Phil Collins, Atlantic, 1982

The second release of Phil Collins’ solo career kicks off with its most commercially successful single, “I Don’t Care Anymore.” Peaking at #3 on the Rock charts, the song plays like a tirade in a way that few of Collins’ songs do.

Its sister song and Track #4, “Do You Know, Do You Care?” seems to contain many strokes of “Keep it Dark” from Genesis’ Abacab, released just the year prior. They both point themselves at the ending of his first marriage, an emotionally trying time for Collins.

Track #2 “I Cannot Believe its True” is just classic Phil, a predecessor to “Sussudio” no doubt. It plays on the emotions set forth in the previous track, but adds an element of helplessness, which counter-points the peppy back-track. He’s become so frantic, trying to make others understand his pain, but nobody can.

The chorus on Track #3, “Like China” is one of the best moments on the album, but the song as a whole comes off as forced. It’s the first time in Collins’ solo work that he brings out a fun but harsh cockney accent, which he tries to imitate instrumentally in the second half.

As for Track #5, no analysis is required. The enduring cover of “You Can’t Hurry Love” has eclipsed the original Supremes version by 65 million Spotify listens. The rarity of a song like this cannot be overstated. How many other covers of Motown standards have become this accepted? Zero.

The B-side has two misses, Tracks #6 and #9. “It Don’t Matter to Me” follow in the footsteps of Track #2, simply with less punch and lyrical nuance. As for “West Side”, it rings like a Genesis reject, which isn’t such a bad thing. It just doesn’t fit with the album’s tone, employing overly stylized instrumentals.

Two of the remaining three on the back side explore quite a reserved tone, with unique effects produced on “Thru These Walls.” But “Don’t Let Him Steal Your Heart Away” delivers a carefully crafted vocal performance that tops the others. His passionate plea to save his relationship contrasts well with earlier, more pointed songs on the album.

Although Collins’ first Solo album, Face Value, has had a more powerful mainstream appeal in the 40 years since its release, Hello, I Must Be Going! was instrumental in establishing Collins as a consistent hit-maker. The pain over his first divorce also adds an emotional undertone that was rarely displayed before. It proved that he could make lasting impressions with a wider variety of tracks.