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This book is the first time in over 20 years that Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford have collaborated creatively on a project, working together to create the complete history of Genesis. An intimate, no-holds-barred, no-stone-unturned history that allows character and personality to come to the forefront. Covering the band's story as well as the writing and performance of significant songs from each period, this treasure trove of text and photographs provides insight into the way this exceptional group of songwriters worked together. An exclusive look into the life and times of one of rock's most influential and lasting groups. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (31)

A Must Have for Any Genesis Fan!
A wonderful book, full of insights from the band itself. Every member of Genesis past and present was interviewed for this book. From Peter Gabriel, to Anthony Phillips, to Steve Hackett, even Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson give insight into what it was like being in a band of Genesis's caliber, and of course Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford also have plenty to say!
This book is a must have for any true Genesis fan. If you have ever wanted to know the true story of one of the most popular bands ever, this is the book for you!

Great for the casual to intense Genesis fan
I am somewhere between that casual and intense Genesis fan. I have most of their albums, but I respect all of their work. I enjoyed both the Peter-fronted Genesis as well as the wide range of albums that followed. Even though I don't own Calling All Stations, I purchased a song or two from it and can appreciate it as well. That said, I've been on a Genesis kick lately with all the remastered releases, and I saw this book recommended somewhere. I agree with the typographical errors, although in a book this size, I think a few are forgivable. The most distracting, to me, were the instances where punctuation was missed because it sometimes altered how I'd read the sentence.

In any case, this is a great book. I didn't really get into the extremely early era of Genesis so it was great to read so much about their background and how they formed. I grew up in a world where Peter Gabriel was a solo artist so it was fascinating to read about him interacting within the context of a band. He seems so individualistic that I found that part of the book alone just a treat. What's great about the book is that they spared nothing -- they got everyone's viewpoint. Another reviewer commented that some things were edited out and I would have to imagine that with any book of this type, one would have to do some editing. Still, unless there are rumors out there or information in the other books mentioned that was left out of here, I can't imagine how someone would know otherwise. (This was the first book about the musical group Genesis that I have read.) Even if there was stuff mentioned in other books, perhaps that would be a good reason not to rehash old information.

In the long run, I thought that the editing was fairly clever. I don't know the order in which they interviewed each person and if they went back for multiple interviews, but each person's commentary is strung together so well that it appeared as if they were all in the same room commenting on the same topic. The photos do make up half the book and they are just fantastic. They are of high quality, fully annotated, and relate explicitly to the story being told. For example, there is a section on how Genesis innovated their light show and then the photos that follow specifically show the various lighting techniques being talked about. In another case, the various interviewees are talking about the importance of family and then there are family photos. I got the impression that everyone really opened up for this book. It's not what I'd call gossip-y, but it felt like privacy was not at the forefront, either. There is a definite bit of vagueness at the various points when band members left, but come on, they can't tell us everything, and I was pretty impressed with the memory people had.

There are interludes where you get "the manager's story" or "the former drummer's story" and these two-page excerpts are usually worth reading. They summarize what's been stated leading up to their involvement in the Genesis story but they add in an additional viewpoint and then the viewpoint ends with the editor summarizing the person's career and what they are doing now. It was a nice way of closing out each person's "chapter". Another reviewer said that the albums only received two or three pages each. I can understand that viewpoint because the albums are how we initially came to know Genesis and that's what we want to read about. I actually thought that the early part of the book dove deeply into each of the early albums. It felt that way because there were more band members commenting on the album (until the number of musical contributors dwindled down). It may have also seemed that way because some of those really early albums had 6 or 7 songs on them, and the later albums had 9 or 10 songs on them, so it was easier to describe an album song-by-song for those earlier songs.

Overall, I thought this was ridiculously enjoyable for someone who is fairly into Genesis. I put on my iPod with each set of songs or each album that was being talked about and listened while I was reading just to enhance the experience. If it's an album-by-album commentary you are looking for, I think this is still satisfying because while they do not dissect each track, they instead tell you about what is going on in their lives and in the music world which is what helped influence each album. They could probably make a tiny fortune putting all of their song lyrics into a book and having the main authors comment on each song. I think a few other artists have done this and I could see that being a great companion piece because it could act more as a reference book.

