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Topic ClosedPhil Collins: A Nasty Man?

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 04 2006 at 22:33
Originally posted by Man With Hat Man With Hat wrote:

Phil Collins is an astounding drummer and should be respected for that alone.



Hear hear!

Actually, I have an amusing story about why my drummer hates Phil Collins. He once told me that as a teenager, every time he went to the dentist's office, they would play Phil Collins. So now he subconsciously equates the sound of Phil's voice to tooth pain! 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 04 2006 at 22:47

SmileI have no problem with Phil Collins (or, for that matter, with 99.99% of people whom I've never met, and of whom I've never heard any true evil).

I admire his talent, quite like his voice, love his drumming in Genesis and Brand X, respect his work with Disney, support his right to make the best living he can for himself and his family, and fully understand his decision to do the kind of music that he likes best -- not just what pleases old-time Genesis fans. Unlike many here, I even think "More Fool Me" is a very nice song (I think many who profess to hate it came to Genesis late in the game, with progsnob anti-Phil prejudice already in place).

Unless you know the man personally, and have walked a mile or two in his shoes, you've no right to judge his integrity, morality or personality.

Most post-Gabriel Genesis is pop? Fine -- I like some pop, and Genesis pop tends to be pretty good pop. I prefer the old Genesis discs, and can play them whenever I want, but I listen to lots of kinds of music.

As the front man for the three-man Genesis, he garners the lion's share of progsnob abuse, but give Banks and Rutherford some credit for being thinking adults with their own free will, folks. If Banks was the singer, I'm sure many would have it in for him, instead.

It's just entertainment, not philosophy or politics.

 

Things change, as do we -- c'est la vie.



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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 04 2006 at 23:17

Originally posted by JusLisn JusLisn wrote:

I think many are too rough on him. At the time that Genesis swayed toward pop-rock, it was better (proggier) than anything else being played on the radio (remember, no internet). Maybe we should give Genesis credit for keeping progressive-rock alive and not completely dissapearing from the music scene.

Sorry to disagree, but IMHO he did nothing remotely Progressive with genesis (low case is not a mistake in this case), he didn't helped to keep Prog alive.

That honor is for Neo Prog who  kept Progressive Rock alive despite being underrated, simpler bands not accepted by mainstream listeners and seen as second class by progheads. But hey did good Prog Rock, simpler than Symphonic, but some very good.

This were the guys that kept Prog Alive, because a bald guy who sings crappy ballads is doing nothing to save the genre only to fill (rhymeds with Phil) his pockets.

But that's not the only problem, when he saw Prog was not profitable he helped to throw trash to Prog, his interviews were really incredible.

  • I rather listen Punk than a Pink Flloyd or Yes album.
  • I never understood The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
  • I would never let Peter rejoin Genesis (Genesis a History)
  • If we were ever remotely popular is when Peter left.
  • Yes genesis music is boring, but boring is good also....he, he.

But 15 years after, when only Prog fans care for Genesis, he changes his argument for:

  • My all time favorite album is The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.
  • I would only rejoin Genesis (Now with high case) if Peter sings.
  • Yes was always my favorite band.

He's a wonderful drummer (A top 10 IMHO), a very good backing vocalist and a decent singer, but a lousy songwritter that spoke in the most contradictory way possible.

So sorry for Phil, but he got what he deserved.

Iván



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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 04 2006 at 23:48

Originally posted by progaeopteryx progaeopteryx wrote:

I don't buy the argument that Collins was the driving force in moving Genesis towards pop music. If you listen to Banks and Rutherford's solo projects (Remember Mike and the Mechanics?), it seems clear to me that all three of them were more interested in moving Genesis in that direction. Another driving force was probably the record companies wanting hit singles. This ruined many a prog band.

Yes, I agree. The first "hated by many Genesis`Fans" ballad released as a single that he sung with Genesis without Gabriel, was "Your Own Special Way, composed by Rutherford. As Collins`himself explains in the "Genesis-A History" video, the song "Invisible Touch", another hated Pop song hit single, was started with a guitar riff done by Rutherford. "Follow You, Follow Me" has music by Rutherford, Banks and Collins, and lyrics by Rutherford.

Many Prog bands changed their style to Pop: ELPowell, King Crimson ("Heartbeat"), Kansas, YES, Banco, PFM....

