Face Value, Vinny

Listening to this album made me realize that the term “divorced dad rock” has been used entirely improperly.

It's not Creed, Mötley Crüe, Nickelback, or any of the stereotypical choices. The quintessential album for divorced dads is Face Value, the debut solo effort by Phil Collins.

Indulge me.

The opening track is the tour de force that everyone, even people only remotely familiar with the famous British drummer, have heard dozens of times, "In the Air Tonight." But, as an exercise, I want you to really listen to the lyrics:

"But I know the reason why you keep your silence up

No, you don't fool me

Well, the hurt doesn't show

But the pain still grows

It's no stranger to you or me”

Phil is going through it. And, behind the scenes, he really was. He started writing this album when his then-wife, Andrea Bertorelli, decided he was spending too much time on tour with Genesis and took their kids to live with a family member. 

They got divorced a year before the album was released.

That ethos is dripping throughout this album, as it weaves through various sounds, infusing his soft-rock sensibilities with some R&B, funk and even some heavy, dreamy synth.

There's a kind of rhythm with the song order—The front third of the album seems angry and defiant, the middle picks up the tempo with hopeful songs, and the finale becomes reflective and contemplative about the love he's lost.

I like to imagine it's the condensed version of a man going through heartbreak and its various stages. Phil, to me, is guiding us through his personal rebirth, one high-hat strike at a time.

Personally, I was never a huge fan of Phil's, outside of the radio hits everyone knows. I never realized his music could have this much complexity.

"The Roof Is Leaking" is a melancholic ballad about a family struggling through poverty. The chorus cuts deep with the line "My wife is expecting / but I hope she can wait," as the narrator dreams of a warmer spring after a hard winter.

"If Leaving Me Is Easy" feels like the physical embodiment of lying awake at 2 AM, in the afterglow of a bender, staring at the ceiling and wondering where it all went wrong. To wit:

"You see, I'd heard the rumours

I knew before you let me know

But I didn't believe it, not you

No, you would not let me go

Seems I was wrong

But I love, I love you the same

And that's the one thing that you can't take away

But the album isn't all gloom. "I Missed Again" is a more upbeat, brass-driven song about a guy trying to kindle a romance with his star-crossed lover. It's more hopeful than mournful, with Phil promising to make the relationship work.

"Thunder and Lightning" carries a similar theme, with the narrator triumphantly declaring that he feels things are finally going his way. It's probably my favorite track on the album.

Admittedly, I think the album has some low points. "Droned" and "Hand in Hand" are bits of self-indulgence, multi-minute instrumentals that served as a distraction from the stronger tracks, and the overall themes of heartbreak and hope.

I found myself wanting less of Phil showing off his skills on the kit, and more of him demonstrating his evocative writing.

Overall, this album is simultaneously a time capsule dripping with '80s production values and a timeless collection of songs that are easy to identify with, no matter what era you're living in.