GUITAR NOIR

After the formidable album Defector in 1980, Steve seemed to lose his way a little in his next 3 rock based albums, Cured, Highly Strung and Till We Have Faces. In each of these albums Steve experimented with various musical genres and styles, but only with partial success.

His next rock based album Guitar Noir borrowed more of the world music theme hinted at in Till We have Faces, but somehow looked to be getting closer to the successful vein of creativity he had mined in his earlier solo career. Despite being a better album than the previous three, with some real gems among the track listings, there were still too many lightweight tracks in this work to rate it as a classic.

Highlights: Walking away from rainbows - I think that this is the best music Steve has ever written for classical guitar. A sparse, yet stunningly moving and atmospheric piece. This track shows more than any other how Steve can inject so much emotion into a piece of music.

Little America - a musical comment on the American TV scene set to an almost lazy yet totally infectious pop/rock melody.

Lost in Your Eyes - Blues based number with a lively use of Harmonica, electric guitar, and a blasting drum beat that takes the song by the scruff of its neck and hurls it along at a stomping pace!

In the Heart of the City - Full on Rock Steve Hackett style.

Sierra Quemada - A fine instrumental using high pitched guitar riffs from Steve and ochestral effects on keyboards from Julian Colbeck. This is a classic Steve Hackett instriumental that would grace any Hackett album.

DIssapointments: Vampyre with a healthy appetite - the novelty of this number, where Steve talks through a megaphone soon wears off.

There are many Sides to the night although there is some beautiful guitar work on this track, the lyrics are a bit too corny for me, and the vocals are not Steve's best.