Please note that this review covers the new release of Hello, I Must Be Going! Find our comprehensive review of the album itself here.
Hello I Must Be Going! has undergone an ageing process in that we find today’s Phil on the cover. The re-production pays very much attention to the details, and it is always a pleasure to discover new things in the artwork. The rear cover also features a new photo. The digipak follows the concert of the other 2CD sets in the series and comes in a lovely blue and liner notes by Phil.
As with Face Value the gain in clarity is felt rather than really existing. The album has become louder without damaging the sound. There is clearer treble in some parts, e.g. The West Side, and a slightly stronger bass in other songs. Hello I Must Be Going! has not been improved as much as Face Value, but that really no problem since the original version sounded very good already.
A look at the technical side shows that the dynamic range has been reduced. This is usually done when the overall volume is raised. Even though the sound has been changed in a very subtle manner there are several differences. There was quite a jump between the original album and the so-called Hoffman Remasters, i.e. the 24 carat gold CDs from High Fidelity, which coincided with a certain loss in dynamics. Let us examine the Dynamic Range (DR) which describes the range between the highest and the lowest values; the higher the DR value the better. The original CD (in this case: the German pressing) had an excellent DR of 14, with the peaks between -0.39 and -2.22. Why Can’t It Wait Till Morning is the odd one out because of the instruments used with a peak at -6.19. The 2011 Hoffman remaster is louder but there are differences in how much. The values for It Don’t Matter To Me and Why Can’t It Wait Til Morning have risen considerably while it remains almost the same for You Can’t Hurry Love. The DR is still a good 11, but much lower than the original. The remasters are louder again; the peaks have risen the most for You Can’t Hurry Love (+2dB) and Why Can’t It Wait Till Morning (+3dB). This affects the overall dynamic range and drops it to 9, which is quite not so good (and worse than Face Value). You can read up on all results in the chart (click on the chart to enlarge).
The good news is that the listening experience will not reflect these results. The 2016 remaster has a clear and powerful sound so that any effects may only become noticeable if you play the album on high end equipment.
I Don’t Care Anymore (live)
This one is a classic. I Don’t Care Anymore is one of the songs that should have been played live far more often. This version is from Melbourne, Entertainment Centre (13th April 1985). Collins‘ aggressive vocals provide a clue as to why he would not play this song again later. Alternatives would have been a less aggressive version from the Both Sides tour or MTV Unplugged or the „stadium version“ we got the hear in Hannover, Germany, which borrows heavily from the Unplugged show.
I Cannot Believe It’s True (live)
This version was most likely recorded on 19th Dec 1983, Perkin's Palace Pasadena. This is also where Phil's first concert video was recorded.
Like China (live)
You Can’t Hurry Love (live)
It Don’t Matter to Me (live)
All these songs are from Dallas, Reunion Arena (28th May 1985), where Phil’s concert video No Ticket Required was filmed. No wonder the version sounds good. Fans have known them for a long time from various bootleg recordings. Now we are treated to an official release. Perhaps we may hope to see the full show on Blu-ray… It Don’t Matter To Me could have been used in a version from later tours.
The West Side (live rehearsal)
Now this is interesting. Word has leaked that it would be a rehearsal version, but what tour and place was it from? It turns out that this is Montreux 1996 – the Big Band tour! Collins gave both his major instrumentals, Hand In Hand and The West Side, a makeover. This is really great – brilliant! Makes you wonder why he did not include a rehearsal version of Hand In Hand in the bonus version of Face Value…
People Get Ready (live)
This Curtis Mayfield song used to be the show finale. Bootlegs usually have Phil’s remark „thank you everybody, goodbye – that’s all we know“. That bit has been dropped here, but then the song would have had to be moved to the end. With this song Collins deviates from his concept of showing how the album songs developed live, but what the heck – a great song!
Thru These Walls (live)
It seems a bit peculiar to place Thru These Walls behind People Get Ready in this series of bonus tracks. Another song from the Pasadena show, and another classic that has been played too seldom.
It’s Alright (live)
It’s Alright is to Hello I Must Be Going what And So To F is to Face Value: a logical break. It’s alright has probably been played live just once; obviously, this version is the well-known recording from Dallas 1985. Fans will know it from the live video and various bootlegs. This song belongs on No Jacket Required.
Oddball (demo of Do You Know, Do You Care?)
This demo has been available on CD before as the B-side of You Can’t Hurry Love. It sounds as if the demo were a bit noisier than the version we know.
Don’t Let Him Steal Your Heart Away (demo)
Another fine demo of a „forgotten“ Collins song. Though it came out as a single and was played it did not seem to exist in Collins‘ world anymore. In his liner notes he writes that he thinks they never played the song live. Well, he is wrong. It is nice to have an official version of this demo. And a bit sad that the live version has not been included.
The quality of the bonus material has much improved over the first batch of albums in both the choice and the sound of the material, especially if you compare it to Both Sides. Still, there is a certain inconsistency and a peculiar order of the songs. In theory, And So To F belongs on this album and It’s Alright should have been on No Jacket Required. Strictly speaking, none of these songs should have been released since Collins wanted to show how the album tracks developed live. It might have been a good idea to use versions from later tours – see the absolutely terrific Big Band version of The West Side. There is a version of Why Can’t It Wait Till Morning by Nathan East’s band Fourplay on which Collins sings, too. That could have been interesting. Another song from the album sessions was the B-side The Man With The Horn which was only released on No Jacket Required singles. It is therefore not unlikely that we will find this song in the bonus material for another album, to keep the inconsistency consistent, as it were. The demos are alright. This bonus material begins to make up for the Both Sides fiasco.
The remaster feels better and the bonus material has a good sound quality. This is what you can expect and this is what you get. Perhaps the selection of live material could have been a bit more creative, particularly regarding the place of recording. Many of the songs will turn out to be from concert films that have already been published; and those may well be worth reworking, too. It is a bit strange that Collins does not make use of the plethora of live recordings he keeps saying he has. Perhaps it is simply a matter of time and logistics. All in all this is one of the better remasters.
Hello, I Must Be Going! comes out on February 26, 2016 on LP and 2CD and can be pre-ordered here:
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