I think I might have to buy two copies of this. One for myself, and one for my Mom, who is (or was at one time) a fan of both Phil Collins -and- Motown. (In fact, it was her record collection that got me into Motown in the first place, and finding out Collins was the lead singer of Genesis is the only reason she agreed to take me to see them in concert when I was a teenager. *grin*)
Phil Collins: ‘Going Back’ To Motown : NPR:
One such classic is Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ “Heat Wave.” He says the song encapsulates the entire Motown sound for him.
“It’s just got that optimistic [sound], and you can feel the sun coming out,” he says.
Collins’ versions stay true to the original arrangements and instrumentation. He says he never lost track of the fact that he was trying to emulate these songs rather than change or update them.
“The most important thing to me was actually getting them to sound authentic,” Collins says. “I didn’t really want to mess with the arrangements. I didn’t really want to mess with the kind of instrumentation. For me, I just wanted to see if it was possible to re-create a feeling that I had when I first heard these records.”