Jeff Lechtanski’s Weblog » Phil Collins is the Man

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01-02-2008

I’m not sure why, but Phil Collins gets a bum rap. I’ve encountered several people within my age group who despise him. And the other night, I heard a college-aged woman comment that Phil Collins was the worst musician on the planet. Why, oh why, does Phil Collins rub people this way?

I guess if you don’t like Phil Collins’ commercial style. OK. I’ll deal with that. Even though he has sold more than 100 million records over a couple of decades as both a solo artist and with the band Genesis.

But don’t be critical of his musicianship. The man can play. He is an incredible drummer spending years as the drummer in Genesis. If you haven’t heard any of the original Genesis psychedelic recordings, check them out. Peter Gabriel brought the theatrics as the original singer, and Phil helped keep it real with his percussion. And after Peter left, Phil stepped out from the drumset shadow to take over lead vocals.

He’s not attractive and he knows it. Yet he puts his face on the cover of every one of his solo albums. He can’t dance; just watch the Sussudio video or his duet with Phillip Bailey for evidence of that. But as I said above: the man can play.

His skills range from 70s progressive rock to commercial solo success with records such as Face Value and No Jacket Require. If you don’t like him, you could still probably name three songs by him. So let’s all pay a little respect.

Ten Essential Phil Collins Songs: