Peter Gabriel: An Authorised Biography

by Spencer Bright

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Music

Paperback

Published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Howard Christie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I latched on to Genesis back in the early 70’s when their third album Foxtrot came out. As an avid reader of the English music press( Melody Maker, NME etc), rock groups from the UK were a big deal and this progressive group with the guy in costumes was probably most interesting to me. I saw them in 73 and pretty much every tour thru there final, just a few years ago. When Peter Gabriel broke away, I similarly followed him for years. Lots of concerts, albums, CDs, DVDs and books.
As a result there isn’t much in this book that most Genesis/ Gabriel fans like myself wouldn’t know. It starts at the start and ends in the 80’s with Gabriel’s hugely successful album SO.
This is called “ the authorized biography” but Peter is not mentioned in the acknowledgments nor does Mr Bright make any mention of interviewing him so I’m not sure what to make of that. Though that’s unclear, this is still a fairly extensive review of his life, warts and all, I think that would be the biggest revelation for me.
When people think of Peter Gabriel, rarely do negative thoughts come to mind. A true artist, people love to be in his band, very thoughtful, trying to make the world a better place.. this is the Peter Gabriel most of us know.
While all this is true, the darker PG comes across here.. the one who cheated on his wife Jill many times, who canned longstanding band members with minimal rational, who wanted the credit in Genesis that wasn’t there because they democratically divided songs up, who dragged albums out forever, who actually craved the popularity and money that SO finally gave him.
I saw Peter just a couple years ago and it was a great show, so I’m a fan and that’s really the audience for this book. It’s more than most people need but it’s about right for the fan.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this book at my younger sister's house and started reading it. I remembered when it came out but never got the chance to read it then. This is an almost authorised biography, with the sometimes tacit approval of the artist warts and all. This book covers a lot of ground, from youth thru to the late 90's of Peter's long career. If you are a fan of Peter Gabriel this is a must read. If you are fan of intelligent music, but are only vaguely aware of Mr Gabriel's music, then you just may enjoy this book. There is input from many musicians, managers, visual artists and computer programmers that have crossed paths with or worked with Peter. If you have an interest in intelligently crafted pop music, again you will enjoy this book. A good read with lots of insights into a creative mind.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent summary of Peter Gabriel’s life up to 1988. As a fan of his time with Genesis, I especially enjoyed that section, but all of his artistic phases are interesting.