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<v Speaker 1>What's up, everybody. Welcome back to Crash Course Pod. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>your host, and today we're diving into the career of

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<v Speaker 1>a man who was so productive in the eighties the

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<v Speaker 1>irs probably thought he was three different people. We're talking Genesis,

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<v Speaker 1>the solo peak, and the gated reverb sound that changed

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<v Speaker 1>drumming forever. But before we get into it, I would

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<v Speaker 1>like to thank you guys for tuning in to this

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<v Speaker 1>episode and the last one and the one before that,

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<v Speaker 1>specifically the Stevie Wonder episode. Loved the participation on that episode.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you guys so much. Again, I can't say thank

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<v Speaker 1>you enough. However, I did want to add a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit of music head knowledge to that Stevie Wonder episode

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<v Speaker 1>where I had talked about his collapse, and I briefly

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<v Speaker 1>talked about the one with him and Beyonce with their

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<v Speaker 1>still amazing and all start tribute to Luther Vandros. But

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<v Speaker 1>I completely forgot about the twenty twenty four Cowboy Carter

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<v Speaker 1>album where he didn't sing, but he played his signature

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<v Speaker 1>chromatic harmonica on Joe Lene So yeah. Beyonce officially thanked

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<v Speaker 1>him for the contribution during her twenty twenty four iHeartRadio

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<v Speaker 1>Music Award speech and that's the same time he actually

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<v Speaker 1>presented her with the Innovator Awards. So I wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>say that because I forgot to mention it last episode,

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<v Speaker 1>and what better time than now. So yes, let's get

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<v Speaker 1>into this episode while we're talking about disclaimers. Did you, guys,

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<v Speaker 1>guess who we are talking about. Most people know him

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<v Speaker 1>as the guy who sang the Disney songs or the

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<v Speaker 1>man behind the most famous drum phil in history. But

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<v Speaker 1>if you're a music head, you know Phil Collins. It's

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<v Speaker 1>actually a case study in technical brilliance and accidental world domination. So,

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<v Speaker 1>in case you haven't realized it, in case you didn't

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<v Speaker 1>see the title, we are talking about Phil Collins this episode.

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<v Speaker 2>Guys.

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<v Speaker 1>By the way, I thought about doing this episode maybe

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<v Speaker 1>a week ago or maybe two weeks ago. I was

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about this episode and it was kind of funny

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<v Speaker 1>because it was good. Originally, it was going to be

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<v Speaker 1>a juvenile, super childish episode because I'm a millennial. I

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<v Speaker 1>know Phil Collins through Tarzan and we'll get into it

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit later. So I wanted to do this episode,

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<v Speaker 1>and Tarzan was my motivating factor. But I realized, let's

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<v Speaker 1>not be childish. Let's not be juvenile. There are some

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<v Speaker 1>music kids that know Phil Collins for his other work.

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<v Speaker 1>So I ended up doing extensive research, and so I

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<v Speaker 1>was thinking about doing the episode, and I think the

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<v Speaker 1>next day it was his birthday. His birthday is January thirtieth,

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<v Speaker 1>for those of you that don't know, he's a fellow Aquarius,

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<v Speaker 1>such as myself. So today is the tenth. He just

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<v Speaker 1>celebrated his seventy fifth birthday about a week and a

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<v Speaker 1>half ago, around the same time I was thinking about

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<v Speaker 1>doing this episode. So sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's get into the journey of Phil Collins. So we

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<v Speaker 1>have to start with the nineteen seventies, the Genesis pivot.

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<v Speaker 1>Phil wasn't the front man. He was the powerhouse drummer

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<v Speaker 1>for the progressive rock giants Genesis. When Peter Gabriel left

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<v Speaker 1>in seventy five, Genesis received about four hundred tapes and applications,

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<v Speaker 1>but they only physically auditioned around like fifteen to thirty people.

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<v Speaker 1>Phil was actually the one teaching the songs to those

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<v Speaker 1>thirty people before realizing he was the best fit.

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<v Speaker 2>What's wild is that.

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<v Speaker 1>He didn't just fill the shoes. He changed the silhouette.

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<v Speaker 1>He took a complex, cerebral progressive band and injected a

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<v Speaker 1>sense of soul and pop sensibility for the music heads

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<v Speaker 1>listening Go back and listen to the time signatures on

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<v Speaker 1>a tray of the tail. Phil was doing all of

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<v Speaker 1>that while stepping into the spotlight for the first time.

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<v Speaker 1>You can't talk about Phil without talking about the gated reverb.