Excellent - "everything you ever wanted to know about Genesis"
This is a wonderful book.It tells the entire story of the band Genesis, including, of course, their origins, and their history, and also focuses on Phil Collins' and Peter Gabriel's solo careers.The book itself contains fantastic photos throughout, and is told "in their own words" for the most part, quoting them throughout the years.There are also separate essays from many of the people associated with the band, so you get a complete picture of how it was to be a part of their circle.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Genesis.

the best review of a prog group i ever seen.
modern, big, easy to understand nice photos, especially for the fans, who knows the group very well, excellent price.

Great Companion to the remixes...
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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Essential Reading for any Steve Hackett/early Genesis fan
Much like the long wait for an official Genesis biography that we finally got in 2007 with Genesis: Chapter and Verse, Steve Hackett, whose career spans four decades between his work with Quiet World, Genesis, and as a solo artist, was also someone whose documented history was long overdue for official biography. To this reviewer's knowledge, this is only the second Steve Hackett book ever written and the first in the English language (the first was Mario Giametti's 2005 Italian only biography, The Defector).Of course, part of the reason that you've probably not seen a bunch of biographies on Steve Hackett already is because the intricate details of his career are not as well documented and as publicly known as that of Genesis. This, of course, means that whoever would take on the daunting task of writing a thorough history on Hackett would really need to do their research. Who could possibly take on the awesome responsibility to do a job worthy of telling the history correctly and accurately, have enough knowledge of Steve's career to do it justice, and chronicle the history in a way that will keep the story interesting and appealing to Hackett fans of all eras? Well, if it wasn't going to be Steve himself, there's probably only one English speaking writer I know that could pull this off effectively: Alan Hewitt. Alan is probably best known to Genesis fans for his work on Genesis-related fanzine and website The Waiting Room and also for his well-respected, unsanctioned Genesis biographies Opening The Musical Box and Genesis Revisited (the latter of which is an updated version of the former). After 22 years of dedication to The Waiting Room and more than 30 years as a Hackett fan, Alan certainly has the history and, frankly, has probably interviewed Steve more than anyone else on the planet that I can think of. Could there be a more adept person for the job? Probably not!

The first 174-pages are the heart of the biography (along with the bonus PAL/Region 0 DVD that came with the initial printing of the book), featuring several pages of full color and black and white rare photographs. Again, like Chapter & Verse, Sketches of Steve Hackett is not a "tell all" by any means. This book is not tabloid fodder. There is no bad mouthing trash talk about former colleagues, no crazed stoned backstage antics, and no controversial details about run ins with groupies. If you're looking for that type of thing, this is not your book. What you will find in the book's 300 or so pages is an insightful, extremely honest, and candidly revealing story as told by Steve Hackett, his family, the musicians who helped create the music and, yes, even a few stories from the fans themselves. This book is about the man and the music, as it should be! Probably the greatest compliment I can give to this book is that the personality of people like Steve Hackett, his mother, and many others really shines through the pages as I read it. Sketches of Steve Hackett flows so smoothly that you'll probably read the book within one or two sittings. It's even more well written and organized than Alan's last book, Genesis Revisited, which I enjoyed very much (and is probably the best unofficial Genesis book in existence). To be constructively critical of this book is extremely difficult, because it's so well done. Overlooking minor typos, my only real criticism is that the beginning of the history seems to go into far more detail than the past decade or so. It didn't hurt the telling of the story one bit mind you, but as a fan, I would love to have that level of detail throughout.

The biography is actually broken up into several different sections offering not one, not two, but nine appendices! The first appendix following the biography is entitled "Encounters with Hackett" which highlights four fan's recollections of meeting Steve Hackett, one of which (to my surprise) was my personal contribution of meeting Steve around his U.S. promotional tour for To Watch The Storms in Pennsylvania (U.S.A.). The second appendix is entitled "Album by Album" and offers, as the title suggests, an overview of each album Steve has released as a solo artist, with the '80s 'super group' GTR, and with his two pre-Genesis projects: Canterbury Glass' Sacred Scenes and Characters (1968) and Quiet World's The Road (1970). Appendix three is entitled "Collecting Hackett" which talks very briefly about collectibles in the world of Steve Hackett. This is a very brief section and, honestly, probably the only section in the entire biography that I felt could have been flushed out much better than what was offered in the final product. Appendix four is the discography section, which offers an excellent (although not totally complete) listing of singles, LPs, cassettes, CDs, and EPs for his entire career including Genesis projects, guest appearances on other musician's projects, and so on. Appendix five is the filmography, which is extremely extensive. The filmography includes not only official video releases, but television performances, bootlegs, and promotional videos! Appendix six is a fairly comprehensive list of bootleg recordings sorted by year and tour (including the Genesis years). Appendix seven and eight are Gig Guides for Genesis and Steve's solo career respectively. Last, but not least, is an excellent chronology of Steve's life, which is superbly done (and much more complete than the Hackett chronology in Chapter & Verse).

