I always loved Phil Collin’s music. He was a great drummer and a pretty good singer. It’s a shame he’s having health problems. I thought he’d given up drumming a long time ago for singing?
It sounds like he’s let the music critics get to him. Seven grammys means he did something right. 
I always felt he was a better singer than a drummer. It’s a shame about the health issues from decades of work behind the drum. He never stopped drumming; he would do most to all on his solo work, and occasionally do some during the live shows.
That’s seven Grammys and an Academy Award. Oasis can criticize all they want, but it sounds like jealousy to me.
He had a good run. And “In the Air Tonight” stands up against the best pop songs.
And there was much rejoicing!
If only we could have one more night…
You think you could hold on?
Phil invented the heavily gated, compressed and plated drum sound that was highly sought after and replicated so much that it became a cliche of the eighties. For that alone he deserves both kudos and to be shot.
Actually, no. He used it a ton, but as in Genesis, he was preceded by Peter Gabriel. Who actually borrowed it from Kate Bush. Collins gets “credit” for it because it took so long for Gabriel to release the album that Collins released first. And Bush took longer than either. She was also the first to use that other cliche of the 80s, the Fairlight “ORCH5” patch.
Interesting… I had no idea that Kate Bush bothered herself with engineering techniques…
I’m sad to hear this. He’s always been a favorite of mine. Get better Phil.
I heard the real reason he’s retiring from music is that he’s feeling guilty because he saw this guy drowning and didn’t lift a finger to save him.
Feeling a bit sorry for ourself, hmm Phil?
I thought Collins did great work with Genesis, but didn’t care for his semi-lounge act leanings as a soloist.
In any event he’s right - everybody’s got to call it quits some time. He certainly can do pretty much what he wants in retirement.
I have Phil’s Hit CD that was issued in 1998. I listen to it pretty regularly. Here are the hits he had as of 1998. I also have the Genesis Hits CD.
Some great material. He had other hits, but this is a good collection of his work.
Another Day In Paradise
True Colors
Easy Lover
You Can’t Hurry Love
Two Hearts
I Wish It Would Rain Down
Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)
Something Happened On The Way To Heaven
Separate Lives (Love Theme From White Nights)
Both Sides Of The Story
One More Night
Sussudio
Dance Into The Light
A Groovy Kind Of Love
In The Air Tonight
Take Me Home
I always found Genesis to be a bit too art-house for my taste, and Phil Collins solo work to be a bit too pop-pabulum for my taste. Maybe Phil embraced the art-house aesthetic, and felt that the pop-pabulum grind was far too pedestrian to make him happy? That would explain his reluctance to continue down the road. Just a thought!
Do you like Phil Collins? I’ve been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn’t understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins’ presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group’s undisputed masterpiece. It’s an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I’ve heard in rock. Phil Collins’ solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite.
Phil Collins was still working?!
What’s the point of apologizing for being successful? Don’t artists want to be successful?
I could feel this coming.
“Abacab” was cool. After that all Genesis did was pop muzac. “In the Air Tonight” was Collin’s one non-pop hit and ironically it will be the one that he’s remembered by.
No cites to back it up, but the story I heard at the time was that Collins was responsible for the sound on Gabriel’s album.
I’m one of those old time Genesis fans who always felt that the less members the group had, the more accessible (even pop) and less enjoyable the music became for me. On an old Genesis retrospective VHS tape I used to have, more of the credit for the change was given to Tony Banks than Phil Collins. Collins did profess his admiration for acts like Sam & Dave, and definitely wanted to move more in that direction, which can especially be seen in his solo work. Collins was definitely not the one embracing “art house aesthetic”.
Reading the interview, his quote about success does sound like sour grapes, but Collins always had a wicked wit and could be quite sarcastic. Thinking it over, he might have been poking fun at his detractors.