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Steve Hackett - Defector CD (album) cover

DEFECTOR

Steve Hackett

 

Eclectic Prog

3.66 | 539 ratings

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Tarcisio Moura
Prog Reviewer
4 stars Slightly inferior to the previous Spectral Mornings, but still a very fine prog album by one of the most influential guitarrists ever. Thatīs the concluion I get after several days listening to this CD. Muy remastered version has a very clean sound and five bonus tracks, mostly live versions of tracks from Defector plus Clocks from Spectral Mornings. They donīt really add much, but nice anyway. Defector is one of Hackettīs works that is better appreciated when heard as a whole instead of a track by track analisis. Ok, it is, like anything Hackett released, quite varied and with ups (many) and downs (few). But to me only the last tune, Sentimental Institution (a spoof on 1930īs style music complete with scratching sounds) sounds out of place here.

It wonīt grab you like Spectral Mornings, it takes longer to really sink in, but once it does, you cannot help but enjoy this record very much (at least for a symphonic prog fan like me). The instrumental parts are specially tasteful and very well done. The vocal parts are a bit more on the commercial side, but not much (see Time To Get Out). But letīs remember that this kind of music was completely out of fashion in 1980 and Iīm quite surprised it was realeased at all! So I guess S H was trying to adapt somehow. The 80īs synth sound was beginning to creep in. Yet, Defector is pretty much a symphonic prog album of high caliber. His band was in top form and his trademark guitar sound still intact.

Conclusion: one of SHīs top albums, no less. Not the better one, but excellent anyway. It stood very well the test of time, even if in 1980 it surely must have sounded too 70īs for most people. 4 strong stars.

Tarcisio Moura | 4/5 |

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