STEVE HACKETT

This is one of my all time favorite live albums, It has everything :

*Different but magnificent versions of some of my favorite songs from some of my favorite bands (which is quite an achievement since all of them are prog rock classics).

*Amazing jams.

*Some of the best musicians in prog, rock and music in general.

*Great songs (in composition and performance)

*Great sound.

+ John Wetton vindicated Asia with a great acoustic rendition of Heat of the Moment (which is a good pop song).

5 for overall sound

Said that, a review of each individual track:

1) Watcher of the Skies: a genesis classic and one of my top 5 genesis songs, I can say that this version is as good as the original. Wetton's voice gives a different perspective from what Gabriel did on the song, Hackett's guitar couldn't be better and the overall performanc of the rest of the band is breathtaking. 5

2) Riding The Colossus: a decent Hackett song (with Hackett "decent" means great but not a masterpiece) I am not a big fan of the keyboards (too 80s) but Hackett shines as allways. 4

3)Firth of Fifth: another reformed Genesis classic (and member of my top 5 Genesis songs list) still interesting to listen to Wetton sing Gabriel's lyrics and the jam in the middle shows the potential of each musician, an improvement over the original is the flute work (by McDonald)..... a very crimsonian sound, so another 5 star remake.5

4) Battlelines: a Wetton song which features some Asia style pop (a bit proggier)...nice vocals and piano with some good drums provided by Thompson but nothing more...3

5)Camino Royale: always a pleasure to listen to Hacket's compositions... very experimental, sometimes jazzy, a great piece...Highlights: Hackett's guitars (obviously), McDonald's sax, Thompson's drums (this is his territory: experimentation and jazz....), Colbeck's keyboards and Wetton's bass aren't bad at all....in other words the ENTIRE band is a highlight (not a big fan of the vocals here though)....5!!!

6)In The Court Of The Crimson King: a masterpiece in its original version....Wetton's voice is again a highlight.... although the song wasn't originally written for him it is allways great to listen to him sing Greg Lake's lyrics, since the style of both singers is really similar.... Hackett is more than qualified to fill Fripp's shoes (another interesting point of view), McDonald's performance is as great (not only great...MAGNIFICENT, SPECTACULAR) as in the original record (it is like no time has passed).... the drums couldn't be better Thompson is really great choice for this kind of crimsonian/obscure/experimental style....another 5 amazing remake.....5!!!!

7)Horizons: the acoustic/classical interlude from the Foxtrot album is as great as allways.... Hackett shows his classical style...just a great piece to rest from the previous madness and intellectual exercise....5

8)Walking Away From Rainbows: a continuation of the classical Hackett....with no doubt a gifted classical guitar player..... great atmospheric keys to set the mood.... a great demostration of classical guitar....5

9)Heat of the Moment: the Vindication!!! I never disliked Asia but it was a great disappointment...its nice to hear a proggier version of this chart hit... its proggy in the same way Greg Lake's ballads are....4

10)In That Quiet Earth: more Genesis! this time from the post-Gabriel era...great display of the band , it shows every musician at his best....I can't ask for more....5

11)Vampire With a Healthy Appetite: I always liked this song....Hackett's guitar is as good and impressive as always(+ a nice harmonica solo)...the spooky lyrics are a good touch....Colbeck and Thompson do a nice job in their respective instruments...5

12)I Talk to the Wind: more In the Court of the Crimson King King Crimson! just as good as In the Court.... well played (although I prefer Lake singing this one)...once again the flute work is just remarkable....and Hackett's touch in Fripp's parts is always refreshing.... + we have a really strong rhythm section here...5

13)Shadow of the Hierophant: great track from Voyage of the Acolyte featuring the great talent of Steve Hackett....great keyboard layers and rhythm section (+ an impressive drum solo....thanks Thompson!!!)...4.5

14)Los Endos: starts as a continuation to the previous track's drum solo.....this may sound repetitive but this version could compete with the original....Ian McDonald gives one of the best sax solos in the history of prog joined by the mighty Chester Thompson... The flute work is really good.... this is almost an Ian McDonald song (except for the fact that it is a Genesis song....)...5

15)Black Light: more acoustic Hackett... I can not get tired of this.... and with the inclusion of excerpts of Cuckoo Coccoon and Blood on Rooftops is just breathtaking...5

16)The Steppes: with its hunting Arabic guitar melody is hypnotizing....is just too beautiful....this is a song to lay back and enjoy the talents of Hackett backed by an amazing group of musicians....5

17)I Know What I Like: this is the last Genesis version and song of the concert...no comments just the same than with the other Genesis songs MIND BLOWING!!!!! and Wetton's voice is perfectly adapted to the song....5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now the bonus/studio tracks with a new lineup: Hackett on guitar and percussions and Iron Friedman on keyboards and programming....

