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Turn
It on Again
: : Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins
& Genesis : : |
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Author
Dave Thompson
Title
Turn It on Again |
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Written By:
Dave Thompson
Copyright: 2005
Published by:
Backbeat books |
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: : Turn It on Again : :
Welcome to the first ever Prog4You book review! I consider myself an
authority on this book for one reason only- I read the whole thing
before writing this. This was not particularly difficult as I enjoy
reading in general (keeps the mind sharp), as well as the fact that it
was Yes and Genesis back in the 70’s that turned me on to this whole
nutty prog thing in the first place. No other musical form has come
close to challenging for my allegiance since.
“Turn It On Again” has to be (as far as I know) the most complete
biography of Genesis and all the members who have passed through it, as
it begins with the fateful meeting of 13 year old Peter Gabriel and
Anthony Banks at the stuffy Charterhouse School in 1963 and ends with
some of its original members speculating (or dismissing) the possibility
of a reunion as late as 2003. Author Dave Thompson drew (or “pillaged”
as he confesses in the Acknowledgments) his research for this project
from many sources, from previously written biographies and fanzine
interviews, to direct interviews with associates, producers, and some of
the band members themselves.
The book explores year by year and decade by decade the doubts,
challenges, changes, adversity, and triumphs of each album and tour. It
is chock full of stories and reactions to the band’s place in the fickle
music industry, alliances and feuds with like-minded musicians of the
era, competition with the ever changing moods and tastes of the music
buying public, and ultimately, the competition between the band and its
past and present member’s solo projects. I found the accounts of Peter
Gabriel’s ground breaking, bizarre, and brilliant integration of
theatrics into the live performance to be fascinating. My favorite
passage relates to Gabriel’s rejection of critics who put him in the
same category as Alice Cooper and David Bowie during the fox in the red
dress costume era- “But when critics (primarily American ones, for whom
any man who wore a dress was a glitter-rocking teabag faggot)…” It made
me laugh out loud.
What I realized by the end of this book was that, painful as it was to
all who felt betrayed as Genesis moved into the mainstream (myself
included), it was necessary in order for it to survive as long as it
did.
I cannot imagine any one previous book containing more detailed poop
about the band, Gabriel and Collins. It will satisfy even the most
voracious Genesis aficionado.
Reviewed by: Rick Woodward
Highly recommended
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