In conclusion, Alan Hewitt's Sketches of Steve Hackett is an essential read for any Steve Hackett fan. It not only offers a wonderful telling of the history and the music, but also offers enough thoughtful analysis and detailed information to make this an invaluable resource for anyone moved by Steve's work. I'm sure I will make reference to it again and again over the years to follow. If further unsanctioned Steve Hackett biographies are written in years to come, they will certainly use Alan's book as the foundation upon which they design their own work. That being said, Alan has "placed the bar" quite high with Sketches, so good luck to them on that! There were many pieces of information revealed in this book that I never knew before and, prior to reading this biography, I considered myself fairly knowledgeable about Steve Hackett's career.
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Commentary (music and lyrics not included).Chapters: Supper's Ready, Get 'em Out by Friday, Watcher of the Skies, Firth of Fifth, Los Endos, the Waiting Room, Hairless Heart, in the Cage, the Cinema Show, Fly on a Windshield, the Battle of Epping Forest, White Mountain, Entangled, Aisle of Plenty, the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, After the Ordeal. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 58. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: from the album Foxtrot Supper's Ready is a song by the band Genesis. A recorded version appeared on their 1972 album Foxtrot, and the band performed the song regularly on stage for several years following this. Live versions appear on the albums Seconds Out (recorded in 1977), the compilation Genesis Archive 1967-75, and the box set Genesis Live 1973-2007. In an interview, Peter Gabriel summed up Supper's Ready as "a personal journey which ends up walking through scenes from Revelations in the Bible....I'll leave it at that." Nearly 23 minutes in length, the song is divided into seven sections. A number of musical and lyrical themes do re-appear throughout. The melody of the verse in section 1 ("Lover's Leap") reappears as a flute melody between sections 2 and 3. The melody of the chorus in section 1 reappears with new lyrics in the coda to section 6. And the song that comprises the majority of the section 2 ("The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man") reappears briefly in instrumental form at the beginning of section 6, and then returns to form the body of section 7 ("As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)"), with new lyrics. One commentator regarded the structure of "Supper's Ready" as a variation of sonata forma musicological analysis by Nors Josephson proposes that "section 7 may be viewed as a Lisztian, symphonic apotheosis" of the "cyclical fanfares that originated in...http://booksllc.net/?id=2547282 ... Read more

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Commentary (music and lyrics not included).Chapters: Steve Hackett Discography, Live Archive Series, Wild Orchids, Watcher of the Skies: Genesis Revisited, Please Don't Touch, Guitar Noir, Voyage of the Acolyte, the Tokyo Tapes, Highly Strung, Till We Have Faces, to Watch the Storms, Defector, Spectral Mornings, Metamorpheus, Cured, Dark Town, Time Lapse, Bay of Kings, Feedback 86, Momentum, Out of the Tunnel's Mouth. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 84. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: This article is a discography of albums and singles released by the guitarist-songwriter Steve Hackett. with Quiet World (1970)The Road (1970) with Genesis (197077) with GTR (198687) studio albums live albums compilations Note: This was not an album, but consisted only of three instrumental tracks, each about a minute in length. They were only made available via a free MP3 download page on Steve's website. The same tunes were subsequently featured on Metamorpheus. with Genesis (19701977) with GTR (19861987) with Sonic Obsession ...http://booksllc.net/?id=7064851 ... Read more

