5 Phil Collins Lead Vocals with Bands That Weren’t Genesis

December 4, 2023 10:09 pm

Even four decades after his commercial peak, it doesn’t take much effort to come across Phil Collins music. His many hits from the ‘80s—both solo and with Genesis—are still played constantly on classic rock radio (and quite possibly at your local supermarket). Even for Collins’ fans who followed him back to his early years in Genesis, when he only rarely provided lead vocals, it can feel like we’ve heard all of his vocal performances too many times to count.

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For those who enjoy Collins’ singing but haven’t ventured beyond his solo albums, the Genesis discography, and his hit collaborations, there’s good news. Collins performed as a lead vocalist outside of these ventures. So if you’re unfamiliar with his work with the other artists mentioned below, you have some new music to explore. For those who simply can’t get their fill of Phil, here are five songs you can add to your playlists.

1. Brand X, “Don’t Make Waves”

This isn’t some one-off guest performance that Collins did with another band. He was the full-time drummer for this London-based jazz fusion group for the vast majority of the late ‘70s, even as he was cranking out albums with Genesis. Most of Brand X’s compositions were instrumental, but Collins lent his vocals to a handful of tracks, including this one from their 1979 album, Product. If you’re a Collins fan who has wanted to give Brand X a try, this album is a great starting point, as it features three tracks for which he provides lead vocals. “Don’t Make Waves” is about as close as Brand X gets to rock, and it’s the track that will remind listeners the most of Genesis.

2. Steve Hackett, “Star of Sirius”

When Peter Gabriel left Genesis in 1975, there was a brief period where it was not clear if the band would carry on without him, so lead guitarist Hackett decided to make his first solo album, Voyage of the Acolyte. If not for Hackett writing or co-writing all eight tracks, this album resembles something close to the first post-Gabriel Genesis album, given that Tony Banks was the only member of the group missing. Collins provided drums and percussion for the whole album, and for this particular track, he sang lead vocals. Given the personnel involved, the track bears a strong resemblance to mid-’70s Genesis, though there’s a brief part of the chorus late in the song that has some acoustic guitar that is reminiscent of Yes.

3. Anthony Phillips, “Which Way the Wind Blows”

Phillips, who preceded Hackett as Genesis’ lead guitarist, released his first solo album, The Geese & the Ghost, in 1977. Like Hackett, Phillips recruited Collins and Mike Rutherford to play substantial roles on his debut effort. (Rutherford also co-wrote three of the album’s eight songs.) Just as Collins was the perfect choice to sing gentler acoustic numbers like ”For Absent Friends” and “More Fool Me” on Genesis’ earlier albums, his voice is ideal for this gorgeous song about impermanence. The album also features “God If I Saw Her Now,” a beautiful duet with Collins and Vivienne McAuliffe.

Fun fact: Collins is not credited with playing drums on this largely-acoustic album, but both Phillips and Rutherford are.

4. The Manhattan Transfer, “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby”

Collins joins the renowned vocal group for this cover of the song Marvin Gaye popularized in 1969. He gets the first verse to himself and shares the third verse with Tim Hauser. The song is from Manhattan Transfer’s 1995 album Tonin’, which is comprised of covers of ‘50s and ‘60s songs, each featuring a guest vocalist. Collins is in good company, as Bette Midler, Smokey Robinson, Laura Nyro, Chaka Khan and James Taylor are just some of the guest performers. Given that Collins had already covered the Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love” on his second album, Hello, I Must Be Going, it’s hardly surprising that he sounds right at home on this remake of another Motown classic.

5. Silvano Bazan Trio, “Teach Me Tonight”

Collins shows yet another side of his vocal versatility in his collaboration with this European jazz trio, who included the track on their 2003 album, I Wish I Knew. The song is a jazz standard written by Gene de Paul and Sammy Cahn, and it’s been recorded by numerous artists, including Dinah Washington and Al Jarreau, both of whom released it as a single. Collins made his love for jazz standards known when he formed The Phil Collins Big Band in 1996. Whereas he mainly stuck to drumming for that project, on “Teach Me Tonight,” Collins’ contributions are strictly vocal. It’s refreshing and impressive to hear him croon on this cover, as it’s an enormous stylistic leap from the more aggressive vocal stylings of his ‘80s hits.

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