atrium

I'm wondering where your guys's preference lies, both in Genesis and solo.

Me, I'm going with Gabriel for both Genesis and solo. I can't stand Collins, very generic pop music and I think he ruined Genesis, which was a very unique artistic driven group at the time. Your thoughts?

cungar

Between 1976 and 1979 Genesis led by Phil Collins put on some of the best concerts in arena rock and produced a few great albums. Collins drum duets with Chester Thompson were some of the most exciting performances I've ever seen. Other than that and his tenure drumming with Peter Gabriel led Genesis I have no use for his music. He put out one good solo album and decades of crappy ones.

Genesis led by Gabriel and his solo albums is some of the most creative and interesting music this side of David Bowie. Despite some lackluster albums, I have little to say bad about him. A huge talent.

Hiro11

They're not really comparable. I think it's clear that Gabriel has had a better solo career artistically. Also, Genesis was better when he was in the band (I'm a particular sucker for "Foxtrot").

Collins is obviously much more pop oriented but he also did some interesting stuff and demonstrated real talent. "No Jacket Required" is a terrific pop album and "Face Value" has moments that stand up. Also, I think Collins' work in Genesis after Gabriel was in general pretty solid. "Duke" (featuring Collins' best pop song ever, IMO "Misunderstanding") and "Abacab" are both really good albums. But that's about it, everything else he did is pretty much crap.

One note: people tend to forget that Collins did have legitimate experimental musical chops. He did a lot of cool stuff in the 70s with Eno and a bunch of other projects. Some of his drumming on early Genesis albums is inventive. Also his signature noise-gate drum sound sounded radical and ended up ruling the eighties (think of the rocking drums on Frida's classic 80s pop tune "There's Something Going On").

conscience

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/music-talk/...r-gabriel.html

kd5

I can't choose between the two, they both have their strengths and weaknesses. I loved Genesis with Peter Gabriel, saw the Lamb Lies Down On Broadway concert in Cleveland, Ohio back in 1974 (they also performed a lot of their older material complete with costumes like Watcher Of The Skies, Supper's Ready, etc.). I was royally pissed when Gabriel left Genesis, it seemed to me like he took the magic with him when he left, although Trick Of The Tail was pretty damned good (1st LP without Gabriel), it just wasn't the same without him. While Abacab was pretty good, it seemed to me like Genesis without Gabriel started leaning towards pop (ugh...), while Gabriel's music lost my interest after So. They're both outstanding musicians, which is why I really can't choose between the two. -kd5-

Numanoid

In my music collection, I have everything Peter Gabriel has ever recorded, and zero Phil Collins albums or songs (though I do enjoy some of his work). I think that indicates where my preference lies.

Hokeyboy

Phil Collins is the motherfucking Anti-Christ!

cungar

Wow I would have given anything to see that show.

hdtv00

Phil Collins

HUG-H

I learned about Genesis through the Phil Collins stuff like "Follow You Follow Me" and songs from Duke and Abacab, and hadn't known that much about the earlier lineup with Peter Gabriel until I saw the live 1973 LP in a cutout bin sometime later. I didn't even hear the Gabriel stuff until after I was acquainted with his solo music form the 3rd album on.

I saw them in '86 at MSG, and it was a spectacular show. It was actually quite a treat to hear "Apocalypse 9/8" and "As sure as eggs is eggs"--Better a little Supper's Ready than none, but I understand they were still playing it in its entirety up until '82.

Ginwen

Solo: Peter Gabriel
In Genesis: I don't like either.

Apple Gooncha

I like them both. Overall, I prefer Gabriel. After the 80s (and really, outside of his first 3 solo albums) Collins doesn't have a lot that impresses me. I love 70s Genesis, as I'm a huge prog rock fan, but I also love the 80s era. Duke, Abacab, Genesis, and Invisible Touch are all excellent, IMO. We Can't Dance is alright, too.

Also, Collins played drums (at least on a few tracks) to some other albums I really enjoyed, including Robert Fripp's Exposure and Peter Gabriel's third solo album.

Still, while I don't love all of Gabriel's solo material, I enjoy a good chunk of it and can appreciate what he does.

cungar

I saw them do the whole Supper's Ready at the LA Forum in 1981. One of the highlights of my concert going history.

Hiro11

Holy crap! They must have been exhausted after that.

cungar

I remember the audience sort of losing interest around the middle part. My girlfriend was amazed I knew evey word.

HUG-H

If they'd ever seen the Gabriel version, they would have had a much better association with it, perhaps.

Hehe, when you said your girlfriend was amazed you knew all the words, I thought of this for some reason:

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wendersfan

Phil Collins was a better drummer than Peter Gabriel.

cungar

I bet most of the people int he LA Forum that night didn't even know Gabriel used to be in the band.

HUG-H

Yes, that was where I was coming from, they probably had no point of reference.

Supermallet

Peter Gabriel is my second favorite rock artist ever (after David Bowie), so that's the obvious answer.

However, A Trick of the Tail, Duke, Genesis, and Invisible Touch are all really great Genesis albums that have plenty of interesting compositional and sonic details. I still think Genesis were better with Gabriel, but they still made unique albums with Collins. Can't stand We Can't Dance, though.

As for his solo work, Face Value is an album with many inspired moments ("In The Air Tonight," "Thunder And Lightning," "The Roof Is Leaking," "You Know What I Mean") and No Jacket Required is quintessential 80's pop. Also "Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)" was the number one song when I was born, so I'll never be able to quit Phil.

Falc04

Huge fan of both artists, but always felt Gabriel was the more talented of the two. I like most of everything Gabriel and Collins did with Genesis, and also most of their solo material. Highlights for me include:

Genesis (Gabriel)
The Lamb (best album ever made)

Genesis (Collins)
Duke (Inspired release, after the mediocre "...And then there were three")

Gabriel (solo)
Security (his masterpiece)

Collins (solo)
Face Value (the depths of despair has been know to produce some truly great works of art)

And a special nod to Phil's 1993 Both Sides. To me, an under-rated gem, in which he not only wrote all the music and took on production duties, but also played all the instruments.

JeffTheAlpaca

Gabriel since he never became as cheesy as Phil Collins late in his career.

I liked Collins solo work in the 80's


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kurupt

Gabriel on both counts.

madcougar

Collins with Genesis
Gabriel solo

JeffTheAlpaca

Phil Collins brought us Lily Collins the star of Mirror Mirror