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You want classic 80's ballads? Phil Collins is your man.
Growing up as a faithful 106.7 Lite FM listener in the 80's and 90's I was extremely familiar with several great soft rock artists. When it came to the male vocals there has never been a more powerful combo than the Billy Joel, Elton John, and Phil Collins trifector. These guys busted out hit after hit and gave the station plenty of great tunes to play. Of course once the world realized that Elton's wrist was a tad limp he quickly ceased to be as widely loved. That left Billy Joel and Phil Collins. To be honest, it seemed that Billy was the better of the bunch. He had classics like "Uptown Girl" and "It's Still Rock n' Roll to Me". "Pianoman" is still one of those songs that makes everybody get quiet so they can hear when it comes on in a restaurant or store. And so with his failure to create a song to knock gloves with these mammoths, Phil Collins took on the stigma of being "the poor man's Billy Joel." After all, Billy hailed from nearby Long Island. Phil Collins was from overseas England. And so while Billy took in all the glory, Phil waited in the shadows for his time to shine...
The early to mid 90's were a difficult time for Phil Collins. Billy had wowed us all with his great hit, "River of Dreams". However, that just happened to be his last hit. And of course Elton was headlining the Lion King soundtrack which would also be his final moment of glory...unless you count his duet with Eminem. But while those two were on their last leg, Phil Collins was preparing to take over the throne. Just when it appeared that Elton and Billy had reached heights Phil Collins would never reach, he simultaneously broke out with a hit of "River of Dreams" proportions and bested the fairy by writing an entire soundtrack for a Disney flick. "You'll be in My Heart" headlined the movie "Tarzan" and catapulted Phil Collins to the forefront where he belonged. And now while Billy has more "Chin's" than a Chinese telephone book and Sir Elton is parading around in high heels, Phil Collinsis sitting at the top after releasing yet another great album.
Most of you are against what I'm writing here. You're all Billy enthusiasts and think I'm bordering on being sac religious by slighting him like this. But let's look at it purely from a music standpoint. Here's a list of Phil Collins' hits next to Billy Joel's.
Phil Collins' Hits:
A Groovy Kind of Love
Against All Odds
Another Day In Paradise
Can't Stop Loving You
Do You Remember
I Wish It Would Rain Down
In The Air Tonight
In Too Deep
One More Night
Something Happened On The Way To Heaven
Sussudio
True Colors
Two Hearts
You Can't Hurry Love
You'll Be In My Heart
Billy Joel's Hits:
For The Longest Time
It's Still Rock n' Roll To Me
Just The Way You Are
Only The Good Die Young
Pianoman
She's Always A Woman To Me
She's Got A Way
River Of Dreams
Uptown Girl
We Didn't Start The Fire
You May Be Right
Phil Collins has got a significant lead over Billy Joel and that's with me being very selective as what constitutes a hit for Phil Collins and letting everything fly for Billy Jeol. Hey, I'm not going to argue with the awesomeness of "Pianoman" or even "Uptown Girl." But in all honesty how good are songs like "You May Be Right" or "Just The Way You Are"? Meanwhile, you'd have a pretty hard time seriously knocking any of those on Phil Collins' list. Sure Billy Joel's songs are fun, but do they really get the emotions like Phil Collins? Can you even compare "She's Got A Way" with the feelings in one of the handfuls of Phil's ballads? Does "River of Dreams" get to you like "You'll Be In My Heart" can? Is there any Billy Joel song that ended up being one of the defining hits of the decade like "In The Air Tonight"? Do any have backgrounds that pump you up like "Something Happened On The Way to Heaven"? Has Billy Joel produced a highschool dance classic like "Groovy Kind of Love"? Case Closed.
It's been a long road, but one filled with plenty of Lite FM classics. And so Phil Collins, because of all the great music you've given us and lack of gratitude the world has given back, DeROK.com honors you by placing you in the Hall of Legends as the greatest male vocal artist ever.
