No Jacket Required - Critical Reception and Influence

Critical Reception and Influence

"His effortless graft of bright white-R&B bounce to quirky, unexpected melodies is instinctively commercial but never feels overly contrived."

The reception for the album was mostly positive. Geoff Orens of Allmusic, in a review written years after the album's release, said that while some of the songs are "dated", the album contains "standout tracks." He describes "Long Long Way to Go" as "one of Collins' most effective ballads", and "Take Me Home" as "pulsating". Orens went on to say "It's not a completely satisfying recording, but it is the best example of one of the most dominating and influential styles of the 1980s." Lori E. Pike of the Los Angeles Times gave the album a grade of an A-, saying that "Collins' recipe of tense vocals spiced with saucy horns and splashy electro-jitterbugging synthesisers often leaves little room for real feeling to squeeze through. When he slows down and lets his smoldering moodiness take over, the effect is magical."

Stephen Holden of The New York Times said that the album was "refreshing", and that Collins was "adept" at setting a suspenseful or menacing mood. Holden described "Only You Know And I Know" as an "angry love song" that had some sampling of "Motown" style music mixed in. "In 'One More Night', Mr. Collins's recent number-one hit, a ticking snare drum injects a whisper of lurking fear into a song that suggests a sweeter, tenderer reprise of 'Against All Odds' ", says Holden. Holden concluded by saying "On the surface, No Jacket Required, is an album bursting with soulful hooks and bright peppy tunes. But beneath its shiny exterior, Mr. Collins's drums and his voice carry on a disjunctive, enigmatic dialogue between heart and mind, obsession and repression."

Rolling Stone reviewer David Fricke said "Phil Collins' sudden transformation from the balding bantam drummer for a prosperous British art-rock group into a mainstream pop heartthrob might seem one of the Eighties' most improbable success stories. But judging from the sly craft and warm, low-key humour of his solo records and his successful productions for Philip Bailey and Frida, Collins' new found fame was inevitable." Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times originally disliked the song "One More Night", but later praised the song, saying that "Collins' soulful but polite vocal style is also capable of capturing the pain of going through yet one more night without her." The Dallas Morning News writer Lennox Samuels said that "No Jacket Required (Atlantic) is what fans have come to expect from Phil Collins—lots of horns and syncopation, heavy rhythm."

Even those who were not normally fans of Collins' work liked the album. Michael R. Smith of The Daily Vault wrote "Anomaly or not, it is the indeed the album that Phil deserves to be remembered for." Stephen Williams of Newsday said that the album was "loaded with musical hooks and textured arrangements... it also lacks the tense edge that was part of Collins' work with Genesis." Marty Racine of the Houston Chronicle said that "I Don't Wanna Know" and "Take Me Home" were the only songs to "rise above the crowd," and that Collins focused too much on his singing and less on his drumming, "which can be captivating." Racine also added that the album makes the listener feel a little "cold," but admired that the singer was "playing the game as well as anyone." Keegan Hamilton of the Riverfront Times said that the album was "The 80's Dance Pop Special: A smooth synthesiser groove, with an order of keyboards, drum machines, and horns on the side," adding that "Sussudio" was the best track on the album, saying that it's "catchy gibberish." Hamilton says that "One More Night" was the worst song on the album, saying that "The album's introspective slow jam wallows in self-pity."

At the 1985 Grammy Awards, Collins was nominated in five categories. The album won the award for Album of the Year, and Collins won "Best Male Vocal Performance". Collins shared the "Producer of the Year" award with co-producer of the album, Hugh Padgham.

"Sussudio" is one of Collins' most famous songs and is referenced in many different media, including books, stand-up comedy acts and television shows. He has said that this is the song people most often sing to him when they spot him on the street. In the book and film adaptation of American Psycho, the main character (Patrick Bateman) briefly discusses it, amongst other work by Collins. It was heavily criticised for sounding too much like Prince's song "1999", a claim that Collins does not deny, citing that he is a big fan of Prince's work.

Three songs recorded during the No Jacket Required sessions aired on episodes of the television show Miami Vice. "Take Me Home" appeared in "The Prodigal Son," the premiere of the second season. "Long Long Way to Go" was played in the closing scene of the Season 2 finale "Sons and Lovers", during the funeral for Ricardo Tubbs' girlfriend and son. "The Man with the Horn" was re-written for an episode of Vice in which Collins guest-starred as a con-artist who got in trouble with cocaine distributors. The re-written version was titled "Life Is a Rat Race".

"Take Me Home" was the closing theme song for the World Wrestling Federation's television show, Saturday Night's Main Event for several years in the late 1980s. In 2003, the hip-hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony based their song "Home" on this single. That version of the song featured the original song's chorus, and hit number 19 on the UK charts.