In Defense Of...PHIL COLLINS

Kid Lulu has been mainlining Disney's Brother Bear these days, yet another Mouse House flick soundtracked by Phil Collins. The songs are pretty cheezeball, but my daughter digs 'em. Whatever works, you know?

Anyway, I tend to process Phil Collins, sans Genesis, the same way I do Michael Jackson. In my mind, present-day Phil (aka "Dance Into the Light" Phil) has no relation to the likable "solo" Phil of the early- to mid-'80s (that is, before Buster, before Groovy Kind of Love). His voice was sterile but strangely cool, and his best songs had a vaguely creepy gravitas to them (hence their placement in Miami Vice, Risky Business, etc.). 

There are some great Phil Collins solo songs out there, you just have to be careful where you step. So herewith:

8 Phil Collins Songs to Proudly Sing With the Windows Down (+ 2 for the privacy of your own home)

1) I Don't Care Anymore -- from Hello, I Must Be Going
2) I Missed Again -- from Face Value
3) In the Air Tonight -- from Face Value
4) Against All Odds -- from the Against All Odds soundtrack
5) Don't Lose My Number -- from No Jacket Required
6) Easy Lover (duet with Phillip Bailey )-- from Hits
7) Long Long Way to Go -- from No Jacket Required
8) Take Me Home -- from No Jacket Required
BONUS TRACK: Separate Lives -- from the White Nights soundtrack
BONUS TRACK: You'll Be in My Heart -- from the Tarzan soundtrack

Comments

[Guy]

I'd add "We Said Hello Goodbye" from No Jacket Required. An under-rated, back catalog gem, it was initially included as a CD-only bonus track. As such, this release ushered in the CD era of Guy's music collection. I could add "One More Night" in fond memory of a prom night spent sleeping on a living room table, but I'll resist the temptation.

[Sean Daly]

10 Best Genesis Songs, Phil Collins Edition1) "Mama"2) "That's All"3) "Home By the Sea"4) "Just a Job to Do"5) "Follow You, Follow Me"6) "Abacab"7) "Turn It On Again"8) "No Reply at All"9) "Keep It Dark"10) "Misunderstanding"

[P-Train]

Never liked Genesis, never liked Phil Collins...all those Genesis songs just sort of blend into each other, like the same boring song over and over. His solo stuff? Eh..Ok,"Against All Odds" has some great hooks, I can't deny that, but...His one true shining moment? "In The Air Tonight", especially where the drum fill kicks in; no one can resist doing air drums that part.

[chilledbongo]

what, no sussususususus sudio?

[Sean Daly]

Nnonnonno.

[Anonymous]

so I take it that I'm the only one here that tears up when they hear "against all odds" ?

[Anonymous]

You are forgetting his Supremes cover of "Can't Hurry Love". Basically the only Phil Collins song that doesn't require a shot of Pepto.

[allie]

phil collins is the epitome of everything annoying, from his unbearable air guitar to the tarzan song, including the one he did with glen close. ugh. even me, the disney obsessive, hates tarzan because of that song. that doesn;t even qualify as a disney song, it's just a song, a really bad phil collins song.

[Anonymous]

Oh, man ... Phil, the man of the '80s ... I caught his "must be going" tour (with the "fabulous jaccuzi band" in Boston, long time ago. I think I went to that one with the lovely Miss Pamela Thrasher as well ... But who, who I ask, who can forget Mr. Collins' incredible role in Miami Vice, the greatest show ever? ... His "in the air tonight" "car driving down the street montage" is epic. And he had a great guest episode centered around him in Season Two .. ."Phil the Shill" .. .Good enough for Crockett and Tubbs, good enough for me.--chase

[P-Train]

Phil Collins VS Peter Gabriel?

[Anonymous]

There is no defense for Phil Collins. The world would have been better off if he stayed behind the drum kit for Genesis and kept his mouth shut.End of story.

[cougarbait]

Wow, so many haters. I, for one, am surprised.Not sure if these are Phil or Genesis, but I like songs with a story--songs where the words actually mean something:1) Another Day in Paradise2) No Son of MineAnd I like the Tarzan songs.Maybe I'm not as cool as I think . . .

[Mark]

Another couple of Phil gems: "I cannot believe it's true" and "The roof is leaking." I did like Genesis until the whole Invisible Touch thing... I think Phil started to lose it in about '85. Just went totally pop and flacid. Haven't liked anything since.

[mellohush]

Am I the only one obsessed with "Hold on My Heart"? Come on. And "Groovy Kind of Love." I'm someone who's also obsessed with Depeche Mode and Ice Cube, so don't think I'm a total fruitcake. Phil is da man.

[Six]

Sususudio (sp?)Tonight Tonight TonightAnother Day in ParadiseNo Reply (I think this is Genesis)

[Eric Deggans]

One of the first rock albums i ever bought was Face Value, and people forget how groundbreaking it really was. Drums with lots of reverb and noise gates, which few people ere doing at the time; a funked-up version of the artrock tune Behind the Lines, which Genesis did first, very differently; instrumental prts contributed by Brand X bassist John Giblin (Missed Again is the coolest bass line ever for him!)And Robert Fripp! and the Earth wind anf Fire horns!An amazing album which ften gets slagged because people hate the pop hit creature Collins became.That said, my fave tracks are often more obscure: Like China and Do You Know, Do You Care from his second solo record; Behind the lines, Droned and If LeavingMe is Easy from Face Value; Oughta Know By Now, from Dance into the Light; and a way-cool version of Pick Up the Pieces on he big band album he did, One night in Paris (really!)I guess us drummers have to stick together...

[Roy Scivyer]

Woah, i've just come back from holiday, read my fave blog and seen this tirade of Phil Collins abuse! SHAME ON YOU!! Phil is a musical genius, not only can he play the drums like a pro (just listen to his work in Brand X) but he can sing as well. AND lets not forget how he effortlessly modernised genesis so it didn't just shrivel up and die like it did post 1991 when Phil left the band. I've spent half my school career defending his work just because people associate him with cheese. But where are the people who've sent his songs and albums straight to No.1? I ask all of you, how many Grammys and Oscars have you won? I rest my case. Oh yeah, and lets not forget Phil the Shill...genius...

[Bassnote]

I ahve to defend the Phil of the 80's. he was one of the most versitile and talented musicians of that decade. It is true that he has not put out much since than that is worth listening to (I have to admit liking the Tarzan soundtrack). I eaw Phil with Genesis four times in the 80's, once solo (No Jacket Required tour), and once playing drums for Eric Clapton (1987). Phil was a top notch performer on stage, and he knew how to work a crowd. I recently ordered a video tape of a 1982 concert of his that I had seen on MTV. In this concert he closed the show with the song People Get Ready, and it blew me away. This was three or four years before Rod Stewart And Jeff Beck recorded it.

Here are a few more songs for the list:
Thru These Walls - Hello I Must be Going
The West Side - Hello I Must Be Going
Hand In Hand - Face Value
Thunder And Lightning - Face Value
Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore - No Jacket Required
I Don't Wanna Know - No Jacket Reqired
Something Happened On the Way To Heaven - ...But Seriously

[Bassnote]

As you can tell from my previous post, I am a lowsy typist.

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