- Phil's new single + some ramblings
 'True Colors' - a four track single |
Three years ago, Phil Collins had already decided to leave Genesis. For many fans of rock and pop music, this is an awful lot of time. For us - still thinking of 'Abacab' (1981) as a pretty new album - it feels like yesterday. For Phil, on the other hand, all comments from him tell us that the decision to leave Genesis was more definitive than his choice to be the band's lead singer when Peter Gabriel left in 1975.
Anthony Phillips, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett - and then Phil Collins. Four important contributors to the music we all love have left Genesis - or rather, a band. They all left a working relationship, like we all do from time to time. I don't see any problems with Phil leaving the band. Indeed - it opened up for a lot of opportunities for Genesis as well as himself. Genesis wrote 'Calling All Stations' - an album which brought some of us back to the late seventies, and Phil has been doing a lot of different things.
He released and toured with his 'Dance Into The Light' album - an album which was a great surprise for me after the quite introvert 'Both Sides'. I have
 Collins behind his big band |
Last summer I had one of my best concert experiences ever. Phil Collins was on tour with his big band, and I managed to get two tickets for his show in Paris - a great opportunity to see the French capital as well. And what a show! A relaxed and entertaining Phil with a bunch of great musicians playing highlights from his career - with Genesis and as a solo artist, as well as some standards from the jazz catalogue. A pleasant surprise was his saxophone player, Gerald Albright, who also had his optimistic 'Chips'n'Salsa' performed by the band. Olata Adams was beautiful - really a diva, especially when she played some her own stuff at the piano. It was obvious that Collins enjoyed himself a lot during the concert in Paris - and it was great to see him give his musicians a lot of space. Let's hope the rumors about an upcoming live album from the European concerts are true. [See also article from The Boston Globe.]
Now it's early October, and Collins released his first compilation of "hits" last week. It's not too much to say about it (I don't even have the track list here in my offline "web-cave") - but if you have all his studio albums, the single will keep you updated on Phil's output.
On 'True Colors', the single - the track list is as follows:
1. 'True Colors' (Steinberg/Kelly) [4:33]
2. 'In The Air Tonight' (Collins) [7:32]
3. 'Don't Loose My Number' (Collins) [4:47]
4. 'I Missed Again' (Collins) [3:41]
It is - for Phil - an odd choice to cover an average hit from the mid-eighties. Cyndi Lauper's voice on the original always annoyed me. Why did he choose to do a cover - of this song - and as a "teaser" for his own hits? I really don't know, but 'True Colors' with Collins is OK - a nice, mid-tempo song with a radio potential. A kind of "acid" beat is making this version acceptable for all kinds of people, but it lacks the edge found on 'Against All Odds', 'Another Day In Paradise' - and the even more contemporary 'The Same Moon'.
A lot of the magic connected to the music of Genesis and past and present members has always been its independency of ... most other kinds of music. The brilliancy of Genesis is founded on the struggle for uniqueness in writing and arrangement. Collins does here the opposite - a kind of "easy way out", and I am afraid not too many fans are happy with his choice. Anyway - 'True Colors' must be regarded solely as a bonus for those wanting to know his work by obtaining his new compilation.
'In The Air Tonight' is included on this single in its extended form - the Ben Liebrand remix from 1988. Nice listening - but it's a fake.
I want to hear more from Phil Collins, but I want to hear his own stuff. DITL and his work with his big band are both evidences of a man with a lot more to give. Play it again, Phil!
Thomas Holter, Oslo, October 9, 1998
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Copyright © 1998 Thomas Holter.