(Credits: Warner Music)
Sat 3 January 2026 19:00, UK
Throughout his career, Phil Collins earned the right to make pretty much anything he ever wanted.
It wasn’t easy for most people to escape him during his run with Genesis and his solo career in the 1980s, but he never went to the studio with the intent to churn out fluff, either. You could always tell that he genuinely loved making music for anyone that would listen, but when looking back on the music he heard growing up, there were a handful of artists that were in their own separate class.
But when you grow up playing progressive rock, you’re not going to be listening to the bog-standard rock and roll all the time. Every single member of the prog scene had put in their time listening to everything from jazz fusion to classical music, and when listening to what Collins did behind the kit with Genesis in the Peter Gabriel years, he would have been more than capable of throwing down with everyone from Neil Peart to Bill Bruford if he were given the chance.
Then again, his heart wasn’t in the business to compete with anyone. Because by all accounts, he had won by 1986. Face Value had launched him into superstardom as a solo artist, and while Live Aid saw him playing with every single hero of rock and roll, there came a point when seeing him onscreen could become more than a little bit unbearable if you were looking to watch literally anything else.
Collins probably knew how much of a nuisance he could be every time he came onscreen, but he wasn’t a one-trick pony, either. He was more than happy to give people a look at everything that made him tick musically, and while some tunes were heavier than others, he seemed to be put on this Earth to make crushing ballads most of the time. ‘Against All Odds’ and even his music for Tarzan had the best melodies he ever came up with, but that came from spending his days listening to Motown.
After all, the 1980s did have a slight fascination with Motown for a brief period. Aside from Hall and Oates bringing the sound of soul to MTV, there were always bands trying to ape the songwriting style that Hitsville made so popular. But when Collins began working on his tribute album Going Back, he knew there was something about the way that The Funk Brothers played that hardly anyone could emulate.
It would have been any drummer’s dream to work with a band with that kind of resume, but Collins knew from the moment he sat down that their word was gospel, saying, “For me it was a wonderful experience playing on that record with, at the time, the three remaining Funk Brothers. It really was great for me to be able to say to them ‘is that actually what happened’ or ‘is that actually the part that you played’ and all three of them would always say ‘yes, it is’ and there was no arguing with that.”
And it’s not like Collins was wrong in his assessment. If anything, the fact that The Funk Brothers lent a hand to his record ended up making some of his feeble attempts at Motown look a little bit shallow by comparison. Say what you will about his version of ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ or even his own attempts at soul like ‘Two Hearts’, and none of them even begin to hold a candle to what the original Motown hits could do.
Because when you think about it, what that percussion team did is the kind of chops that can’t really be taught. It all comes from musicians who have played together for years to the point where they practically know each other’s heartbeats better than anyone else on Earth. And even if you study those records, all you’re doing is mimicking them half the time.
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