In the Air Tonight
"In the Air Tonight" is the debut solo single by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins's debut solo album, Face Value, in January 1981.
| "In the Air Tonight" | ||||
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Handwriting font variant of the standard artwork, also used for the parent album Face Value | ||||
| Single by Phil Collins | ||||
| from the album Face Value | ||||
| B-side | "The Roof Is Leaking" | |||
| Released | 9 January 1981[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Studio | Townhouse (London) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Songwriter(s) | Phil Collins | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Phil Collins singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "In the Air Tonight" on YouTube | ||||
Collins co-produced "In the Air Tonight" with Hugh Padgham, who became a frequent collaborator in the following years. It reached No. 2 on the UK Singles chart behind the posthumous release of John Lennon's "Woman".[4] It reached No. 1 in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden, and the top 10 in Australia, New Zealand and several other European territories. It reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, but reached No. 2 on the Rock Tracks Chart, later certified gold by the RIAA, representing 500,000 copies sold. The song's music video, directed by Stuart Orme, received heavy play on MTV when the new cable music video channel launched in August 1981.
"In the Air Tonight" remains one of Collins' best-known hits, often cited as his signature song, and is especially famous for its drum break towards the end, which has been described as "the sleekest, most melodramatic drum break in history" and one of the "101 Greatest Drumming Moments".[5][6] In 2006, the song was ranked at number 35 in VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s".[7] In 2021, it was listed at No. 291 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[8]
Background and recording
Inspiration
Collins wrote the song amid the grief he felt after divorcing his first wife Andrea Bertorelli in 1980. In a 2016 interview, Collins said of the song's lyrics: "I wrote the lyrics spontaneously. I'm not quite sure what the song is about, but there's a lot of anger, a lot of despair and a lot of frustration."[9] In a 1997 BBC Radio 2 documentary, the singer revealed that the divorce contributed to his 1979 hiatus from the band Genesis, until they regrouped in October of that year to record the album, Duke. Originally, Collins was going to include the song on Duke, but it was rejected by the band. Tony Banks, however, says he never heard the composition.
Musical style
"In the Air Tonight" has been described as being "at the vanguard of experimental pop" in 1981 and "a rock oddity classic", having been influenced by "the unconventional studio predilections of Brian Eno and Peter Gabriel".[2] It has also been described as a "soft rock classic."[3] Musically, the song consists of a series of ominous chords played on a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 over a simple drum machine pattern (the Roland CR-78 Disco-2 pattern, plus some programming); processed electric guitar sounds and vocoded vocals, an effect which is increased on key words to add additional atmosphere. The mood is one of restrained anger until the final chorus when an explosive burst of drums finally releases the musical tension and the instrumentation explodes into a thunderous crescendo.
Collins has described obtaining the drum machine specifically to deal with personal issues relating to his divorce through songwriting, telling Mix magazine: "I had to start writing some of this music that was inside me".[10] He improvised the lyrics during a songwriting session in the studio: "I was just fooling around. I got these chords that I liked, so I turned the mic on and started singing. The lyrics you hear are what I wrote spontaneously. That frightens me a bit, but I'm quite proud of the fact that I sang 99.9 percent of those lyrics spontaneously".[11]
Drum sound
The song is famous for its use of the gated reverb drum sound. Fellow musicians and journalists have commented on its use in the record. Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne called the drum fill "the best ever – it still sounds awesome",[12] while music critic and broadcaster Stuart Maconie was quoted:
Musically, it's an extraordinarily striking record, because almost nothing happens in it ... It's the drum sound in particular that's amazing. You don't hear it at all for the first two minutes of the song ... then there's that great doo-dom doo-dom doo-dom comes in, and the drums come in half way through the song, setting the template for all the Eighties drum songs after that.[13]
The means by which Collins attained the drum sound on this recording was long a source of mystery. The exact process was a result of serendipity: an unintended use of studio technology giving unexpectedly useful results.
