In 1985-86, Phil Collins career was at it's mountain-top. 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 a handful of 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.

There's something for everyone here. "No Jacket Required" had a diverse set of songs, among them Up-Beat pop tracks, eloquent ballads, and prog-rock throwbacks. Daryl Sturmer played all the guitar tracks and his superb tone adds depth.

Here's my track-by-track analysis:

"Sussudio"-A number one hit, the keyboard line sounding Similar to "1999" by Prince, some have said TOO similar but personally that doesn't diminsh the song's quality one bit. The bass and horn section only boosts it's catchiness.

"Only you know and I know"-A semi-pop track with a great synth hook. The lyrical matter is more or less summed up in it's title.

"Long Long way to go"- A moody, atmospheric track. The decision to have Sting sing the background vocals was genius. It enhances the effect ten-fold.

"I don't wanna know"- Phil sings about a relationship ending, and having no interest in hearing that she regrets it. He was warned not to give his heart to her, cuz she wouldn't give it back. The prominent guitar here is a far-cry from the adult contemporary sound he'd soon delve into.

"One More Night"-Another Chart topper. Terrific ballad, truly heartfelt. It's about acknowledging one's human-ness "If I stumble, if I fall, just help me back/so I can make you see/Please give me one more night". The verse after the second chorus really drives the song home "Like a river to the see/I will always be with you/And if you sail away/I will follow you."

"Don't lose my number"-A TOP 5 SMASH, yet it was inexplicably left off his Greatest Hits album. That's barely forgivable. This song is one of all-time favorites. It kicks off with a nice drum beat. The hook for this song is sharp as a fisherman's. The lyrics are a message to a person, named Billy. I'm still not sure who Billy is. Lyrics: "He never meant to do anything wrong, it's gonna get worse if he waits too long/Billy, Billy don't you my number/ Cuz you're not anywhere that I can find you". This song was obviously written before Cell Phones. The video for this song was good, experts kept walking into Phil's office to suggest idea's, One being set in the old west, the other's being parodies of "Every breath you take" by the Police,

"Who said I would"-Starts off with a nice intro, it keeps a steady beat throughout. It has a full platter of Synths, Horns, and vocal effects.

"Doesn't anybody stay together anymore"-The instrumentation sounds like Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. The drums during the chorus are loud, with a driving bass line, quickly sedgewaying into quieter verses. The lyrics tell about things we all do, and tackles confusion in romance, which in actuality are really nothing new.

"Inside out"-Has fine drumming (Hey it's Phil Collins, you're guaranteed that). The slow-down sections are especially pleasant, with a saxophone playing.

Take me home" was recently sampled in a rap song by bone-thugs-n-harmony, it falls under the ballad category, though at the same time it's more cheerful and contains an incessant chorus. Phil's old Genesis buddy Peter Gabriel sings the background vocals.

"We said hello goodbye" is a slower, tear-jerking ballad, I used to dislike this song because it's a far cry from the many up-beat numbers here, but upon realization, it's the perfect closer.

"No Jacket Required" rightly won the Grammy award for 1985 album of the year. This is Phil Collins best solo offering - Bar None.

This is an incredible album - a perfect blend of Phil's signature drum beats and the soulful grooviness of his supporting cast. Phil uses the drum machine and concentrates of the keyboarding a lot more in this album, but it really works. Every song on No Jacket Required is an absolute winner and could've been a hit (it's a shame We Said Hello Goodbye wasn't commercially released as a single - it probably would have gone to #1 - that's how much the radio used to play it). Of course the hits like Take Me Home, Don't Lose My Number, Sussudio, and We Said Hello Goodbye still sound great today, but some of the lesser known tracks (such as Long, Long Way To Go and Inside Out) rock as well. No Jacket Required deservedly received the 1985 Grammy for Best Album -it's definitely the high water mark of Phil Collins' career. Check it out!

While pop is often reviled by those of us that prefer cutting edge or more artistic music, occasionally there is a pop album that comes along that is so good that you finding yourself liking it in spite of its stated genre. "No Jacket Required" is exactly that kind of album.

