In 1981, Collins released “In the Air Tonight,” the first big single of his solo career, and still perhaps his defining moment as a solo artist-it’s gone triple platinum as a digital single, more than three decades after its release, which suggests there are more Collins defenders than naysayers in the crowd. Whether Collins is seen as rock hero or pop villain, the strangest footnote to his reputation is one that wasn’t even of his own making. That’s not a defense of the songs themselves, mind you, just a fact about its popularity. That’s a milestone we’ll likely not see any contemporary artist reach anytime soon, given the way the industry’s gone. (over 10 million copies sold-my dad had a copy on cassette, one of the first albums I can remember hearing as a kid). Not to mention his 1985 album No Jacket Required was diamond certified in the U.S.
#Who sings something in the air plus#
Aside from his fairly ample discography of solo albums and records with Genesis and Brand X, he’s appeared on Brian Eno’s Another Green World, Thin Lizzy’s Johnny the Fox, Robert Fripp’s Exposure, Peter Gabriel’s third solo album (“Melt”), Adam Ant’s Strip, plus a handful of John Cale records and, yes, even Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” He also backed Kate Bush on a rare performance in 1982 with The Who’s Pete Townsend, Japan’s Mick Karn and Ultravox’s Midge Ure, which is a hell of a lineup no matter how you slice it.
The Daily Telegraph called him “the most hated man in rock” and FHM (a specious source, admittedly) called him “The pop star that nobody likes.” Ouch.Ĭollins has more than his share of defenders, however, and if he didn’t I’d be surprised-he’s performed on a lot of songs you probably like or even love, whether you realize it or not. On the other, he’s responsible for a number of fairly sterile and slick ’80s pop records and, in 2000, was lampooned on South Park after Trey Parker and Matt Stone lost the Best Original Song trophy at the Academy Awards to Collins’ “You’ll Be In My Heart” from Disney’s Tarzan. On one end of the spectrum, he’s a rock legend-the longtime drummer and later vocalist of Genesis, pioneer of progressive rock and all-around versatile performer with a diverse catalog that showcases his sizable contributions to rock music. Perhaps that’s because it’s far too easy to reduce his image to one stereotype or another, even when neither is sufficient enough to understand the complete picture. Don’t believe for a second that you don’t. Even if you think you might not, you very likely have strong feelings about Phil Collins.
Everyone has an opinion about Phil Collins, even you.
They’ll defend him on the strength of his contributions to the rock and pop canon, or sometimes they’ll point out that he divorced his wife via fax. Sometimes they’re songs about something gruesome or terrifying, and sometimes they’re seemingly innocent tracks that are given a bizarre and sometimes horrific new life over time.
#Who sings something in the air series#
Blood on the Tracks is a bi-weekly series that documents songs with dark histories.
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