Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)
Phil Collins' power ballad from the 1984 film soundtrack.
"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" is a power ballad by English singer-songwriter Phil Collins, created for the soundtrack of the 1984 film of the same name. In the song, the narrator begs an ex-partner to reconsider their relationship, acknowledging the long odds but believing the attempt is worthwhile. The single became Collins' first of seven U.S. number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, and also reached the top spot in Canada, Ireland, and Norway, while peaking at number two in the UK.
Collins was asked to write the title track for the neo-noir film Against All Odds while it was still in rough-cut form. Director Taylor Hackford, who had previously used a song for An Officer and a Gentleman, planned a similar approach for this remake of Out of the Past. After signing with Atlantic Records, Hackford was given a list of artists; he chose Collins based on the quality of his voice. At the time, Collins was touring with Genesis, so Hackford flew to Chicago to see a concert. Collins watched the film on a VCR in his hotel room and agreed to contribute. Hackford described it as a textbook case of designing a song to reflect the film. The track plays during the closing credits.
Originally titled "How Can You Just Sit There?", the music was written during sessions for Collins' debut solo album Face Value (1981) but was set aside as his least favorite ballad from that period. It was also omitted from Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982) because newer songs were prioritized. When Hackford approached him, Collins presented the demo, which Hackford loved. Collins then wrote the lyrics specifically for the film. Due to time constraints from touring with Genesis, arranger Arif Mardin produced the track over two days. New York musician Rob Mounsey played piano, while piano, keyboard bass, and a string section arranged and conducted by Mardin were recorded at RCA Studios in New York. Collins recorded his vocals and drums in Los Angeles.
In an interview on This American Life, Collins said the song was inspired by his divorce from his first wife, which transformed him from a musician into a lyricist as well. The track first appeared on a Collins album on the 1998 compilation Hits and later on Love Songs: A Compilation... Old and New (2004). A live version is on Serious Hits... Live!.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- Phil Collins
- Album
- Against All Odds: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
- B-side
- "Making a Big Mistake" (UK); "The Search" (US)
- Released
- February 1984 (US); 26 March 1984 (UK)
- Recorded
- 1983
- Genre
- Pop; soft rock
- Length
- 3:23
- Label
- Virgin; Atlantic
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Collins was approached to write the title song for the American neo-noir film Against All Odds while it was still in rough cut form. Director Taylor Hackford, who had previously used a song for An Officer and a Gentleman, chose Collins based on the quality of his voice. Collins watched the film on a videocassette recorder in his hotel room and agreed to appear on the soundtrack. The song appears as background music during the closing credits.
Originally titled "How Can You Just Sit There?", the music was written by Collins during sessions for his debut solo album Face Value (1981) but was discarded as his least favorite ballad. He presented the demo to Hackford, who loved it. Collins then penned the lyrics for the film. Due to lack of time while on tour with Genesis, arranger Arif Mardin produced it over two days. The piano was performed by Rob Mounsey, and piano, keyboard bass, and a string section were recorded at RCA Studios in New York, while Collins recorded vocals and drums in Los Angeles.
Collins later relayed that the song was inspired and written shortly after the breakup between him and his first wife, stating that the divorce transformed him from being a musician into also being a lyricist. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male in 1985, and was nominated for Song of the Year, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe in the Best Original Song categories. At the Academy Awards ceremony, Collins was not invited to sing; dancer Ann Reinking gave a mostly lip-synced vocal performance accompanied by a dance routine, which was poorly received by critics and by Collins himself.
Reader's Guide
"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" remains one of Phil Collins' definitive singles and one of the 1980s' best-known love songs. Its commercial success—number one in the US, Canada, Ireland, and Norway, and number two in the UK—helped boost the film's box office sales. The song's music video, directed by Taylor Hackford, was an early example of a highly conceptual hybrid movie/music-video, using colored lighting to represent the film's love triangle. It was a number-one MTV video for several weeks and was ranked number four in MTV's 1984 year-end top 20 video countdown.
The song has been covered by several artists, with two versions reaching number one in the UK: a pairing of Mariah Carey and Westlife in September 2000, and a version by Steve Brookstein, the first winner of The X Factor, in January 2005. The Guardian and American Songwriter both named it Collins' second-best solo song behind "In the Air Tonight." Rapper RZA cited it as his favorite power ballad. The song was included on Collins' 1998 compilation Hits and his 2004 compilation Love Songs: A Compilation... Old and New, and a live performance appears on Serious Hits... Live!. In 2015, Collins released the original demo recording from the Face Value sessions as part of his Take A Look At Me Now project.
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