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 00:04
I have personally been scolded by Phil ... and still respect his outstanding work in the 70s ... he meets so many prog fans who hate his pop that he gets defensive immediately ... he obviously recognised me for one when I interviewed him back in 1996 ...
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 02:41

If Genesis reformed tomorrow with Collins on lead vocal I would move heaven and earth to get a ticket for one of their gigs.Doesn't change the fact that he's a complete 'plonker' though.I agree with Ivan's comments totally.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 02:46

Whats so bad about Phil Collins?  You can't blame him alone for the direction Genesis took- if the other members didn't want to go that direction why didn't they stop him?  Anyway Peter Gabriel's early solo albums are just as poppy as Phil Collins' and later Genesis (although Gabriel hasn't sunk to the level of Disney soundtracks yet).  Heck, I just heard Salisbury Hill (sp?) on some commercial today.  I swear to God he wrote that track just cause he knew film previews would be using it for generations to come.  My point is that Gabriel wasn't the prog element of Genesis, and Collins can't be blamed for ruining it.

Anyway I don't think anyone hates him.  Its not a bands job to please their fans.  The relationship between musicians and their fans is mutual.  If you don't like it, don't buy it.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 03:16
Originally posted by int_2375 int_2375 wrote:

Whats so bad about Phil Collins?  You can't blame him alone for the direction Genesis took- if the other members didn't want to go that direction why didn't they stop him? 

Well he was co-responsible, but lets be honest, Shapes, Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance sound almost as Phil Collins solo stuff, not as Rutherford or Banks solo stuff, so he gets the biggest share.

 Anyway Peter Gabriel's early solo albums are just as poppy as Phil Collins' and later Genesis (although Gabriel hasn't sunk to the level of Disney soundtracks yet).  Heck, I just heard Salisbury Hill (sp?) on some commercial today.  I swear to God he wrote that track just cause he knew film previews would be using it for generations to come. 

Do you know what is the meaning of Solsbury Hills???? It's the explanation of why he left Genesis, PGI, II and III are absolutely Prog.

While Genesis was selling out, Peter lost his last penny in a non profitable but artistic project called WOMAD, so he had to release a couple of simpler tracks in 2 albums (PG IV and SO), but even then the videos were so advanced that it was a prove he never stopped experimenting.

My point is that Gabriel wasn't the prog element of Genesis, and Collins can't be blamed for ruining it.

Gabriel was the lyricist, frontman and leader of the band, his word was law, when he was at the band everything was clear, so he was the element of everything in Genesis.

Anyway I don't think anyone hates him.  Its not a bands job to please their fans.  The relationship between musicians and their fans is mutual.  If you don't like it, don't buy it.

Yes, it's the band's job to please the fans. My job is to please my clients because they pay y bills, fans pay their rich and famous life style.

There's something called gratitude and loyalty. This stupid fans were the guys who bought Genesis albums when they didn't have enough to pay the bills, the ones that followed them everywhere when the rest of the world hated them.

This are the same fans that recieved a loud "I don't care what you want" from Phil when genesis (with low case) got a new fanbase and the same ones that heard from Phil Collins that Prog was crap that fell from the trees like rotten apples when Punk came.

And now he's licking some arses because  POP fanbase vanished when they stopped being cool and he became a Disney joke.

If they want to change it's ok, but it's not fair tp speak as Collins did about the genre that not only feed him, but that made him a famous musician, before Genesis the most memorable thing he made was Calamity the Cow, and without Genesis he would never been famous.

At least Steve Hackett, despite his successful solo career made a tribute to the band that made him famous, despite the fact that he was the only member not invited to the Milton Keynes reunion, he was so humble hat he accepted to play the encores for Peter and for his fans.

That's loyalty.

Iván

            
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 03:33
I am pretty neutral towards phil...

Why he wanted Genesis to shift band direction.. Well, maybe he is more practical. He wants to earn more money.. Thats the reason...

Why is he balding? Maybe he ate too much MSG added food...

But anyways, I still thinks that he is a pretty good drummer....

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 03:35

I like his drumming and his vocals. I do hate the fact that he changed his fabulous drum sound, on the last Genesis albums on which he played, into something very un-adventurous.

I do like some of the songs he wrote and co-wrote, especially with Genesis (e.g. Down And Out, Behind The Lines, Please Don't Ask).

Nevertheless I do think his influence on later Genesis is not good, musically. And he may be outspoken (which is good in itself) but the things he said in the press about Genesis and other bands were often very irritating.

I think he contributed a lot to prog in the seventies and even the early eighties, and even after that I liked his voice and some of his drum parts, but I wish he had more respect for the progressive aspects of the musical heritage of Genesis.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 04:01
Originally posted by Peter Rideout Peter Rideout wrote:

SmileI have no problem with Phil Collins (or, for that matter, with 99.99% of people whom I've never met, and of whom I've never heard any true evil).

I admire his talent, quite like his voice, love his drumming in Genesis and Brand X, respect his work with Disney, support his right to make the best living he can for himself and his family, and fully understand his decision to do the kind of music that he likes best -- not just what pleases old-time Genesis fans. Unlike many here, I even think "More Fool Me" is a very nice song (I think many who profess to hate it came to Genesis late in the game, with progsnob anti-Phil prejudice already in place).

