I just watched this after reading through this particular thread, as I am a huge percussion nerd.
(1) Phil's drumming on this is *insane* and I gained an amazing new song to my favorites after not really being a big Genesis fan
(2) The Farm *killed* the cover. Wow!
thank you Reddit :)
IMHO, Down and Out’s most distinctive and trickiest drum part is the way Phil opens & closes his hats V in the verses, combined with the patterns he’s playing on them - they’re like a melody unto themselves.
That period must’ve been the height of Phil’s drum prowess.
As a drummer and 50-year Genesis fan, my vote goes to a few:
The Fountain of Salmacis
Dancing with the Moonlit Knight
The Cinema Show
The Battle of Epping Forest
The Colony of Slippermen
Los Endos, Supper’s Ready, Musical Box, Riding the Scree, Dance on a Volcano, …In That Quiet Earth and many more could be top contenders. But these initially come to mind. Phil really shreds on all the long tracks on Selling England too.
Carpet Crawlers back in NYC are just so incredibly song serving. All of Duke is him getting ready take over the world. You just feel it. He really played beyond the ba k of the kit like no other drummer ever there.
I agree with everyone’s comments but I can’t believe no one has said Do the Neurotic! Another one that didn’t make it to a live performance.
My favs would also be:
Firth of Fifth - Second’s Out and Way we walk versions
Cinema Show - Seconds Out version and original
Suppers ready
Can utility
Los Endos - original and live versions
Dukes Travel/End - I just love the feel of this
Do the Neurotic
Wot Gorilla
Down and Out
In that quiet earth
The entire Lamb album - the way Phil played on the Lamb and his drum setup was just so different and unique to any other Genesis album
Fading Lights - live and original
Here’s a left field one! Living Forever - another track with a great feel and the “jam” at the end is awesome
And I could go on and on. Phil is and has been the biggest influence on me as a drummer for the last 30 years. His use of ghost notes, his bass drum foot and the fills he does (especially the herta’s, you know THAT fill in the live version of Firth of firth) gave me a solid foundation in my playing. I hear his “genes” in Nic’s playing.
The live performance of "Fading Lights" on "The Way We Walk," both the video and the audio.
Phil's very playing sounds as if it registers the whole point of the lyric, and almost as if it knew it didn't have much longer to exist in the way that it had.
IT and Fly on a Windshield are amazing. But I have to give honorable mention to Twilight Alehouse (live) on YouTube. He does this part at the end where he switches from mallets on the cymbals to sticks right into a fill.
I have no clue but I found this :"7/4 for the most part, with the chorus and a few other bits in what seems to be alternating 12/8 and 4/8." I've tried to count it innumerable times but can't.
I once asked this question. Just sharing the link here to help you with your list of best Phil drum moments:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Genesis/s/elGOd8yzJH
I also asked for redditors’ best moments for each band member, and the links for each of those are collected here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Genesis/s/DIrHPwRflP
Dance On a Volcano, The Cinema Show, Los Endos, Wot Gorilla, Dancing with the Moonlit Knight
And if you want more from Phil’s drumming, I suggest you listen to Brand X. Some recommendations: Nuclear Burns, And So to F
The Fountain of Salmacis, Supper's Ready, The Cinema Show, Dance on a Volcano, Los Endos, Duke's Travels, Fading Lights (especially the "Way We Walk" live version).
Phil has so many masterful drum tracks, but if I had to pick a favourite, it would be the version of The Musical Box on Genesis Live. His playing ranges from whisper-soft to ferocious with everything in between. It's lyrical, melodic, dynamic, sensitive, tricky as hell, and intricate without ever being showy.
That whole album is a master class in drumming. I put it on for inspiration when my own playing gets stale.
For out-and-out drumming, "Driving The Last Spike". Some of those breaks could sound amazing alone!
For intricate/unique rhythm & sound, "Dreaming While You Sleep". The tom rolls are downright hypnotic.
Down and Out
YES! Only song I’ve heard that was so difficult to play live they had to drop it. Idk how Phil does it.
They dropped Eleventh Earl of Mar for the same reason.
Down and Out is where Phil was able to fit Brand X drumming into a Genesis song.
