GENESIS REVISITED II

In the mid 1990's Steve Hackett revisited his Genesis days the first time around (in the studio), resulting in the interesting, but disjointed Genesis Revisited album in 1996. 2012 sees him revisiting Genesis a second time with this follow-up: Genesis Revisited II. While the first Genesis Revisited album was a single disc featuring remakes of nine classic Genesis songs plus two new instrumentals, Genesis Revisited II is a double album carrying no less than a further 17 Genesis classics plus four remakes of tunes from Hackett's early solo albums. There is no overlap between the two albums, which is a testament to the impressive wealth of excellent material Steve had to draw on in the Genesis catalogue from his days in the band (from 1971's Nursery Cryme to 1976's Wind And Wuthering).

Like with the first Genesis Revisited album, Hackett is joined by a plethora of more or less well-known guest stars. Among the most famous ones is John Wetton who appears on both albums. Other familiar names include Steve Rothery, Francis Dunnery, Neal Morse, and several others. Members of Hackett's own band, past and present, that help out here, include Nick Magnus and Steve's brother John Hackett. Apart from Steve himself, no other Genesis members appear here.

Just like the first Genesis Revisited album was followed by a tour and a live recording (the excellent Tokyo Tapes), so too was Genesis Revisited II (as documented on the recently released Genesis Revisited: Live At Hammersmith). In both cases, the live recording is better than the respective studio recording. The songs present here that are not also featured on the Live At Hammersmith album are The Return Of The Giant Hogweed, Can Utility And The Coastliners, Horizons, Ripples, and the Hackett solo numbers Please Don't Touch, A Tower Struck Down, and Camino Royale. Included on both this album and on Live At Hammersmith are full versions of The Musical Box, Supper's Ready (here preceded by Horizons as on the original studio album), Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, The Chamber Of 32 Doors, The Lamia, Fly On A Windshield/Broadway Melody of 1974, Entangled, Blood On The Rooftops, Eleventh Earl Of Mar, Unquiet Slumbers For The Sleepers/In That Quiet Earth/Afterglow, and, from Steve's solo career, Shadow Of The Hierophant. This very nicely represents Steve's days in Genesis (and the early days as a solo artist). With Wind And Wuthering being (probably) my favourite Genesis album, I'm especially glad to see so many terrific selections from that particular album.

With the Collins/Banks/Rutherford line-up of Genesis (backed up by Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson in the live arena) focusing almost exclusively on 80's and 90's material, and Peter Gabriel never performing any Genesis songs live, (and don't hold your breath for a reunion of the five-man-line-up), Steve Hackett is the only one who faithfully carries the legacy of classic Genesis onward. And he has been doing that very well indeed for many years and there is no sign of him slowing down.

This second instalment is a lot better than Hackett's first Genesis Revisited album, though personally I prefer the live version. For a fan of Genesis and Steve Hackett like me, Genesis Revisited II is a very enjoyable listen indeed. However, I suspect that the average Prog fan will be satisfied with the original Genesis albums on which these tunes first appeared. Unlike those classics, this one--good though it is--is not an essential addition.

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