The opening salvo of Hang In Long Enough on 1989's ...But Seriously is, for me, the greatest opening number on a Phil Collins album. That blast of horns (the Phenix Horns employing the triple tonguing technique to achieve that distinctive sound) makes for an arresting start and from that point on the mood never lets up. Phil's song of blind ambition is suitably driving and features the twin attack of Daryl Stuermer and Dominic Miller on electric guitar (a first for a PC tune) and a thumping bass line from Nathan East. And the drums are bloomin' loud!
The style of Hang In Long Enough is distinctly r'n'b and it wouldn't have sounded out of place on No Jacket Required. The sound here is more organic, though. Gone are the synth drums and domineering drum machine and the song benefits from their absence.
Do any PC fans here have a preference when it comes to opening songs? Certainly the moody ambience of In The Air The Tonight and I Don't Care Anymore takes some beating. How about Both Sides Of The Story, praised by Q Magazine for sounding like Springsteen's E-Street Band? Or maybe the unbridled optimism of Dance Into The Light is more your thing?