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Kapitel: Genesis, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Genesis/diskografie, Tony Banks, From Genesis to Revelation, Chris Stewart, Archive Ii - 1976-1992, Abacab, Ray Wilson, Invisible Touch, Mike Rutherford, Platinum Collection, Duke, Three Sides Live, Anthony Phillips, the Musical Box, Foxtrot, the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, the Way We Walk, Selling England by the Pound, Turn It on Again - the Hits, Archive I - 1967-1975, John Mayhew, We Can't Dance, Calling All Stations, Live Over Europe, Wind ... Read more

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Chapters: English Classical Guitarists, Scottish Classical Guitarists, John Williams, Steve Hackett, Julian Bream, Galina Vale, Nigel North, Paul Galbraith, Gilbert Biberian, Robin Hill, David Russell, John W. Duarte, Frederick Noad, Freddie Phillips, Danielle Saxon Reeves, Graham Anthony Devine, Gerald Garcia, Carlos Bonell, Robert Mackillop, Simon Jeffes. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 74. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: John Christopher Williams (born 24 April 1941) is a Grammy Award-winning Australian classical guitarist, widely regarded as one of the finest guitarists of his generation. He is a long-term resident of the United Kingdom. John Williams was born in Melbourne, Australia to an English father (Len Williams, founder of The Monkey Sanctuary in Cornwall, England) and an Australian-Chinese mother (a daughter of well known Melbourne barrister William Ah Ket). He was taught initially by his father, and educated at the Friern Barnet Grammar School, London. At the age of twelve he went to Spain to study under Andrés Segovia. During this time he was also mentored by composer Ross Stewart. Stewart himself studied under the legendary Sam Harrell. Harrell developed many unique guitar techniques, passed them on to Stewart, who further instructed Williams. For several years Williams studied under Stewart until he later attended the Royal College of Music in London, studying piano because the school did not have a guitar department at the time. Upon graduation, he was offered the opportunity to create such a department. Being such a lover of the instrument, he seized the opportunity and ran it for the first two years. Williams has maintained links with the College (and with the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester) ever since. Williams is best known as a classical guita...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=154556 ... Read more

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Chapters: Alex Lifeson, Robert Fripp, Adam Jones, Steve Hackett, Steve Howe, John Petrucci, Greg Lake, Ty Tabor, Mike Rutherford, Jón Þór Birgisson, Andy Summers, Michael Romeo, Alexander Kostarev, Phil Miller, Paul Brett, Maurice Coyne, Johan Reinholdz, Bahadır Akkuzu, Thomas Youngblood, Randy Jackson, Gary Green. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 119. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946 in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England) is a guitarist, composer and a record producer best known for being the guitarist for, and only constant member of, the progressive rock band King Crimson. His work, spanning four decades, encompasses a variety of musical styles. Fripp was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" (published August 2003). Fripp's earliest professional work began in 1967, when he responded to an ad looking for a singing organist for a band being formed by bassist Peter Giles and drummer Michael Giles, despite being neither a singer nor an organist. Though unsuccessful as a live act, Giles, Giles and Fripp did manage to release two singles, as well as an album, The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp. Robert Fripp, on tour with King Crimson, in 1973.Following the band's breakup, Fripp, along with drummer Michael Giles, made plans for the formation of King Crimson in 1968, with Greg Lake, Peter Sinfield and Ian McDonald. Their first album, In the Court of the Crimson King, was released in late 1969 to great success, and is now known as one of the most influential albums in the history of progressive rock. Because of musical differences with Giles and McDonald, King Crimson broke up shortly after the release of the first album, to be re-formed again several times over the years. Initially Fripp offer...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=25893 ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Proceso, published by Thomson Gale on October 23, 2005. The length of the article is 728 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: La batuta rock de Steve Hackett.
Author: Ricardo Jacob
Publication: Proceso (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 23, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 1512Page: 86(1)

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970. Hackett remained with the band for eight albums before leaving in 1977 to pursue a solo career.In 1986, Hackett co-founded the supergroup GTR with another progressive guitarist, Steve Howe of Yes and Asia. The group released a self-titled album that year, which peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and spawned the Top 20 single "When the Heart Rules the Mind". When Hackett left GTR in 1987, the group disbanded. ... Read more