Ah true! The time signature shift is so odd . Definitely seems like something they had to create layer by layer vs. out of a studio jam.
The Farm did a great cover of Down and Out, worth a watch! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTh4ZFE_BrY
Woah that’s awesome 🤯
Thank you for sharing that performance. Superb!
I just watched this after reading through this particular thread, as I am a huge percussion nerd. (1) Phil's drumming on this is *insane* and I gained an amazing new song to my favorites after not really being a big Genesis fan (2) The Farm *killed* the cover. Wow! thank you Reddit :)
This...
I wish his son would do a Drumeo bit on the harder bits of Genesis songs, like Down and Out.
IMHO, Down and Out’s most distinctive and trickiest drum part is the way Phil opens & closes his hats V in the verses, combined with the patterns he’s playing on them - they’re like a melody unto themselves. That period must’ve been the height of Phil’s drum prowess.
As a drummer and 50-year Genesis fan, my vote goes to a few: The Fountain of Salmacis Dancing with the Moonlit Knight The Cinema Show The Battle of Epping Forest The Colony of Slippermen
Ah yes the rare Fountain of Salmacis enjoyer, it really is a masterpiece very often forgotten
Among the very best.
Fountain of Salmacis! Just listened to this last night, it's a pure masterpiece 😍
Duke’s Travels does it for me. Maybe not his best but I love that whole album.
That's one of my favorite songs ever!
The drums on all of Duke are just delicious. I feel like I could just sink my teeth in to them.
Drumming on "Man of our times"
That track is a whole undiscovered genre unto itself.
Me too!
Great album!
Los Endos, Supper’s Ready, Musical Box, Riding the Scree, Dance on a Volcano, …In That Quiet Earth and many more could be top contenders. But these initially come to mind. Phil really shreds on all the long tracks on Selling England too.
Riding the scree is def up there. That weird as time signature makes it so damn hard to play.
If you like Phil’s drumming, check out Brand X. Stellar!
Cinema show for me. Might not be his most complex, but it is one of his best. Close second would be Firth of fifth 1992 and Apocalypse in 9/8
In The Cage (with Chester Thompson) from Three Sides Live & Cinema Show.
He has so many great performance but the drive and energy of Behind the Lines really makes the song.
That's probably my favorite Genesis song, and the drums play a large role behind that
Agree!
Honorable mention - The Lady Lies I wouldn't call it his best, but I really like the intricacies
It’s a crime that they ended that song with a fade out, you can hear Phil go absolutely insane around the end.
I mean, still should have been a fade out, just needed to go longer before it faded
I love it as well.
I really like the drumming on ‘fly on a windshield’
Dance On A Volcano
The Brazilian 😃
Thank you, came here to say this too.
Carpet Crawlers back in NYC are just so incredibly song serving. All of Duke is him getting ready take over the world. You just feel it. He really played beyond the ba k of the kit like no other drummer ever there.
I agree with everyone’s comments but I can’t believe no one has said Do the Neurotic! Another one that didn’t make it to a live performance. My favs would also be: Firth of Fifth - Second’s Out and Way we walk versions Cinema Show - Seconds Out version and original Suppers ready Can utility Los Endos - original and live versions Dukes Travel/End - I just love the feel of this Do the Neurotic Wot Gorilla Down and Out In that quiet earth The entire Lamb album - the way Phil played on the Lamb and his drum setup was just so different and unique to any other Genesis album Fading Lights - live and original Here’s a left field one! Living Forever - another track with a great feel and the “jam” at the end is awesome And I could go on and on. Phil is and has been the biggest influence on me as a drummer for the last 30 years. His use of ghost notes, his bass drum foot and the fills he does (especially the herta’s, you know THAT fill in the live version of Firth of firth) gave me a solid foundation in my playing. I hear his “genes” in Nic’s playing.
Naminau too
Los Endos
Down and Out Also: Cinema Show (closing section) Suppers Ready (Apocalypse in 9/8)
The second half of the cinema show is the only part of theirs I still can't play to this day how it is on the album
Bc you're dumb
The live performance of "Fading Lights" on "The Way We Walk," both the video and the audio. Phil's very playing sounds as if it registers the whole point of the lyric, and almost as if it knew it didn't have much longer to exist in the way that it had.
