Re: Stars In Bars

[TangerineMan <tangerineman@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> TangerineMan:
> 
> But Collins' career as a mega-star is pitiful. Mainstream
> bullshit. No way Plant set his sights equally low just to stay famous.

Josh,

I was not insinuating that, musically, Plant aspired to the same mainstream
pop (read "pap") success during the 80s. No-one could possibly deny that
Plant's solo records, particularly Shaken 'n' Stirred, were more adventurous
musically and lyrically than "No Jacket Required" and everything that came
after.

I simply meant that Plant could have held up Collins' solo success as an
example of a guy who left his supergroup and went onto great success, as
further justification for avoiding a Zeppelin reunion. Not that he wanted to
record crap like "Sussudio" or "Another Day in Paradise."

Oner's remarks about "What is success anyway?" are entirely valid, but for
the purposes of the current argument, I think the strict definition
"commercial success" (number of units sold) is what we should be using.

And I'm on exactly the same page as you re. Genesis. The "Seconds Out"
double album was the one that hooked me, as well, around '79 or so. There
was this girl who was in love with "Squonk", and I was in love with her. It
went unrequited. Ah, the teenage life... Montreal in the 70s was a world
capital of prog-rock. Still is.

Agreed, "Duke" was the last good one, after which it became impossible to
distinguish a Genesis album from a Phil Collins album. Except when they
tried to win old-school fans back with that "Home by the Sea" mini-epic.

As each new Genesis album came out after that, I began discovering more and
more of the "real" Genesis, dipping back into the Gabriel-era albums. And I
also started following Gabriel's solo career with more interest than
Collins'.

Having said all that, I will say that Phil's first two solo albums, "Face
Value" and "Hello, I Must Be Going," and the tour he did right after, in '82
or so, were actually pretty interesting. The ballads (like "Why Can't It
Wait Till Morning?") were more earnest and far less tacky, and in concert,
you'd still get a double drum solo from Phil and Chester, and forays into a
couple of tunes by Brand X, Collins' jazz-rockish side project from the late
70s/early 80s.

Once he started spending too much time out front instead of behind the
drums, though, it was all over for me.

Not to mention his insouciance and nonchalance playing with the reunited Zep
at Live Aid, for which he will be forever hated. By any self-respecting Zep
fan, anyway.