"In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins

The most famous drum fill of all time.

Programming note: It’s Drum Gods Week! I’m spotlighting some of my favorite records that serve as showcases for some of my favorite drummers (and drum performances) of all time. From rock to prog to some experimental crossover hits, I cover a bit of everything. All killer, no filler, as they say.

Hope you enjoy it!

---

Hello! 😊👋

Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!

Drum Gods Week continues with the one and only Phil Collins—let’s be real, you’re already air-drumming that fill, aren’t you?

Genre: Rock, Experimental

Label: Atlantic

Release Date: January 9, 1981

Vibe: 💪💪

A tiny group of musicians have reinvented how an instrument sounds on record. Fewer do so by accident. Phil Collins falls into the latter category.

A late-70s studio mistake accidentally led Collins, who was recording the drum parts for Peter Gabriel’s self-titled third solo album, to stumble upon what would later become known as the “gated reverb” effect. Check out the Vox video on this topic for the complete breakdown, but essentially, the noise gate helps deliver a big, punchy drum sound that doesn’t echo. It disappears almost as quickly as it appears. Two years later, on the lead single to 1981’s Face Value, Collins set the sonic template for 80s pop and rock music with “In The Air Tonight.”

I listened to a lot of his music growing up. That Hits compilation was in heavy rotation on my parents’ stereo, which conditioned me to associate Collins with either these tender, cocktail lounge ballads (many of which are devastatingly good) or these massive-sounding snare and tom hits. As I was transitioning into teenagedom, I was gifted the opportunity to see him live on his first retirement tour (how many has it been now?) in 2004. The show’s apex was undoubtedly this song, stretching over nearly eight minutes and building an almost unbearable amount of sonic tension. I’ll never forget watching Collins climb up those stairs, sit in front of a drum kit that had magically risen to meet him seemingly out of nowhere, and smash those toms like a man possessed.

It wouldn’t be unfair to say that moment of euphoria is part of what made me the music obsessive, DJ, and amateur drummer I am today. That sensory payoff, when you know something incredible is about to happen, but your brain ends up underselling its magnificence, still gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