i would expect the majority of you know the (ludicrous) urban legend surrounding the song In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins. if you are unaware of it, well, here's a rundown.
there are a number of variations on the story, but they always arrive at the same conclusion. legend has it that Phil Collins, as you have to assume he is prone to doing, was driving along when all of a sudden he noticed a commotion near a river. he stopped and saw someone drowning someone. the drowner (as opposed to the drownee) then got in his car and drove off. Phil then took down the details of the car he was driving. he "arranged" for the owner of the vehicle to be given a "VIP" package to one of his concerts.
At this concert, Phil "debuted" the song In The Air Tonight, with a spotlight moving from Phil across the audience. at the end of the song, the spotlight had moved to the owner of the vehicle. the police then pounced on the man, arrested him and took him away.
here, with a reason that is both good and will be given later, is a picture of my talented friend Jonathan Granville.
all will become clear on the picture soon. well, soon-ish.
the urban legend mentioned in one of its variations above is, of course, just that. plain bullshit. if we suppose for the moment that Phil had witnessed a murder and contacted the police, it is highly unlikely, would you not agree, that the constabulary would allow the murderer to walk around for a bit, wait for Phil to compose a suitable song about it all and then arrest the chap when he turned up to hear the song live? it is, however, one of the more endearing slices of rock mythology, and probably makes Phil Collins seem a good deal cooler than he actually is.
now then, why is a blog post on a 30+ year old slice of rock urban legend stuff illustrated with pictures of my friend Jonathan Granville? well, i say friend for now, as he is, but he hasn't actually read this yet. let me give you all the details that i have, as well as one or two i shall make up as i write.
i am not, ladies and gentlemen, saying that Jonathan has had a similar experience to the one that Mr Collins had in terms of the legend. he, interestingly, is not saying for certain that he hasn't. i think you can draw your own conclusions from that.
it just so happens that Jonathan lives reasonably close to a significant body of water, one that your average sort of drowning enthusiast might consider suitable for indulging their whims in with no fear of being collared by Phil Collins as he lives nowhere near it. such a person, however, would have overlooked that Jonathan is a fantastic musician and, consequentially, could easily knock up a cover of In The Air Tonight if he felt compelled to do so due to something he saw.
if one considers that the drowning enthusiast might have had a passing resemblance to Kevin Rowland, or simply brought to mind the sound and the vibe of Dexy's Midnight Runners, then the cover that Jonathan would feel a need to produce would probably sound like what you will hear if you click these words.
oh. there's a fair amount of speculation and sheer fabrication there for you, but do not let it distract you from the fact that this cover version of In The Air Tonight is a work of genius. you have to hear it to believe it, and i really do hope you click the link and give it a spin!
Jonathan is embarking on an ambitious set of cover versions, this just being the first of ten in total. i am not sure i will be posting the details for all of them here quite like this, but as and when they become available i will give it a go!
happy listening!
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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