Phil Collins: Genesis of a 'cutting edge' solo career
Friday, November 11, 2005
This week I found myself pondering a thought-provoking piece of news. It wasn't about the creationism-versus-intelligent-design debate, but it was about Genesis. Genesis the band.(Warning: this week's column is for classic-rock nerds and '80s-music geeks only.)
Still reading? You can't say I didn't warn you.
I read the news in one of those little AP "People" briefs that keep me up to date on happenings: in Hollywood.
"Phil Collins says he's open to the idea of a Genesis reunion," the item declared. "Nothing has been announced, but the 54-year-old British singer, who is touring the Middle East, says, "There's a possibility. I'm open for it. If it doesn't happen, it will just be because there are too many things in the way."
Poor Phil, I thought as I read the clip. He's obviously trying too hard. Trying to make it sound like he's living the whirlwind life of a rock star. But obviously the only "thing" that might "get in the way" is an offer to record yet another sappy song for a Disney movie. I mean, how lucrative can this guy's career really be if, on his own volition - and not as a member of the U.S. military - he's touring the Middle East?
I realize what I'm about to say may raise questions about my mental state, but: I sometimes find myself staging imaginary dramas between Collins and his former bandmate Peter Gabriel, with Collins crying out in bitter tears that life is just not fair! After all, both ex-Genesis members had hugely successful solo careers in the '80s - but only one of them could still be called "cool" today. Let's just say Peter Gabriel has not, at least to my knowledge, recorded any songs for Disney.
After all, Collins is McCartney to Gabriel's Lennon. Phil Collins, like Paul McCartney, had a slew of catchy solo-career songs you still hear every time you step inside a grocery store or drive in your car longer than 10 minutes. Yet just as McCartney won't go down in music history for writing a landmark solo-career song like "Imagine," Collins will never get the kind of credit Gabriel gets for "In Your Eyes," his soul-stirring song from the soundtrack of the beloved '80s movie "Say Anything." Instead, Collins gave us a song about a woman with "Sussudio" for a name. I sometimes imagine Collins kicking himself late at night when he thinks about all the times "In Your Eyes" gets picked as a prom theme.
And Collins also has to contend with the fact that despite his long string of hit singles, two of the biggest hits of the '80s - songs that will forever be included on retrospective CDs from the era - belonged to Gabriel: "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time." And what's more, their accompanying videos on MTV were some of the most memorable of all time, often labeled as "groundbreaking." The only Phil Collins video I can recall, for "Land of Confusion," featured weird-looking puppets.
Which, on the "groundbreaking" scale, just can't cut it when up against those dancing headless turkeys.
But maybe his work for Disney is actually cutting-edge.
