Dez's Top Rock/Pop, #25: Genesis

In Defense of Phil Collins
Let’s be clear, Genesis would not be here without the Peter Gabriel years. It is funny that many casual music fans would respond with “Peter Gabriel was in Genesis?” Yes, he was. Peter Gabriel was the lead singer for Genesis in the early to mid-1970’s, when they were one of the most respected progressive rock bands on the planet. But their records didn’t sell worth a sh*t. He sang with them for six studio and one live album before abruptly leaving for his solo career. With Gabriel at the helm, they released what many consider (including myself) to be at least three of the greatest prog rock records ever recorded: Foxtrot, Selling England By the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Brilliant stuff.

When Gabriel left, the band auditioned many possible replacements, and drummer Phil Collins would help show the contestants the tunes (Phil had sung back-up vocals on many songs, and had taken lead on a handful during the Gabriel years). Finally, not really clicking with any of the candidates, the band realized that their answer was already within their ranks. So rather by accident and out of necessity, Phil Collins became the singer for Genesis. His solo career also started by accident. The band was on hiatus, Phil’s wife had just run off with the home decorator at their house (when performing "In the Air Tonight" on British television, Phil cheekily had a paint can and brush sitting prominently on his piano), and so to pass the time, alone and depressed, he recorded demos at his home. He sent them off to the record company just to see what they thought of them. They became his solo debut album, Face Value. The angry “In the Air Tonight” was a bigger hit than anything Genesis had released up to that point.

Phil’s reputation has not faired so well over the years. Old school Genesis fans blame him for making the band “go commercial.” ("Yes, I am the guy who ruined Genesis," he has said). He was one of the biggest selling acts of the 80’s, but he doesn’t get the same respect as Michael Jackson, Prince or Springsteen, although his record sales compare with that elite company. There was a fascinating and rather depressing article about Phil Collins last year in Rolling Stone Magazine. He suffered a serious back injury several years ago, which has essentially ended his career as a drummer (“I was going to quit anyway…I don’t miss it”). He recently released a covers album of Motown tunes, but has not written or released any original material in a decade. He claims he has no interest in creating any new music, lives in a house in Switzerland to be near his children from his third divorce, admits to having suicidal thoughts, seems genuinely hurt by how he is viewed by many in the industry, and spends most of his time collecting Alamo memorabilia. That’s right, Phil Collins is actually one of the leading collectors of Alamo memorabilia in the world. He is supposedly an expert on the subject, and even attends and speaks at Alamo historical conventions. I seem to recall the writer of the article commenting that it was hard to get Phil to stay on the topic of music at all, he wanted to discuss the Texas Revolution and disappear from the public eye ("I sometimes think I'm going to write this Phil Collins character out of the story...Phil Collins will just disappear or be murdered in some hotel bedroom").


ABOVE: a rather disturbing photo from the Rolling Stone article of Phil Collins holding one of his vintage guns

But let’s take a closer look at Phil’s accomplishments. First and foremost, he is an influential and superb drummer. I honestly think that had Peter Gabriel never left Genesis, Collins would have been content continuing as “just the drummer,” as he referred to himself at last year’s long overdue Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction of Genesis. Playing in a prog rock band generally requires superior musical chops, and Phil’s got them. The drumming on Genesis’s material is never less than professional, and it is often quite inspired and creative. Phil also has produced and drummed for a host of others, especially in the 80’s, from Eric Clapton to old friend Peter Gabriel (Phil drums on much of Gabriel’s landmark third solo record).

He didn’t usurp Gabriel’s leadership in Genesis. Gabriel abandoned the group by the roadside, and Phil took over out of necessity and did a fine job. I cannot argue with the fact that the best Genesis music came during Gabriel’s tenure, but you can’t completely dismiss the Collins years. In prog rock circles, commercial success is viewed with great suspicion, but Collins and Co. made this old prog rock relic from the 70’s into an absolute pop hit machine in the 80’s. Genesis became one of the most unlikely stadium-filling groups of the 80’s. In fact, one of the few acts to surpass Genesis in popularity in the 80’s was Phil Collins as a solo artist. And he made his way undeniably with his music. Obviously MJ, Bruce and Prince are hugely talented individuals, but they were also aided by ungodly dancing, good looks/charisma, and a sexy mystery, respectively. Phil Collins was a short, balding, pasty Englishman. A most unlikely superstar for a decade that paid much attention to the presentation. His popularity did not lay with the visuals or with his riveting stage persona. He had to depend on the music, which included an impressive nine #1 singles as a solo artist in the U.S. or UK.

And about that music. The Genesis side of things tried to traverse that prog credibility / mainstream success line for awhile, often awkwardly, during what I call the Genesis middle period (from A Trick of the Tail through Three Sides Live). When they finally did put the prog in the closet and just concentrated on catchy pop hits, few bands were better at it. As for the solo material, I stand by his first three solo records. Face Value was a largely self-recorded home studio project that was an unlikely smash (also, Phil’s episode on Face Value in that great VH1 series 'Classic Albums' is really interesting. Better than most of the other episodes because Collins is quite intelligent, witty and articulate as he deconstructs the record). The mostly forgotten Hello, I Must Be Going is actually my favorite of his solo records, while the megahit No Jacket Required deserved to sell the gazllion copies that it sold (it was the 6th highest selling album of the 80’s). After that, I admit, there is a sharp decline in quality.


ABOVE: Collins speaks at an Alamo historical convention

Collins deserves better. He deserves to be more than a retired pop star who feels despised, as he clearly does if you read that RS article. Phil Collins is an important drummer (he and Gabriel pioneered the much used “gated” drum sound on Gabriel’s third solo record, when Collins showed up to the sessions Gabriel's orders were "no metal," so if you listen to that record, there are no cymbals on the entire album). He was a pop music machine in his heyday, and impressively led one of the biggest bands of the decade while simultaneously having one of the most successful solo careers of the 1980’s. Maybe it was too much success? Too much Phil? As Entertainment Weekly stated in reviewing a later release, “even Phil Collins must know that we grew weary of Phil Collins.”

What To Listen To:
As stated before, I consider Foxtrot, Selling England By the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway to be in the very elite of Prog Rock albums. All are essential, brilliant, and there is much to explore in them. As for the Collins era, Abacab is actually quite good, a bridge between the Prog years and the pop music of the latter years. I personally love Genesis, “That’s All” is such a great pop song, one of the best of the decade. As for collections, it is hard to anthologize a band like Genesis, with such lengthy compositions from the early days and then such a shift in style. But the three disc Platinum Collection does an admirable job, dedicating one disc to the Gabriel years, one disc to the middle Collins transition period, and one disc to the mega-80’s.