Customer Reviews

Genesis: Chapter and Verse

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Some Genesis fans might come across this book and wonder if it is worth buying. These are times that definitely try the wallets and household budgets of Genesis fans: Boxsets of surround-sound reissues, a tour of Europe and America that some fans were lucky to see (I'm one!), and a forthcoming live album/DVD of said tour! Some fans might place a measly book about Genesis at the bottom of their "To-Do" lists, if they put it on at all.

However, fans might want to reconsider that. This autobiography of sorts pieces together the story of Genesis through the best perspective available - the band members themselves. Remarkably, every single musician who has participated in Genesis' 40-year history is present and accounted for in this book, offering their recollections of the band through interviews conducted as recent as 2006. As editor Philip Dodd notes in his introduction, Genesis were not a part of the sex, drugs, and rock n' roll crowd of legend. With Genesis, it has always been about the music and, as this book shows, that's certainly something to be proud of!

The standard plot of Genesis - the band started, Peter left, Phil became the singer, and everyone lived happily ever after - is handily recounted in much greater detail than any book or documentary has done previously. Considerable time is also spent on the band's formative pre-Collins years of 1968 to 1970. And despite the constant focus on Phil Collins from those not completely familiar with Genesis, the story recounted here does not center on him. Here, Phil Collins is more of a cog in the wheel, and rightfully so. In fact, a total of five drummers besides Collins would sit at the drums for Genesis. Each gets their chance in the spotlight in a running series of sidebars throughout the book entitled "The Drummer's Tale".

Another portion of the book deals with the formulation and success of the Banks/Collins/Rutherford trio in the 1980s and 1990s. There is a strong friendship there and this book does an admirable job showcasing it. Peter Gabriel also offers his insights, although in a somewhat rambling manner. Steve Hackett does the same (and sometimes gets way too mystical about the whole business). Ray Wilson and Nir Zidkyahu offer comment on their important, albeit short and often overlooked, experiences too. The book is slightly (and I underscore slightly) troubled by some odd gaffes in proofreading though. Chester Thompson was not born in 1968 as noted in the appendix, thus did not start playing with Genesis when he was 9. I don't think he's THAT good a drummer! At another point, the 2007 tour of Europe and America is referred to as the "Turn It Up Again" tour. Well, Tony, Mike, and Phil are getting on in age...that might've been a better idea!

Beyond the members of the band though, the book also features fascinating portraits of those who supported the band over the years. The late record execs Tony Stratton-Smith and Ahmet Ertegun both figure heavily into the story of Genesis. While Stratton-Smith passed away in 1987 and is recounted through other participants, Ahmet Ertegun's contribution to this book was completed shortly before his death in 2006. By all accounts in this book, both men were perhaps as influential on the band as the actual band members themselves. Both execs had good ears and a good sense of where to put their money, even if it meant not always getting the best return. Genesis fans owe them both quite a lot!

And that is what emerges as the most compelling part of "Chapter & Verse". Genesis existed in a time when immediate record sales and high profit margins did not necessarily dictate what was supported by record companies and executives. Long chastised by critics (and some fans) for being a band that "sold out" for hits, Genesis recorded and toured for years without having a major hit single. From 1970 to 1992, Genesis only ever had one #1 song in the US. And while they did have enough singles to later fill a greatest hits album, these only came in the twilight of the band's career after nearly a dozen albums. Could bands today exist in such circumstances? I'm not so sure.

"Chapter & Verse" is ultimately the story of a group of musicians who succeeded by playing the music they wanted how they wanted. They didn't "go with the flow" of what was popular at the time. They weren't cutthroats to others either (or to each other, for that matter). The story Genesis and the music that emerged, in all of its many parts, eras, and stages of development, is something fans hardly need to be ashamed of. Here endth the lesson.

Full disclosure: Although I am a 49 year old male, my love for Genesis (and all things "Genesis-y") is comparable to that of a 13 year old girl's crazed, glassy eyed dementia at a Fall Out Boy concert. And I know this to be true for a fact, because I have actually BEEN to a FOB concert, although my 13 year old is my son, and he is neither demented nor glassy-eyed, just an incredibly talented musician and singer in his own right who has found a band to embrace - much as I did with Genesis at the exact same age. Like me, he plays bass and writes his own songs and is in a band which bickers and argues over arcane lyrics and chord progressions - much as Genesis themselves did, surprisingly often, as revealed by this completely absorbing and delightful book.

