“The Gypsy’s Tale”. The latest book by Mario Giammetti reviewed by Alan Hewitt.

Mario Giammetti, the indefatigable creator of the excellent Dusk magazine in Italy has long been a producer of a string of fascinating books about one or more aspects of Genesis and their careers (see reviews in past editions of TWR).

Mario’s Genesis Files series has created a magnificent archive of reference material on each of the individual members of the Genesis family and this latest offering is no exception. This time Mario’s subject is the career of Ray Wilson, front man of Genesis during the sadly short-lived Calling All Stations period of the band’s career.

Ray had already begun to carve out a career for himself when the Genesis job beckoned and that and his subsequent career path are examined in this book in breathtaking detail. Once again the book is lavishly illustrated with a wealth of photographs and memorabilia much of which I for one had never seen before all of which helps to bring Ray’s story even more vividly to life and proving just how talented and creative an artist young Mr Wilson is!

As if that were not enough though, Mario has a collaborator on this project: Massimo Pola who has been a stalwart supporter of both Dusk and TWR over the years. Massimo has drawn together the equally fascinating stories of the other associates within the Genesis story and so we have brief biographies of such alumni as Bill Bruford, Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer as well as details for each and every other musician who has been associated in some way with the Genesis story. Equally as informative and just as well illustrated this really gilds the lily on an already magnificent effort and my congratulations all round for yet another indispensable addition to the Genesis literary archive!

Click to enlarge

Mario Giammetti: Ray Wilson Gypsy. Edizioni Segno ISBN: 978-88-6138-854-3. (Italian language edition).