Not Dead Yet: The Memoir

First things first, I am a huge Phil Collins fan. I really don't know why there are so many haters. They seem to think that Phil was solely responsible for Peter G's exit from Genesis. And again, they seem to think that he is solely responsible for Genesis' diving into Pop. And this, as if Pop is some horrible monster come to take their children away and roast them. I just don't get it. Here we have one of the greatest drummers.... EVER... and all they can do is sulk about is Pop songs. But I digress...I've read several dozen music biographies/autobiographies, and this is one of the best.I first became a fan of Genesis around 1975 or 1976 when I was 12 yrs old and first heard "The Carpet Crawlers" on an American Progressive Rock radio station. From there came "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", "A Trick of the Tail", "Squonk", "Ripples", and later, "Follow You, Follow Me", and "Misunderstanding", and "Turn it on Again". I loved them all. I couldn't really afford to buy new records, or cassettes. I bought a few... already a Yes fan and a lifelong Beatles fan, they got most of my saved up "lunch money". I was already familiar with and a fan of Peter Gabriel's solo work, but when I heard that the drummer (whose vocals sounded just like PG's... sort of) had come out with a solo album, I was all ears. I listened intently as the intro to "In the Air Tonight" built up and at the first listening was air drumming along with Phil's drum intro. I was floored. This guy drums just like I do.( Well of course, that makes him the best drummer ever, right? ;) )TBH, he is way better than me, but again, I digress. From there, I backtracked and got as many of the older Genesis recordings as I could, one at a time. I totally fell in love with the older, more Proggy Genesis, but... I still like a good Pop Rock tune. Genesis pushed aside Yes as my second favorite group. This was back in the early 80s. So I am even more of a Genesis fan, then Phil fan. (But Genesis can't drum, Phil can, and I am a drummer, so there's that). I loved Phil's first solo effort. The second one, somewhat less. The third I really really got into. But the first is still my favorite. A Progressive Rock fan at heart, but still enjoy really good energetic Pop tunes. After the third... eh... not that much interested in his solo work - not a fan of schmaltzy love songs. But still, a big, big, fan of his drumming. He's a natural. The best kind.So I purchased this book a couple of years ago. I had several other reads on my list and it took a back seat. Finally, just yesterday in fact, I started reading it. Taking all of the Phil bashing into consideration (gee.... maybe they're right... he does, after all, have a row going with my favorite Rocker of all time since I could barely walk... the great and wonderful, giving and insanely musically talented Paul McCartney... maybe I should rethink all this.... :/ ), I was a bit "iffy" on how this book would read. But alas... it is openly stark and to the point. Apologetic at points where he knows he's been bashed and cowers in embarrassment. Thus far, I am only 1/4 of the way through. I will update this review when finished, but thus far, this is a great read! It is starkly informative, entertainingly humorous - both from him and from others jesting with him, and very very well written. And really, so far as I can see, it is really hard not to like the guy. Is he pretending to be so caring and fatherly to his children? Is he putting on the appearance that he really cares about each of his exes? Who knows. Who cares. I am neither his child nor his ex, I am a fan of.... his drumming - and now, his writing.If there is one thing that I could say to Phil, or about Phil, that is negative, it is that he cares too much about what people think. From the start, I felt that this was the main reason for the book. He is possibly hated by the English more than anyone... "How DARE he take Genesis from us!" Chapter Four is a clear example of how he takes everything to heart. Anyone who claims he doesn't write about "how he felt" or "his emotions" can reread this chapter (and probably the entire book) till they "get" it. He obsesses over and over, apparently, from the time of the incidence of 1) His being dissed from the final cut of A Hard Day's Night and 2) His being dissed from the final pressing of All Things Must Pass. The chapter is boring as all H. I'm like, "Man, he NEEDS to get a life and get the H over it already!" But I was treated to one of the best stories I'd ever heard concerning my longtime favorite Beatle throughout most of my life, George Harrison. The entire chapter is dreadful and was really tough to get through, but quite rewarding in the end. Great story. But it is a clear example of how Phil seems to read all the tabloids, reviews, and takes it personally when someone disses him. This is just my observation. You can't give a sh about what ppl think. You have to live and do what you want and what you like. You can't make ppl like you. And truth is, most ppl are "A"s anyway. No matter how nice, how talented, how kind or giving you are, there will still be haters. Many actually enjoy hating on innocent ppl. If you take these ppl to heart, you will destroy yourself, lose confidence in yourself, and slither along. I've stood up for Phil amongst many of these haters. They've never been able to win an argument, because facts are facts, and they will admit in the end, that I am right. 1)Phil was not solely responsible for PGs departure. 2)Phil is not solely responsible for Genesis going Pop. 3)Phil is unarguably an excellent top rate drummer. That's it. Who cares whatever else they think?!Julie.L.S. - Host of Progkast

