In his compelling new book, Mark Bell provides the first comprehensive account of how Phil Collins truly found his way out of his personal crisis, creating one of the most important albums of the 1980s. The book dispels many myths and misconceptions about this fundamental work.

January 1979: after returning from the "And Then There Were Three" world tour with Genesis, Phil Collins wants to save his marriage, which has been in a serious crisis for some time, at all costs: he puts the band on ice and follows his wife and children to Canada. After just a few weeks, however, he is forced to admit his defeat and returns to England. Vacillating between melancholy, sadness and anger, he fights his way out of his deep life crisis by throwing himself into numerous musical projects, including with Peter Gabriel, in the spring/summer of 1979. Above all, however, he processes his feelings in his first songs as a solo artist, created in his home studio in 1979. In his new book, Mark Bell provides the first comprehensive account of how the drummer and singer succeeded in transforming his major personal life crisis into one of the most important albums of the 1980s and establishing his career as a solo star.

In the second English volume of the successful Album Age series, historian Mark Bell reconstructs the complex background and genesis of "Face Value". Particular attention is paid to Collins' collaboration with musicians such as Eric Clapton, Alphonso Johnson, and the Earth, Wind & Fire Horns, which significantly contributed to the album's exquisite musical quality. Equally important, however, is Collins' ability to secure Hugh Padgham as co-producer and engineer, who was instrumental in creating not only the album's excellent overall sound but also the gated reverb drum sound in particular. In the central sixth chapter, Mark Bell meticulously explains the music and lyrics of the album, with a particular focus on the smash hit "In the Air Tonight" and its origins. The epilogue focuses, not least, on how the huge success of "Face Value" would affect the further development of Collins' band Genesis and on how Collins significantly shaped the soundscapes of the 1980s with his magical album.