The Living Years: The First Genesis Memoir

The Living Years: The First Genesis Memoir by Mike Rutherford

Mike Rutherford's father was a British naval officer that did not communicate well with his children. Mike wished he would have taken more time to get to know him and understand his life and experience. Mike had traveled around a lot while young and went to a well-to-do school. He ran into trouble and did drugs and joined a band. During his life, there were a few times he got in trouble with the drugs. He joined Genesis as a founding member and stayed with the band through multiple iterations. The band kept going, even after key band members left. However, finally when Phil Collins left, they realized their recruited singer would not be enough. They later had legacy tours with original members. Genesis also had multiple members go solo or have alternate groups with great success. Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel each had number one songs on their own. Rutherford's spin off, Mike + the Mechanics also had a number one along with a few other top 40 hits.

Genesis did have a fair amount of turn over. Rutherford was present for all of it. In the book he paints a picture of most people leaving because they wanted to. (The few that were "fired" were portrayed as short-termers.) It is interesting the Phil Collins could have a solo career that eclipsed the band and yet still return for a few more albums (that were also highly successful.) The book talks about the music, but doesn't go into much detail about the evolution through different genres and styles (and different fan appeal.) It is an interesting case of appealing to different groups.