In the Air Tonight / The Roof Is Leaking

by Phil Collins

In the Air Tonight / The Roof Is Leaking cover art
  • Type: Single
  • Released: 5 January 1981
  • Label: Virgin
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Length: 8:45
  • Community rating: 4.08/5 from 5 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Written amid a painful divorce, this atmospheric solo debut famously popularized the 'gated reverb' drum sound, a technique accidentally discovered during sessions with Peter Gabriel. The track slowly builds tension using a Roland CR-78 drum machine and Prophet-5 synthesizer drones before erupting into one of the most recognizable drum fills in pop history. It completely shifted the sonic landscape of 1980s pop and R&B production.

Genres

Descriptors: atmospheric, minimalistic, progressive, cavernous, reverb-heavy

Tracklist

  1. In The Air Tonight (5:29)
  2. The Roof Is Leaking (3:16)

Credits

  • Phil Collins - primary artist, producer [produced by], written-by
  • Hugh Padgham - producer [asst by]

More from Phil Collins: full discography