18)Firewall: nice display of emotive music.....4

19)The Dealer: kinds of reminds me of Allan Holdsworth's fusion style, very well performed.4.5

TOTAL: 4.7

I am jealous of the people that attended to this concert.... this is an essential for every prog fan, but if you are starting with the genre it is better to first listen to the original Genesis, King Crimson, Zappa and Hackett records.... anyways 100% recommended!!!!

— First review of this album —

First of all, this album has no relations with symphonic rock. It's pure jazz fusion with some folk elements. Second, this album should be placed under fusion band Djabe name more correctly. Steve Hackett is guest guitarist there.

But whenever hungarian band Djabe isn't included in PA list of bands, this album could be reviewed there.

I want to note, that the collaboration between Steve Hackett and Djabe has deep roots. They are playing together regularly and even had some common European tours ( last finished just this summer).

I know Djabe for years, they visited my country 2 or 3 times participating on different jazz fest.I was attracted by their intelligent fusion with hot elements of Balkan and Hungarian folk music.

In 2008 I visited beautiful Latvian resort town of Saulkrasti for local open-air festival just to see how Djabe plays with Hackett as guitarist ( and I spend all the weekend for that driving 350 km there and the same distance back).

Now-about music. Steve nere is more a member of the band than soloist. In fact all the band's music is well balanced sound of collective, not collection of solos. Don't expect experiments or complex constructions. The music is more simplistic,but pleasant and competent fusion mixed with some Balkan folk elements. Keyboards,brass and drums are sound basis.

Music is warm, pleasant, comfortable ( in some moments similar to Pat Metheny works). It's interesting, that some Djabe works without Hackett are much more jazzy and experimental!

This double CD recorded mostly during Djabe (feat. Steve Hackett) concert in Budapest organised for the memory of Djabe late percussionist Andras Sipos. Double DVD of that concert is available as well.

There are some videos from concert avalaible at Djabe band site. I can recommend Djabe other albums as well, few of them are really very strong! There are some songs for free download at band's site as well.

I have this album as a low-price Snapper Music's double set with There Are Many Sides To The Night (live 1994). Well worth the money!

In general, it is safe to say that Hackett has never done as strong albums as in the seventies; his later albums often suffer from some kind of identity crisis, in the same way as Steve Howe's. He likes to show off his interests in various music styles, and also usually chooses to sing himself instead of having guest singers as often was the case in the seventies. And frankly Steve isn't any great singer. This one, even if guilty of the mentioned things, is quite an enjoyable pop/rock album with delicious electric guitar playing. You hear some blues with associations of rainy cities at night, you hear some Latin American influences, you hear layers of keyboards (Julian Colbeck and two others), etc. There are some tracks that rock slightly harder but the overall athmosphere is dreamy, emotional, nocturnal. Guitar Noir is indeed very fitting title to this album!

As some reviewers have already said, the album is dragged down a bit with tendencies towards AOR (remember GTR, Hackett's and Howe's collaboration in the eighties?). Some tracks are really best to jump over, but with as many tracks as 13, a few worse songs are still easily forgiven. Here's a lot to enjoy. Also Hackett's singing is relatively better than on some other albums.

Hackett's first solo album is an astounding piece of music and shows ample proof of the major role he must have played within Genesis. Ace of Wands is an excellent upbeat instrumental composition with great riffs and more things going on then on other artist's full albums. Play the opening 30 seconds a bit heavier and you're inside an Opeth album. But after 2 minutes of balancing soft acoustic parts against heavy guitars, it goes in all sorts of direction. Folky, classic, moogy, funky, Genesisy. Everything passes on the catwalk and believe me, it works just fine.

Next on is Hands of the Priestess. I don't know what priestess Hackett was thinking of, but given the soft porn leanings of this tune, it's not difficult imagining some of those priestesses and their hands. Yes a dirty mind is a joy forever :-)

A Tower Stuck Down is entirely different matter. Dark, heavy, threatening, brooding, extravagant, stubborn. No way this could have ended up on any Genesis album. The last half minute of it has some slow picking that reminds me strangely enough of both the ending chords of Rush's Cygnus X1 and the intro for A Forest by The Cure. Or how very different styles of music sometimes come up with almost the exact same thing.

