PHIL COLLINS - "Testify" - Album Review (20th Anniversary Edition) 

Thanks for watching friends! Let me know what you think of Testify!

He's consistently brilliant

Adding onto my previous review of Testify, I listened to it all day while at work today and the whole album grew on me. There are some great songs on here! I’m glad I gave it another shot. I still don’t like Wake up Call or Can’t Stop Loving You, but I never liked it when it came out in the 70s. Just don’t care for it. Those are the only 2 songs I’m not thrilled with. But now Testify is getting more play with me and I’m glad about that.

Phil likes Wake Up Call so much he included it as one of his three solo tracks on the Genesis R-Kive set.

Thru these walls I love

When 'Testify' was to come out I was very excited because it was always a celebration for me when PC was going to release a new studio album. When it had finally come out in November '02 I listened to it pretty much non-stop for the rest of the year. And I really enjoyed it. Then to keep my hunger for next fall/Christmas season '03, I immediately stopped listening at New Year's Day '03. The next fall I was still enjoying the album at the beginning because I had been looking forward to hearing it again for the whole year. But it didn't have the allure of a completely new album like it had the year before. Since then on, I've rarely put it on. There are various reasons for this. As you said, it's obviously not clear what kind of music is going to be. On the one hand it has strong adult contemporary elements. On the other hand, due to the minimal line-up/arrangements, it sounds a lot like electro-pop, which really wasn't PC's field. A few years earlier, PC had collaborated with Rob Cavallo on the single version of "You'll Be In My Heart". It was a terrific recording, typical of the late 90s and yet with a lot of classic PC sensitivity. And now we come to my big criticism of 'Testify': If PC with Rob Cavallo had recorded the album in a similarly careful and organic way (like they did "You'll Be In My Heart"), it would have been a terrific late work, despite the fact that the songs as a whole did not live up to the quality of "You'll Be In My Heart". Unfortunately, PC was too fixated on his demos and just tried to add single elements like guitar and bass played by others than him. That's too bad! And further, the album isn't even worthy of Rob Cavallo as a top producer that time either, because I would have wished for a stronger input from him, like he had with "You'll Be In My Heart" (for which Cavallo had received a Grammy nomination for 'Producer Of The Year' by the way). To name not only the album's but also PC's overall low point, it's definitely "Driving Me Crazy". Is it techno? Is it fast guitar pop? I really don't know. But we should view it philosophically, what would be PC if he hadn't at least one song we don't like? ;) I would call it my second-least favorite PC album (just behind 'Going Back'), but as you said, it's still PC. Despite all that, I was and still am happy that PC still gave a musical sign of life after the millennium. Especially with regard to the fact that it was going to be his last proper studio album, as a fan you really appreciate that, despite its strong artistic deficits.

Driving me crazy ❤

Happy 20 th Anniversary Testify

I love how Phil references In The Air Tonight in Swing Low.

I love can't stop loving you

I loved his Genesis songs the best. I love wake up call.

His singing is also very convincing and believable

Kind of the equivalent of Sting's 2003 Sacred Love and Peter Gabriel's 2002 UP. They were in their early 50's and their voices sounded "old" and "bored" by that point. And yet, Phil on the 2007 Genesis live album sounds in top form. Sting and Peter on the other hand never recovered in the 21st century.

This is the first time I have seen someone analyze Phil Collins so intently, I don't think Phil even takes himself this seriously...lol.

I love the drums

I don't think anyone would ever be let down by Phil Collins but my favourite song of his was in too deep

In my opinion Phil Collins is The Greatest artist ever. Period.

His got the best voice

Love this heart I haven't heard that one

I've got a copy of this album still sealed for over 5 years, can't bring myself to listen to it in full, especially if it's much like Both Sides with little if any 'real' instruments on there. Love the tracks and Phil's voice on Both Sides, it's just the pretend instrument sounds that put me off buying anymore Phil albums until the re-release 2 cd albums if late. Not listened to anything in full after Both Sides. Should I go ahead and try them!?

I love The Roof is leaking

This album actually got pirated before release and was available on Napster maybe 1 to 2 months before release. So i heard the album before release and listened to it once and hated it. About 6-12 months later i listened to it again, and it actually grew on me over a few months. Certainly not the calibre of prior albums, but was good enough album on its own. I though some of the faster songs were a bit different for Phil without the big horn sections he normally would use. It could of probably had benefited from more input from musicians as it can feel a bit programmed with some live musicians over the top.

My favourite song was Testify

I like Can't stop loving you

❤I like this album a lot

Driving me crazy was great

The album came out at the same time as PG’s “UP”. Purchased them both at the same time and enjoyed Testify more, although the title track gives me the sh*ts. I read somewhere that Leo Sayer loved Phil’s version of CSLY, which was nice to hear.

I look at Testify as an Electric Boogaloo version of Both Sides. A lot of the album has so many similar qualities to Both Sides, except a tad mediocre. He mostly worked on this album on his own like Both Sides, except that he brings in outside musicians and Rob Cavallo to "enhance" some of that lack of sonic qualities you mentioned. The songs are dealing with personal issues like Both Sides but the lyrics are downgraded from that album. So basically it's a watered down version of Both Sides. Perhaps if Phil go with your proposed track listing it would've slightly improved the album. I believe Phil worked with Cubase during the home demos period, but during the final mixing process that would be definitely Protools. I read an interview with him for Korg a while back and he mentions syncing one of his Korg synthesizers, I believe a Korg Triton, to Cubase to manipulate drum loops and I believe Cubase would be the software he used to create a bulk of the record as well. And there's no real piano or horns on this record. Everything I believe came out of the Korg Triton. You mentioned Sting early on and I believe I already mentioned this about Can't Stop Loving You. Sting and Phil both did something similar when they released Brand New Day and this album. Sting let Jaguar used the song Desert Rose for their commercials and Phil let Toyota used Can't Stop Loving You for their commercials as well. I think it's just a good way of promoting your music out there pre-social media. Just wanna mention that.

It's not too late is a great song

Don't get me started is great

Come with me is also great

I couldn't find them on CD

Genesis songs are my favourite but who cares it's Phil Collins

So Testify is my least favorite album from Phil. I don’t like Wake up Call or Can’t Stop Loving You and that’s probably why I never listen to it. However, yesterday You Tube pulled up live It’s Not Too Late song and I loved it. I didn’t realize it was on Testify so I listened to the album again and there are tracks I do really like. I think I prefer the live hard drumming from Phil so that may be why I don’t like it so much. It’s sad it’s the last new material Phil gave us. I have Stings Brand New Day cd and love all of it. Testify is sleepy music to me and nothing new on it. NJR is my fav Phil album after Face Value. I think Testify is just blah.

The least you can do

For me, a trash, so dissapointed listen, i didn't like anything about this album. ''Both Sides'' was his last great album then i enjoyed a lot and was the time who his creative process was at his peak. ''Dance into the light'' was so-so. ''Dance into the light'' remains a lot at the same reaction with George Michael with the ''Patience'' album, two so-so album depist some great moments. But i didn't expected to even worse with ''Testify'' who i didn't like anything about this album except the cover of Leo Seyer.

I haven't heard Both Sides