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Chapters: Alan Nicholls, John Williams, Jon Ford, Bernard Hackett, Steve Cookson. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 18. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt:Senior club appearances and goalscounted for the domestic league only.* Appearances (Goals) Alan Nicholls (23 August 1973 25 November 1995) was an English football goalkeeper. Alan started his career as a trainee at Wolverhampton Wanderers but never made the first team. He later played for non-league clubs Cradley Town and Cheltenham Town, before returning to the professional ranks when he was signed by Peter Shilton, who was then manager of Plymouth Argyle, for £15,000 before the start of the 1993/94 season. During his time at Plymouth, Alan's form was so impressive that Shilton was forced to play him - even though Shilton was himself chasing the 1,000 league appearances record. After his first season in professional football, Alan was called up to the England Under-21 team and played in the Toulon Tournament in the summer of 1994. In his two years at Plymouth, Nicholls played 79 games for the club, gaining a reputation as a brilliant but larger-than-life footballer who was often in trouble off the pitch. After Shilton left Plymouth, Nicholls struggled with injuries and clashed with new manager Neil Warnock - who was keen to bring his own players into the club. In 1995, Nicholls was released by Warnock after a series of off-the-pitch indiscretions. He subsequently moved to Gillingham, and was technically still on trial at Priestfield Stadium when Stalybridge Celtic contacted the club to ask if they could borrow him to cover a suspension. On 25 November 1995, Alan played for Stalybridge in a 3-1 win at Dover Athletic. After the game, Alan left with his friend Scott Lindsey, and Scott's brother, Matthew, and their father. Alan tra...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=12825873 ... Read more

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Chapters: Steve Hackett, Julian Bream, Galina Vale, Nigel North, Robin Hill, John W. Duarte, Frederick Noad, Danielle Saxon Reeves, Graham Anthony Devine, Carlos Bonell, Simon Jeffes. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 51. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970. Hackett remained with the band for eight albums before leaving in 1977 to pursue a solo career. In 1986, Hackett co-founded the supergroup GTR with another progressive guitarist, Steve Howe of Yes and Asia. The group released a self-titled album that year, which peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and spawned the Top 20 single "When the Heart Rules the Mind". When Hackett left GTR in 1987, the group disbanded. After leaving GTR, Hackett resumed his solo career and has released albums and toured on a regular basis since. His body of work has encompassed many styles, such as progressive rock, world music, and classical. His playing has influenced guitarists such as Alex Lifeson and Brian May. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010. Hackett was born in Pimlico, London and attended the Sloane Grammar School, Chelsea. He grew up having access to various musical instruments, such as the recorder and harmonica, but did not develop an interest in the guitar until the age of twelve, when he started playing single notes. By fourteen, he was learning chords and experimenting with chord progressions, although he never received any formal instruction. Hackett's earliest musical influences were classical (Johann Sebastian Bach) and opera (Mario Lanza). He has stated that his compositions ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=557164 ... Read more

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Big book of Guitars, the men who built them, and those who play them. Full of photographs and information on everything from the Gibson to the Fender Strat and more modern guitars. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fabulous photography
I bought this book for a professional guitarist friend as a thank you gift.The artistic photographs of guitars and parts thereof are awesome - you don't have to play guitar to appreciate this book.It's a visual work of art. ... Read more

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Softcover song book. Includes sheet music and fake page arrangements. ... Read more

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Record Collector continues to serve the collector, offering retrospective features, full discographies and in depth interviews. Its outlook has expanded to embrace the phenomenon of collecting via the internet, whether it be through online trading, or downloading music. RC also includes Q&A pages where readers can have questions about their rare and obscure records answered; some of the largest news and reviews sections in music print; one of the few fanzine review columns in print; a focus on curio releases from around the world; interviews with a variety of collectors, who talk through their personal collections; and monthly features on eBay and record fairs.From being the only monthly music publication for the majority of the 80s, Record Collector has maintained its popularity well into the 2000s. Having encouraged a few trends in the reissue/collecting market, most importantly of all, RC has made the collecting market more widely established and accepted, and has remained an important publication for collectors and music enthusiasts alike.This issue, dated Christmas 2004, has a cover story on Deep Purple; other featured artists include Killing Joke, The Tubes, Billy Bragg, Queen, Ron Sexsmith and Boz Scaggs. There is also a tribute to the legendary British DJ John Peel, who died in October. ... Read more