The Hermit is another gentle piece. I like Hackett's voice here. Reminds me of that same subdued passion of Andy Latimer. After a reprise of the Priestesses, Phil Collins comes in to spoil the album with a bland performance on Star of Sirius. In the times of vinyl, I used to turn the record and place the needle right after this track to conclude the album with the stunning Hierophant.

Majestic opening bars (that he must have stolen from Opeth again) lead into a nice folksy ditty sung by a woman who reminded me of the siren on Mike Oldfield albums. Hey look, she's named Sally Oldfield. We get 4 and a half minutes of superb sweeping guitars and mellotons, balanced against the acoustic parts. It flows into a moody guitar solo and ends with a 6 minute crescendo that blasts away Ravel's Bolero off the face of the planet. This is the one of the most stunning 6 minutes in rock music for me. It's subtle and colourful yet at the same time immensily dark and heavy. Majestic.

Even disregarding Phil's annoying disruption, this is a true prog masterpiece. 4.5 stars

I really like "Defectror"...cover is incredible and also the music is on the top notch!...I was haunted since the flute intro of "The Steppes"..and then many beatiful melodies and voices tottaly catch my imagination...

I would describe the mood of record as "vampyric", so this album is unique - 100% vampyric prog, full of magic sounds and inspiration of S.Hackett band!

All songs are excellent in arrangements, maybe except "The Toast" - the same verse repeats 2 times, that was a strange decision, Steve should compose one more couplet for this song or reduce its lenght.

"Slogans" is fantastic song, very complex and fast, vocal phrase in the middle is really scary!

"Leaving" is magic song, vocals and melodies absolutely otherwordly.

"Two Vamps As Guests" classic guitar masterpiece.

Can't stop playing this album for fifteen years! Thanks a lot mr.Hackett!

Voyage of the Acolyte is a good album, It's a very good album. It is a consternation to me, though, how people can shower so much love on it, to the point of claiming that it is a lost Genesis masterpiece. First, that is insulting to Steve in that he created the work. Secondly, it is insulting to Steve because he surpassed his original solo album in both of the next two that he released.

Please Don't Touch is an extremely good album. The switch to shorter, more accessible songs doesn't detract from Steve's solid grounding in progressive music. In fact, Steve's solid grounding in prog may be the problem here. Like VOTA, this album suffers from compositions that sound like Steve doesn't know where to take them after he has wowed us with his skills. Specifically, Racing in A, Carry on up the Vicarage, The Voice of Necam, and Icarus Ascending fall in this category. Which doesn't mean that those are bad, by the way. Racing in A may be my favorite track off the album, despite it's lack of direction. Anyhow, Steve will solve this problem on his next (and easily best) solo album, Spectral Mornings.

So this one isn't quite a masterpiece. Sorry Steve. But I'll still give it four stars, and I'm happy to point out that this has Steve's best song that isn't an instrumental in Narnia.

Yet another fine album from Steve, following 1999's Darktown.

In this album Steve manages to feature avant garde jazz ("Statues") world music ("Silk Road"), heavy metal with a disturbing edge ("Mechanical Bride"), Pure acoustic classical guitar ("The Moon Under Water"), Eastern European Folk ("Come Away") and the most perfect laid-back pop song I've heard since the KInks "Waterloo Sunset" ("Serpentine Song").

Whilst varying musical styles and themes would be many an artists downfall, Steve thrives on the diverse and experimental, which makes him such an exiting artist to listen to. He is also one of the most talented live artists of recent generations, regardless of musical genre, which makes the music on this album sound so rewarding to listen to.

For me, the standout songs on this perfectly crafted album are:

"Brand New" - a gentle acoustic guitar intro that explodes into a rock classic with clever solo electric guitar work in the middle.

"Wind, Sand and Stars" - classical, sweeping acousting guitar and piano - would make a beautiful film score. Steve was inspired by the book of the same name by Sainte-Exupery.

"Rebecca" - slow mellow, haunting song giving an insight into Daphne Du Maurier's world of Rebecca.

"Serpentine Song" - has all the hallmarks of a classic Pop song - in my opinion, the best "Pop" song Steve has ever written.

Even without the 4 extra tracks on the special edition, this is yet another classic Hackett album worthy of reccomendation to anyone.

