Phil Collins

For many - before there was the prog-drumming god Neil Peart, there was Phil Collins.

During the 70's Phil would regularly top out (or come close) on 'best drummer' polls by both drummers and regular folk. It was only later in Genesis' post Peter Gabriel career that it became obvious that Phil was more interested in being a singer (at least live), and his drumming star began to wane . . . . . . .
 
Hi, Genesis & PC fans. I want to know if there is any official concert DVD(s) out there that actually have Phil Collins playing on the drums throughout the entire show?

PS- Can any of you play any Genesis/PC stuff on drums?
 
I saw Phil with Quincy Jones on a TV Show a few years back and he was outstanding
Great Drummer and singer
 
Phil Collins is one of drumming's best kept secrets. He's way under-rated as a drummer in my opinion. Most people know him for his singing. I remember an article RS did on him a ways back and he was asked what part of his music he enjoyed the most. Without hesitation, he said "drumming".

He toured with his own jazz band until recently. He was diagnosed with "Sudden Deafness Syndrome" in one of his ears. It sidelined him for a little while but he released a DVD a little while ago entitled "The First Farewell Tour" with Chester Thompson backing him up. They, along with Luis Conte, were brilliant in the opening track .
 
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Togg said:
On his own stuff he is wonderful I love Genesis, however he did go through a somewhat large ego phase.

During Live Aid he was playing with Led Zep and he totally missed the whole style of the songs, Robert Plant was ******* annoyed, and claimed the whole thing was a Phil Collins pr stunt.

Again when he played with Queen at the Party at the palace a few years ago he played in his own style and changed how the song felt, and that was Radio Ga Ga!!!! pretty difficult to screw up wouldn't you say!

Don't get me wrong I love him in his own world but when it comes to playing with others he seems to miss the point and play what he wants.

Led Zep never forgave him for it, it wrecked Live Aid for them, and there were lots of heated comments after the show, or so the story goes.

i wasnt really satisfied with the live aid at all...it kind of made me depressed to see my favorite band in that condition. Page's dexterity dropped dramatically and his riffs were really messy. Plant messed up on stairway.,...he came into the last verse too early which messed the band up. Then they had 2 drummers, one of which being phil collins which i agree...he messed up the whole set trying to add in his own stuff. Its a shame he did this. Plant should have invited jason bonham to fill in for his dad because it would have been much more fitting. Im watching stairway now from live aid and im wondering what is he doing....hes putting fills in, in the guitar solo which ruins it making its a big jumbled mess. And on the last verse it just pisses me off with those stupid fills.....and has anyone ever heard the When the levee breaks performance with neil young....the way the whole band arranged that song killed it too.....but im still hoping for a zeppelin reunion with jason bonham and not phil collins...lol
 
Because Phil Collins has done some fairly uninteresting and banal solo projects it has become too easy to discount his drumming prowess. There are still few drummers that are instantly identifiable by their sound and their technique. Phil Collins is clearly one of them; you can tell it is him from the first four bars. Not only did he develop his own sound (something incredibly hard to do) but he developed a technique which is the envy of many who listen closely.

I confess I listen to him less now than when I was young but he was one of the reasons I learned to play. After taking lessons for several years I became a Genesis fan. I would practise to Seconds Out every day (we are talking back in about 1978 ish) until I could play my way through the whole album (pausing in the middle to put the second LP on - I know what a strange concept that is to many who post here!). Several years later I went back and actually learned some of the songs rather than just playing along - and they are complicated, inventive and tight!

In the middle 1980's I was lucky to meet him after a show at the Manchester Apollo. Setting aside the awkwardness of meeting someone after a show, when they are in their own element - he was gracious and supportive and seemed genuinely interested in taking drums.

On Drummerworld we don't knock Ringo and we don't knock Charlie - for the same reasons (and for some different ones) we shouldn't knock Phil!

Paul
 
Paul Quin said:
On Drummerworld we don't knock Ringo and we don't knock Charlie - for the same reasons (and for some different ones) we shouldn't knock Phil!

