The forgotten 1969 album that gave the world Phil Collins
Even though he wasn’t initially the star of the show, leaving vocal duties to Peter Gabriel, the contributions that Phil Collins made to the early work of Genesis were invaluable to the band’s success.
While his primary role was as the drummer for the group from the third album onwards, the fact that he had the added talent of being a capable songwriter provided an instant boost to the group that had been absent with their two previous short-term drummers, John Silver and John Mayhew. What the band had suddenly acquired was a secret weapon who would help to propel them to the next level as a group, and what’s more, he fully bought into the elaborate progressive style that the band wanted to dive into.
The most remarkable thing about Collins at the time of his recruitment in 1970 was that he was still only 19 years old, yet proving that he had the skills to match anyone with several more years of experience over him. But where exactly had they discovered this teenage sensation, and how were they to know that they’d unlocked a key to decades of success that would follow?
Collins had been playing the drums since the age of five, and gathered plenty of experience in his early life performing with smaller touring bands, at this point unsuccessful in his auditions to join higher-profile acts. After having served as a member of John Walker’s backing band for a 1969 tour, he and the other members of the ensemble ended up forming Hickory, later renaming themselves Flaming Youth.
While not exactly showing off a progressive flair to the same degree that he did with Genesis, Collins’ stint in this short-lived rock outfit would prove to be one of the most valuable experiences he could have asked for at this point in his career, with it marking the first time he’d been involved in a group with a record deal. Even though they only produced one studio album together, the highly conceptual Ark 2, it would demonstrate to the world that he was capable of performing at the highest level, and one song at the centre of the record proved to be the greatest indication of how multitalented he was.
The multi-part suite, ‘The Planets’, features some vocal contributions from Collins in two sections, but also demonstrates the sheer dexterity of his drumming abilities, with it flowing through different sections and moods as the chaos unfolds. Elsewhere on the album, Collins’ versatility gets other opportunities to shine, and with plenty of different styles being covered throughout the album, he’s required to flex his ability to adhere to them.
It’s by no means the best example of what Collins could do, given he was still in his teens at the time and relatively new to the world of being a professional musician, but it was certainly the perfect early sign that he could make the move to the next level if he wanted to.
Ark 2 may have largely been forgotten about due to the middling contemporary reception it received, with only a handful of outlets praising the innovativeness on display, but it was certainly a great record for Collins to be able to put on his CV and show to other prospective employers.
Evidently impressive enough for Genesis, they took him on board after he responded to their advert in the NME looking for two new musicians, and with the addition of him and Steve Hackett, quite possibly the strongest incarnation of Genesis was born. None of that would have been possible without him having cut his teeth with Flaming Youth first.
