Phil Collins – Going Back CD

Phil Collins – Going Back

After eight years, British singer and drummer Phil Collins is releasing his new album "Going Back". "Going Back" is a personal tribute to the soul music of the 1960s and contains famous song gems from the Temptations to Curtis Mayfield in an inimitable interpretation by the 59-year-old exceptional musician.

The new album, which will be released in September, is a very special project for the eight-time Grammy winner. For the first time, Philip David Charles, known as Phil Collins, has taken a comprehensive and intensive look at the music of his youth and selected some hand-picked hits and songs from soul music that have had a formative influence on his life and musical development.

"It should come as no surprise that I've finally produced an album of some of my favorite songs," says Phil Collins. "All of these songs formed the sonic backdrop to my teenage years. I can still remember - like it was yesterday - going to the Marquee Club in London's Soho and watching shows by The Who, The Action and other bands playing many of these soul classics live. The next morning, I immediately ran to the nearest record store and bought the records."

Over the course of his 30-year career, Phil Collins has repeatedly re-recorded songs that have influenced his musical coming-of-age. These include catchy tunes such as "You Can't Hurry Love", "A Groovy Kind of Love", "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "True Colors". Never before has the gentleman, who was born in London on January 31, 1951, realized a project in which he has worked exclusively with the compositions and songs of other songwriters and performers. "Going Back" is an emotional look back over his own shoulder, but one that is colored by his own experiences over the years.

"I didn't want to add anything 'new' to these great songs," explains Phil Collins. "I wanted to bring back the sounds and feelings I had when I first heard these songs and incorporate them into the current recordings. My intention was to produce an 'old' album in terms of mood, not a modern one. It was a stroke of luck for me that I was able to engage three surviving members of the famous Funk Brothers for all the songs. When we recorded the song 'Heat Wave', a real feeling of happiness ran through me. I learned more about craftsmanship and the art of songwriting from working with the three Funk Brothers than from any other colleague I've ever worked with. I am very grateful for that."

The song list on "Going Back" reads like a musical bestseller list from the sixties. "Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)", composed by the Holland-Dozier-Holland dream team and sung by the Temptations, provides the starting signal for a grandiose soul trip that ends with the title track "Going Back", written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King in 1966 and with which the British singer Dusty Springfield conquered the top 10 of the British singles charts in the same year. In between, the sensitive and rousing Collins arrangement includes "Uptight (Everything's Alright"), "Blame It On The Sun" and "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer" by Stevie Wonder as well as three songs each by Martha & The Vandellas ("Love Is Like A) Heat Wave", "In My Lonely Room", "Jimmy Mack") and the Four Tops "Satanding In The Shadow Of Love", "Something About You", "Loving You Is Sweeter Tan Ever").

Oh yes, almost overlooked: The perennial favorite "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" by the Temptations was of course also given an appropriate makeover by Phil Collins and his current collaborators. Also worth mentioning are "Talking About My Baby" by Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions, "Going To A Go-Go" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, "Do I Love You?" by the Ronettes, "Love Is Here" by the Supremes and Kim Weston's US top hit "Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)" from 1966.

Phil Collins has sold 100 million albums in his glorious career spanning almost four decades, plus a further 150 million albums from his time with Genesis. In addition to eight Grammys, the Briton has also won an Oscar for his film song "You'll Be In My Heart" from the animated film "Tarzan" and two Golden Globe Awards for "You'll Be In My Heart" (2000) and "Two Hearts" (from the gangster film "Buster", 1989).

The release of the new CD "Going Back", scheduled for September, will be prepared with a special concert event in New York City in June. On four consecutive evenings (22 - 25 June), Phil Collins will present the songs from his album "Going Back" live for the first time in the Roseland Ballroom under the motto "Up Close and Personal: Phil Collins Plays 60s Soul" and, of course, perform other soul classics from that decade. The British star will be accompanied on stage by a total of 18 musicians and singers, including the three honorable Funk Brothers - Bob Babbitt, Eddie Willis and Ray Monette as well as his long-time band colleagues Chester Thompson, Daryl Stuermer, Brad Cole and Leslie Smith.

Five days earlier, on June 17, 2010, Phil Collins will receive the "Johnny Mercer Award" from the "Songwriters Hall of Fame" at a gala dinner in New York City. Collins had already been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, and with this latest award he can join the gallery of composers to whom he pays special tribute on his brand new album "Going Back". Together with Phil Collins, Philip Bailey from Earth, Wind & Fire will also be honored as a new member at this event. The two collaborated on the 1984 hit "Easy Lover".

Tracklist:
Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)
(Love Is Like A) Heatwave
Uptight (Everything’s Alright)
Some Of Your Lovin’
In My Lonely Room
Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me For A Little While)
Blame It On The Sun
Papa Was A Rolling Stone
Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer
Standing In The Shadows Of Love
Do I Love You
Jimmy Mack
Something About You
Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone
Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever
Going To A Go-Go
Talkin About My Baby
Going Back

Label: Rhino
Released: 2010/2026