Unless you know the man personally, and have walked a mile or two in his shoes, you've no right to judge his integrity, morality or personality.

Most post-Gabriel Genesis is pop? Fine -- I like some pop, and Genesis pop tends to be pretty good pop. I prefer the old Genesis discs, and can play them whenever I want, but I listen to lots of kinds of music.

As the front man for the three-man Genesis, he garners the lion's share of progsnob abuse, but give Banks and Rutherford some credit for being thinking adults with their own free will, folks. If Banks was the singer, I'm sure many would have it in for him, instead.

It's just entertainment, not philosophy or politics.

 

Things change, as do we -- c'est la vie.

Great signature!

BTW: I don't hate Phil Collins. His solo career bores me, so I don't buy his CDs and therefore we don't talk to each other and that's all.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 04:16

I think one of the reasons that Phil Collins gets the blame for the later direction of Genesis is because for a hwile Phil Collins solo stuff and the genesis output became kind of interchangeable, but in truth the band were all happy to move in that direction.

Virtually all prog bands moved away from pure Prog in the early 80's. many simply ceased operations or took an extended break, much of the Yes output in this period was arguably 'pop'.

I don't think we should blame any one person for this. Post-punk there was an anti-prog anti-concept album backlash (How many copies would Tales From Topographic Oceans or Foxtrot have sold in 1981?) that lasted until bands like Marillion came onthe scene. 

I saw Genesis several times in the early 80's and they were still a great band. Life loves on and people move on. Genesis made some of the greatest-ever prog records, Phil Collins was a part of that, butwe shouldn't crucify the bloke because they didn't produce more of the same kind of records for the next 20/30  years, and I suspect many people would have lost interest by now if they had.

 

Simon



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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 04:22
Because sadly a lot of people in this forum reckon they are better qualified than Phil Collins about his contribution to Genesis. It is called delusions of grandeur.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 04:45
When Genesis went "down to a trio" (Melody Maker's front cover quote) I was very disappointed about their first album And Then There Were Three. And from then for me it was obvious that Phil Collins was the man behind the awful change of direction from symphonic rock to progressive pop/poprock. Phil has said some very nasty things about progrock like "Pink Floyd is boring" (in the late Seventies) and during interviews he often was very sarcastic about the Seventies prog he made with Genesis. A few years ago I read a biography about Phil Collins, to me he seems a person who loves attention, wants to be appreciated, is a worcaholic and can turn from a charming and enthousiastic person into a demanding and authorical person when things don't go as it pleases him. Conclusion: he is not my type (but what a drummer, so powerful, innovative and dynamic  !)..
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 05:36
Originally posted by Ivan_Melgar_M Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:

Whats so bad about Phil Collins?  You can't blame him alone for the direction Genesis took- if the other members didn't want to go that direction why didn't they stop him? 

Well he was co-responsible, but lets be honest, Shapes, Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance sound almost as Phil Collins solo stuff, not as Rutherford or Banks solo stuff, so he gets the biggest share.

 Anyway Peter Gabriel's early solo albums are just as poppy as Phil Collins' and later Genesis (although Gabriel hasn't sunk to the level of Disney soundtracks yet).  Heck, I just heard Salisbury Hill (sp?) on some commercial today.  I swear to God he wrote that track just cause he knew film previews would be using it for generations to come. 

Do you know what is the meaning of Solsbury Hills???? It's the explanation of why he left Genesis, PGI, II and III are absolutely Prog.

While Genesis was selling out, Peter lost his last penny in a non profitable but artistic project called WOMAD, so he had to release a couple of simpler tracks in 2 albums (PG IV and SO), but even then the videos were so advanced that it was a prove he never stopped experimenting.

My point is that Gabriel wasn't the prog element of Genesis, and Collins can't be blamed for ruining it.

Gabriel was the lyricist, frontman and leader of the band, his word was law, when he was at the band everything was clear, so he was the element of everything in Genesis.

Anyway I don't think anyone hates him.  Its not a bands job to please their fans.  The relationship between musicians and their fans is mutual.  If you don't like it, don't buy it.

Yes, it's the band's job to please the fans. My job is to please my clients because they pay y bills, fans pay their rich and famous life style.

There's something called gratitude and loyalty. This stupid fans were the guys who bought Genesis albums when they didn't have enough to pay the bills, the ones that followed them everywhere when the rest of the world hated them.

This are the same fans that recieved a loud "I don't care what you want" from Phil when genesis (with low case) got a new fanbase and the same ones that heard from Phil Collins that Prog was crap that fell from the trees like rotten apples when Punk came.

And now he's licking some arses because  POP fanbase vanished when they stopped being cool and he became a Disney joke.

If they want to change it's ok, but it's not fair tp speak as Collins did about the genre that not only feed him, but that made him a famous musician, before Genesis the most memorable thing he made was Calamity the Cow, and without Genesis he would never been famous.