I have a copy (somewhere) of Armando Gallo's original 1978 book (which he kindly signed for me, even though I ambushed him while he was working) - and this is nothing like that book or any other book on Genesis for that matter. This is in all respects, the true "Book of Genesis" as told by Genesis - every single member, former member, sideman (Chester Thompson, Daryl Steurmer, Bill Bruford) and significant other "tells the tale" - and quite a tale it is.

Finally it seems all rumors may rest in peace concerning Peter's departure, Steve's departure, Phil's departure, even Anthony Phillips' departure - and how the shifting line-up and changing dynamics led the band from their desire to be the "next Beatles" to what they are today - a completely unique, almost uncaterogizable entity that has bred, incubated, and then unleashed upon the earth some of the most complex, and unforgettable music that I have ever heard or even DREAMED of hearing. Genesis spawned Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Phil Collins, Mike (Rutherford) and the Mechanics, and Tony Banks' solo ventures - all with their own unique style, yet none of the solo acts were Genesis - just as a sack of flour can't be bread without yeast and water....

This last tour (concluded on 10/13/07 at the Hollywood Bowl, and yes, I was there, with my girlfriend and my 72 year old mother - both of them seeing the band for the second time, my girlfriend on the previous night, my mother in 1978) engendered mixed feelings in me - first of utter delight that the boys were coming back (I had despaired of ever seeing them live again) and then of complete disgust (face price tickets nearing $400 each) and then back to utter delight - they're back, I'm not 13, and neither is the target audience, either for this book, or the tour, or the remastered albums (ALL of them, in glorious 5.1 surround) or the $1000 "road cases" with soundboard recordings of every show in a signed road case... they know their demographic, Phil cracked jokes about the age of the audience and the band alike ("I remember when we all had hair') at all three of the concerts I attended (Boston and Los Angeles)... and they know we can afford, most of us anyway, to indulge our nostalgia - and take our OWN children (my 11 year old daughter and my 13 year old son both attended the concert in Boston - they are huge fans and I guess they would have to be - Genesis and Peter Gabriel have been the soundtrack for most of their lives.

Each of the band members is interviewed at length and the interviews are broken up and dispersed through the book - individual albums are discussed at length, horror stories of malfunctioning equipment, power struggles, general grumpiness, ego-tampering - the usual rock band stuff with one huge caveat - Genesis never was and never will be anything "usual".

The candid behind-the-scene photographs are great fun and the stage shots are simply breathtaking (although I myself took better ones back in the day when cameras were allowed - it's true, and not cellphone cams either.)

For true fans only - all others fergit it.. If you don't "get" Genesis by now, you never will. And I would especially caution those who "discovered" Genesis around the "Invisible Touch" era - you will have NO idea what all the fuss is about unless you drank the Kool-aid and dove into the back catalog. If you did, sit down... welcome to the Home By The Sea...

