''Testify'' is the seventh solo studio album by English musician

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

. Released in 2002, the album debuted at No. 30 on the American ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, which was also the album's peak position. It was also the second Phil Collins studio album where no track peaked within the American top 40 singles chart. It was also his lowest charting album in the UK, becoming his only solo effort not to reach the Top 5. However, the album achieved success in some countries of

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

. It is his second album not to be co-produced by Hugh Padgham, who co-produced Collins' most successful albums. Despite the shortage of success the album achieved, his subsequent First Final Farewell Tour proved to be very popular. The album was reissued as a deluxe edition on CD, vinyl and digital on 15 April 2016, including a new second disc with bonus tracks.

Production

''Testify'' was crafted over a two-year period at Collins' home in Switzerland, and was recorded in France and Los Angeles. Most of the album's twelve tracks are derived from demos Collins made in his bedroom studio and finished off with the help of producers

Rob Cavallo Robert Siers Cavallo (born March 21, 1963) is an American record producer, musician, and record industry executive. He is among the biggest-selling producers in history, and has produced or had creative involvement in albums that have sold over ...

and James Sanger, engineer Allen Sides, guitarist Tim Pierce, and bassist Paul Bushnell. Collins worked extensively with computers during production, work that can be seen throughout the album. After Collins made ''

Dance into the Light ''Dance into the Light'' is the sixth solo studio album by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins, released on 8 October 1996 in the United States and on 21 October 1996 in the United Kingdom by Face Value Records. It features guest ...

'' without any drum machine, he returned to the device for ''Testify''. The album begins with an up-tempo " Wake Up Call". It was based on a 16-bar doodle Collins wrote, and only began to formalise when he brought it into studio. The title track, the longest and most complex sounding song on the album, is according to Collins "one of the most direct and most personal love songs I have ever written". Another up-tempo song, "Don't Get Me Started" follows a tradition of critical statements about politics and society Collins began with "

That's Just the Way It Is "That's Just the Way It Is" is a song by English drummer Phil Collins, released as a single in July 1990 from his fourth solo studio album, ''...But Seriously'' (1989). The track features David Crosby on background vocals. The song was only rel ...

", " Another Day in Paradise", and " Both Sides of the Story" in his previous albums and songs such as "Tell Me Why" with Genesis. The soulful "It's Not Too Late" refers to lost faith in dreams – "It's never too late to make your dreams come true. We all should try it". "Driving Me Crazy" is another upbeat track. Collins said the song is about the narrow path between love and dangerous obsession. Songs such as the aforementioned "Testify" and "This Love This Heart" were inspired by Collins' then-wife, Orianne, while their first child, Nicholas, was the main inspiration for tracks " Come with Me" and "Swing Low", and "You Touch My Heart". "Come with Me" was originally a lullaby Collins sang to his daughter

Lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in mu ...

when she was a baby when on tour in 1990, Seriously Live! and the lyrics were developed when Nicholas was born. Collins collaborated with his longtime associate

Daryl Stuermer Daryl Mark Stuermer (born November 27, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer best known for playing the guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most solo tours and albums. He has ...

for " The Least You Can Do", Stuermer providing the music and lead guitar and Collins the lyrics and arrangement. Stuermer also plays guitar on the next track, " Can't Stop Loving You", a cover of Leo Sayer's 1978 country hit. Collins heard the song on the radio and brought a modern feel to the country song. "I heard Leo Sayer's version of 'Can’t Stop Loving You' on vacation and I was impressed by the fantastic melody. I have attempted to breathe new life into this song and change its feel." It was the first single off the album, hitting No. 1 in the Adult Contemporary Charts. The album ends with "Thru My Eyes" and "You Touch My Heart", another song inspired by his son. ("Thru My Eyes" is not to be confused with "

Look Through My Eyes "Look Through My Eyes" is a song by English recording artist Phil Collins from the ''Brother Bear'' film soundtrack released in 2003 as the first single. It was later recorded by Everlife for the '' Bridge to Terabithia'' soundtrack and the ''D ...

", a song recorded by Collins for the '' Brother Bear'' soundtrack in 2003).

Reception

The album was panned by critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 34, based on 7 reviews, making it the worst-reviewed album of 2002. The album debuted at No. 30 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' charts, which was also the album's peak position. To date, the album has peaked the lowest of his seven solo efforts. Following ''

'' it was the second Phil Collins studio album where no track cracked the American Top 40 singles chart. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at No. 15, his only solo album not to make the Top 5. It was, however, a much greater success in

. In France, the album even peaked at No. 2 in early 2003 and remained at that position for three weeks. It became his biggest-selling album since '' ...But Seriously''. In Australia, it peaked at No. 96 in November 2002 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The lead single from the album, " Can't Stop Loving You", had success on the Adult Contemporary charts and minor airplay overall. The single peaked at No. 76 on the ''Billboard'' charts while hitting No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary charts. Other singles, " Wake Up Call", " Come with Me" and " The Least You Can Do" also enjoyed their most success on the Adult Contemporary chart. Collins said at the time that this was to be his last studio album, but has since recorded a new album entitled '' Going Back'', a collection of covers of Motown and other soul songs. It was released on 13 September 2010. However, he has since announced that he is out of retirement and has been working on another album.Rollingstone
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Track listing

B-sides

*"Hey Now Sunshine" *"Tears of a Clown" (Re-recorded for ''Going Back'' in 2010)

Personnel

* Phil Collins – vocals, all instruments except where noted * James Sangar – additional programming (1-5, 8, 11) * Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards (9, 10) * Tim Pierce – guitars (1-11),

nylon guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor ...

(12) *

– guitar (9, 10) * Paul Bushnell – bass (3-10) * Eric Rigler – Uilleann pipes (9)

Production

* Produced by

* Engineered by Allen Sides * Assistant Engineer – René Weis * Pro Tools Engineering and Editing – Doug McKean * Tracks #1-9, 11 & 12 mixed by Allen Sides * Track #10 mixed by

Tom Lord-Alge Tom Lord-Alge (born January 17, 1963) is an American music engineer and mixer. He began his career at The Hit Factory in New York. Subsequently, he was the resident mixer at what used to be known as "South Beach Studios", located on the ground f ...

* Mastered by Bernie Grundman at

Bernie Grundman Mastering Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...

(Hollywood, California, USA). * Photography by Lorenzo Aguis and Norman Watson * Artwork – M4 Design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

External links

The Official Phil Collins Website
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Testify (Phil Collins Album) 2002 albums Phil Collins albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by Rob Cavallo Albums produced by Phil Collins