was a welcome change so to speak for Phil....the song starts off with vocal harmonies that literally blow you away....It is then accented with soft piano and a beautiful horn solo. Truly a great song....one I already love.

The album has quite a few of the "no brainers" : Against All Odds, Groovy Kind Of Love, One More Night, just to name a few. But, then there are the surprises: Can't Turn Back the Years, I've Forgotten Everything, Least You Can Do, and many more. The fact that some lesser "known" songs are in the CD makes it that much more gratifying for me as alot of these "surprises" are some of my personal favorites I thought nobody else liked since they didn't go "mainstream".

If you like Phils voice and the way he writes/sings...this is a MUST have.....It has songs for all occasions....weddings/breakups/SEX!

Thx for reading,
Jeff

It is just so hard to imagine that when it really comes to Greatest Love Songs records these days, there really can be a plus, and there happens to be some minuses in a lot of them. Of course none of them are really perfect. There are some good ones that came out in the past few years from Vanessa Williams, and Patti LaBelle. Nevertheless, Phil Collins has had somegreat Pop songs that he conjured as a middle of the road vocalist. His songs are just truly definitive gems that brought delight into so many people. Unfortunately, his love songs album is just the middle of the road as well.

Love Songs: A Compilation Old & New, is a double album reflecting Phil's sincere feeling for love songs. The 25 songs on the album does have some good sides, but does seem to be a miss for most die hard Phil Collins fans. There are some great gems here such as One More Night, A Groovy Kind Of Love, Against All Odds, Two Hearts, and his Oscar-winning song You'll Be In My Heart from Tarzan. There also are a few soulful songs here that were overshadowed and overlooked that could've been included from Phil collins 1998 Hits album that are on this record as well, like Everyday, Do You Remember?, and It's In Your Eyes. The album also includes some live versions of songs Phil recorded that were just delightful like a elegantly recorded Seperate Lives, and a wonderful acapella version of True Colors.

Even though the songs are great on this album, there also are some disadvantages with this record. One of them, is that several Collins songs were not included on this record like All Of My Life, Look Through My Eyes from the Disney film, Brother Bear, and surprisingly, his remake of The Supremes You Can't Hurry Love, was also not included on this record. Another problem, is that the album overlooks songs that Phil recorded as a part of Genesis that also were great love songs like Hold On My Heart, In Too Deep, Never A Time, and many other songs. A third problem, is that the record is relatively short, and could've included some more songs than just the twenty-five tracks for this record.

For newcomers to Phil Collins music, this is a respectful addition to your library. Unfortunately, most die hard Phil Collins fans might consider passing this record up, and consider a future Greatest Hits collection instead. Still, Phil Collins does make some great songs, and this album does showcase itself fairly well.


Overall Rating: C+

Phil Collins' "Love Songs" is a 2-CD set containing a great selection of Phil's greatest ballads. It's a terrific companion set to his "Hits" album, featuring not only such favorites as "One More Night," "Against All Odds," "Groovy Kind Of Love" and "Two Hearts," but also such buried Phil treasures as "Can't Turn Back The Years," "This Must Be Love," "Testify," and "If Leaving Me Is Easy." There's one new song, the lovely "Tearing And Breaking," which is an outtake from the "Testify" album, as well as "I've Been Trying," a song that Phil recorded for a Curtis Mayfield tribute album, and "Somewhere," the old Broadway classic from "West Side Story" that Phil did for another tribute album a few years back. And finally, if that weren't enough, the double CD set concludes with some excellent live material, including live renditions of "Separate Lives," and the old Sinatra fave, "The Way You Look Tonight." This is a great double album to own whether you're a diehard Phil fan OR just a casual listener. Quite simply, if you like Phil Collins, then you're gonna love "Love Songs."