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<v Speaker 1>It's the drum sound that defined the eighties. It happened

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<v Speaker 1>by accident during a Peter Gabriel session for the song Intruder.

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<v Speaker 1>Using the talkback mic on an SSL console which had

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<v Speaker 1>a heavy compressor on it. Phil hit the drums and

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<v Speaker 1>the sound stayed massive but cut off instantly. It was aggressive, sterile,

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<v Speaker 1>and huge. When Phil took that sound to his solo debut,

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<v Speaker 1>Face Value, he dropped in the air tonight it was over.

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<v Speaker 1>He didn't just make a hit, He created a sonic

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<v Speaker 1>template that everyone from Prince to modern synthwave artists are

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<v Speaker 1>still chasing. In the air tonight, do you guys I

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<v Speaker 1>feel callin a night? Ugh? I actually really liked that song.

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<v Speaker 1>I have a friend that she was a musician, like

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<v Speaker 1>heavy musician back in the day, and she was doing

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<v Speaker 1>a cover to this song, and so this song will

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<v Speaker 1>forever remind me of recording in her closet studio in

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<v Speaker 1>the air. Moving on, let's talk about his worth ethic,

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<v Speaker 1>because there's a level of productivity that's almost scary. In

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen eighty five, Phil played live AID in London, hopped

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<v Speaker 1>on a concord jet, flew to Philadelphia and played live

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<v Speaker 1>AID again. On the same day he was producing Eric Clapton,

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<v Speaker 1>playing drums for Robert Plant and turning out number one

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<v Speaker 1>solo hits like Against All Odds and more. He was

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<v Speaker 1>the ultimate session guy who accidentally became the biggest star

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<v Speaker 1>on the planet. If I'm completely honest, for someone who

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<v Speaker 1>values staying sharp and productive, looking at Phil's eighties calendar

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<v Speaker 1>is enough to give you a contact tie. Now let's

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<v Speaker 1>talk about my favorite part, shall we? Tarzan Deep Dive.

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<v Speaker 1>That's bring of Tarzan. So in the nineties, the Disney

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<v Speaker 1>formula was Broadway style. Characters would stop everything to sing

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<v Speaker 1>about their feelings think Little Mermaid or Aladdin. Phil and

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<v Speaker 1>the directors broke that. He insisted that the characters shouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>sing because it would look silly to have a gorilla

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<v Speaker 1>burst into song. And I second that I'm so glad

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<v Speaker 1>they didn't have them do that. Instead, Phil acted as

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<v Speaker 1>an invisible narrator. He sang for the characters from the outside.

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<v Speaker 1>This gave me the movie a much more cinematic, adult

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<v Speaker 1>feel for music heads. This was a huge risk that

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<v Speaker 1>paid off. It kept his rock pop identity while still

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<v Speaker 1>telling the Disney story. Now the flex is the multi

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<v Speaker 1>lingual feat huge flex that every music head needs to know.

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<v Speaker 1>Disney wanted to market the film globally, and Phil, being

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<v Speaker 1>the workaholic, amazing aquarius he is, didn't just let translators

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<v Speaker 1>take over. He recorded the entire soundtrack in five languages English, French, German, Italian,

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<v Speaker 1>and Spanish. Specifically two dialects Castilian and Latin American. The

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<v Speaker 1>catch he didn't speak any.

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<v Speaker 2>Of those languages.

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<v Speaker 1>He learned every single line phonetically. As a result, it's

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<v Speaker 1>actually impressive. If you listen to him, it's actually him

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<v Speaker 1>on the track in every territory.

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<v Speaker 2>If you grew up in.

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<v Speaker 1>Madrid or Berlin, Phil Collins is still your childhood and

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<v Speaker 1>his pronunciation was so good that most fans actually thought

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<v Speaker 1>he was fluent. This is something I love about Phil Collins,

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<v Speaker 1>like just that alone. The dedication to the soundtrack and

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<v Speaker 1>the languages, and how he still sounded fluent, like, I love.

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<v Speaker 2>That about him.

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<v Speaker 1>Disney didn't just hire him for ballads. They hired him

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<v Speaker 1>because they wanted jungle rhythms, and who better than a

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<v Speaker 1>guy who revolutionalized the eighties drum sound. If you listen

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<v Speaker 1>to Son of Man, that's a masterclass in percussion drive.

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<v Speaker 1>He used his background in Genesis style complex rhythms to

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<v Speaker 1>create something that felt tribal but had a pop hook.

