Throwing It All Away


"Throwing It All Away" is the seventh track on the 1986 album Invisible Touch by Genesis. It was the second single from the album in 1986, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 22 in Britain, where it was released as the last single of the album in 1987. In the U.S., it also went to No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart in October 1986 and the Album Rock Tracks chart in August 1986. The working title was "Zephyr and Zeppo".
The song is a soft rock ballad structured around a guitar riff by Mike Rutherford, who also wrote the lyrics. The U.S. single included an edited version of the instrumental "Do the Neurotic" as the B-side; the UK edition featured the track "I'd Rather Be You".

Live performances

"Throwing It All Away" was performed live during the Invisible Touch, The Way We Walk, Calling All Stations and ' tours; aside from the 1986 leg of the Invisible Touch tour, the song was transposed to a lower key to accommodate Collins' deepening voice.
The song was also performed live on the 2018 North American and Latin American legs of Collins' solo Not Dead Yet Tour.
A live version appears on the CDs of ' and Live Over Europe 2007 and the When in Rome 2007 DVD.
During the intro and just before the end of the live performances, Collins would engage in call and response with the audience using nonsensical language. Predominantly Collins would chant "Deeee Da Daaayyyyy" and the audience would in turn reply.

Music video

A music video for the song was composed of soundcheck footage and shots of the band travelling while on their Invisible Touch tour of North America, much of which was filmed by Phil Collins on his 1985 Sony Handycam, mostly filmed in Toronto and Detroit. It is featured on their DVD The Video Show.

Reception

In Billboard magazine's Critics' Choice at the end of 1986, Kim Freeman chose the song as No. 7 in his top ten countdown, describing it as "a rare ballad that isn't too sappy to enjoy".
Stevie Chick, writing for The Guardian in 2014, called the song a "genuinely affecting ballad" but observed its similarity to Collins' solo work, stating it "could have easily fitted on his solo albums".
In his assessment of the song for AllMusic, François Couture claimed: "This love song featured heartfelt vocals, a simple piano accompaniment, and Mike Rutherford's trademark rhythm guitar, plus a very catchy chorus. Nothing striking, but all the elements came together nicely and adult contemporary radio stations played it extensively."

Track listing

7": Virgin / GENS 5 (UK)

  1. "Throwing It All Away" – 3:41
  2. "I'd Rather Be You" – 3:57

    7": Atlantic / 7-89372 (US)

  3. "Throwing It All Away" – 3:41
  4. "Do The Neurotic" – 5:21

    12": Virgin / GENS 5–12 (UK)

  5. "Throwing It All Away"
  6. "I'd Rather Be You"
  7. "Invisible Touch"

Charts