If you know my reviews, you know that I'm one of the world's biggest Genesis fans. They're my favorite group, and always have been. So it was a total no-brainer for me to pick up the latest book about the band, "Genesis: Chapter & Verse," which is basically written by the band members (both past & present) themselves, as they tell the story of the group in their own words. This is an excellent Genesis book, and the most up-to-date so far (going straight up to the band's reunion tour from 2007). It's filled with lots of insights into the group & their music, how they grew up, how they got together, how they work together, how they come up with all of their incredible music, and how they live their lives. Besides the insightful comments from all of the band members themselves, there are equally-insightful passages written by many people close to the band, such as touring sidemen, managers, producers, roadies, and record company executives. And there's *lots* of great photographs too---in fact, the photographs take up about half of the book!---and many of them come from the band's own personal archives. One of my favorite photos is on page 187, of a Genesis roadie in 1977 lying down on the street in San Francisco, taking a break. Above him is the marquee for Winterland, where Genesis were playing. It reads "Mar. 25 & 26, Genesis." And just below that: "Apr. 7, P. Gabriel." Ain't that somethin'? Peter Gabriel played a gig at Winterland just two weeks after his old band did! Man, that must've been an awesome doubleheader of shows for Northern California Genesis fans. Wow! Wish I could've been there.... However, I must be honest when I tell you that, while "Genesis: Chapter & Verse" is a great book, it does fall short of being a perfect, "definitive" book about the band. I somehow get the sense that this Genesis book, even at a generous 359 pages, was still heavily edited. The book basically skims over the making of the individual albums, only devoting about three or four pages each to the making of such classics as "Foxtrot," "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway," and later classics like "Duke" and "Invisible Touch." That tells me that the Genesis men surely had a lot more to say about what went into creating these albums, but a lot of material was left out of the book. Also, there are *quite a few* typos in "Chapter & Verse," especially towards the end. Examples: "The Turn It Up Again Tour" (wrong!), "Follow Me Follow You" (wrong!), touring drummer Chester Thompson being born in 1968 (wrong!), and several more. These typos don't ruin the book, but they do tarnish it somewhat, and I sincerely hope that these will be corrected in future editions of the book.I currently have seven different books about Genesis on my bookshelf (with "Chapter & Verse" being the seventh), and I think there are two books about the band that are a little bit better than "Chapter & Verse": Hugh Fielder's "The Book Of Genesis" (published in 1984), and "Genesis: A Biography" by Dave Bowler & Bryan Dray (from 1993). Both books are out-of-print, but you can still buy them used, and I think they are put together a little bit better, are a little bit more insightful, and they go into deeper detail about the band, it's music and history, even though they are no longer up-to-date. Do seek them out if you can. Nevertheless, I greatly appreciate the wealth of material that is found here in "Chapter & Verse," and there's certainly a lot of it to enjoy. I highly recommend "Genesis: Chapter & Verse" to all my fellow diehard Genesis fans out there. Despite it's flaws, it's still a great book about this great band, and I know you'll enjoy it.

Genesis Chapter And Verse is a wonderful volume documenting the bands early days when friends Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, and Anthony Phillips joined forces while still at school. Its an honest account of a band that while having their differences creatively have remained friends to this day. As a big fan of guitarist Steve Hackett I particularly like that he was a part of this project. Although I think this book goes on to explain that perhaps the relatively more narrow vision of cornerstone Tony Banks led to both Gabriel and Hackett's departure. Which cost the band a musical buoyancy and lift it was never able to match since. Nonetheless the book documents why and how Banks, Rutherford, and Collins had to move away from Genesis' progressive rock roots to forge a new direction. Some draw backs to this book include an incomplete listing of all Hackett's solo works, which are in my opinion sorely underrated for their sheer musicianship and talented writing.

The new Genesis: Chapter & Verse biography comes on the tails of the re-release of the back catalog on CD and of course the 2007 Turn it On again reunion tour of the principal 3-man line-up of Genesis. In the book, all the voices of the band, including former members and influential sidemen are represented, and their unique viewpoints help fill in the blanks on the formative years. Similar in style to Hugh Fielder's 1984 "The Book of Genesis", which was also mostly compiled interviews, here we have the full 40 year story which the editor has carefully collected and positioned to tell a continuous narrative. I have read the minutia of Genesis' history in Gallo's, Fielder's, Hewitt's and Platt's books, as well as seen it in the History and Songbook DVDs, so i am very pleased that new insights can still be gathered by long-time fans from these new interviews. The photos are excellent, with many rare shots and some from the rehearsals for the latest tour. A timeline captures pivotal events at the end of the story, and the index is quite complete and very useful.

Received this today. As stated above, it's an absolute delight. A coffee-table sized paperback with the entire history of the band from the early Charterhouse days to the current "Turn It On Again" reunion tour, told in the words of the people who lived it. The pictures are amazing and the insights into one of (progressive) rock's most influential bands is a true treasure for any serious fan of the group.

I first saw this at a local bookstore a few days ago, and was surprised that it listed for only $29.95. At Amazon's price of less than $20, it's a steal.

This will be a very nice compliment to my old (and very outdated) Armando Gallo books on Genesis.

If there is anything negative to say, it would be that the book contains no discography. Other than that, highly recommended and a must for any Genesis fan (regardless of the era you like the best).

I have read about Genesis for 25 years, and yet this book actually told me some things that I didn't know. Great for completists who want to know more about Anthony Phillips, and the various drummers who worked with them before and after Phil joined. Great selection of photos, as well.

