Posted on 03/14/2023 4:03:36 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Many artists have one song they can’t escape, and Phil Collins is the same. At some stage, a creation stops being under the ownership of the artist who crafted it and becomes a part of the collective lexicon. Phil Collins’ pop behemoth ‘In The Air Tonight’ is one such piece that transcended the artist.
Following Peter Gabriel’s departure from the group, they desperately needed to reinvent themselves to survive, and Collins stepped up to become the band’s new singer. It was a decision which could have gravely backfired, but instead, it started the most commercially successful chapter of Genesis’ career, and for many, it’s their favourite era.
After his success as a swashbuckling frontman, Collins started a solo career in 1980 and announced himself with his debut single, ‘In The Air Tonight’. The track charted internationally and made him a star in his own right without the backing of Genesis. His drumming is perhaps one of the single most iconic fills to ever be extrapolated from the instrument and its a pattern that still stalks Collins to this day.
However, ‘In The Air Tonight’ is a painful reminder of a dark period in Collins’ life after the heartbreaking break-up of his first marriage. When he wrote the track, his mind was in a lonely place, and the artist used music as a form of therapy. Unexpectedly, it became the biggest hit of his career and continues to follow him everywhere he goes.
Speaking of the track to Rolling Stone, Collins said: “This song has become a stone around my neck, though I do love it. I wrote it after my wife left me. Genesis had done a tour that was far too long. She said to me, ‘We won’t be together if you do the next tour.’ I said, ‘I’m a musician. I have to go away and play. Just hold your breath when I’m over there.’ Then Genesis toured Japan. When I got back, she said she was leaving and taking the kids.
“At the time, Genesis had decided to change things up a bit, maybe rattle our cages. The idea was to record separately with these new Roland drum machines we’d been given. I set up a studio in the master bedroom of my house with a Fender Rhodes piano and a drum kit. One day I was working on a piece in D-minor, the saddest [key] of all. I just wrote a sequence, and it sounded nice. I wrote the lyrics spontaneously. I’m not quite sure what the song is about, but there’s a lot of anger, a lot of despair and a lot of frustration.”
He added: “Nobody knows what the song is about, and I kind of like the mystery. And now NFL players use it to work out. I saw a video recently of Steph Curry singing it in his car, and it was just in an ad for milk chocolate. Where will it end? But I’m not complaining. It paid for this house we’re in right now!”
While Collins views the song as “a stone around my neck”, he’s also gracious about the riches it has given him, including his luxury Californian mansion. Additionally, he’s acutely aware it’s better to be remembered for one song rather than none at all.
Just the right use of the song in Miami Vice episode here——
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aMCzRj3Syg
ITA! It is my favorite of all his songs.
Just the right use of the song in Miami Vice episode here——
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aMCzRj3Syg
When I was a kid back in the 1980s I heard a story about this song from an older kid. He told me that Collins was playing this song during a concert and in the audience there was someone there that Collins knew. This person was somehow responsible for the death of someone close to Collins. During the songs climax a spotlight was directed at this person and was used to show the police where he was. He was arrested.
In retrospect this makes no sense.
RE: He’s touring this year.
He made fun of the aging still around touring rock icons:
Finally: The First Farewell Tour (DVD, 2004).
And on a later documentary he defended himself for not touring by showing his hand and said one finger can’t work any more “What do you think I should do, hire someone to sit beside me and push the piano key for that finger every few seconds for me? I can’t play.”
Did he get some kind of help? Or work around it.
It’s one of my favorites. I like Abacab too.
after making a bazillion dollars from it...
I hate it when drums just can't get along. :-)
Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka
You dare me to drive?
You know the song by Phil Collins, “In the Air of the Night”
About that guy who could have saved that other guy from drowning
But didn’t, then Phil saw it all, then at a a show he found him?
That’s kinda how this is, you coulda rescued me from drowning
And Frida’s “I Know There’s Something Going On.”
stone around my neck, that’s for sure
It’s on my top 5 worst songs ever:
Heat of the moment (over produced dreg)
Glory of Love (not a man, won’t fight)
Built this City (too much hoopla)
The Final Countdown (”keyount” down, cringe)
Sussudio (made up word during writing, kept it, the “how stupid are you?” song)
Other notables:
Eye of the Tiger
MacArthur Park is in a class of it’s own.
This was actually the first album where Phil used the Drum Machine
No Self Control - Peter Gabriel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yEcTB2va5E
"Sonny Crockett" (Don Johnson) was essentially in the same place with this song was used to great effect when used in the pilot of the original "Miami Vice".
Pop Quiz: What was the last name of Phil’s character in that episode, and what was the source of the last name?
Yes, those are valid choices. How does Double Dutch Bus fit into your rankings?
You got me.
You’ll have to be a real hard-core Genesis fan to get it.
As an aside, Bruce McGill’s character in the episode “Out Where the Busses Don’t Run” was an exceptional portrayal especially when he hammered the wall to reveal the corpse.
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