Phil Collins
English Rocker/Songwriter
The English rock bank Genesis was the primary musical vehicle that established drummer Phil Collins as an artistic talent in the progressive, even art rock, music scene. Collins first band, Flaming Youth had disbanded. Not long afterward he joined Genesis. The band, during its Collins era, synthesized non-traditional compositions that produced such notable albums as Abacab, Invisible Touch and We Can’t Dance. The band was also renowned for its art-rock concerts and eclectic album covers. MTV, still in relative infancy, played a significant role in bringing Genesis and Collins to American rock and pop audiences.
Solo Career
In 1996 Collins set out on his own solo career, following in the footsteps of another Genesis member, Peter Gabriel. “In the Air Tonight” underscored Collins’ abilities as a solo artist. The album Face Value (1980) put Collins squarely on the line between pop and progressive and earned him a strong following. The album reeked of lost love, but never veered toward sentiment, instead it wove a gloomy musical environment out of bass and drum elements.
During the early 80s Collins wrote, recorded, produced and collaborated with a string of projects and musicians, not the least of which was Live Aid. In 1985 his album, No Jacket Required, was released to wide critical acclaim. The album was by far Collins’ commercial best, but the tracks all indicated that Collins had bid a bittersweet farewell to his art-rock days. Singles “Sussudio” and “One More Night” were hit singles and the album won Best of the Year at the Grammys.
One short-lived attempt to reprise progressive music was the Phil Collins Big Band formed in 1996. The group tried to meld progressive rock tunes, ala Genesis and early Collins, with modern jazz. “You’ll Be in My Heart” won an Oscar in 1999. Collins had written and recorded the song for the movie Tarzan. This essentially marked his last major musical endeavor.
See also:
Phil Collins website
Genesis website
Face Value (1981):
- In the Air Tonight
- This Must Be Love
- Behind the Lines
- The Roof is Leaking
- Droned
- Hand in Hand
- I Missed Again
- You Know What I Mean
- Thunder and Lightning
- I’m Not Moving
- If Leaving Me is Easy
- Tomorrow Never Knows
- Over the Rainbow
Hello, I Must Be Going (1982):
- I Don’t Care Anymore
- I Cannot Believe It’s True
- Like China
- Do You Know, Do You Care?
- You Can’t Hurry Love
- It Don’t Matter to Me
- Thru These Walls
- Don’t Let Him Steal Your Heart Away
- The West Side
- Why Can’t it Wait Til Morning?
No Jacket Required (1985):
- Sussudio
- Only You Know and I Know
- Long Long Way to go
- I Don’t Wanna Know
- One More Night
- Don’t Lose My Number
- Who Said I Would
- Doesn’t Anybody Stay Together Anymore
- Inside Out
- Take Me Home
- We Said Hello Goodbye
12’ers (Remixes) (1987):
- Take Me Home
- Sussudio
- Who Said I Would
- Only You Know and I Know
- Don’t Lose My Number
- One More Night
...But Seriously (1989):
- Hang In Long Enough
- That’s Just the Way It Is
- Do You Remember?
- Something Happened On the Way to Heaven
- Colours
- I Wish it Would Rain Down
- Another Day in Paradise
- Heat On the Street
- All of My Life
- Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
- Father To Son
- Find A Way To My Heart
Serious Hits...Live! (1990):
- Something Happened On the Way To Heaven
- Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)
- Who Said I Would
- One More Night
- Don’t Lose My Number
- Do You Remember?
- Another Day in Paradise
- Separate Lives
- In the Air Tonight
- You Can’t Hurry Love
- Two Heart
- Sussudio
- A Groovy Kind of Love
- Easy Lover
- Take Me Home
Both Sides (1993):
- Both Sides of the Story
- Can’t Turn Back the Years
- Everyday
- I’ve Forgotten Everything
- We’re Sons of Our Father
- Can’t Find My Way
- Survivors
- We Fly So Close
- There’s A Place for Us
- We Wait and We Wonder
- Please Come Out Tonight
Dance Into the Light (1996):
- Dance Into the Light
- That’s What You Said
- Lorenzo
- Just Another Story
- Love Police
- Wear My Hat
- It’s In Your Eyes
- Oughta Know By Now
- Take Me Down
- The Same Moon
- River So Wide
- No Matter Who
- The Times They Are A-Changin’
...Hits (1998):
- Another Day in Paradise
- True Colors
- Easy Lover
- You Can’t Hurry Love
- Two Hearts
- I Wish it Would Rain Down
- Against All Odds
- Something Happened on the Way to Heaven
- Separate Lives
- Both Sides of the Story
- One More Night
- Sussudio
- Dance into the Light
- Groovy Kind of Love
- In the Air Tonight
- Take Me Home
Testify (2002):
- Wake Up Call
- Come With Me
- Testify
- Don’t Get Me Started
- Swing Low
- It’s Not Too Late
- This Love This Heart
- Driving Me Crazy
- The Least You Can Do
- Can’t Stop Loving You
- Through My Eyes
- You Touch My Heart
The Platinum Collection (2004):
Disc 1:
- In the Air Tonight
- This Must Be Love
- Behind the Lines
- Roof is Leaking
- Droned
- Hand in Hand
- I Missed Again
- You Know What I Mean
- Thunder and Lightning
- I’m Not Moving
- If Leaving Me is Easy
- Tomorrow Never Knows
Disc 2:
- Sussudio
- Only You Know and I Know
- Long Long Way to Go
- I Don’t Wanna Know
- One More Night
- Don’t Lose My Number
- Who Said I Would
- Doesn’t Anybody Stay Together Anymore
- Inside Out
- Take Me Home
- We Said Hello Goodbye
Disc 3:
- Hang In Long Enough
- That’s Just the Way It Is
- Do You Remember?
- Something Happened On the Way to Heaven
- Colours
- I Wish It Would Rain Down
- Another Day in Paradise
- Heat On the Sheet
- All of My Life
- Saturday Night and Sunday Morning
- Father to Son
- Find a Way to My Heart
Love Songs: A Compilation...Old and New (2004):
Disc 1:
- Tearing and Breaking
- Do You Remember?
- One More Night
- Against All Odds
- Can’t Turn Back the Years
- Groovy Kind of Love
- Everyday
- Don’t Let Him Steal Your Heart Away
- Please Come Out Tonight
- This Must Be Love
- It’s In Your Eyes
- Can’t Stop Loving You
Disc 2:
- Testify
- True Colours
- You’ll Be In My Heart
- If Leaving Me Is Easy
- I’ve Been Trying
- I’ve Forgotten Everything
- Somewhere
- Least You Can Do
- Two Hearts
- Separate Lives (Live)
- My Girl (Live)
- Always (Live)
- The Way You Look Tonight (Live)
