This book is meant to be an exhibition of some of the most avid Genesis collectors in the world; written by Adam Gottlob from the USA, who has been displaying his collection of now well over 5000 pieces on his website The Genesis Museum since the late 90s - mainly scans of posters, newspaper articles, tickets, photos as well as lots of films, both from private Super 8 recordings and professional sources. Then, a few years ago, Adam decided to write this book - it's dedicated to all the hunters and collectors out there who find themselves in one aspect or another of the passion described in the book. Adam also wanted to use it to explore what unites them and where they differ. To do this, he asked those collectors with whom he has been in contact over the past few decades for photos and details of their collections - and I have been one of them! Helmut Janisch and Peter Schütz from the German Fanclub were also involved, among others. The book deals with all conceivable aspects and sub-areas in text and picture form, each in short chapters, and for many sub-areas one collector is presented as an example of his special field.
Adam also asked us about our respective approaches to collecting and how these have evolved, or sometimes regressed, over time. He conducted extensive interviews with about 22 of the collectors, including me, and wrote down the most interesting extracts. You can also see all sorts of collectibles from these and another 40 or so people, and of course lots of stuff from Adam's own collection. I'm pretty sure that even of the collectors mentioned in the book, there is hardly anyone who has really seen everything. A major focus throughout the book is the detailed explanation of different collecting philosophies and the motivations behind the hobby.
You learn how to start collecting today, but also how it was in the past, before the internet, and how the collectors mentioned by name got their taste back then. I'm really surprised at how many people emphasise that 'hunting' is almost more important to them than 'collecting' - you might spend years trying to get your hands on a certain extremely rare item, say a DoLP test pressing of the 1973 live album, and when you finally get it, it disappears into the cupboard and, lest you get bored, you quickly move on to the next rare item. The printed quote from Marcello Cirese probably also fits into this category: "We're all sick! It has nothing to do with music". Whether this is meant seriously or ironically, you can decide for yourself...
There are also some quotes from Phil Collins about his Alamo collection which suggest that he was at least as fanatical about this passion, in his fascination with this brief slice of North American history to which he feels almost psychically connected. A bit like many Genesis collectors and fans who, through this intense pursuit of their hobby, somehow try to get closer to the glorious past. And Mario Giammetti himself has published a lot of books about Genesis and Solo, and you could collect them all, and best of all in all translations - especially his first books are not so easy to get, similar to first pressings of LPs.
However, Adam also emphasises that, for him at least, the hobby is not so much about all the stuff you collect, but more about the friendships you make with like-minded people all over the world, given that you can't usually find anyone in your family or "normal" circle of friends who doesn't think you're crazy for doing it.
No matter how you feel about it, this book offers a deep insight into the wondrous world of collecting everything related to our favourite band and is absolutely recommended for all "crazies" as well as those who (don't) want to become one, even though it costs (as an example) 99 US dollars (including shipping to Germany). But it is absolutely high quality and weighs almost 1.5 kg with 276 pages. You can order it here.
Legendary Double album from 1974, now available remastered on 2CD with new Stereo-Mixes.
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