STEVE HACKETT

The latest from guitarist extraordinaire Steve Hackett (and something like his 30th album), this one is a concept album with a story based on Steve's own life experiences, and is something special, his best album in many years. At 74, and a career spanning more than 55 years, Hackett seems to be stronger than ever, with his Genesis Revisited tours and regular releases of live and new solo albums. This album mixes together songs of many different styles, ranging from classical guitar stylings to dark and ominous heavy prog metal riffs, as well as lighter more melodic pop and rock, with international stylistic flourishes, strong harmony vocals, and yes, even some Genesis-reminiscent passages. Steve has his powerhouse backing band (same as his touring band) as well as some guest artists to bring these songs to life, and the result is a tour de force album of delights, 13 tracks comprising a compact 45 minutes, telling his story in one of the prog highlights of the year. Best tracks: Enter the Ring, Wherever You Are, Ghost Moon and Living Love, Get Me Out, Into the Nightwhale. Rating: 4 stars

The latest solo album from former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett (and his thirtieth overall) is alright. It's no Voyage of the Acolyte, but it isn't bad. It's your typical, slightly-bland classic prog fare. A lot of the music here is mid-tempo with some relatively heavy guitar lines. There's a lot of flowery, impressive guitar soloing, but it rarely amounts to much. This album's folkiest moments are its best, like "Enter the Ring", though that track's Yes-like vocal harmonies come off as weirdly thin and overprocessed. (In fact, I'm really not nuts about the record's production overall.) The ending to this album is pretty overwrought and cheesy in a way that reminds me of '90s and '00s prog acts like Spock's Beard and Moon Safari.

Review originally posted here: theeliteextremophile.com/2024/04/01/odds-ends-april-1-2024/

Although he's been out of Genesis for well over 47 years, STEVE HACKETT more than any other member of that band has retained the spirit of the progressive rock 70s and has done more as a solo artist to celebrate the prog years of Genesis than that band has ever done for itself. Add to that HACKETT has been quite prolific in his output since his debut "Voyage Of The Acolyte" all the way back in 1975 and despite nearly 50 years of releasing well over 30 albums, it seems there's no sign of him slowing down. And here in 2024 we find ourselves with another installment of the STEVE HACKETT universe with THE CIRCUS AND THE NIGHTWHALE.

After spending the last decade more or less revisiting his symphonic prog roots, THE CIRCUS AND THE NIGHTWHALE takes on a different stylistic approach which is more varied and more theatrical with touches of hard rock, flamenco and jazz mixed in with the usual symphonic prog and classically tinged guitar magic that HACKETT has been cranking out for almost five decades. As a legend in the world of prog, HACKETT now has the luxury to record at his own leisure and finds an army of supporting musicians to assist him on this one including Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Craig Blundell (drums) and Amanda Lehmann on vocals. Nick D'Virgilio and Hugo Degenhardt return as the percussionists with Benedict Fenner on keyboards.

The album title gives a hint of what to expect with this one. It truly is an eclectic work that doesn't really fit into any particular categorization. The CIRCUS really has come to town and the NIGHTWHALE is ready to deliver a great show, STEVE HACKETT style. Supposedly a concept album of some sort (well aren't ALL prog albums these days?!!!), i honestly am not sure what the theme really is and it doesn't really matter too much since it's the music that counts. STEVE delivers a wide array of sounds and styles throughout this run of 13 tracks with his outstanding guitar and mandolin playing heard all throughout. At 74, HACKETT may not be breaking any new ground on this one but he certainly holds his own and crafts catchy compositions that showcase some nice production and diversity.

The album features plenty of slow burners such as the tender ballad "Ghost Moon And Living Love" as well as more upbeat rockers such as "Get Me Out." The mandolin-rich "Circo Inferno" with its Arabian musical scales takes you for a journey east bound only with some hard rock outbursts and a sizzling sax solo. "Breakout" jumps into an unexpected heavy metal style with blistering guitar workouts and delectable lead guitars which demonstrates that HACKETT has lost none of his guitar playing mojo over the years. "All At Sea" offers yet another surprise with an ambient synthesized abstractness with a few guitar tricks thrown in and basically serves as an intro for "Into The Nightwhale" which remains dreamy and laid back never really shaking the ambient backing.

THE CIRCUS AND THE NIGHTWHALE demonstrates quite clearly that STEVE HACKETT is still alive and going strong and its filled with some really enjoyable music but like the majority of his output he simply fails to take the extra steps necessary to offer something truly compelling that will beckon return visits. In fact he seems on simply recycling various experiments that he's been cranking out his entire career. For true fans this album won't disappoint at all but if you're seeking something comparable to his debut or "Spectral Mornings" then you won't find that consistency here. HACKETT suffers from the age old problem of quantity over quality and most of his albums reflect that. While he never delivers an unlistenable product, very few of them deliver something revolutionary or applicable to the modern day. A decent album but not an outstanding one either.

Steve Hackett is surely the most active member of Genesis and arguably the one who has stayed truest to his progressive rock roots, as his seemingly endless creativity drives him into releasing newer albums every other year, a creative force that might have been sparked by the intense Genesis-related touring and revisiting that Mr Hackett has become notorious for in recent years. As we have appreciated the busy release schedule for him in the 2020s, his most recent release titled 'The Circus and the Nightwhale' sees him diving head first into prog rock waters (which for many is what he does best).

