Phil Collins new memoir, “Not Dead Yet”, does not disappoint. The one thing that really surprised me in this book was Collins apologizing for how visible he was during the 80s. Looking back on the decade he realizes that he spread himself too thin and that is why many people now don’t really appreciate him. As he discussed all that he was involved in I could only wonder what the coverage of him would have been like now during the social media age?

Being a great songwriter it should not be a surprise that Collins does a great job of getting his story down on paper. The book reads easily and stays in a good chronological order. A few times Collins will mention a topic and then say that it will be discussed a little more later in the book.

As great as it is to read about everything that happened in his career, it is disappointing to read about Collins’ personal life. I can understand why on the business side Collins keeps doing more and more because an artist never knows when the offers are going to stop coming. Especially in the music industry where an artist or group is hot today and forgotten tomorrow. It is the mentality of “striking while the iron is hot” or regret it later. It is obvious that Collins is a workaholic and would put work opportunities above his family time and again.

About the last third of the book, when he starts describing his alcohol problems while writing for the Broadway musical “Tarzan”, that it becomes amazing that Collins is still alive to write this memoir. It is good to read that even though Collins is dealing with some physical ailments that it appears his life is back on track. He is again getting back into music and it is interesting to see what the future holds for him.