...But Seriously | ||||
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Studio album by Phil Collins | ||||
Released | 20 November 1989 | |||
Recorded | April – October 1989 at The Farm, England, and A&M Studios, Los Angeles, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 59:42 (CD) 54:25 (LP) |
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Label |
Virgin (UK and Ireland) Atlantic (US and Canada) WEA (Rest of the world) |
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Producer | ||||
Phil Collins chronology | ||||
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Singles from ...But Seriously | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Rolling Stone |
...But Seriously is the fourth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was recorded at The Farm, Surrey, England, and A&M Studios, Los Angeles, United States, and was released on 20 November 1989. It was the best-selling album of 1990 in the UK. It reached number one in the UK and US for fifteen and three nonconsecutive weeks respectively and remained so from the Christmas season to the beginning of 1990. The album was certified quad- and double platinum in the US and UK respectively. It also produced 5 top-forty singles in both countries, including the US #1/UK #2 "Another Day in Paradise," which received the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. It is one of the best selling albums in British and German history.
A 2-disc remastered version of the album was released on 10 June 2016 and contains live songs and demos.
While much of the album follows the same formula as Collins' previous album, No Jacket Required (1985), there was also a move towards more organic production as Collins chose to utilise live drums instead of the drum machines used heavily on No Jacket Required. He also prominently used keyboards and electric piano but fewer synthesizers. The album also features a sole instrumental track, "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", which recalls the jazz-influenced instrumentals featured on his first two albums, Face Value and Hello, I Must Be Going.
The tone of the album is serious, as the title suggests. Collins expanded his focus to the exploration of socio-economic and political themes. There is emotional turmoil underneath the polished studio production and many of the songs are unambiguous and unveiled in their melancholy. While incorporating political themes, ...But Seriously does not abandon the theme of relationships. But unlike some of his earlier work, Collins takes a more mature and reflective approach when looking at the relationships in his life.