Genesis: Inside & Out (1967-2000) [Paperback]

Firstly, and despite the minor coup of interviewing early 70's guitarist-of-about-one-month Mick Barnard for the book (along with new interviews with Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips), four of the five major Genesis protagonists - Banks, Collins, Gabriel, and Rutherford - are represented only by bits and pieces of old interviews, hashed together from rock papers and a Virgin web site. Whether they were approached by Platts for this book, and declined to participate or grant new interviews, is not clear. What is clear though is that old ground is well and truly being trod, with very little new information of merit coming to light. Fans with no knowledge of Genesis' history will probably be okay with this, but those with a greater knowledge of the band will be left wanting.

Secondly, the book reads too much like a home-grown fan essay, and too little like objective biographical analysis. Ironically, although the author is quick to offer quite firm opinions on a number of issues - mostly related to a dislike of much of the post-Duke material - the way the book is written, in particular the use of sound-bites from old interviews, suggests some inadvertent and debatable conclusions, namely: that despite concerns Genesis couldn't survive without Peter Gabriel (they could, and did), musically the band actually never really survived the departure of Steve Hacket (when they clearly thought they could); that Banks doesn't seem to like much of the material or records from their entire 30-year career; that Collins can't seem to make up his mind if he likes "prog", and is almost rabid in his desire to break with the Gabriel/Hackett era past; that Rutherford seems to have preferred his 12-string duets with Anthony Phillips to just about anything else; that the Calling All Stations record/US tour was clearly the most ill-judged move of their entire career, and they really should have just stayed home after Collins quit. These conclusions, although possibly unintentional, merit discussion, but unfortunately the author leaves them hanging, without any analysis or investigation.

Although it has not been updated since the early 80's, and sadly remains out of print, Armando Gallo's superb I Know What I Like remains THE Genesis book, not just for his incredible photography, but for his concise yet detailed biography of the band. Robin Platts' effort, although welcome, unfortunately does not match the standard set by Gallo, or update the story in any essential and compelling way.

Genesis Inside & Out, however, is a cut about most of the other books of this type, and specifically from this imprint. Platts knows his subjects, and has throughly researched their activities, and their thoughts, particularly the processes behind their music, which I found most interesting.

If you are a Genesis fan, or someone interested in Post-Beatle's English rock, this is a good book for you.