Both Sides

This article is about a music album. For the media bias also called "bothsidesism", see false balance.

Both Sides
Studio album by
Phil Collins
Released8 November 1993
Recorded1992–1993
StudioCollins' home studio, England; The Farm, Chiddingfold, Surrey, England
GenreArt rock[1]
Length67:10
LabelVirgin
ProducerPhil Collins
Phil Collins chronology
Serious Hits... Live!
(1990) 		Both Sides
(1993) 		Dance into the Light
(1996)
Singles from Both Sides
  1. "Both Sides of the Story"
    Released: 18 October 1993
  2. "Everyday"
    Released: 3 January 1994[2]
  3. "We Wait and We Wonder"
    Released: 25 April 1994[3]
Alternative cover
2016 reissue cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[4]
Goldmine[5]
The Irish News[6]
PopMatters[7]
Powermetal.de9/10[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Scunthorpe Telegraph10/10[10]

Both Sides is the fifth solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Phil Collins. Featuring an adult-oriented soft rock-based sound, released on 8 November 1993[11] by Virgin in the UK and Atlantic in the US. Collins created the album entirely by himself, without any collaborations from outside songwriters and performers. The record received generally positive critical reviews, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic stating that the album's "artistically satisfying" songs feature "troubled, haunting tales".[1]

The album achieved commercial success, reaching no. 1 in the United Kingdom, no. 8 in Australia, and no. 13 in the United States. Collins also went on the highly successful Both Sides of the World Tour upon its release. That effort involved over a hundred performances in a tour that went over a year.[12]

A special two-disc edition of the album, featuring the Live from the Board – Official Bootleg EP,[13] as a second disc,[14] titled Far Side... of the World: Gold Souvenir Tour Edition, was released in Southeast Asia and Australia in 1995. It peaked at no. 13 in Australia.[15] A newly remastered, two-disc deluxe edition of the album was released on 29 January 2016, as part of the Take a Look at Me Now series of Collins's studio album reissues.[16]

In a 2016 interview with The Guardian, Collins named Both Sides as his "favourite album from a songwriting and creative perspective". Collins also said: "It was very much a solo album. I played everything, the songs just streamed out of me, and as a writer, that's the kind of thing that you dream of. It was the second divorce! Personal relationships at that time were tangled, is a better way of saying it, and it all came very spontaneously."[17]

  1. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Both Sides at AllMusic. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Phil Collins singles".
  3. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 23 April 1994. p. 29.
  4. ^ Cannon, Bob (12 November 1993). "Both Sides". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Goldmine 2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Albums Reviews: Phil Collins celebrates 65th with double re-release". The Irish News. 26 January 2016.
  7. ^ Sawdey, Evan (12 May 2016). "Phil Collins: 2016 Rhino Reissues (Part One)". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Collins, Phil - Both Sides". Powermetal.de. 3 March 2016.
  9. ^ McAlley, John (31 July 1997). "Phil Collins: Both Sides". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017.
  10. ^ F, Nigel (25 January 2016). "CD REVIEWS: Phil Collins, Old Dominion, Sarah Blasko, Frokedal & Balsamo Deighton". Scunthorpe Telegraph. Retrieved 25 January 2016.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "British album certifications - Phil Collins - Both Sides". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  12. ^ Paul Cashmere (13 May 2015). "Phil Collins Starts Work On Catalogue Remasters". Noise11.com. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  13. ^ "Phil Collins – Live From The Board – Official Bootleg (CD)". Discogs. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  14. ^ "Phil Collins Far Side Of The World Tour '95 Australian 2 CD album set (Double CD) (42406)". eil.com. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  15. ^ "Phil Collins – Far Side... Of The World". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  16. ^ Sinclair, Paul (2 September 2015). "Phil Collins / Face Value and Both Sides deluxe reissue details". Super Deluxe Edition. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Phil Collins webchat – your questions answered on prog rock, self-doubt and Miami Vice". The Guardian. 19 October 2016.