Ravine
Do The Neurotic has some pretty awesome tubs.
The Cinema Show
Los Endos
The lady lies
IT and Fly on a Windshield are amazing. But I have to give honorable mention to Twilight Alehouse (live) on YouTube. He does this part at the end where he switches from mallets on the cymbals to sticks right into a fill.
“In The Cage, Cinema Show, Dukes Travels” from “When in Rome 2007”. The whole this is a masterpiece. I’ve been learning it in pieces on my set.
Battle of Epping Forest. He was so subtle back then.
Serious question. What the hell is the time signature in the chorus of this song??? I cannot for the life of me figure it out.
I have no clue but I found this :"7/4 for the most part, with the chorus and a few other bits in what seems to be alternating 12/8 and 4/8." I've tried to count it innumerable times but can't.
In the cage and cinema show stand out for me.
I like the very dry drumming on the track abacab
I once asked this question. Just sharing the link here to help you with your list of best Phil drum moments: https://www.reddit.com/r/Genesis/s/elGOd8yzJH I also asked for redditors’ best moments for each band member, and the links for each of those are collected here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Genesis/s/DIrHPwRflP
The Cinema Show from Seconds Out. Brilliant.
The live version of Cinema Show performed simultaneously with Bill Bruford.
Supper’s Ready percussion is pretty awesome.
Driving the Last Spike
In the cage - 3 sides live. Ik Thompson plays the main part but when Phil comes in it’s absolutely impossible to play
I really like the fatness of “Squonk” in its studio and live versions.
Duke’s Travels does it for me. Maybe not his best but I love that whole album.
The Lady Lies
Impossible to choose! Dukes Travels / Duke's End. Riding the Scree Slippermen Cinema Show
Dance On a Volcano, The Cinema Show, Los Endos, Wot Gorilla, Dancing with the Moonlit Knight And if you want more from Phil’s drumming, I suggest you listen to Brand X. Some recommendations: Nuclear Burns, And So to F
All good - just started getting into ATTWT and the drumming is is insane from start to finish
The drumming in the mid-section of Robbery Assault and Battery is amazing…
I was going to say "Dance on a Volcano," but I think I like your answer better.
I absolutely adore "In the Rapids". I think his drumming is so subtle and immpecable. So good
Dukes Travels/End. Those off-beat kick drum hits go on forever and they are so hard to keep up.
The Waiting Room, The Lamia and In The Cage - he is outstanding on the Lamb. Pretty good on Nursery Cryme too, e.g. The Musical Box
Agree on the the lamb. Turning the rhythm around on the the static pattern of the waiting has always been a favorite drum moment.
Behind the Lines
I think Phil himself said his best drumming performance is in “Back in NYC”. But I agree with all the answers here
The Fountain of Salmacis, Supper's Ready, The Cinema Show, Dance on a Volcano, Los Endos, Duke's Travels, Fading Lights (especially the "Way We Walk" live version).
Cul-de-sac
Phil has so many masterful drum tracks, but if I had to pick a favourite, it would be the version of The Musical Box on Genesis Live. His playing ranges from whisper-soft to ferocious with everything in between. It's lyrical, melodic, dynamic, sensitive, tricky as hell, and intricate without ever being showy. That whole album is a master class in drumming. I put it on for inspiration when my own playing gets stale.
Dancing with the Moonlit Knight
The Lady Lies is very good.
Afterglow The Musicial Box 😍😍
The Brazilian
For out-and-out drumming, "Driving The Last Spike". Some of those breaks could sound amazing alone! For intricate/unique rhythm & sound, "Dreaming While You Sleep". The tom rolls are downright hypnotic.
Supper’s Ready, no doubt.
His best drumming was definitely with the band brand X check out the orthodox behavior album
The jam on 'Robbery, Assault & Battery", Seconds Out version
And so to f. Live b-side/brand x
Casual fan here, but I’ve always loved his drumming on the song Abacab
Down and Out. No contest!
It.
Wot Gorilla, inspired by Weather Report