You can readily list the pop songs that swamped the airwaves for much of 1985 and 1986 (and probably 1987 - and now a fixture on 80s focused stations): "Sussudio", "One More Night", "Take Me Home", and "Don't Lose My Number". For a time it was difficult to listen to a radio station for more than an hour without hearing one of these songs. To an extent these songs are a product of their time with lots of keyboards. However, some of these songs are now timeless, and are already classics of their time.

"One More Night" is a beautiful ballad, easily one of Phil Collin's best songs ever. The beauty of this ballad is that it would have been great in the hands of any good ballad singer, such as Madonna or Celine Dion.

"Take Me Home" has relatively simple lyrics. However, it's not the lyrics that make this song, it's the well-orchestrated music and the reverberation on the vocals used to enhance the soaring feeling of the song. This song is a play it loudly mellow song that will forever be on the best of 80s lists.

While these last two songs are the highlights of this album, the quality extends to most of the other songs on the CD. "We Said Hello Goodbye" has a neo-classical beginning that lead into a vocal performance that will recall some of John Lennon or Elton John's songs. "Only You Know and I Know" is a pop rocker suitable for dancing. "Long Long Way to Go" is another ballad, a very consistent tune that could work as a slow dance. Another song that I think would have been a great single is "Inside Out".

Most of my CD selections from the 80s tend to be limited to progressive rock or music that I thought was off-center. However, this particular CD caught my attention with the number of singles released from it. Not every song on this CD is a gem, but there are enough on here to make this a CD worth buying if you like good solid pop music, Phil Collins' music (of which this CD may be his best), or 80s music in general.

Phil Colins is, without a doubt, one of the finest singer/songwriters of recent years (not bad for a drummer, huh?) His talent was born while still in Genesis after Peter Gabriel ditched the band. Since then, he's lead the group into commercial success and then began a career as a best selling solo artist.

No Jacket Required was released in 1985 in the midst of the pop frenzy of that era and the music video television madness. Phil was no stranger to pop/rock radio stations and MTV; he offered them a popsicle named Sussudio and that was that for the star. The rest of the hits came rushing behind; the groovy One More Night, the rock epic Take Me Home and the fantastic Don't Lose My Number, which spawned an unforgettable music video. However some other tracks that did not get commercial appeal are as equally good; the smooth low key Long Long Way To Go, which features obvious backing vocals by Sting, remains one of my personal favorites from No Jacket Required, Inside Out and We Said Hello Goodbye (Don't Look Back) which was originally featured as a B-side to the Don't Lose My Number single.

Phil went on to release better and more mature work with the Grammy winning But Seriously four years later. His career in the 90's fell short but still maintained good songs here and there; the early millennium saw Phil Collins return to form with groundbreaking productions, and Academy awards. However, No Jacket Required remains to be the album that sold the most copies and is most adored by his fans.

Recommended

A-

Phil Collins went through the commercial stratosphere with 1985's "No Jacket Required," a smash-hit album with many hit singles that also won the Grammy for Album Of The Year. It's mostly a fast, high-powered pop album that's irresistibly fun, and it cemented Phil as one of the 80's most popular artists. You know the radio hits: "Sussudio," "One More Night," "Don't Lose My Number," and "Take Me Home," all of them signature Phil songs, but the album also shines with it's songs that were NOT released as singles, such as the pumped-up "Only You Know And I Know," "I Don't Wanna Know," "Who Said I Would," "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore," and the marvelous rocker, "Inside Out," quite possibly the best song from the album. Phil turns the volume down a bit on three songs, the beautiful hit ballad "One More Night," the spacious "Long Long Way To Go" (featuring Sting on background vocals), and the very lovely CD-only track, "We Said Hello Goodbye," one of Phil's finest tunes. Phil's songwriting, vocals and musical chops are terrific, and the production work by Phil & Hugh Padgham is bright & polished.The only debit for me about "No Jacket Required" is that it's become the album that Phil is forever judged by. As a longtime Phil Collins fan for well over 20 years and counting, I know for a fact that there is a LOT more to this man's music than just this one album. Check out his other solo albums, his great body of work with Genesis and the jazz-rock fusion band Brand X, and his producing & session work for other artists like Eric Clapton and Robert Plant. Phil Collins can do it all! "No Jacket Required" is only one chapter in the long, illustrious career of this very talented musician, but it is a very significant chapter, and an excellent, catchy pop album besides.