Hits (Phil Collins album) explained

...Hits
Type:	greatest
Artist:	Phil Collins
Cover:	Philhits.jpg
Released:	5 October 1998
Recorded:	1980–1998
Genre:	Pop rock soft rock
Length:	74:01
Label:	Face Value Virgin
Producer:	Phil Collins Hugh Padgham Babyface Lamont Dozier Arif Mardin Anne Dudley
Prev Title:	Dance into the Light
Prev Year:	1996
Year:	1998
Next Title:	Tarzan: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
Next Year:	1999

Hits (stylised as ...Hits) is the first greatest hits album by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released on 5 October 1998 in the United Kingdom,^[1] and one day later in the United States.^[2] The collection included fourteen top 40 hits, including seven American number one songs, spanning from the albums Face Value (1981) through Dance into the Light (1996). One new Collins recording, a cover of Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors", also appeared on the collection and was a popular song on adult contemporary stations. Hits was also the first Phil Collins album to include four songs originally recorded for motion pictures (all of them US number-one hits) as well as his popular duet with Philip Bailey, "Easy Lover" (a UK number-one hit).

In 1998, the album reached number one in the United Kingdom and number 18 in the United States. It was reissued in 2008, following the usage of "In the Air Tonight" in a successful Cadbury advertisement campaign. On 4 August 2008, it became the number one album on the New Zealand RIANZ album chart. In July 2012, the album re-entered the US charts, reaching number six on the Billboard 200 when the album price was deeply discounted very briefly by Amazon.^{[3] [4]} It has sold 3,429,000 in the US as of July 2012.^[4]

The compilation's cover features stylised versions of the cover art for Collins' first six albums, the collection's primary sources of songs.

Since the release of Hits there have been further compilations of Phil Collins songs. The Platinum Collection and were both released in 2004, while The Singles appeared in 2016.

Track listing

Track notes

• Track 1 features David Crosby on backing vocals.
• Track 2 features Babyface on backing vocals, keyboard and drum programming, and Sheila E on percussion.
• Track 3 features Philip Bailey on vocals.
• Tracks 4, 11–13, 15 feature Daryl Stuermer on guitar.
• Track 6 features Eric Clapton on guitar.
• Tracks 8, 13 feature Nathan East on bass.
• Track 9 features Marilyn Martin on vocals.
• Track 16 features Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Helen Terry on backing vocals.

Personnel

• Phil Collins – vocals, keyboards (1, 3, 6, 8, 11, 14–16), drums (1–9, 13–16), tambourine (4, 6),^[5] all instruments (10), drum machine (11, 12,^[6] 15, 16), backing vocals (11, 13, 16), kalimba (13), horn arrangements (13), percussion (various tracks)
• Babyface – keyboards (2), drum programming (2), backing vocals (2)
• Greg Phillinganes – acoustic piano (2), Wurlitzer electric piano (2)
• Lesette Wilson – keyboards (3)
• Peter Robinson – acoustic piano (4), glockenspiel (4), vibraphone (4)
• Rob Mounsey – keyboards (7)
• Nick Glennie-Smith – keyboards (9)
• David Frank – keyboards (12), Minimoog bass (12), Oberheim DMX (12)
• Brad Cole – keyboards (13)
• Dominic Miller – guitars (1, 8)
• Michael Thompson – guitar (2)
• Daryl Stuermer – guitars (3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16), lead guitar (13)
• Michael Landau – guitar (5)
• Eric Clapton – guitars (6)
• Ronnie Caryl – rhythm guitar (13)
• Leland Sklar – bass (1, 11, 16)
• Cornelius Mims – bass (2)
• Nathan East – bass (3, 8, 13)
• John Giblin – bass (4, 15)
• Freddie Washington – bass (5)
• Pino Palladino – bass (6)
• Sheila E. – percussion (2)
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion (5)
• Eric Rigler – Uilleann pipes (2)
• The Phenix Horns
  • Don Myrick – saxophones (8, 12), sax solo (11)
  • Louis Satterfield – trombone (8, 12)
  • Rhamlee Michael Davis – trumpet (8, 12)
  • Harry Kim – trumpet (8)
  • Michael Harris – trumpet (12)
  • Arranged by Tom Tom 84 (8, 12)
• The Vine Street Horns
  • Andrew Woolfolk – saxophones (13)
  • Arturo Velsaco – trombone (13)
  • Daniel Fornero – trumpet (13)
  • Harry Kim – trumpet (13), horn arrangements (13)
• L. Shankar – violins (15)
• Arif Mardin – orchestra conductor (7, 9), string arrangements (11)^[7]
• Anne Dudley – orchestra conductor (14)
• David Crosby – vocals (1)
• Philip Bailey – vocals (3)
• Alex Brown – backing vocals (8)
• Lynne Fiddmont – backing vocals (8)
• Marva King – backing vocals (8)
• Marilyn Martin – vocals (9)
• Amy Keys – backing vocals (13)
• Arnold McCuller – backing vocals (13)
• Peter Gabriel – backing vocals (16)
• Sting – backing vocals (16)
• Helen Terry – backing vocals (16)