At least Steve Hackett, despite his successful solo career made a tribute to the band that made him famous, despite the fact that he was the only member not invited to the Milton Keynes reunion, he was so humble hat he accepted to play the encores for Peter and for his fans.

That's loyalty.

Iván

It is the bands job to please their fans?  No, no, no.  Once you pay for the cd, the deal is done, you gave the artist your money for their record.  Thats all their is to it... that seals the deal, the band does not owe you anything in addition like more albums that will appeal to your particular taste.

You are essentially saying that when you buy an album, you suddenly own those band members, and you should get to control what they do and their artistic direction.  So when one of your clients pays you for your service, should they get to decide what job positions you have, what services you provide, what you do with your own future?

If fans are disappointed with their direction then why continue to be loyal?  When bands I like release albums I dont like, I dont buy them, and I don't waste my time whining that they didn't record an album just to cater to what I like.  Sorry, but its not Phil Collins or anyone elses job to record albums for any particular group of people, they just record what they want to record.

As good as PG1, 2, 3 are, you've got to admit it is poppy... and not nearly as progressive as his Genesis work.  Its not like he left and outdid what he was already doing.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 07:46
Originally posted by Ivan_Melgar_M Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:

Originally posted by JusLisn JusLisn wrote:

I think many are too rough on him. At the time that Genesis swayed toward pop-rock, it was better (proggier) than anything else being played on the radio (remember, no internet). Maybe we should give Genesis credit for keeping progressive-rock alive and not completely dissapearing from the music scene.

Sorry to disagree, but IMHO he did nothing remotely Progressive with genesis (low case is not a mistake in this case), he didn't helped to keep Prog alive.

That honor is for Neo Prog who  kept Progressive Rock alive despite being underrated, simpler bands not accepted by mainstream listeners and seen as second class by progheads. But hey did good Prog Rock, simpler than Symphonic, but some very good.

This were the guys that kept Prog Alive, because a bald guy who sings crappy ballads is doing nothing to save the genre only to fill (rhymeds with Phil) his pockets.

But that's not the only problem, when he saw Prog was not profitable he helped to throw trash to Prog, his interviews were really incredible.

  • I rather listen Punk than a Pink Flloyd or Yes album.
  • I never understood The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
  • I would never let Peter rejoin Genesis (Genesis a History)
  • If we were ever remotely popular is when Peter left.
  • Yes genesis music is boring, but boring is good also....he, he.

But 15 years after, when only Prog fans care for Genesis, he changes his argument for:

  • My all time favorite album is The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.
  • I would only rejoin Genesis (Now with high case) if Peter sings.
  • Yes was always my favorite band.

He's a wonderful drummer (A top 10 IMHO), a very good backing vocalist and a decent singer, but a lousy songwritter that spoke in the most contradictory way possible.

So sorry for Phil, but he got what he deserved.

Iván

exactly i despise his kool uncle face & head. Idon't care if he's a top drummer...he made music for disney. put that on your CV and while he's at it put a lavender rinse into his goblin hair!!!!!!

Mmmm lunch was nice!

 i love onion soup....

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 08:19
oh no, not another Phil Collins thread!!!!
A flower?

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 08:46
Glad this was brought up.  I've never understood why he's put down as much as he is on this forum.  It was his personality and enthusiasm that sustained the band after PG left (especially live).  I dare say we wouldn't have TOTT or WW or Duke if Paul Rodgers would have been the singer instead.  And it was his incredibly inventive drumming that pulled Genesis out of the rut they were in with ... To Revelation and Trespass.  So, all in all, he deserves accolades, not disdain.  So what if he sold a lot of records on his own?  He can't help it that success breeds contempt.  He was just doing what he wanted to do.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 08:51
Originally posted by Guillermo Guillermo wrote:

I think that he has a very long time playing music. He has lived almost all of his life working in music, so, maybe when he looks back to some things that he did in his youth, maybe he doesn`t like them anymore. He played Progressive Rock for many years. He needed a change. Maybe he was tired of singing "I Know What I Like" tour after tour. Persons grow and change. The same is for many musicians.


The film "Buster" has some good things, but other things are not funny.


Fair enough - he wanted to move on and do something different. I have no problem with that. It's when he then turns about face and calls his earlier prog work "crap" that instantly annoys the fans. If it was all entirely his work then perhaps he could justify the remark, but it wasn't. It was (let's be honest) mostly Peter Gabriel's work that he was rubbishing, and that's simply not on. Phil Collins may be a fine performer but he can't hold a candle to Gabriel, not then, not now, not ever.

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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2006 at 09:13
I don't hate him, he's was and still is a good drummer and singer. I'm not in fond of his pop music, but he had did good things by Genesis as drummer.
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