Top 10 Phil Collins Songs

Phil Collins songs

Our Top 10 Phil Collins songs list presents the best Phil Collins songs from his solo albums, including hits like “In The Air Tonight” and deep tracks such as “Like China” and more. In the 1980s, Mr. Phil Collins was a hit-making machine. Both with his band Genesis, his solo albums, and movie soundtrack songs, there was no stopping Phil Collins. It’s difficult to know where to even start when trying to choose the Top 10 Phil Collins Songs. As we have done with his ex-bandmate Peter Gabriel, we will not include any Genesis material. However, that almost does not seem fair since Phil Collins enjoyed incredible commercial success in the 1980s with Genesis.

Our Top 10 Phil Collins songs list will take a look at just the Phil Collins solo albums and movie soundtracks. In the 1980s, Phil Collins developed a sound that became commercially irresistible to popular radio. The success of “In The Air Tonight” on the Miami Vice television show further catapulted Phil Collins into the mass culture spotlight. Even Walt Disney jumped on the Phil Collins bandwagon. If you were a huge fan of the progressive rock era of early Peter Gabriel Genesis, chances are you might not be a fan of the songs on this list. Nonetheless, the man deserves credit for developing the ability to compose and produce hit singles that resonated among multiple age groups in the same fashion done by artists like The Beatles, Elton John, and Billy Joel.

We hope you find our list of Phil Collins’s top 10 songs interesting. The man could play kicking drums, sing pitch-perfect, and compose a hit. Let us know what you think.

# 10 – Like China

Opening up our top 10 Phil Collins songs list is a song from our favorite Phil Collins album. The song “Like China” was released on the album Hello I Must Be Going. The album was released in 1982. The song “Like China” was the eighth single released from the album. Yes, you heard us right, the eighth single! We meant this when we wrote that Phil Collins was a hit-making machine. Ultimately, this will always be our favorite Phil Collins solo album.

# 9 – Wake Up Call

The hits had pretty much stopped coming for Phil Collins in the 2000s. Phil Collins only released two albums in the 2000s; one was a cover album entitled Going Back. “Wake Up Call” was a lovely mid-tempo minor key grooving ballad that recalled a bit of the early 1980s Phil Collins sound. The song was released on his 2002 album Testify. The album was the last full studio album of new material Phil Collins released. Wow, it’s been sixteen years already.

# 8 – It’s In Your Eyes

In 1996, Phil Collins released his Dance Into The Light album. It was an excellent record that served a lovely platter of uptempo, richly produced, and well-written songs. However, it did seem a bit out of place in a music scene that had dramatically changed. The Phil Collins sound no longer dominated radio. Pop radio was all hip hop, and rock radio featured acts like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and the legacy of Nirvana. The track “It’s In Your Eyes” seemed very much influenced by The Beatles. Great song!

# 7 – I Wish It Would Rain Down

The Phil Collins song “I Wish It Would Rain Down” was released on Phil Collins’ album …But Seriously. The song featured some incredibly stunning guitar work by the one and only Eric Clapton. On bass was the legendary sideman Pino Palladino. The song was released as the third single from the album. It was released in 1989. The song “I Wish It Would Rain Down” hit number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song broke into the top 10 in the United Kingdom, peaking at number seven. In Canada, “I Wish It Would Rain Down” had its most tremendous success, becoming a number-one single.

# 6 – Sussudio

I bet you can’t spell this one. This very groovy tune was released on the No Jacket Required album. The song hit number one on the Billboard Top 100. How could we not like this song? “Sussudio” was the album’s opening track and the first single released from the album. The song was very successful in the United States, where it hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The song featured, of course, Phil Collins on vocals and a Roland drum machine. Phil Collins’ longtime guitarist, Daryl Stuermer, played guitar. David Frank, who founded the group The System, played all keyboard parts. The horn parts were performed by the longtime Earth Wind & Fire horn section, The Phenix Horns, which featured Don Myrick on saxophone, Louis Satterfield on trombone, and Michael Harris on trumpet.

# 5 – I Don’t Care Anymore

The great Phil Collins song “I Don’t Care Anymore” was the opening track on the Hello I Must Be Going album. Phil Collins lays down some of his signature drum sounds on this one, which really fuels the feel of this maddening song. The song was a top 40 hit. “I Don’t Care Anymore” was the third single released from the album.

# 4 – I Missed Again

The first two Phil Collins albums featured heavy Motown and Stax records influences, which can be heard in the horn arrangements. It’s just that the Phil Collins vocal sound, which was drenched in reverb and often doubled, sounded nothing like the singers who graced those classic Motown Records. It was a strange sound, but it was obviously very successful.

“I Missed Again” was the second single released from the album. It featured the Earth Wind & Fire horn section that we mentioned in the song write-up for “Sussudio.” Phil Collins’ love for the big band sounds would become even more apparent many years later when he put together the Phil Collins Big Band in 1996.

# 3 – Easy Lover

The vocal sound missing from those Phil Collin Motown-influenced records was found in this great duet between Phil Collins and Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire. The song was released in 1984 and hit number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It was released on Phil Collins’ Greatest Hits package and Philip Bailey’s solo album Chinese Wall. Both Phil Collins and Philip Bailey wrote the song. The Earth, Wind & Fire connection had come full circle.

# 2 – Against All Odds

Phil Collins’ song “Against All Odds” was one of the most beautiful, tender, and heartbreaking ballads written and released in the 1980s. The song’s production value is brilliant, and Phil Collins delivered a career-topping vocal performance. “Against All Odds” clinched the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1985 and received Song of the Year nominations. It was also nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in the Best Original Song categories.

# 1 – In The Air Tonight

It’s tough not to list this song at the number one spot on our top 10 Phil Collins songs list. Everyone knows this one. Yes, you know you have played air drums on this one every time you have heard it. The song was huge when it was first released, but it became an even bigger hit a few years later when it was used in a Miami Vice television episode in 1984. This was a defining moment in 1980’s popular culture. Most hit singles are remembered for what they were: big-time hits. This one was so much more.

Photo: By Philippe Roos from Strasbourg (Strasbourg-1981-10-28-05) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Updated April 17, 2024

Top 10 Phil Collins Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2024

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