Revisiting ... Chapter & Verse

    • Official Post

    Recently I took Chapter & Verse from my shelf and I must say, I should read it more often.


    Do you have this book?


    https://www.genesis-news.com/c…er-Verse-review-s141.html


    c+v_header.jpg

    cheers

    Christian


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  • Christian,


    I pretty much agree with your review. Although like you I think they rushed it after 1976... it should have come out in two parts, I would have paid for both. I am not 100% certain I like the Author's angle. But supposedly most of text within it was made up of transcripts, from interviews the author had conducted.


    Did you know there was a paperback version? I have a copy of it here at home.


    Meanwhile there is a description of the book on The Genesis Archive


    http://thegenesisarchive.co.uk…ial-biography-by-genesis/


    At least it got released, that's the key thing...


    Regards


    Mark

  • I do, and I love it.


    I wonder if the band just don't think their later years are as interesting as their early years. Mike's book completely flew through the later years; you get to the point where you only have a very small portion of the book left and then you realise he's only on Duke. I wish there had been more about the entirety of their careers in both books.

  • It also ended very abruptly with Phil talking about the difficulties he had drumming on the 2007 tour. However for a neophyte as I was when I bought it, it's a must have.

  • I just re-read Chapter & Verse recently and was reacquainted with how much I enjoyed it! I'm now re-reading Alan Hewitt's "Genesis Revisited" - both books complement one another well, IMHO.


    I keep meaning to get Mike and Phil's books (I probably will soon), and I further hope that Tony, Steve, and Peter will get around to writing official autobiographies.

    Stepping out the back way, hoping nobody sees...

  • @ One For The Vine,


    Really you should give Armando Gallo's books or Apple App - I Know What I Like (paid for full version) a read or go first, Chapter & Verse is alright but it loses focus after the Lamb period.


    Mike's autobiography is candid


    Phil's autobiography is candid also but in a different way


    Steve Hackett is working on a book but non of us know much more than that.


    There are other books to be reading and looking at, some of which are displayed here (not the full book text)


    http://thegenesisarchive.co.uk/category/books/


    just to give you an idea.


    Alan Hewitt's Genesis Revisited, an interesting place to start but the Armando Gallo books are the best place to start.


    Kind regards


    Mark

  • Re: Chapter & Verse,

    It's a great book - I bought it used for under a tenner delivered!

    "She looks at me and gently smiles, as if she knew I'd ask her all the time..."

  • I forgot to mention Armando's book - I have had that for ages and it is indeed excellent. :)

    Stepping out the back way, hoping nobody sees...

  • the Armando Gallo books are the best place to start.


    Kind regards


    Mark

    I agree. The first books I bought were Armando's I Know What I Like and From One Fan To All Others. Perfect companion pieces and put together by a wonderful man who is also an exceptional photographer and biographer.


    I would also recommend Hugh Fielder's Book Of Genesis. It covers the band's career up to the early eighties and, like Chapter And Verse, is told entirely from the band's perspective with no commentary from the author.


    Bowler and Dray brought the Genesis story up to the We Can't Dance tour and told it with verve and wit.


    Other than Chapter And Verse - which I would also value as essential reading - they're the only books on the band that I have read. There are two biographies on Phil, one by the late Ray Coleman and another by Johnny Waller, that I have as well as Phil's autobiography.


    Like most longterm fans (although I only got into them in the late eighties, towards the end of their career) I think I know all there is to know about the band until I pick up a new book and discover a whole load of tantalising stories.

  • Ah yes Hugh Fielder, starred on The Three Sides Live concert video in some of the interview segments... on the tour bus he can be spotted wearing a Police tour jacket. One can only offer conjecture how that went down on the bus.


    Hugh Fielder - wrote reviews and did interviews for the music paper - Sounds.


    http://thegenesisarchive.co.uk…-of-genesis-hugh-fielder/


    The book has be printed with different covers, on another note:


    Bowler and Dray, where consultants on the Genesis documentary - Genesis A History, which was mainly filmed by BBC Scotland.


    http://thegenesisarchive.co.uk…ve-bowler-and-bryan-dray/


    (my first actual Genesis book), The book was revised in the early 1990's and there was even a German language version with a better cover design on it.


    As for Phil Collins...


    Johnny Waller, he did on one occasion in 1982 (just in time for Hello I Must Be Going) interview Phil, the interview was published in Sounds.


    http://thegenesisarchive.co.uk…lins-story-johnny-waller/


    Ray Coleman, notable journalist and editor of Melody Maker... his series of books were highly recommended, sadly with his passing in 1995/6 his wife took over the Phil Collins book and it was finally released. Sadly it contained an unhealthy amount of pages and material connected to that "affair" in 1992 and the breakdown of his marriage to Jill Tavelman.


    http://thegenesisarchive.co.uk…biography-by-ray-coleman/


    Note: Phil Collins actually signed my copy back in 1998. "To Mark, Don't believe all you read. Phil Collins"


    There are plenty more books to discover,


    Regards


    Mark

  • I'm surprised that Phil wrote that in your book, Mark. As I understood it, the book was done with his full co-operation (he even sent Ray a fax when he was poorly). I've read it a few times and I think it gives a pretty objective account of the man and his music. It's not fawning (Ray doesn't mind criticising Hello I Must Be Going, for example, saying it was a poor effort from such a "thrusting artist") but he also praises I Wish It Would Rain Down to the heavens and, as an artist, puts Phil on the same level as Paul McCartney. There's also some lovely comments from Bill Bruford, who says that he felt Phil worried too much about what the critics thought of him, that his material was really beyond criticism.


    The book does end on a very sombre note, though, with Phil's adopted daughter Joely urging her dad, who by now was with Orianne, to "please don't have any more children". Ouch!

  • Another book (in addition to those listed above) that I really enjoy reading, even though it is not strictly speaking a band biography and only deals with the Gabriel-era, is Paul Russell's "Genesis - Play Me My Song - A Live Guide, 1969 to 1975".


    It's basically a review of all the live recordings from the years listed (although I'm sure many more have become available since he first published the book in 2004); it also has a nice bonus interview with Ant, Tony, and Mike at the end. Again, it only covers the Gabriel-era, but it's a good read, especially if you are into live recordings.

    Stepping out the back way, hoping nobody sees...

  • I think I've mentioned Play Me My Song elsewhere on the forum but, yes, it is a fine book. An essential book in my opinion. It's inspired me to do the same with the shows from 1976 - 1992 (by his own admission, Paul Russell focused on his favourite era of the band so I really can't see him doing a follow-up covering the second stage of their career). However, as I'm not a professional writer, my guide will remain on my laptop and not see publication!

  • I can totally endorse the Armando Gallo book for those more interested in the 70s period. (The book ends with a mention of rehearsing material for Duke). I bought it via the app and apart from the tangible sense of stepping back to the 70s, it it has some great interactive whizzy features such as short musical interludes as you turn the pages, photos scattered everywhere which you can drag and enlarge. There are also laptop wallpapers to select and a ‘take your photo with the band’ feature though the latter doesn’t work as well as it should. All in all, it’s a great account of the early part of their career.

    ~ My talents may not be obvious but they are always...always...delicious! ~