Dad Rock Hall of Fame: Phil Collins/Genesis

As it's been three weeks since the last induction into the Dad Rock Hall of Fame, I have decided to atone by giving you a two-fer mega-post.

With the recent and saddening news that Phil Collins is retiring from music, it is altogether fitting and proper to take this time to recognize his accomplishments -- not only those of his solo career, but also his success as a member of Genesis, where his tenure overlapped with that of the great Peter Gabriel for five years.  How successful was Phil Collins, you might ask?  Well, over the course of his career he sold more than 100 million albums, which puts him in the elite company of Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney as artists whose collected output as a solo artist solo and band member has sold that well.

A man so wealthy that he doesn't care what you think about his work on the Tarzan soundtrack.

What makes the Phil Collins story so interesting is that he wasn't the lead singer of Genesis when he joined -- he was just the drummer.  Once Gabriel left Genesis to pursue his immensely successful solo career, Collins went on double duty and was awesome at both.  Although Genesis was a great band before Phil began to sing, their greatest success came with him at the helm.  It's no wonder that analysis of his work and the Gabriel to Collins transition has been included in major American cinema.

Without further ado, here's (what I think is) the best of Phil Collins's illustrious career in no particular order

1) "Follow You Follow Me" from Genesis's ...And Then There Were Three... (1978)

This was Genesis's first big hit, and there's a reason why it's still played on classic rock radio.  This song, both simple and honest/vulnerable, has stood the test of time.



2) "Misunderstanding" from Genesis's Duke (1980)

I didn't think about this until I read the Wikipedia entry, but the bass line in the chorus is really similar to that of Sly and the Family Stone's mega-jam "Hot Fun in the Summertime."  Perhaps that's why this is such a great song.



3) "That's All" from Genesis's Genesis (1983)

This was Genesis's first top ten hit in America.  It was also serviceably covered  by Keane, a band that had a great debut album in 2004 but hasn't done much since.



4) "Against All Odds" from the Against All Odds soundtrack (1984)

This may be the peak of Phil Collins's life.  Not only did "Against All Odds," a song Collins wrote about his wife leaving him, top the charts at #1, it was also the subject of an excellent (and really funny) segment on This American Life.  Perhaps even more impressive than the song's success is the marvelous lettuce Phil was sporting at the time.  The most bizarre thing about this song?  Montell Jordan of "This Is How We Do It" fame covered it in what is perhaps the least hood move of all time.  How one man can make a song so funky and one so anti-funky is beyond me.



5) "Easy Lover" with Phillip Bailey (1988)

This song is so awesome for so many reasons.  It's the best black guy-white guy duet since McCartney and Wonder's "Ebony and Ivory." It features Phillip Bailey, who sang lead on some of Earth, Wind & Fire's great tunes but also unfortunately has opted to keep this horrendous haircut.  And perhaps most importantly, the video features the dynamic duo chillin' in a helicopter.  What more could you want?



Before we close up shop, I'd like to address why I didn't include "In The Air Tonight."  I think most people know the song and/or the bizarre Cadbury commercial with the gorilla drumming along.  More importantly, once I found out that the story was not what I thought it was about (the story about him calling out the guy who the song was about was an urban legend), I could never listen to it in the same way again.

There you have it.  Sorry about the delay, I'll try to post at a more regular clip in the future, although with finals a month away, I can't make any guarantees.

-- J.J. Gittes