GENESIS – 1967 TO 1975: THE PETER GABRIEL YEARS (2020) ****½
by Mario Giammetti
This paperback edition published by Kingmaker Publishing, 2020, 252pp
First published in Italy by Giunti Editore, 2013
© Mario Giammetti, 2013/2020
ISBN: 978-1-913218-62-1
Blurb: The definitive biography of the early years of one the world’s greatest rock bands! The book contains numerous exclusive interviews with band members and with all the important personalities who were part of the story of Genesis between 1967 and 1975. Features a number photographs which have never been published previously, plus interviews carried out with individual members of Genesis during listen through of each of the band’s first six albums. Mario Giammetti is an Italian music journalist with over 30 years experience. He has written for numerous leading Italian music magazines. In 1991 he founded Dusk (www.dusk.it) the only printed magazine in the world dedicated to Genesis. He has written 14 books related to the world of Genesis. Genesis 1967 to 1975: The Peter Gabriel Years is his first book to be published in English.
Comment: This is the English language release of Mario Giammetti’s biography/chronicle of the period of Genesis’ history when Peter Gabriel fronted the band. It covers the band’s transition from schoolboy songwriters at Charterhouse Public School to becoming one of the top progressive rock acts of the 1970s. For many older fans of the band this is the so-called “classic” period encompassing six studio albums and an extensive touring programme. Although billed as a “biography” the book largely focuses on the music. It draws extensively on interviews with each of the band members and their associates, conducted by the author and Mike Kaufman (the latter extended from those included in the 2006-8 remix box set Extras DVDs) over the period 2000 to 2015 – so there is a small amount of new material to update the Italian language version published seven years ago. Giammetti’s book makes for a fascinating read and unearths a lot of new detail (to those unfamiliar with the Italian language) around the writing and recording of each of the band’s albums during this period. Three of the band members (Tony Banks, Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips) were also involved in listening sessions with the author on the albums, so were able to offer fresh perspectives on the material. For me (having recently completed my own book on the band’s output) this was the most interesting part of the book and there were a number of new details I discovered as a result. The book is well organised chronologically by album and tour and handsomely illustrated, with a number of rare photos. For a Genesis fan – particularly of that period in the band’s history – this is a must. It stands proudly alongside Armando Gallo’s classic I Know What I Like and the band’s own Chapter & Verse in its coverage and the insights it offers. The book ends with the words “To be continued” and I eagerly look forward to part two of the story. I hope too that Giammetti’s other output on the band and its members gets the translation treatment on the back of this excellent book.