[see

Delage's new book

reviews below]

Speak French?
A couple of weeks ago I received this beautiful book from France. The author, Frederic Delage, humbly asked if I could present his new book about Genesis on my site. Unfortunately, I am not capable of reading French - so maybe his letter to The Path is a lot more interesting for you. Here goes:

Hello Thomas,
I've been a great fan of Genesis since 1984 (at the time, I was 15 and the first Genesis album I listened to was "Three Sides Live" but very soon, the Gabriel period became my favorite - thought in fact I love all their records - even the worst ones like "We Can't Dance"...).

So, as a journalist and as a fan, I was dreaming about writing a book about their story, and the dream came true last year when, thanks to the rock magazine I worked for, "Rockstyle", I went to The Farm to meet the three boys.

"La Boite a Musique" is the third book written directly in French about Genesis (there is a list of all these books on the pages 249-250). The last chapter of "La Boite a Musique" is a discography with many details on the group and its members (past and present) in solo.

With my own book, I wanted to write a biography like a kind of novel. The story of Genesis, from Charterhouse to C.A.S, is really wonderful and it's nearly a fairy tale. So, my book is the true story with as many details as possible about the evolution of the band and its music through interviews extracts - especially French press between 1972 and 1997 but also US and UK press, and of course my own interviews. I have also explained for French people most of the words, especially the stories of the Gabriel age. I hope Genesis fans speaking French will take as pleasure reading my book as I had in the writing.

Please excuse my English: When I met Tony Banks, I asked him to speak slowly - and he did! Oh, I almost forgot - the preface was written by Christian Decamps, the lead singer of Ange, who used to be the most popular French progressive group during the Seventies...

So - how to order my book:
The best way to get the book is of course by bying it in a French book store (especially the "FNACs"). For people who don't live in France, the book can be ordered by using my e-mail address - which is fredelage@pacwan.fr.

Best regards,
Frederic

La Boîte à Musique by Frédéric Delâge (Camion Blanc)
- Reviewed by Uwe Hoppe - author of the brilliant article 'Peaceful Shades of Green'

Although Delâge's book is not the first one on the band in French - the books by Hervé Picart and Alain Bayeulle and Laurence Berrouet would have to be mentioned here - books on Genesis in French are still sort of a rarity. As the books spans the entire history of the band from their humble beginnings as a school band up to the release of their long-expected box set in 1998, it has to be one of the most complete works on the band ever published and is therefore a must for completists. When it comes to documenting the first part of the band's career, Gallo's brilliant "I Know What I Like" is still very much top of the pile but fortunately the author who is a journalist working for magazines like Rockstyle refrains from quoting too much from that book and relies heavily on French sources instead as well as on an interview with Tony Banks that he conducted himself. He even ventures to find answers to some questions that Gallo's book somehow left unanswered (e.g. what happened to John Mayhew and the like).

Throughout the book Delâge shows himself very well-informed and although he makes no bones about prefering the band's classic 70s phase each stage of the band's career is treated equally. Peter Gabriel's often complex lyrics are also explained in painstaking detail to give French readers a more profound insight into what the songs are all about. The extensive discography at the end of the book as well as the many pictures - most of which I have never seen before - are a real treat. It seems to me that to the author writing the book must have been a labour of love, and that certainly comes across. For my own part, I enjoyed this book even more than the rather comprehensive Bowler/Dray biography. For French-speaking Genesis fans "La Boîte à Musique" is highly recommended.