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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Phil Collins

  • First Look: Phil Collins “Heat Wave”

    Phil Collins has posted a video for his take on the 1963 Martha and the Vandellas classic “Heat Wave”. It’s from Going Back, his forthcoming collection of Motown and other 60s pop and soul covers which finds him backed by a very large band which includes former members of Motown’s iconic house band the Funk Brothers, a couple of longtime Genesis associates, and a herd of back-up singers, who all appear to be having a blast. Collins’s love for Motown is no secret. Collins was still considered mainly an album rock guy best known for his work with Genesis (who hadn’t gone completely pop yet) and for the moody atmospherics of “In the Air Tonight” when his 1982 cover of the Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love” gave him his first solo top 10 hit. That song played a pivotal role in establishing Collins as the pop superstar he would become by mid-decade with his No Jacket Required album and he’d later return to the Motown sound with his original song “Two Hearts” from the movie Buster, which ending up topping the charts in early 1989.

    Phil Collins “Heat Wave” (2010)

    Phil Collins “You Can’t Hurry Love” (1982)

    Phil Collins “Two Hearts” (1988)

  • The Infatueighties Countdown: #103: “Easy Lover”

    I would imagine that back in the Seventies, if you’d have told the average rock music fan that the heavily falsetto-ed lead singer of Earth Wind & Fire would be recording music with the drummer from Genesis, you would get a ton of quizzical stares. By 1984, the idea of that happening didn’t seem so farfetched-especially since EWF’s Philip Bailey had already launched a solo career with 1983’s “Continuation” and Genesis’s Phil Collins had moved from behind the drum stool to become the band’s lead singer. Oh, and there’s also the fact that Collins borrowed EWF’s horn section for portions of his first solo record, 1981’s “Face Value”. In the vein of other ebony/ivory duets like “Say, Say, Say”, “Yah Mo B There” and…uh, “Ebony & Ivory” came “Easy Lover”, a song that trumps (almost) all of the aforementioned superstar pairings.

    The cover of Philip Bailey\'s \"Easy Lover\" 45 (featuring Phil Collins)

    Turns out Bailey’s voice is pretty well-suited for punchier, rock-etched tunes in addition to his band’s sumptuous ballads and slick funk jams. Some guys have all the luck. Collins-who was mere months away from becoming ubiquitous thanks to “No Jacket Required”-pulls out a legitimately soulful vocal here. Plus, that huge drum sound that marks just about everything Collins produces had yet to become boring yet.

    And you’ve gotta love the silly video. Makes you wonder why Collins never made it as an actor. Hey, if Bob Hoskins and Kevin Spacey can score roles…

    Lyrically, the song is just one bro looking out for another bro. “Dude, that chick is dangerous, watch out!”. I figure one Phil was just checking for the other Phil’s best interests. It’s doubtful that Bailey would want Collins for himself. Although, with that falsetto…

    The song peaked at #2 in early 1985, giving Bailey his last Top 10 hit either with his band or as a solo artist, while reaching #3 on the R&B charts, giving Collins the first of two Top 10 R&B hits (“Sussudio” peaked at #8 the following summer).

  • Introducing the Falsettometer: Part 1: Philip Bailey


    Welcome to The Falsettometer, where we will look at Great Moments in Falsetto History. Please keep all glass objects out of reach when reading this column or playing one of the videos embedded in a falsettometer column.

    Of course, we have to begin with one of the All Time Falsetto Greats. Someone whose voice can hit notes so high, 5 year old boys look at one another in awe and ask “How did he do that?”

    At any rate, here are the three things that come to mind whenever I think of Earth, Wind & Fire:

    1) No one must have been getting paid in that band, because there were about 64 members. Anyone remember seeing them on Merv Griffin or Mike Douglas back in the day? There were literal *tiers* of members.

    2) Maurice White has one of pop music’s all-time biggest foreheads. Put him and Peabo Bryson together and you basically get a 10-foot tall skull.

    3) Philip Bailey’s voice was so high, he didn’t even sound like a girl. He sounded *unnatural*. Whether the song was “Can’t Hide Love” (“bet-TAH!!”), “September” (“bow-de-ow-de-ow-de-ah!!” or his own “Easy Lover” (if you don’t love “Easy Lover”, something is wrong with you), there was no doubt who was singing. I would say the man’s testicles up and ran away at some point during the Seventies, but Mr. Bailey has *several* kids. God bless him.

    Anyway, EW&F were one of the best at synthesizing pop and funk back in the day (although I’ll admit that they were a bit sanitized for my tastes-even Lionel Richie and The Commodores were grimier than EW&F), but their calling card was ballads. The combo of Maurice White’s ethereal growl and Philip’s falsetto was a hell of a two-pronged attack. And when it comes to slow jams, there are very few better than “Reasons”, which is all Philip. Enjoy, and stay tuned for future editions of The Falsettometer!!