BLOG: Will we really miss Phil Collins?
MusicRadar, Fri 25 Apr, 5:26 pm BST
For some - no, make that a great many - hating Phil Collins is a full-time obsession. There are I Hate Phil Collins web communities, MySpace pages, blogs, you name it. There's even a quiz in which you test your level of Phil Collins hate. In a variation of the latter, a friend of mine used to question girls before he dated them in order to weed out potential Phil Collins-loving mates. (He's now married to a lovely woman who adores old-school New Kids On The Block, proving that love is both blind and deaf.)
Regarding Collins, that a man who has sold upwards of 100 million records can inspire derison of such effusiveness (and inventivenes) is somewhat astonishing - until you consider the fact that he made it relatively easy, especially during the zenith of his mid-'80s career, when his potato face and retreating hairline were on perpetual display on MTV, Miami Vice - hell, I think he turned up on Meet The Press a few times, and I still have no idea why.
There were, of course, the ballads, some of them great but most of them utter turds. It was almost as if he was begging for a good cock-punching. And even when he chose to rock, he had become a shameless, smirking show hog - the capper being his I-Will-Now-Grace-Every-Act-With-My-Presence ego display at 1985's Live Aid. (I recall - don't ask me how - playing a Live Aid drinking game in which my friends and I had to down a shot every time Collins appeared with a new act. By midday, we were flat-out useless. Thanks, Phil.)
And so, with the recent news that Collins has decided he really must be going, that he is retiring from live performing and recording (although he insists he'll still write), the question is this: Who on earth will really miss him?
Fergie, for one - as a 10-year-old she appeared on TV singing the lamentable Sussudio. She even refrained from peeing in her pants, an obvious sign of respect. Then there's rappers like Ol' Dirty Bastard and Lil Kim, both of whom brought Phil some much-needed cool when they reworked Collins's tracks on the 2001 compilation album Urban Renewal. Gorillas and ad men will mourn the passing of Collins's career, but as long as there's tracks to license, they'll find the strength to soldier on.
But the real truth is, drummers will miss Phil Collins. Before he fell victim to schmaltz, he routinely turned in powerful, priceless star-turns of drumming prowess. Take, for example, his playing on Apocalypse in 9/8 from the epic composition Supper's Ready (on the 1972 Genesis album Foxtrot). During a meter of 9/8, with the bass and guitar holding down a repeated accent pattern, Collins solos fluidly in a manner that is neither stiff nor mathematical. Likewise, on Los Endos, from Genesis's 1975 album A Trick Of The Tail, Collins plays a hyperspeed salsa-pattern (think Santana after too many Red Bulls) and lays down some blistering paradiddles.
As a floating member of the famed jazz-fusion outfit Brand X, Collins could be counted on for fiery and clever performances, most notably on the Billy Cobham-inspired cut Nuclear Burn, from the 1975 album Unorthodox Behavior. But it was on Peter Gabriel's third solo album, released in 1980, on the song Intruder, that the now-notorious Phil Collins "face hugger" drum sound was born. As per Gabriel's instructions, there were no cymbals nor hi-hats, and the thunderous, heavily gated drums were pushed to the front of the mix. Collins was so taken with the effect that he used it on his breakthrough solo hit, In The Air Tonight.
And what of that song's famous drum fill? Surely, Collins spent days, weeks, even years perfecting such a sequence, right? Wrong. "I never planned to have a big fill at that point in the song," he revealed recently. "I just wanted the drums to enter. Well, after I did about five takes of the tune, I started to get a bit more adventurous, and on the sixth take that fill happened to come out. While I liked the fill, it was really the rest of the take that sounded very good, and that's why I kept it. So that whole thing - one of the most important parts of the song, really - happened by accident."
Here's hoping that Phil Collins gets back behind the drum kit and has more accidents like that one. But please, no more Sussudio.
By Joe Bosso
User comments (4)
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Whoa, calm down aorta, obviously another Phil Collins fan, nutter!
Lol, just kidding, I liked your argument very much, and I even took the time to listen to some Phil Collins and Genesis to see what you were talking about. And I have to say that the way Phil Collins writes his drum patterns is like magic, Have a listen to "That's Just The way it is" - the intro, such a simple drum loop, but with intricate timing, no wonder he is seen as a legend by many.
My question to you all now is how come most of his tracks, when he went solo sound like drum samples with the same velocity not like real drums. I know that this was the majority of the sound in the 80s, but I'm just curious to know whether they are real drums recorded live or sampled drums.
Cheers crazy phil collins fans!!!! LOL -
Of course it will be missed! It's one of most omnipresent musician, singer and composer of rock and pop in the last 30 years... Being behind the drums in some of the best albums of all times (like the The Lamb LDOB , for example) and as a genuine creative power inside Genesis (in both the Gabriel and Collins era), is, by itself, sufficient for this status. Even if his career would ended then.