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<v Speaker 1>He worked with Mark Mancina, the composer, to blend his

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<v Speaker 1>massive studio drum sounds with traditional orchestral elements, creating a

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<v Speaker 1>hybrid score that felt way heavier than a standard kids

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<v Speaker 1>movie Impacts. You know, it was a brief moment when

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<v Speaker 1>it was cool to hate on Phil Collins, but after

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<v Speaker 1>that he went from uncool to legend. By the mid nineties,

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<v Speaker 1>the cool crowd was turning on Phil, but he was

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<v Speaker 1>seen as the face of corporate pop and Tarzan completely

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<v Speaker 1>flipped the script. Like I said, people were trying to

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<v Speaker 1>hate on him in the mid nineties. I think it's

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<v Speaker 1>because he was everywhere at the time, but it was

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<v Speaker 1>just an uncool thing to listen to Phil Collins to

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<v Speaker 1>some crowds. When Tarzan dropped, he he made a fan

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<v Speaker 1>out of the millennials for sure, Like he hit that

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<v Speaker 1>millennial audience and tapped into that market. Maybe because it's amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>He finally took home the Academy Award for Best Original Song,

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<v Speaker 1>beating out likes of South Park and Toy Story Too.

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<v Speaker 1>It introduced him to millennials and gen z. He went

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<v Speaker 1>from being my dad's favorite singer to the guy who

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<v Speaker 1>made the greatest soundtrack of all time. I'm telling you, guys, Tarzan.

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't want to make this childish and just harp

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<v Speaker 1>only on Tarzan. But I'm telling you, I didn't really

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<v Speaker 1>know a Phil Collins until Tarzan came out. But before

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<v Speaker 1>it came out, Disney was doing these series like this.

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<v Speaker 1>There's promo basically on Disney Channel and they would take

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<v Speaker 1>him in and then it'll be Phil Collins showing the

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<v Speaker 1>behind the scenes of how he made Tarzan, Like you

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<v Speaker 1>could see him with the pots and pants and just

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<v Speaker 1>different shut it up, shooting up, don ind Like, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>telling you, it was amazing, and I became a huge fan.

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<v Speaker 1>I actually watched the movie Tarzan with tears in my

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<v Speaker 1>eyes because the score, the soundtrack was so good, like

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<v Speaker 1>it literally moved a child to tears with the artist

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<v Speaker 1>Street and the music, I think it made the film

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<v Speaker 1>like out of everything with Tarzan, I remember the songs

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<v Speaker 1>and the soundtrack and the scores more than the actual events. Anyways,

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<v Speaker 1>it proved he could still dominate the charts without a

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<v Speaker 1>drum kit in front of him, though he never really

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<v Speaker 1>left the sticks behind. So let's talk more about this

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<v Speaker 1>Tarzan soundtrack and then we'll pivot off of it for

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit. One last fun fact. You'll Be in

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<v Speaker 1>my Heart was originally a lullaby he wrote for his daughter.

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<v Speaker 1>It started as a personal, simple melody on a piano

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<v Speaker 1>and ended up as a certified is it diamond? Is

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<v Speaker 1>it a diamond certified global anthem? I think it's diamond. Anyways,

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<v Speaker 1>So so good, you guys, so so good. I'm gonna

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<v Speaker 1>actually create a separate episode and we're gonna break down

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<v Speaker 1>this Tarzan soundtrack. We don't have time today, we're actually

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<v Speaker 1>about to end. But yeah, next episode, we are breaking

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<v Speaker 1>down the Tarzan soundtrack for sure. Anyways, Elton gave us

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<v Speaker 1>the songs I want like from Lion King, but Phil

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<v Speaker 1>Collins with this Tarzan soundtrack, gave us a cohesive, drum

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<v Speaker 1>driven concept album that just happened to have a movie

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<v Speaker 1>attached to it. And we've got to do another show

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<v Speaker 1>simply on this. But before I let you go, here's

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<v Speaker 1>a quick reminder. Phil Collins did all of this while

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<v Speaker 1>dealing with the physical toll of decades of drumming. He

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<v Speaker 1>was productive, he was so reminded, and he never let

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<v Speaker 1>the Disney label soften his sound. He kept the kick

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<v Speaker 1>drum loud and the bridges complex. So that's gonna do

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<v Speaker 1>for this episode on Phil Collins, And if you haven't

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<v Speaker 1>listened to Face Value, get you some headphones and give

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<v Speaker 1>it a spin tonight. Thanks for tuning in, you guys,

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<v Speaker 1>and have a great night. Bye.