No Jacket Required

I'm a die hard fan of Phil & have been since the early 80's. He always does quality work & everyone of his albums have something to offer. But this 3rd album is, without a doubt, one of the best of the 80's if not all time & there was no bigger artist than Collins back in 1985. He even won a Grammy for Album of the Year & four of the singles were top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100. "Sussudio" & "One More Night" also reached #1 and were all over the radio. But this album is more than just a few hits. Although there is alot of synth (it was the 80's after all), the rest of the album is very solid & contains lots of high energy songs with great synth, percussion and guitar. There are also a few nice ballads. One of my fav deep cuts - "Long Long Way To Go, which isn't romantic in nature but is actually a political song, has a haunting & melancholy feel to it. It also features Asian styled keyboards & Sting on b/g vocals. Awesome track & would've made a great single. Sting would also sing b/g along with another pal & former bandmate of Phil's - Peter Gabriel on the popular & likable hit "Take me Home". Ok, as far as this deluxe edition goes... The original 1985 disc already sounded really good so there was only so much they could do to improve the sound. But the remastering is definitely noticable in a good way if you listen to music on an iPod or in the car. Doesn't sound compressed to my ears or like there is anything missing. Just somewhat louder & fuller overall with more bass & good fidelity. Also, a music site analyzed all the tracks on Phil's reissues & were quoted as saying "The dynamics remain nearly unchanged". I agree with that statement. Most of the bonus material on the 2nd disc are live tracks of the album's songs. There's no info about them in the liner notes but they sound like they were taken from his concert videos which are a combination of performances from his 1985 NJR tour in Dallas, 1990 "But Seriously" tour in Berlin & his Farewell tour in 2004. I was fortunate enuff to attend concerts during the last two. "Sussudio" also sounds just like his performance from the Knebworth concert in England back in 1990, which I always felt was one of his most exciting & best performances. Some other highlights are live versions of "Only You Know And I Know" which has an extended re-mix sound to it but sounds very faithful to the original (I really dug it) & "Long Long Way To Go" which has kind of an Unplugged sound to it. Phil & his band do these versions alot of justice & Phil's voice also sounded great. The rest of the bonus material are demo's for "Only You Know And I Know", "One More Night" & "Take Me Home". They sound very similar to the originals but slightly rougher and you could tell that Phil hadn't finished the lyrics yet cuz he only sang the choruses with actual words. For the rest, he just kinda makes sounds that sound like words but aren't. Almost sounds like he's singing in a foreign language which is very interesting. Anyway, this is a welcome re-issue & even though there is not alot of rare stuff on this release, I still feel it's worth buying if you want better sound quality or to hear excellent live versions of this album's songs.

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Love love Phil Collin’s. This album was one of the first of his I ever owned. I wore out the cassette tape. Just received this as a gift to myself.

Love him or hate him one thing can be sure... Phil Collins was the 80s. Phil Collins was the 80s and "No Jacket Required" was a culmination of everything that was good about that eras pop-music. Everybody and I mean everybody, has at least one or two favorite Phil Collins songs. His music was something that Fathers and Sons were listening to as well as die-hard vintage Rock Fans (please see Genesis) and THIS album is full of the energy and a dynamic spirit, that was completely designed by a man who had earned that right (and Artistry level) after years and years of hard work. Phil Collins was everywhere and he was doing everything right at the right time. Sometimes even in two different time zones, on the same day. His songs were hits, his videos were hits, his band (both of them) were great and selling out shows worldwide for a decade!...I don't know about England and I don't know about the controversies and honestly I don't care. (Americans can be a little more forgiving that way) Even after reading his book, I can tell you that Phil Collins no matter who people think he IS or even who HE thinks he is: is still a man that makes and made great music and the 80s were better for him because of that. PERIOD. End of story. Everything he touched and pretty much everybody that he worked with, turned to platinum, silver or gold. Sometimes even his songs were better than the movies that they were associated with. And sometimes he was actually IN the movie himself. Phil Collins gets a bad rap because he may have been "Overexposed" but that's only because we wanted more of him and we kept buying his records and listening to his music and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Call him a "sell-out" or "smarmy" but you can not deny that this man worked his ass off in the 80s and EVERYONE was the better for it. (Phillip Bailey, Robert Plant, Adam Ant, Stephan Bishop, Eric Clapton, Miami Vice and Genesis) Genesis FINALLY received their FIRST Number One Album/Song due to Phil taking over for Peter Gabriel. Most bands NEVER survive a lead singer change...But they did and that was all due to Collin's ability to write for the masses and "No Jacket Required" is the apex of this ability! ....This album is an incredible representation of every single artist at their best and should NOT be looked over.

No Jacket Required is my favorite Phil Collins album, as well as my 3rd favorite album of all time. I mainly ordered this because I was curious about the audio quality. The other reviews provided some information but it was one of those things I had to hear for myself. Having done so I must say I am happy that I now own it. The remaster quality is very subtle, but depending on how well you know this album, it is a noticeable difference. I do agree that the mastering volume is a bit low (although not really much lower than the original CD version), but when turned up, there is definitely improvement in the dynamic range, albeit not the overall sound balance. The bass/drums have more punch in the low range and the guitar solos (which in my opinion benefitted most from this remaster) really shine with the wider dynamic range, sounding more like a prominent guitar solo rather than a background track like before. The overall sound is warmer and richer-more pleasant to the ears-as compared to the sharper, more piercing sound of the original CD. The only disappointing thing is that certain sounds in the mid range, like certain drum machine sounds and background effects get buried in the mix. Again, the difference is quite subtle, but noticeable if you listen closely. If you're only looking for a good CD with some great songs and don't really care about the details of the audio quality then this is not for you. But to someone who has an appreciation for dynamic range in sound and who knows this album it is a noticeable improvement.

Great Music

Un álbum excelente. Muy muy producto, exactamente como se muestra en la foto.

A cd what can I say. As described.