I would like to describe this album in a few words...its a masterpice...Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is incredible...7 of 11 songs are perfect...can't stop playing this album for 10 years...

I would like to quit 4 songs out of tracklist: 4. Déja Vu (5:53) 7. Your Own Special Way (4:18) 9. Waiting Room Only (6:53) 10. I Know What I Like (5:37)

I suppose arrangements of songs named above not so perfect as songs named below:

1. Watcher of the Skies (8:40) - Pleasant orchestration then John Wetton sings with a bliss 2. Dance On A Volcano (7:28) - Hackett vocals and orchestration made this song quite original and very atmospheric 3. Valley Of The Kings (6:29) - Powerful guitar instrumental song with a wondeful intro which only Steve could compose. 5. Firth of Fifth (9:39) - nothing to say, this guitar solo is Heaven-like 6. For Absent Friends (3:02) - small, sweet and catchy melody with a nice vocals 8. Fountain of Salmacis (9:53) - my personal favourite, vocals and orchestration on a top notch! 11. Los Endos (8:51) - very powerful and original version of Genesis masterpeice.

With this fourth studio effort, Steve Hackett bid his farewell to the 70s, and his musica lstrategy was mostly going headlong for a continuation of the sound and moods that had made his previous release "Spectral Mornings" such an accomplished progressive opus. This time, "Defector" didn't match tha tsort of greatness, but still deserves to be justly labelled as a Hackett classic. All in all, this album exposes an emphasis on the rockier side of Maestro Hackett, which in places spins a turn into the pop side of things, which directly affects the width of the room given to his pastoral/acoustic side. So, let's go for the tracklist itself, shall we? 'The Steppes' opens up the album with an eerie mood that may somehow remind us of the preceding album's title track but, in comparison, 'The Steppes' delivers a punchier vibe based on the melodic motif's exotic ambience, while 'Spectral Mornings' was a demonstration of sheer eerieness. The majestic beginning is followed by a more easy-going piece, 'Time to Get Out', which kind of reminds me of the sort of prog- pop tunes that Camel usually came up with increasingly since the end of the Bardens-era. Good stuff, indeed, not lost in the standard frivolity of pop but properly ornamented with tastefully constructed solos and an ordained rhythmic structure. Later on, the also poppish (even poppier) 'The Show' handles this scheme more directly, which means that it doesn't enjoy the same level of musical inventiveness: it is a pity, since this joyful song might as well have used a more expanded arrangement. But let's recover our procedure and go for 'Slogans', a superb gem from this album: this piece is a daughter of 'The Towers' and a niece of 'Tigermoth', an exhibition of psychedelic progressive architecture with ample room for guitar tapping, providing an overall sinister mood. The piece is firmly constructed but it doesn't deter it from becoming authentically muscular. The adequate contrast comes in with the segued acoustic ballad 'Leaving', which sets things on mysterious ground while remaining warm. The coda 'Two Vampires As Guests' is a lovely classica lguitar solo piece, a delightful coda for the album's first half. The second half starts with another highlight - 'Jacuzzi'. This delightful composition is yet another perfect example of typical Hackett progressive voice: inspired melodies, stylish developments and a clever use of sundry adornments in pure symphonic style. This is a hard trick to follow, but then come 'Hammer in the Sand' and 'The Toast', two slow pieces that keep the majestic ambience going: the former features a piano basis and a marriage of guitar-synth and mellotron layers, the latter being more akin to acoustic Genesis (12-string guitar and all). The closer 'Sentimental Institution' is a funny old-style jazz song that sounds like a very old vinyl single: it's all about the Optigan, a pet keyboard of hackett himself. Well, here we have yet another fine musical work by Hackett, the last one of what many call his classic era.

This is Steve's first solo album after leaving Genesis and his second over all. It reminds me greatly of Peter Gabriel's contemporary first solo album in that it seems to throw every style he could think of into a great big pot and mix it around to see what sticks. The results, like on Gabriel's album, are diverse and not always succesful. However, this album tends to hold together better than Peter's because the basic sound is usually unified by instrumentation. Peter's solo album seemed to use different instrumentation and styles on each track, and while that's impressive, it was never repeated, much like with Steve and this album. It can, therefore, be seen as kind of a stunt or if you want to be more kind an experiment. After all, just because Steve Hacket can write a soul ballad doesn't mean he's at all good at it....

Anyways, the good news is that the good music outweighs the bad. Strong songs beat out bad ones. Not much to say about this one, really.