Peter Gabriel by Armando Gallo
a Solsbury Report
Armando is well known for his self-published book Genesis: I Know What I Like. It's *the* book on early Genesis, to the fans, by a fan, packed with great biography writing as well as stunning pictures. So it's not surprising that Gallo followed up the Genesis with a book on Peter Gabriel.
Unlike his Genesis book, Peter Gabriel is lacking in text...to sum up the value of this book in three words: Pictures, pictures, pictures. If you think you saw all the good PG Gallo photos online, think again. There are quite a few pictures that even long-time Gabriel watchers have yet to see (unless, of course, they have this book).
And unlike some picture compilations that tend to cover Peter's facial expression range from serious to intense to really, really intense, Gallo's photographs provide some nice balance by including many shots of a kinder, gentler Gabriel, along with the dark and pensive shots. Some casual fans might be surprised to see that Gabriel has a rather nice smile! And where else can you find pictures of Gabriel washing the dishes, goofing around at a Renaissance fair, and holding a cat?
There's one eerie photo of PG with the car lights reflecting in his eyes, which is even more frightening that those chrome contact lenses he's been known to wear during performances of Mother of Violence and the inside cover of Peter Gabriel I (Car). There are many stunning concert photos as well.
Throughout the book, there are little snippets of anecdotes, stories, and quotes, but they're all brief and scattered among the photos. Many of the quotes you've probably seen before, especially if you've read Peter Gabriel: In His Own Words or The Secret Life of Peter Gabriel . Unlike other biographies, this book is hardly a linear account of what has happened in Gabriel's life. Instead it groups Gabriel's thoughts by topic. Videos, Music, even Politics are covered (very briefly) here. There's a little bit about Genesis, but the focus is Gabriel solo, up through So.
The book is out of print, but if you can get it used, it's highly recommended for the avid Gabriel fan for the pictures alone. Let's hope that when Peter releases Up, it encourages Gallo to reprint this book (at a cheaper price than the Genesis book reprint!)