Frankie Thirteen dot com.

I’m finally kicking off my latest feature here at FrankieThirteen.com: Phil Phriday!

Yes, that’s Phil Collins.

Phil Collins retired recently, and while the latter part of his career was filled with a lot of sentimental dross, it’s important to remember some of the flat-out classic work he did, both as a solo artist and as a member of Genesis.  So that’s just what I’ll be doing for the next several Fridays (until I get tired of it).

Undoubtedly, Collins’ best songs were the product of the dissolution of his first marriage in 1980.  He took some time off from Genesis and worked out some of his frustrations through music. The divorce was a prevalent theme in his first two solo albums, Face Value and Hello, I Must Be Going.  They’re marked by seething lyrics, atmospheric synths and heavy drums with a “gated reverb” sound.  (While Collins didn’t invent that technique, he certainly helped to popularize it in the ’80s, starting with the song “Intruder” on former Genesis bandmate Peter Gabriel’s third solo album.)

Today’s song is one of my favorites to employ that technique, from Hello, I Must Be Going.  This is “I Don’t Care Anymore.”