Phil Collins - Essential Going Back

Phil Collins heads back to the records that made him fall for music on Essential Going Back, his affectionate tribute to Motown and 1960s soul, coming soon on 180-gram vinyl.

The album first appeared in 2010 as Going Back, his first solo record in eight years, and this Essential version trims and reshuffles the original running order, with updated artwork showing Collins as he is today. The title arrived after he found an old photo of himself drumming at 13, which says plenty about where his heart was.

To get the feel right, Collins recruited three Funk Brothers from the Motown house band, bassist Bob Babbitt and guitarists Eddie Willis and Ray Monette. That pedigree gives "(Love Is Like A) Heatwave" and "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" the right bounce, while a stretched-out "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" simmers with slow-burning menace. The title track, a Goffin and King song, is the tender heart of the set.

These are faithful readings played with affection rather than reinvention, and Collins sings them with obvious delight, never trying to outshine the originals.

On heavyweight vinyl, it makes for a warm, easygoing listen and a neat bridge between his own catalogue and the Hitsville records he grew up on.