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From album
Face Value
Phil Collins · 1981 · Track 3
Details
Duración3:55
ÁlbumFace Value
Año1981
ISRCUSAT21502139
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The story behind
The song Behind the Lines, released by Genesis on their 1980 album Duke, serves as the gateway to a more extensive musical piece. Originally, the band conceived a thirty-minute suite which they later broke down into individual tracks, a strategy similar to what they had employed on A Trick of the Tail. Within this suite are Behind The Lines, Duchess, Guide Vocal, Turn It On Again, Dukes Travels, and Dukes End. The piece begins with a powerful instrumental section featuring the suite's main motif, a theme that also resonates in Dukes End. The lyrics tell of a man engrossed in reading a book, unable to distinguish the narrative from his own reality, a metaphor that would later transform into television in Turn It On Again. The song gradually fades into an electronic drum loop that acts as a bridge to Duchess.
Although there is debate as to whether Duke is a concept album, the thirty-minute suite connects several of its songs, albeit not sequentially. These pieces, scattered throughout the album, seem to explore the themes of stardom and mass exposure. A modified version of Behind the Lines, titled Behind the Lines - Part 2, was released as a single in the United States alongside Misunderstanding, and in the rest of the world with Turn It On Again. The band performed this suite live during the 1980 tour, though Guide Vocal was later dropped. A live version can be found on Three Sides Live, and in 2007, Behind the Lines was part of a medley during the Turn It On Again: The Tour. For his part, Phil Collins recorded a different rendition for his solo debut album, Face Value, in 1981. He took the modified version, rearranged it, and incorporated backing vocals and elements from Earth, Wind & Fire, giving it a more dynamic character than Collins usually performed in his eighties concerts. The recording of Behind the Lines featured engineering by Nick Launay, Hugh Padgham, and Karen Segal, and was produced by Phil Collins and Hugh Padgham.