It’s funny to think of a man best known for hard rock drums and ’80s pop hits taking on the silky soul of Motown. But that’s exactly what Phil Collins decided to do with his 2010 album Going Back. Back when he first became famous — as the drummer (and later singer) for Genesis — and during his solo-career heyday, most people associated him with big-stadium rock or radio ballads. Yet for Collins, the music he grew up loving was far different: the rhythm, soul, and heart of Motown.
In interviews, Collins said the songs on Going Back aren’t random covers chosen for commercial gain. Instead, they’re the soundtrack of his teenage years — the music that shaped him.
He didn’t want to “update” the songs, or twist them into rock or pop pieces. His aim was to capture the original sound, the feel of the 1960s soul — rough edges, warm horns, tambourines, tight bass lines — as authentically as possible.
To make that vision real, Collins did something remarkable: he enlisted some of the surviving members of The Funk Brothers — the legendary studio musicians who played on many of Motown’s greatest hits.
With their help, and with deliberate use of old-school recording techniques, Collins tried to recreate those classics not as a tribute or re-imagining, but as if they had come directly from the 1960s Detroit studios.
The result is an album full of soul-power and nostalgia. Tracks range from upbeat gems like “(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave” to more melancholic ballads such as “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer” — songs originally by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Martha and the Vandellas, The Temptations and The Ronettes.
Some of these are big classics, others more hidden gems — but all treated with respect.
Unsurprisingly, reactions to Going Back were mixed. Many praised Collins — and the album — for how faithfully it recreated the “Sound of Young America.” The authenticity of the arrangements, the vintage vibe, the energy and soul in the performances — for some listeners, it was like stepping into a time machine.
Others, though, felt the effort was pointless: Why remake greatness when the originals are already perfect? For them, Collins’ voice — aged, weathered — didn’t carry the same emotional weight as the Motown originals.
Still, Going Back stands as a remarkable moment in Collins’s long career. It’s neither strictly rock, nor pop, nor soul — but a sincere homage. For a man many thought pigeon-holed into pop-rock fame, it was a bold reclaiming of musical roots. It speaks to the truth that music doesn’t belong to genres or labels — it belongs to people’s hearts.
For fans of Motown, or for anyone curious about the roots behind rock and pop stars, Going Back is worth a listen. It may not replace the originals — but it shines a light on why those songs endured in the first place.