And if people also remember many other roles it has played during it's career (like the BrandX, for example), then nothing more would be necessary to say.
OK. I don't like everything he have done. But there was people who have liked it. It is always like this... -
There's too much hate in music as it is. Look at those kids who got beaten to death for being goth moshers.
It's a very sad thing to marginalise music into catagories of cool. Music is an art and as such ANY expression is valid. If you don't like it, don't listen t it.
It's all too easy to poo poo someones life's work, so get a life and review things for their construction and artsitic merit instead of jumping on a hate bandwagon. Christ you media types piss me off!
Coincedentally i've just watched Phil Collins on the arts channel programme "Songbook", which was insightful and very interesting hearing what he had to say.
Rock on!
Ricky -
Yes, I for one will miss Phil !
Im a musician myself, mostly a guitarist. Ive always been into a strange combination of music, acoustic, celtic, soundtrack, classical, and of course rock. In the late 70's, i was introduced to Genesis. It didnt hit me hard at first, there were pieces here and there i liked, but then something did happen in a big way. These pieces fit together and formed this strange atmosphere. I began listening to the keyboard melodies, the bass lines, the different sound of the vocals, and yes , the incredible drumming. Tuned drumming that was every bit as important as the other instruments. Very complex by pop standards, and very tasteful. Delicate in spots, jazzy at times, and intensly powerful at just the right times.
Phils drum sound and his expertise and style were excellent not only in Suppers Ready, The Cinema Show, and countless others, but in every song.
Simple when simple was called for, intense when necessary. Always very tasteful.
When Peter Gabriel left Genesis everyone thought that was the end. They auditioned different singers, but decided Phil sounded the best of all.
Phils vocals were very much like Gabriels, having that touch of something different, but were also smoother. Much to my surprize, A Trick of the Tail, became and still is, one of my favorite albums. Again Phils drumming on this album was way above the norm. The next album, Wind and Wuthering is also a fantastic album, with Phil doing a great job on vocals, including multi track harmonies, and more great drumming.
Playing Live, Genesis were amazing. The sound was so much superior to the usual live acts. Phils drums were amazing live as well.
Now Genesis had to fill in a bit for Peters theatrics. It was expected, and part of the atmosphere. So Live, Phil stepped in a bit with amusing things like the tamborine tarantella where he is pounding out rhythms on his various body parts. He told introductory stories, similar to Gabriel, and chatted with the audience. Put it all together, and you had a great show.
Phil never had the awe striking other worldliness of Gabriel. He was more of a regular guy, and would joke around and play with the audience in his own style.Largely due to Phil, Genesis became more popular than ever.
I also became a fan of BrandX..Very nice Jazzy fusion for those with open minds.
Phils smooth voice became a big hit for Genesis later on in the single "Follow You, Follow Me."
So yeah, the 80's . Phils talent caught on, and the media picked up on it with Phil Overkill.
Its interesting to me to see how many Phil haters always talk about his potato head, and his balding. I can see how people got sick of seeing it, but really, these things are not his fault. There are a lot of uglier people out there.Phil wasnt a phoney , didnt try for big headlines, and didnt pose naked. Thank God.
Phil is a musicians musician. He freely talked about the music he loved, and the things that interested him. Yes, he played with just about everyone, because he really enjoyed it.He became known as one of the most dedicated
pop performers.
His First Solo album was a success, and it had many different styles of music.He had proved his ability to write music.
The ballads. Most of them were very popular, selling more than any of his previous endeavors. Some of them were very good, such as "Against all Odds" Some were very corny, but were very popular.
Some people think of Phil as corrupting the Genesis sound, but i dont think thats true at all. Phil brought new life to Genesis when Gabriel departed. At the time of the Genesis Duke Album, Genesis began sounding a bit stale.
The moody atmospheric pieces that were sometimes 15 minutes or longer were just getting a bit stagnant. With Phils solos success, he began to infuse more of a beat to the music. To me, yes, it was a bit of a letdown, but i do agree that it was necessary. Starting with ABACAB, Genesis again became more popular and sold more music.
Yet, Genesis remained a bit art rock, the story songs continued, but now they had more of a beat and sounded a bit more contemporary.
Phil also composed the soundtrack for Tarzan. In a way, much of it sounded like old Genesis. The music was complex with excellent drumming, and even a catchy ballad or two. My daughter then about 6 loved the music and i was amused that she could sing the entire soundtrack.
So theres my two cents for now. If you want to not miss someone, i suggest Avril or Fergy.
Phil Collins certainly has nothing to be ashamed of. He was a hard working creative musician that left his mark, and his music will be appreciated for a long time.
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