PLEASE DON'T TOUCH!

The man was the glue that bound Genesis of the 70's together and in my opinion when he walked away from Genesis that marked the decline of the group. His guitar work was unique for many reasons; not flashy, no Townshend windmills or sky high jumps; just very reserved and seriously into the music. I like that he didn't try and sell out to become commercially popular though he had a few albums where he added some pop influence. He is to this day his own artist.

I would argue that Tony Banks in particular was too much of a control freak and a bit prideful to allow Steve to get much say in the direction of the music for Genesis. I wished there would have been more of Steve's ideas integrated into especially the last 2 albums he was on, Trick Of The Tail and Wind And Wuthering. Some of his ideas for the latter album appear on this masterpiece. Of all his solo work this album is I believe his best or close to it.

There are some great prog moments. The vocals of Steve Walsh on Narnia and Racing In A are a nice addition to these songs. The album has a surreal quality to it. His first album, Voyage Of The Acolyte was a great place to start and this album was a great next one. The title track was rehearsed by Genesis for the W&W sessions but was axed in favor of Wot Gorilla. While I like that song his entry was far better and a great challenging instrumental. I would love to have heard Genesis do that one,

Carry On Up the Vicarage is tremendous in how he uses his voice through the means he uses and the almost playful intro is simply bizarre. Icarus Ascending was a surprise to hear after coming off the Voice Of NECAM. Ritchie Havens vocals are unusual but I do like the slow fade out of the album. It is a well balanced album overall.

The low points for me are Kim, How Can I? & Hoping Love Will Last. One of my only complaints about his albums is the addition of mellow acoustic guitar tracks but it is a trademark of his and they are usually well done. That complaint is simply my own personal one.

Overall this album is great way to introduce a person to Steve's work. Of all the Genesis' solo artist's works Hackett is the best by far. He has gone underappreciated and been underrated. The Genesis biography The Sum Of The Parts is another great example of just how badly he has been dissed by the music community. His solo output is enormous and got almost no mention but there again, his face was cut out of also every shot when the group was being interviewed. Hackett is a great and talented musician and this album proves it.