In this case, the Solid State Logic SL 4000 mixing board had a "reverse talk-back" circuit (labelled on the board as "Listen Mic"). Normal "talkback" is a button that the mixing engineer has to press in order to talk to the recording musicians (the recording and the mixing parts of a studio are, otherwise, completely sonically isolated). Reverse talkback is a circuit (also button-activated) for the engineer to listen to the musicians in the studio. In order to compensate for sound level differences—people can be close to the reverse talkback microphone or far off—this circuit has a compressor on it, which minimises the differences between loud and soft sounds. While recording "Intruder" for his former bandmate Peter Gabriel's third solo album, at some point Collins started playing the drums while the reverse talkback was activated. Engineer Hugh Padgham was amazed at the sound achieved. Overnight, they rewired the board so that the reverse talkback could be recorded in a more formal manner. Later models of the SSL 4000 allowed the listen mic to be recorded with the touch of a button.[10]
When recording engineer Padgham was brought in to help develop Collins' demos that would become Face Value they recreated the "Intruder" sound using the reverse talkback microphone as well as heavily compressed and gated ambient mics. Padgham continued working with Genesis for Abacab later in 1981 and the same technique (generally referred to as gated reverb) was used, and the powerful drum sound has become synonymous with later Genesis projects and Collins' solo career ever since.
The original single version of "In the Air Tonight" features extra drums that play underneath the song until the signature drum crash (referred to by fans as the "magic break") appears. These were added at the suggestion of Atlantic Records head Ahmet Ertegun. In 2007, Collins wrote:
Ahmet came down to the final mix in the cutting room in New York ... The drums don't come in until the end but Ahmet didn't know that at this point, because on the demo the drums hadn't come in at all; it was only drum machine all the way. And he was saying, "Where's the down beat, where's the backbeat?" I said, "The drums come in in a minute." "Yeah, you know that and I know that, but the kids don't know that; you've got to put the drums on earlier." So we added some drums to the mix and put it out as a single.[14]
Release
Speaking about the song's rapid ascension in the music charts, Collins wrote the following in 2007:
It was a surprise. The single came in at No. 36, I did Top of the Pops with Dave Lee Travis, and in one of the down moments he said, "This record is going to be a top three." I didn't believe him, because it had been made so haphazardly, but the next week, there it was at No. 3. And then Mark Chapman shot John Lennon and that was that.[14]
The song appeared as part of the soundtrack for the 1983 movie Risky Business and plays when the characters played by Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay have sex on a subway train.[15]
In 1984, the song was memorably used in a scene from the first episode of the television series Miami Vice, which film and television critic Matt Zoller Seitz cited as why the song has been stamped as "Property of Michael Mann" (the series' executive producer) for years, rarely being used in other screen works due to its indelible use in the series, akin to Martin Scorsese's signature use of songs by The Rolling Stones for his films.[16] "In the Air Tonight" received a new wave of attention thanks to its use in the series, enough for it to briefly re-chart in the United States just outside the Billboard Hot 100 at number 102.
The song was remixed in 1988 by Ben Liebrand for his weekly appearance in the Curry & Van Inkel radio show on Dutch radio. The mix was completed and then taken by Liebrand to be part of a mix showcase at the DMC Mixing Championship Finals in London, attended by 3500 worldwide deejays.[17] The mix was picked up by Virgin Records for an official release, which hit Number 4 in the UK charts.[18]
In July 2020, a video reaction to the song by TwinsthenewTrend increased the sales and streaming of Collins's original version. The TwinsthenewTrend first-listen video was viewed 4.9 million times in its first two weeks online.[19] Continued popularity brought new traffic to the Collins song which rose to number 3 on Billboard's Digital Song Sales chart in August 2020.[20]
Critical reception
Record World called the song "futuristic pop that's also rhythmically captivating."[21]
Urban legend
An urban legend has arisen about "In the Air Tonight", according to which the lyrics are based on a drowning incident in which someone who was close enough to save the victim did not help them, while Collins, who was too far away to help, looked on. Increasingly embellished variations on the legend emerged over time, with the stories often culminating in Collins singling out the guilty party while singing the song at a concert.[22] Collins has denied all such stories; he commented on the legends about the song in a BBC World Service interview:
I don't know what this song is about. When I was writing this I was going through a divorce. And the only thing I can say about it is that it's obviously in anger. It's the angry side, or the bitter side of a separation. So what makes it even more comical is when I hear these stories which started many years ago, particularly in America, of someone come up to me and say, "Did you really see someone drowning?" I said, "No, wrong." And then every time I go back to America the story gets Chinese whispers, it gets more and more elaborate. It's so frustrating, 'cause this is one song out of all the songs probably that I've ever written that I really don't know what it's about, you know?[23]
The urban legend is referenced in the song "Stan" by Eminem.[24] The reference is contained in the following lyrics:
You know the song by Phil Collins, "In the Air of the Night" [sic]
About that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drownin'
But didn't, then Phil saw it all, then at a show he found him?
The urban legend is referenced in the Family Guy episode "The Peter Principal" as Brian is listening to Bonnie and Joe argue about the contents of the song.
