Ethan Iverson: Did Phil Collins drum on any hits?
Dave King: Possibly. I seem to think that Phillip Bailey song “Easy Lover” made the Top 40 in 1988. Other than that, I would need to consult my collection of old Billboard magazines.
EI: What about his singing?
DK: No one made a lead-microphone stand with coils for a drummer look sexier. Fuck Kelly Keagy and double fuck Don Henley.... Levon Helm looked pretty tight though.
EI: What are the great Collins drum performances?
DK: One of his signature second-verse entrances can be heard on the Howard Jones classic “No One is Ever to Blame.” The same vibe appears in the Tears For Fears masterwork “Woman in Chains”............... Come to think of it, there’s pretty brilliant Collins on the entire Genesis catalog with Peter Gabriel singing.........and there’s a moment or two of progressive thinking on the Brother Bear soundtrack, which is a Disney film that over-romanticizes the Native American concept of shape-shifting for the corporate bottom line.
EI: I guess the drums matter for hit songs, huh?
DK: Does the Pope eat his muesli with the souls of the young dead?
EI: Yes. What, exactly, is a big beat? It’s like a large surfboard, right?
DK: Lemme tell you a little about Phil Collins pocket. Four-words: left-handed concert toms. He’s basically thrown a permanent “fuck you” at the use of bottom heads on toms since 1970.
EI: Has anyone ever spelled his name “Fill Collins” out of respect for his performance on “In the Air Tonight?”
DK: If they didn’t, they missed a big opportunity. That is a moment where man and drum connect, bound to the earth through passion and strength. If drum fills are meat, that’s prime rib. The irony is that the first half of the song is an 808 drum machine, probably programmed by Phil himself. This shows his dedication to new technologies even though he was a bad-ass on the tubs. In no way was he threatened by little buttons and bleeping lights. Phil knows himself.
EI: He wrote a lot of songs, too, right?
DK: Yes. One of my personal favorites is the the title track of Against All Odds. This is a film that would make Jack Palance cry. The song is a slow-dance classic. In 1986, I would have to have had both legs in traction to keep me and my sweetheart off the dance floor when that song played. (By sweetheart, I mean my 1960’s 18-inch K with rivets.) He also wrote the late-80’s masterwork “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight,” which was used for wine-cooler commercials. I used to fill my tub with Sun Country wine cooler during house parties and do a little “deep sea diving” if you know what I mean.
EI: The Lion King: go.
DK: Phil Collins clearly likes money. This by no means diminishes his ability to groove as hard anyone who has ever played the drums. For real, Phil Collins is a master and his choice to write and sing questionable ballads for Disney films shouldn’t tarnish the image of a fierce prog demon underneath. I truly love and respect Phil Collins drumming on anything.
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Previously: King on Peart