This is an enjoyable book. It provides a summary of Phil’s music career and family life. Phil comes across as hardworking, ambitious, and likeable. He does not use the book to settle many scores and has good things to say about most of the people he runs into. Since the 1980s has rubbed shoulders with rock’s aristocracy and the British Royal Family. Phil has a lot of friends and they all seem to be nice people. However, he does complain about Led Zeppelin at Live Aid and claims that Plant and Page were to blame for the band's disastrous performance. He also moans about Dustin Hoffman and finds Paul McCartney a bit condescending.Phil was a superstar in the 1980s and remains one of just three singers – along with Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney – to sell over 100 million albums as both a solo artist and as part of a band. Phil has worked with some famous musicians over the years including Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Pete Townsend, Robert Fripp, Sting, John Martyn, and David Crosby. As a drummer, Phil has played everything from big band music to R&B. I was a fan of Genesis and Phil's fusion band Brand X in the 1970s. Personally, I wanted to know more about the music and the players he admires. Unfortunately, he does not go into too much detail. The book could also have done with an index.Phil has been married three times and has five children but he is honest about his failings as a husband and father. He also became an alcoholic but seems to have left that behind him. The memoir is well written and he still seems relatively normal.

"Music made me, but it also unmade me."Santa Claus gives a three-year-old Phillip David Charles Collins (better known as the amazingly talented Phil Collins) a toy drum set. The rest is history!This book offers a nice glimpse of Phil Collins' life from childhood through the present day. The legendary musician reveals plenty of details from both his personal and professional life. It is very well-written and makes you feel as though you've taken the journey with him. I was pleased to see the great assortment of photos, too. They enabled me to visualize the people Collins referred to throughout the book.It is abundantly clear that Phil Collins is a brilliant musician who worked extremely hard to achieve success. He is passionate about music and it shows within his performances, both as a drummer and a singer.This book comes across as an honest reflection of Collins' life--with both the ups and downs of his career and personal life objectively presented to readers. I have to admit, I'm not the biggest fan of memoirs, but this one was so very fascinating, I didn't want it to end. It's great to know how some of my favorite songs from the late eighties and nineties came into existence. And now I know what "Sussudio" is (and I'm not telling--go read the book)!I'll also admit that I was a bit disheartened to learn that Collins was unfaithful to his second wife, who stood by him through thick and thin. I know he's only human and we all make mistakes, but he seemed like such a good, honest, loyal and trustworthy man prior to that. Don't get me wrong, I still think he's an extraordinary, decent man. It's just that learning how that extramarital affair began really shocked me. Even Collins, himself, admits that he was somewhat "stalker-ish" in pursuing his then soon-to-be third wife, Orianne, the young woman who was half his age.Likewise, I was dismayed by Collins' alcoholism. He seemed to be such an intelligent, rational man. I'm surprised that he was unable to control his drinking and let it get to the point of jeopardizing his life. Though I'm not judging him in the least, mind you. I can't begin to understand the pressures and stresses he must have felt to lead him down such a treacherous path.I give him great credit for being so forthcoming about his mistakes and imperfections. This isn't a book that boasts about his many achievements with little more than that afterglow of success. This book is sincere and heartfelt--the good and the bad--presented to the world in one engrossing, humorous, poignant, detailed package.Faults and all, Phil Collins is an amazing man. Even at the height of his fame, he never lost his sense of modesty. "I’ve always hated stuffiness and snobbery..." he writes, and based upon his interactions with people, whether fellow musicians or those hired for services, I believe that he is a kind, caring, friendly man who treats everyone equitably. Moreover, he is a family man at heart, which I greatly respect and admire. I absolutely love the fact that he considers his first wife's daughter, Joely, to be his own daughter though they are not biologically related."I’m her dad, she’s my daughter, that’s it."That's it and that's awesome.I could go on and on with words of praise for one of my all-time favorite musicians, but I will just add that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I truly savored it and was sad when it ended. There's just one thing I dislike about it: The title. "Not Dead Yet." It is far too depressing because it evokes thoughts of his mortality and the mere thought of a world without the legendary Phil Collins is simply too heartbreaking to bear. Really.If you're a Genesis and/or Phil Collins fan, then you're sure to enjoy this incredible memoir.On a personal note, I especially LOVE "In the Air Tonight," "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight," "Land of Confusion" and his songs from "Brother Bear," my favorite Disney movie.

Great book

good way of knowing about Phil Collins but about the music scene of many decades as well, highly recommend it

Autobiografia de um dos maiores músicos populares de todos os tempos. Excelente leitura. Depoimentos notavelmente sinceros e muitas curiosidades sobre a vida dessa grande figura da nossa cultura.

Es apasionante conocer cómo se ha forjado desde la infancia una estrella como Phil.

being a Genesis fan for more than 40 years I can only say that this is a must read for anybody that has been listening and following Genesis and Phil's musical career