A few typos, but I don't feel this takes from the value of the text...

Great product. The perfect companion to one of the greatest bands of all time.

The official biography on progressive rockers turned pop phenomenons Genesis called Genesis : Chapter and Verse is a must for all Genesis fans (released in September of last year).

The book tells of the history of Genesis and, unlike other band biographies released over the years, is the band's official story in their own words so this is the setting the record straight biography on the band told by all of its band members (past and present including Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett, Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford, Chris Silver and Ray Wilson) plus record executives, managers and various road crew over the last 40 odd years of the band's history.

The book tells us of how keyboard player Tony Banks, lead singer Peter Gabriel, guitarist/bass player Mike Rutherford and guitarist Anthony Phillips first met at the English boarding public school Charterhouse and their fateful decision to become Genesis whilst still teenagers.

They also talk about the struggles with the band's first manager Jonathan King and being dropped by him and Decca before Charisma Records head Tony Stratton-Smith gave the band some new life right up to the breakdown of Ant Phillips (which caused him to leave) and the succession of drummers they had ala Spinal tap before they found their first classic lineup with singer/drummer Phil Collins (who stayed until his amicable 1996 departure and returned in 2006 for their farewell 2007 Turn It On Again Tour) and guitarist Steve Hackett (whom left in 1977).

Then, we read about their evolution of a 60s Brit pop band to pioneers of progressive rock in the 1970s to first the departure of Peter Gabriel in 1975 and their fateful decision to carry on as a quartet with Phil taking over on vocals. Then seeing Steve Hackett leave in 1977 and in between covered all of the albums in full detail and many solo projects of each member respectively.

The book also captures the band from its 1978-92 commercial heyday as a global phenomenon (including the ill-fated 1982 reunion show with Gabriel and Hackett (who only played on encores) at the Milton Keynes Bowl), topping the charts all over the world and selling over 150 million albums worldwide.

The book also goes into great detail about the departure of Phil Collins and the ill-fated decision to carry on with Ray Wilson before deciding to call it a day after the huge US failure of Calling All Stations before reuniting with Collins once more for the 2007 "Turn It On Again" tour (which just ended and I saw the show in Boston and what a performance, they still have it).

In addition to the band members' story are comments from long standing sidemen (Daryl Stuermer, Chester Thompson, Bill Bruford, Nir Z), managers the band had over the years (Jonathan King, Gail Colson (whom co-managed the band with Tony Stratton-Smith from 1970-73) and Tony Smith (who is still Genesis' manager today since taking over in 1973), producers (Hugh Padgham and David Hentschel) and record executives (including Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Erutegun in his last interview before his 2006 death) all of whom share their personal memories of working with Genesis, as does the band's loyal road crew.

Genesis Chapter and Verse is a book that once you read you can't stop plus jam packed with many unseen photos of the band and assorted crew over the years.

RECOMMENDED!

Great book! Got a great feel of how the band came together in the early years. Alot of detail in the interveiws with all the members of the band and from people behind the scenes. As a big fan of the Peter Gabreil era I got alot of information about how the band worked and lived and also what caused the breakup. A must read for any Genesis fan.

As a lifelong Genesis fan, this book is an entertaining read on many levels. The extensive recollections of all the members in chronological order covers their fascinating career. They were blessed with management who cared and an obvious lack of drug culture, two elements that are rare indeed in the rock world. I discovered some amazing insights, namely that Tony Banks is a bit of a princess; argues a lot and was initially Gabriel's best friend.. I've always considered Tony and Phil to be the most charismatic musicians whose playing bubbles to the surface of their recordings. It also appears Gabriel's solo work departed from the Prog sound due to Tony's ubiquitous influence in Genesis. He seems to have run screaming from Prog rock. Another jaw-dropper was that Gabriel made a subtle dig about Anthony Phillips being the biggest talent in Genesis, which shocked me. It simply is untrue, Tony has the biggest musical footprint. If you don't agree, just try to imagine the Genesis with a different keyboardist! It is sad indeed that Tony has missed the boat as a solo artist, except for the record "Still". Chapter and Verse is a fun, detailed read about the truly inspired supergroup who had the kahunas to do it their own way. It's well worth 20 bucks.