Ian Anderson, frontman of Jethro Tull, has spoken about his admiration for Phil Collins, praising him as a "great" and "just terrific" singer despite the ridicule Collins sometimes faced for his solo pop career. Anderson, whose own band deliberately avoided fitting neatly into the prog rock label despite albums like "Thick as a Brick" sharing genre hallmarks, has generally preferred artists who took creative risks, citing The Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's" as an example of the kind of ambition he valued in pop music. His comments highlight how a musician known for shunning conventional pop stardom still recognised genuine vocal and songwriting talent in a contemporary often dismissed for his mainstream success.

Anderson praised Collins not just as a drummer but as a genuinely gifted vocalist, songwriter and musician who could "fall back on" his talent even without original material. He pointed to deeper, more complex tracks on Collins' albums "Both Sides" and "Dance into the Light", as well as the intricate key changes in the Disney song "You'll Be in My Heart", as evidence that Collins combined mainstream appeal with genuine musicianship. Anderson also named Foreigner and Meat Loaf among his other favourites from the rock world, framing Collins as someone who successfully balanced accessible songwriting with real artistic depth.