A LIFE WITHIN A DAY

What a combination! One of the absolute best bassists and guitarists on the planet merge their worlds together and create some music. Being a huge Genesis (1970-1977) fan with Steve being such an important part of the music; his departure really adversely affected the sound of the band. Mike Rutherford was no lead guitarist then nor was he by the time they threw together Calling All Stations post Phil Collins. But there again after Wind and Wuthering the prog end of Genesis faded away with only the last part of Duke showing an old glimpse. Steve's solo work has been incredible and highly underrated (Sum Of The Parts documentary certainly showed no respect to the man). He kept the old flame alive for the prog part of Genesis but also laid down some albums I was not fond of but Steve's talents go far beyond any genre.

Then we have the Squire Of Yes, one of those who invented the lead bass. He put that instrument at the forefront of Yes' sound. I have always liked his voice as well when you can hear it. His bass work stands alone. John Entwistle is another player who brought lead into bass along with later Geddy Lee. Without Chris' sound Yes would never have been Yes.

Expectations would run high considering an album with these 2 guys. I am glad to report this is no GTR (what a disaster even in Hackett's words) with Steve Howe but that album was meant to be mainstream. This album sets its own rules and that is one reason it is good. The music sounds reminiscent of Hackett's work but his keyboardist is on the album as well as one of his vocalists. I have to admit that while we can hear Squire's influence it is almost more defined as a Hackett solo effort. It would have been better to incorporate more Squire Sound but much of that is due to the production and keyboards sounding so Hacketty. Steve's solos are restraining in places but he let's-er-rip some as well.

Songs: ? A Life Within A Day: The title track is a great blast to begin with and is full of twists and turns. ? Tall Ships is a bit haunting. ? Divided Self is good. ? Aliens is flat to me and sounds a bit like Starcastle. ? Sea Of Smiles is a good song that moves around and sounds natural and original. ? The Summer Backwards: Another Hackett solo sounding track but pleasant enough. I like how without any drums it builds up to the end. ? Stormchaser, again, it is uncanny how this song sounds like a solo Steve song. The Bass line is intense though. The effects are definitely solo Steve. ? Can't Stop The Rain sounds like the closest thing to a hit single that the album has to offer. Very subdued. ? Perfect Love Song, I love how the previous song crashed into this one and the beginning is done well. The song sounds a bit like a track off Saga's Generation 13. I like the way it ends the album.

In all, if you are a fan of Hackett's harder rock albums with soft areas this is a great album. Since the songs were brought to the table by both artists there is an element of individuality. I am a little surprised there is not more of Chris' presence on the record. His playing is good but in many ways nothing extraordinary that you might expect. Not super proggy but it definitely has plenty of elements. It would have been great to have an instrumental on the album. If the other players had not consisted of Steve's (including Amanda Lehman) and the same keyboard instrumental sounds it would have had a more unique quality. It is too bad they didn't do another follow up but maybe it is best they left it alone. Too many team ups like this do well on number 1 but blow it on the next.