In July 2020, Andrew Norman Wilson released a video titled "In the Air Tonight" on the Phil Collins subreddit that tells the urban legend in detail.[25]
Music video
The music video (directed by Stuart Orme) animates the photograph of Collins's face from the cover of the Face Value album, slowly fading in through the introduction until it fills the screen, singing the first chorus. The video then cuts to Collins sitting in an empty room at night. Twice a spectral figure appears in the window, but only the second time does Collins get up to look at it, then is shown walking to the one door of the room.
Collins's face returns for the second chorus. He is then shown leaving the room and entering a hallway full of doors. The first one is locked, then the second opens and Collins sees himself looking at the window again, only now the spectre has turned into his own reflection.
The third door is locked, but as the fourth one opens, the drum break sounds and the viewer is returned to Collins's face again, this time in thermal coloring, which gradually reverts to black and white. His reflection from the window is briefly superimposed on the face, this time seemingly reflected in water. Collins recedes into the darkness as the song repeats and fades.
In 1983 the music video was released on the home video Phil Collins available on VHS and LaserDisc which received a Grammy nomination for Best Video, Short Form.[26]
Performance
"In the Air Tonight" remains a popular selection on classic rock radio stations. It is the song most often associated with Collins' solo career, and he has performed it at many events, including Live Aid, where he played the song on a piano on the same calendar day in both Philadelphia and London.[27] He also performed the song at The Secret Policeman's Ball, which was his first live performance as a solo artist. "I remember doing 'In the Air Tonight' at Live Aid," he recalled, "and [Pete] Townshend saying, 'Are you going to do that fucking song again?' as it was the only one I ever played."[28]
Single and credits
VSK102 UK Single Release (Martin H)
- "In the Air Tonight"
- "The Roof Is Leaking"
Sleeve includes a black and white 12-page cartoon storyboard drawn by Collins' brother Clive Collins.
UK and US single (1981)
- "In the Air Tonight" – 4:57
- Phil Collins – Roland CR-78 drum machine, vocals, drums, Prophet 5 synthesizer, Rhodes piano, Roland VP-330 vocoder
- John Giblin – bass
- Daryl Stuermer – guitar
- L. Shankar – violins
- "The Roof Is Leaking" – 3:36
- Phil Collins – piano, vocal
- Daryl Stuermer – banjo
- Joe Partridge – slide guitar
- A demo track for "In the Air Tonight" also appeared on the "If Leaving Me Is Easy" single.[1]
12" German maxi-single (1981)
- "In the Air Tonight" (album version) – 5:35
- Phil Collins – Roland CR-78 drum machine, vocals, drums, Prophet 5 synthesizer, Rhodes piano, Roland VP-330 vocoder
- John Giblin – bass
- Daryl Stuermer – guitar
- L. Shankar – violins
- "The Roof Is Leaking" – 3:36
- Phil Collins – piano, vocal
- Daryl Stuermer – banjo
- Joe Partridge – slide guitar
Japan CD single (1988)
- "In the Air Tonight" (extended)
- "In the Air Tonight" ('88 remix)
- "I Missed Again" (Album Version)
German CD single (1990)
- "In the Air Tonight" (extended version) – 7:33 (Additional production by Ben Liebrand)
- "In the Air Tonight" ('88 remix) – 5:07 (Remixed by Phil Collins and Hugh Padgham)
- "I Missed Again" – 3:42
(catalogue 2292-57672-2)
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Certifications
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Personnel
- Phil Collins – vocals, drums, Roland VP-330 vocoder, CR-78 drum machine, Prophet-5 synthesizer, Rhodes piano
- Daryl Stuermer – guitar
- John Giblin – bass
- L. Shankar – violin
Cover versions
- In 2004, the band Nonpoint recorded a cover for their album, Recoil. This cover would later be featured in the soundtrack of the 2006 film adaptation of Miami Vice.
- In 2016, the newly formed boy band Mic Lowry released an adaptation of the song titled "Oh Lord". A music video was released on 29 September 2016 on the band's official YouTube page.[75] The band was chosen Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month for March 2017 and were invited to perform the song nationwide in the United States through The Today Show presented by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. They also performed live on The Wendy Williams Show on 8 March 2017. The song charted in the UK Singles Chart reaching number 54 on the chart.[76]
- In 2017, the band In This Moment recorded a cover for their album, Ritual.[77]
- Also in 2017, Justin Roiland covered the song for an episode of the webseries Lasagna Cat that parodied the scene from Miami Vice.