Additional credits

• Chris Blair – mastering at Abbey Road Studios (London, UK)
• David Costa – art direction, design
• Janfranco Caro – art direction, design, illustrations

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Hits! Chart (1998–2012)! Peak
position

Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[8]	1
Italian Albums (FIMI)^[9]	3
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[10]	5
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)^[11]	3

Year-end charts

Chart (1998)!scope="column"

Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[12]	15
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[13]	22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[14]	35
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[15]	18
Canadian Albums (RPM)^[16]	46
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[17]	23
European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)^[18]	17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[19]	32
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[20]	33
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[21]	11
UK Albums (OCC)^[22]	15

Chart (1999)!scope="column"

Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[23]	100
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[24]	51
Canadian Albums (RPM)^[25]	46
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)^[26]	88
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)^[27]	60
European Albums (Music & Media)^[28]	48
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[29]	50
UK Albums (OCC)^[30]	98
US Billboard 200^[31]	103

Notes and References

1. Web site: British album certifications – Phil Collins – ...Hits . . 30 August 2022.
2. Web site: American album certifications – Phil Collins – ...Hits . . 30 August 2022.
3. Web site: Adele Claims 74th Week in Billboard 200 Top Ten As Nas Takes Number One Spot . 2024-06-18 . Capital.
4. Web site: Paul Grein . Week Ending July 22, 2012. Albums: What's He Doing Here? . Yahoo Music . 2012 . 25 July 2012.
5. I Wish It Would Rain Down . 2015-08-03 . Phil Collins – Topic . 2024-06-18 . YouTube.
6. Book: Hombach, Jean-Pierre . Phil Collins . Dallas Museum of Art . 2008 . 9781471629488 . 269.
7. Web site: No Jacket Required: Tracks and Credits . https://web.archive.org/web/20080703063309/http://www.philcollins.co.uk/jacket1a.htm . 3 July 2008.
8. Web site: RPM Magazine Archives > Top Albums > Phil Collins. RPM. 5 April 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20121013193829/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=v2a76h62to0aart05gg0u3agj2&q1=phil+collins&q2=Top+Albums%2FCDs&interval=50. 13 October 2012. dead.
9. Hits of the World – Italy . Billboard . 14 November 1998 . 31 July 2021 . 62 . Google Books.
10. Hits of the World – Japan . Billboard . 24 October 1998 . 31 July 2021 . 60. Google Books.
11. Book: Salaverri, Fernando. Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959-2002. 1st. September 2005. Fundación Autor-SGAE. Spain. 84-8048-639-2.
12. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1998. Australian Recording Industry Association. 17 December 2020.
13. Web site: Jahreshitparade Alben 1998. de. Austriancharts.at. 19 December 2020.
14. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 1998. nl. Ultratop. 19 December 2020.
15. Web site: Rapports Annuels 1998. fr. Ultratop. 19 December 2020.
16. Web site: RPM's Top 100 CDs of '98 . RPM . 14 December 1998 . 6 December 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140202114733/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.7015&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062 . 2 February 2014 .
17. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 1998. nl. Dutch Charts. 19 December 2020.
18. Web site: Eurochart Hot 100 Albums 1998. 19 December 1998. 1 November 2019. 51. 15. 29800226. Music & Media. 8.
19. Web site: Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts. de . GfK Entertainment. 8 September 2016.
20. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 1998. The Official NZ Music Charts. 19 December 2020.
21. Web site: Year list Album (incl. Collections), 1998. Sverigetopplistan. sv. 19 December 2020.
22. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1998. Official Charts Company. 19 December 2020.
23. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 1999. Ultratop. nl. 9 November 2015.
24. Web site: Rapports annueles 1999. Ultratop. fr. 9 November 2015.
25. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20121021021617/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.9954&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062. 21 October 2012. RPM 1999: Top 100 CDs. RPM. 6 January 2021.
26. Web site: TOP20.dk © 1999. Hitlisten. 13 November 2019. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150113024328/http://top20.dk/chart/1999. 13 January 2015.
27. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 1999. Dutch Charts. nl. 9 November 2015.
28. European Top 100 Albums 1999. Music & Media. 17. 1. 11. 1 January 2000. 26 January 2020.
29. Web site: Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts. de . GfK Entertainment. 8 September 2016.
30. Web site: End of the Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1999. Official Charts Company. 27 December 2020.
31. 1999 The Year in Music: Top Billboard 200 Albums. Billboard. 27 December 1999. 45–46. 111. 52.