Phil Collins – Face Value (Full Value) (4xLP, Deluxe Edition)

Phil Collins' Face Value was the 1981 solo debut that turned him from Genesis drummer and singer into a major artist in his own right. Written around the collapse of his first marriage, it is a deeply personal record, but not a gloomy one: Collins folds soul, art-pop and R&B into songs that feel confessional without losing their musical bite. It also helped define the sound of the decade, with the gated-reverb drums on In the Air Tonight becoming one of the album's most famous signatures.

What still makes Face Value compelling is its range. Collins could move from the clipped funk energy of I Missed Again, driven in part by the Phenix Horns of Earth, Wind & Fire, to the stripped-back, folk-leaning The Roof Is Leaking, then veer into an experimental take on the Beatles' Tomorrow Never Knows. That mix of emotional candour and rhythmic curiosity gives the album a broader reach than its reputation as a breakup record might suggest.

This expanded Full Value edition underlines just how much material surrounded the original album. Alongside the main LP, it adds demos, live recordings, rare performances from The Other Secret Policeman's Ball with guitarist Daryl Stuermer, an unreleased outtake of Tomorrow Never Knows, and the previously unreleased full version of Over the Rainbow. For anyone who knows the original well, it offers a fuller picture of a debut that launched one of the biggest solo careers of the 1980s.

Features

• 4xLP, 33RPM, 180g, Black Vinyl, Limited Deluxe Expanded Box Set
• Original album half-speed cut; bonus LPs use standard cuts
• Cut at half-speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios in 2026
• Includes a 20-page booklet with a brand-new Phil Collins interview
• Features 25 bonus tracks of demos, live recordings, remixes and rarities

Reviews

• Face Value stands as his masterpiece and one of the finest moments of the '80s musical landscape. - AllMusic.com