The 1971 Genesis song that revealed Phil Collins’ future role
The story of Genesis is often divided into two distinct eras: the theatrical, progressive-rock years fronted by Peter Gabriel and the commercially dominant period led by Phil Collins.
For decades, fans have debated which version of the band was superior, with Collins frequently finding himself blamed for Genesis’ move towards a more accessible sound. To put it more simply, for some Genesis fans, hearing Phil Collins behind the microphone was when everything went wrong.
As opposed to the wild genre experiments that went on with Peter Gabriel behind the mic, Collins’ era as the group’s frontman brought with it some of the wildest turns towards pop music that the band had ever seen, including massive albums and singles storming the charts. Although most prog snobs might credit Collins for single-handedly ruining Genesis, his first turn behind the mic originated much earlier.
In fact, Collins’ first vocal contribution arrived during what many fans regard as Genesis’ purest progressive-rock period, making it difficult to argue that his presence behind the microphone automatically signalled a move away from the band’s adventurous roots.
When Genesis was first getting started, though, Collins was far from being at the front of the stage. Forming while most of the original members were still at boarding school, the core members of the band were Peter Gabriel and Tony Banks, who helped work out their debut album From Genesis to Revelation with guitarist Mike Rutherford. Once their meagre attempts at pop music got an apathetic response, the band continued making music with a more adventurous slant.
Musically maturing in no time, the band’s sophomore release Trespass would become one of their first progressive rock masterpieces, featuring the epic track ‘The Knife’ to close the album. While the band were still on solid ground, it wasn’t long before they had to shed their skin again, with drummer John Mayhew leaving the fold after the album had wrapped.
Having been a musician from an early age, Collins was known for working in various progressive outfits before getting the call to audition for the group. When talking about his experience joining, though, he thought his surroundings were far more lavish than he had initially thought.
In conversation with Behind the Music, Collins remembered Banks introducing him in a far more sophisticated style, saying, “I pulled up outside this very nice country house and thought, ‘Well this is alright’. And Mike Rutherford walks in with a smoking jacket and dressing gown and I felt like, ‘What planet have I landed on?’”.
Despite the culture shock, Collins quickly proved he was the perfect fit. His technical ability behind the drum kit immediately elevated the band’s musicianship and gave Genesis greater confidence to pursue increasingly complex arrangements. Though Collins would pass the audition with flying colours, he did get his first turn behind the microphone on their next album.
Featuring some of the most celebrated music in Genesis’ canon, Nursery Cryme would become a defining moment in 1970s progressive rock. Outside of massive exercises like ‘The Musical Box’, Collins would show off his vocal talents for the first time in the band on the song ‘For Absent Friends’.
Recalling that time, Collins remembered he and Steve Hackett being caught off guard by the amount of freedom that they had on the song, telling Rolling Stone, “Tony [Banks], Mike [Rutherford] and Peter [Gabriel] were the writers. But Steve and I wrote this sort of classical piece that I haven’t heard, frankly, for God knows how many years. It was the first time I ever sang on a Genesis record”.
While the song may not have been the most substantial Genesis recording, it would become a sign of things to come, with Collins eventually taking the spotlight away from Gabriel on albums like The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, only to take the reins once he decided to leave the fold. Collins may be known as the pop technician behind Genesis’s later years, but as evidenced by his vocal debut, he could still take music into strange sonic dimensions whenever he wanted to.
Looking back, ‘For Absent Friends’ feels less like a curious footnote and more like the first chapter in Collins’ evolution within Genesis. Long before he became one of the biggest pop stars in the world, he was already leaving subtle clues that his future in the band would extend well beyond the drum stool.
