I remember when Both Sides came out in November of 1993. The record company didn't promote it and neither did VH1 or MTV. When I listened to it, I thought this is Phil Collins at his most serious. It seems to me that Phil was trying to say something without the typical humor he uses. This cd flopped commercially and critically, the first Phil Collins cd to do so. Perhaps it is because the nature of the music is so serious. I happen to like it when an artist bares his soul, and Phil did an excellent job here. I have all of his solo cds and all of Genesis' cds as well, and I have to say that Both Sides is probably Phil's best solo cd. Sure, No Jacket Required has all the hits and is very well produced. Sure, Face Value and Hello, I Must Be Going are very good cds as well, but Both Sides touches an emotional nerve that those others do not. Listen to the intimacy Phil exudes on such songs as "Can't Turn Back The Years" and "I've Forgotten Everything." Listen to the messages imbedded in "Both Sides Of The Story" and "We're Sons Of Our Fathers." I can't think of Phil being so honest with his feelings as he is on this album. It's not the typical, uptempo Phil that most fans enjoy, it's more mature and painful. It sure is a better buy than his 1996 cd Dance Into The Light. Both Sides is a must have for any rock collector.

Although Phil Collins popularity fizzled in the 1990's, his music remained as fresh and intimate as usual. His 1993 album Both Sides, reflects about holding on to love, and remembering the good and bad times with others, as well as breaking up with your partner. The songs are very sincere and compassionate. Each song has an story to tell. The first song Both Sides Of The Story, about an homeless child trying to get ahead in life (similar to Collins megahit Another Day In Paradise).

From D-I-V-O-R-C-E, to his split with Genesis, Both Sides forcasted the stories of Phil Collins in the 1990's. But everyday, something good will come along if you think positive. I really thought it was one of the most understanding albums I've ever heard. We always gander at one side of the story of each problem, but Both Sides shows that every side, Everyday (as in the song titled Everyday) we all go through life on more than one street. Both Sides states that constant.

I absolutely love this CD. I own every CD Phil has ever made, and this one gets played the most. I am amazed that it is one of the least hyped of all of his offerings. It's simply melodic, with lyrics that just about anyone can relate to. It's the perfect album to listen to and think, or listen to and just veg.

"We Fly So Close" is hands down the best song on this CD, with "There's a Place For Us" and "Please Come Out Tonight" coming in close behind.

This one will continue to be in my stereo on a regular basis.

I'm a fan of personal artistic statements. Especially by artists that have already shown that they can write for a mass audience. That certainly applies in Phil's case; he was one of the most popular musicians of the 1980's.

But the 1990's were different. And certainly in this post 9/11 world, things are even more different now. Irrevocably so. What are we to make of a song like "We Wait and We Wonder" which Phil explained back in 1993 as:

"To the outsider it seems that we in Britain live daily under the cloud of terrorism. That familiarity sometimes makes you think of it as almost normal, then suddenly something will happen..."

Overlord Phil the prescient?

I like what Phil did with this album, and I like what he's done with his sound since. The bottom line is that Phil Collins is a musician--a great musician. That's why he is respected by his peers, and why people like James Carter and Quincy Jones play with him. Phil just gets it. He's always gotten it. And his current audience, for the most part, gets it too.

This is the fifth studio release from, Phil Collins, the drummer and vocalist who collaborated with GENESIS for 20 years (1971-1991).

"Both Sides" is a bit of a step backwards from his then-latest album, "But Seriously," but this doesn't mean that it doesn't deserve a listen. I bought the disc back in 2002, roughly 10 years after it's original release date (circa. November 1993).

I had heard the single, "Everyday" back in 1994, when I was growing

up as a child in elementary school, and I had just recently purchased

the HITS collection that Phil put out in 1998/1999. "Both Sides" is an

album, which is very much like his second album, "Hello, I Must Be

Going." Like that album, this one is also pretty under-rated, with the

exception of the tracks "Both Sides ..." and "Everyday," nothing else

from the album has been given any air-time in America.

I also enjoy "Can't Find My Way" and "Can't Turn Back The Years," which

are just as good as anything on "But Seriously" or "Hello, I Must ..."

for that matter. It's just a disc that has so much to offer, and Phil

probably wasn't hoping for too much commercial success at the time.

He had just wrapped up an extensive tour with GENESIS (1992), and had

been on the road non-stop for most of the 1980's and early 1990's.

"Both Sides" remains one of my favorite Phil COllins/GENESIS releases,

and I recommend it to anyone who like's the serious side of Phil Collins

and his experimentation with new sounds during the first half of the

1990's, which was a great departure from the ever-so-popular synch-like

drum sound, which dominated his earlier solo recordings, as well as his

work with GENESIS.

Can't wait to see Phil with GENESIS in September.

They obviously won't be playing any numbers from this one, but at least

I get to hear Phil singing the like's of "Turn It On" and "No Son of Mine"

- Alexander Shuris -