- Marissa Nadler and Stephen Brodsky recorded a cover in 2019.[78]
- Dave Audé covered the song with Nicole Markson and was released on November 24, 2022.
References
- ^ "BPI > Certified Awards > Search results for Phil Collins (page 3)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ a b Mills, Gary (26 May 2010). "No Flak Jacket Required: In Defence Of Phil Collins". The Quietus. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
the single's place in 1981 at the vanguard of experimental pop
- ^ a b Gruss, Mike (11 July 2007). "I've been Waiting for a theme song all my life". The Virginian-Pilot. Daily Break section, p. E1. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
... Phil Collins' 1981 soft-rock classic 'In the Air Tonight.'
(subscription required) - ^ a b c "Official Charts > Phil Collins". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ "The 20 Best Drummers of All Time". LA Weekly. Los Angeles. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ "101 Greatest Drumming Moments". Rhythm. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
- ^ "Rock on the Net: VH1: 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's: 1-50". Rockonthenet.com. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ Greene, Andy (29 February 2016). ""In the Air Tonight" (1981) | Phil Collins: My Life in 15 Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
- ^ a b Flans, Robyn (1 May 2005). "Classic Tracks: Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight"". Mix Magazine. from the original on 17 March 2007.
- ^ Thompson, Dave (November 2004). Turn It On Again: Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, and Genesis. Backbeat Books. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-87930-810-0.
- ^ Wardrop, Murray (8 May 2009). "Ozzy Osbourne: 'I love Phil Collins'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ BBC. "Sold on Song – Song Library – In the Air Tonight". www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ a b Collins, Phil; et al. (2007). Genesis: Chapter and Verse. St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 220–221. ISBN 978-0-312-37956-8.
- ^ "Risky Business (1983) - IMDb". IMDb.com. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (31 January 2013). "The Americans Recap: Way to Commit". Vulture. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ "Ben Talk july 1992" (PDF). Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ . 22 March 2005. Archived from the original on 22 March 2005. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ "Phil Collins' 'In the Air Tonight' Surges in Streams & Sales After Reaction Video Goes Viral". Billboard. 12 August 2020.
- ^ "Phil Collins". Billboard.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 30 May 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ "In the Air Tonight". Snopes.com. 12 September 2000. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Singer and the Song | Learning English | BBC World Service". www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ . MetroLyrics. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Andrew Norman Wilson - Artist Talk - 2 DAYS OF VIDEO ART - SCHIRN". Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Grammy Awards 1985". Awards & shows. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- ^ "BBC News: Stars recall Live Aid spectacular". 8 November 2004.
- ^ Ellen, Mark: "Does everybody still hate Phil Collins?"; Classic Rock #217, December 2015, p82
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 71. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ a b "National Top 100 Singles for 1981". Kent Music Report. 4 January 1982. p. 7. Retrieved 11 January 2022 – via Imgur.
- ^ "Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - August 29, 1981" (PDF).
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – In the Air Tonight". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ "Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight". Top Digital Download.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 12, 1981" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ^ "Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "Charts.org.nz – Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight". Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ "Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight". VG-lista.
- ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ^ "Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight". Singles Top 100.
- ^ "Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ^ "Phil Collins Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Phil Collins Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight". GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
- ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight ('88 Remix) (single)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ . Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ "Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight". Top 40 Singles.
- ^ "Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight" (in French). Les classement single.
- ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
- ^ "Phil Collins Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1981". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1981". Ultratop. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles of 1981 - December 26, 1981" (PDF).
- ^ "Top Annuali Single 1981". Retrieved 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1981". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1981". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Top Selling Singles of 1981". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1981". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 1989" (PDF). Music & Media. 6 (51): 6. 23 December 1989. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 17 January 2020 – via American Radio History.
- ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 - 2007". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ "Top Selling Singles of 2008". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ "Danish single certifications – Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Phil Collins; 'In The Air Tonight')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "Italian single certifications – Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 3 June 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "In The Air Tonight" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
- ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ . Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. RadioScope New Zealand. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2021 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ "British single certifications – Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "British single certifications – Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ a b "American single certifications – Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ "MiC LOWRY - Oh Lord". YouTube. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ "MIC LOWRY | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ "In This Moment Explains Decision To Cover Phil Collins's 'In The Air Tonight'". Blabbermouth. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ "Stephen Brodsky and Marissa Nadler Release New Covers of Extreme and Phil Collins". 9 December 2019.
External links
- The Singer and the Song, a "Learning English" episode from the BBC World Service, which includes a clip from the song and a recording of Collins reading part of the song's lyrics (in RealAudio)
- About the lyrics and the drum sound.