Paul


well when he ruined probably the greatest live rock song by the biggest rock group of the 70's and in front of one of the biggest concert crouds ever by putting mindless fills in and ruining the feel of zep songs by doing what he wanted instead of how bonham wrote it then hes not gonna be unspoken of
 
pdp 9091 said:
well when he ruined probably the greatest live rock song by the biggest rock group of the 70's and in front of one of the biggest concert crouds ever by putting mindless fills in and ruining the feel of zep songs by doing what he wanted instead of how bonham wrote it then hes not gonna be unspoken of

Playing drums isn't about playing something perfect its about having fun and making things your own i haven't seen it but i bet he made a great job of it but shouldnt be slated for not playing it the way Bonham played it!

Too many people over-rate Bonham as rocks best drummer he isnt!
 
JT1 said:
Playing drums isn't about playing something perfect its about having fun and making things your own i haven't seen it but i bet he made a great job of it but shouldnt be slated for not playing it the way Bonham played it!

Too many people over-rate Bonham as rocks best drummer he isnt!

That's true to an extent, however on this occasion he was there to do a job, and as far as the crowd and the band were concerned that job was to bring Led Zep back out firing on all 4 cylinders as we remember them. Sadly Phil Collins didn't understand that and decided to make it 'he's own' Not what ANY Led Zep fan wanted!

And certainly not what Plant and Page wanted by all accounts!
 
Ok my comment won't solve the "Led Zepp" playing issue, but Collins is a great artist and even though not being a great fan of genesis, his drumming was awekwardly interesting during the P. Gabriel years.
 
Totally, I'm not knocking his playing on his own stuff, in fact Genesis has always been very high on my play list, I just don't like him doing the 'standin drummer' bit because I always find the man takes over from the drumming.
 
Togg said:
Totally, I'm not knocking his playing on his own stuff, in fact Genesis has always been very high on my play list, I just don't like him doing the 'standin drummer' bit because I always find the man takes over from the drumming.

....I get what you mean he always likes people to talk about his drumming and the fact that he plays drums etc etc he also stated that a good band can be recognised by his drummer or something like that...any ways he's apparently very proud about drums and drumming and him being able to play drums so the point is, whenever he's behind his kit the guy want's to show that he's a drummer héhé....ok this didn't bring us anywhere but I just had to put it down
 
what live aid dvd is that? i cant seem to find it on cdon.com.. well i can find it but led zeppelin is not on play list..

ps.. phil collins great drummer.. just purchased the live dvd with him and eric clapton..
 
I think not only does he want to show that he is a drummer but hes been playin drums since he was 5 in fact his first kit was home made by his dad and i think although i havent read much about him, that he likes to show what he can do because he likes to think his dad would be proud of him especially what he has achieved over these many years from where he first started.
 
From a 1986 interview :

PLAYBOY: But your first love

COLLINS: Is drumming, right.

He just likes to play drums. After all he's done behind a kit, at the various stage of his carreer, he doesn't need to "show" he can plays drums.
 
infernal drummer said:
what live aid dvd is that? i cant seem to find it on cdon.com.. well i can find it but led zeppelin is not on play list..

ps.. phil collins great drummer.. just purchased the live dvd with him and eric clapton..

It was the original Live Aid. You'd be very lucky to find footage of Phil playing with Zeppelin, Zeppelin prohibited the release of the footage.
 
Mediocrefunkybeat said:
It was the original Live Aid. You'd be very lucky to find footage of Phil playing with Zeppelin, Zeppelin prohibited the release of the footage.


just go to youtube.com or download it on limewire.......i downloaded the whole zeppelin footage with rock and roll, whole lotta love, and stairway to heaven....definatly not zeppelins best performance at all
 
infernal drummer said:
okay got it :)

but in this version phil and a another drummer plays?

If my memory serves me right it was the late great Tony Thompson, who also played at Live Aid with The Power Station (with Michael Des Barres rather than the also late and great Robert Palmer).

Paul
 
okay but i think he also does some of fillings.. at one point phil just looks and laugh towards him
 
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