With an artist as popular as Phil Collins is (or was), you’d be forgiven for thinking, “Oh, there must be quite a few of his DVDs to choose from.� This is not the case however, and Phil Collins - Serious Hits: Live is only the fourth solo Phil Collins DVD, and only the second full performance DVD. There are a few Genesis DVDs on the shelf that, some would argue, amount to the same thing (and just as boring) but I am not going to enter into that debate.

Phil Collins - Serious Hits: Live is a two-disc set of a 1990 concert in Berlin, and has been available on CD for over ten years. On DVD, the experience is enhanced with extra songs, chat and banter from Phil in English and lay German that totals almost three hours. The title gives you an idea of what to expect, a string of hits from a guy that always seems (seemed) to be able to release a mega-hit at the drop of a hat, be it for his solo band, Genesis, or any one of numerous acts that benefited from his golden touch.

The Serious Hits Tour sees Phil accompanied by ten serious musicians and one even more serious gal under a specially designed and built carousel-like stage. It doesn’t revolve as such; it just starts out looking like a carnival ride until the ‘covers’ are lifted. These guys (and gal) are as hot as anyone could wish for musically. Their renditions of the tracks sound a lot like the studio versions, but a few have been slightly rearranged to thrash them out, beef them up and give them a new vibe.

Collins is a musical wiz, and proves himself more than capable on piano, drums and, of course, vocals. He fancies himself as a bit of a comedian too. When you remember that he wrote most of these songs, you begin to get some idea of how talented the guy is. Love him or loathe him, there’s no escaping the man’s place in pop history.

The tracks will be familiar to any serious fan, even the overly long instrumentals that allow lots of opportunities for self-indulgent solos and musical masturbation. Phil is in fine voice for the show, and with a multi-angle option built into many of the tracks, there are numerous options for how you would like to enjoy the show.

Track listing...

This is a full frame performance and is therefore not 16:9 enhanced. Generally, it looks quite okay. Some of the long shots can be a little on the soft side and a touch grainy, but close ups are pretty good, and if sweat upon the brow is what you are wanting, you’ll see some here. Colours are good and solid with little interference from noise and seem largely unaffected by bleeding. The concert begins in the day and ends after dark, and things naturally look a little different as stage lighting takes over. Being spread over two discs means that compression artefacts are virtually non-existent, and the whole thing is also rather clean and mark-free. It is best to remember that this was originally recorded as a television broadcast, and while it is not the best live DVD you’ll ever cast an eye on, it is far better than many others out there.

There is a choice here between two quite decent audio tracks, a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo or a rather nicely mixed and balanced Dolby Digital 5.1. The 5.1 mix is front-heavy musically which will please the purists, and the rears are used mainly for audience appreciation (quite enthusiastic they are too) and for filling out the sound, although there are some synthesized sounds that appear to be placed a little more prominently in the rears at times. There is a good dynamic range with horns cutting in loud and sharp, and the drum rolls and fills all sound full, rich and deep. Vocals, both lead and harmony, are clearly audible and there are no synchronisation issues. All instruments actually come through nice and clear in the 5.1 mix, and have been well mixed and separated. The stereo option doesn’t miss a great deal either, just a little in ambience with the lack of surround activity. There is still good fidelity and separation.

Each of the two discs contains a few extras. Starting with Disc One, we have Cameras which allows you to watch the entire show using one of two camera angles or the main video. You can choose to flip between them during playback so this is not a very necessary extra. Info includes information on the camera set-up for the show. This is kinda useful when wanting to access the multi-angle feature as you get an idea of where the camera is positioned. It also includes some text about the disc itself and watching using multi-angles. In the section actually called Extras there is an electronic version of the tour programme you can flip through, a gallery with roughly a dozen stills from the show, and a few pages of text (with blueprints and shots) about the stage design and set construction.

Disc Two also has cameras that is no different to Disc One, info that appears identical to Disc One also, and credits about who mixed what, and when. The real extras section includes another small gallery of stills from the show, and the best of all, a documentary that is more of a 24-minute interview from 1990 conducted with Phil about this show and his plans for 1991. There is quite a bit of the show included and it would have been designed for a television broadcast rather than for inclusion on a DVD, or home video as it was in 1991.

I can’t help but like Phil Collins and his music. I can see why some call him a bit safe, but what’s wrong with that? For a time there in the ‘80s he was the biggest name on the planet, apart from maybe Michael Jackson and what wouldn't he give to turn back the clock? Phil achieved pop music dominance without resorting to wearing skimpy outfits (thank heavens for that) or making documentaries detailing his bizarre life, and is genuinely talented. This two-disc set is chock full of hits, has fair looking video, rather fine audio and some decent extras including a lengthy interview. Fans will have no regrets in forking out the dollars to see this fabulous musician at the peak of his game.