And Hackett needs no introduction at all, as every prog fan would position him somewhere high up in the prog rock guitarists pantheon - and on his latest studio album (released as usual on Inside Out Music), it seems that he goes on celebrating the sounds and the style he is well-known for, at this point expanding his majestic catalogue with yet another pretty good album. 'The Circus and the Nightwhale' is a tight collection of seemingly thematically related songs that have been pierced by these shorter one- or two-minute instrumental vignettes on several occasions across the album. However, above all, as Steve Hackett had stated himself, with this album he had the intention of creating a "theater for the ears" and this is probably a very good way of describing his 2024 release. The album is quite cinematic, intricate and melancholic, as the music usually is when one considers the former Genesis guitarist. Occasionally the vocals might not be the most appealing, especially when it comes to Mr Hackett's singing, which has been the subject of discussion for decades, but the album works nicely and flows gently, as it works perfectly as another addition to the Hackett discography, not really introducing anything new or unheard of, just celebrating a specific genre of music.

All in all, 'The Circus and the Nightwhale' is a fine release, perhaps nothing too special, just a very well-crafted album by a prog rock veteran who displays all of his technical and vocal abilities to very positive results. Hackett fans will be enjoying this one for sure, and I think it might also appeal to rock fans in general, too.

I recently returned to this album while listening to Steve Hackett's studio discography in sequence. I wasn't particularly looking forward to this one, as it was the album that made me turn my back on his career for more than two decades, until ""Beyond the Shrouded Horizon" made me look again at his career and realize what I had been missing.

I had reservations about some aspects of "Defector", but "Cured" pushed me over the edge with its strained vocals and absolutely horrible album cover. The first three songs are painful, out of character, and far too commercial as regards his previous work. It's only on the instrumental, or mostly instrumental, pieces like "The Air Conditioned Nightmare", that Hackett shines. But even here he would have been better served ditching the drum machines and hiring a real drummer.

In retrospect I can see that many of his future vocal tendencies, particularly using multiple voices to create interesting harmonies, are evident, and had he stuck with his natural range when singing solo perhaps these songs would be less forced. Clearly this was a challenging extension of his abilities, and it would be years before he found his real voice in song, and developed into an expressive singer and song-writer. However, on this album, as he sings "I don't want to be here" on "Picture Postcard", I can't but help feel the same.

For those perusing his discography, I would jump from "Defector" to "Guitar Noir", jump again to "Darktown", then make one more big leap to "To Watch The Storms", at which point the modern, confident, experienced Steve Hackett begins a string of exceptional studio albums.

The inexhaustible guitarist has to be one of the hardest working musicians anywhere, dishing out studio albums at a consistent pace, touring the world in concert, paying his respectful homage to his first band and furthering, if not elevating its legacy way beyond the capabilities or desires of his former bandmates. More Fool Me indeed! He has no need to prove anything anymore, well entrenched in the Prog Hall of Fame and content do his thing his way. Master of the acoustic, nylon and electric guitars, using his legendary sustain and tapping technique, he is unique in not veering into fluffier jazzy stuff like so many other veteran electric guitarists. He actually has become a tad crisper in his sound, noticeable in the last few releases especially. And true to form, the tracks cover a wide range of stylistic niches, from acoustic workouts, brooding blues, some technical sizzle that borders on heavy rock and of course, some sublime prog compositions that are unafraid to infuse some world music tendencies. His usual seasoned road cronies are all on board, Roger King manning the keyboard duties, the amazing Jonas Reingold on bass, sax man Rob Townsend and drummers Craig Blundell, Nick D'Virgilio and Hugo Degenhart.

Strangely, I was truly mesmerized by the shorter pieces like the iridescent "These Passing Clouds", the bluesy "Found and Lost", the torrid sandstorm feel of Scipio's Roman Army in Africa on "Circo Inferno", the Zeppelin-esque thrashing on "Breakout", lest we forget that the Brits are an island nation devoted to the oceans on "All at Sea" and the classical acoustic finale on "White Dove", a magical farewell.

For those who are dismayed about him singing on all the tracks, hey, it's been like that for nearly 50 years, so suck it up and move on. Its his art, okay! For those who think he is just rehashing the same tired formula, listen to the monster rock steamroller exhibit on "Taking You Down", the totally enchanting Genesisian aroma of "Enter the Ring" with its fluttering John Hackett flute pirouettes and carnival atmosphere, the incredible six string method solo on the poignant "Get it Out", followed by the majestic prog epic "Ghost Moon and Living Lone", a series of typical Hackett solos that inserts some slide guitar outbursts, the soaring female vocal (Amanda Lehmann) intro is drenched in absurd beauty and rather amazing vocals from the Man with the Golden Guitar, BTW!

The furtive "Into the Nightwhale" certainly captures the gigantic proportion of the cetacean with some colossal orchestrations as well as the creature's relative meekness and gentle disposition in the second part, where a serene calm settles in, twinkling piano and a forgiving vocal glimmering brightly. Immediate segue into the bolder anthemic "Wherever You Are", a suave voice, leading to thumping drum patterns, another patented Hackett fretboard screech, rousing organ collisions and a fiery climax.

The lamp's warm glow flickers as Steve plays "White Dove", restrained notes that express deep felt emotions, a stellar neo-classical piece that suggest the need for kindness and peace. Mister consistency strikes again, another great chapter in a gloriously productive career, proving once again that being on one's own can be utterly rewarding artistically.

4.5 Carnival orcas. [email protected]

This Hackett playing Genesis is superior to Genesis on Seconds Out!

When Steve Hackett performed his first solo gig in The Netherlands on October 19th in 1978 (Congresgebouw, The Hague) the venue was half empty I remember, early July 2024 Steve Hackett will play 3 evenings in a row (De Boerderij, Zoetermeer), no more tickets available (lucky me got a ticket on the final night), all concerts were sold out within a few months, the times they are a changin' .....

Another fact about the difference between early Hackett and Hackett nowadays: in the past he hardly played Genesis songs, anno 2024 his setlist is loaded with tracks from 70s Genesis, he even played entire Genesis albums in the last 10 years. A great example of Steve Hackett playing Genesis is this 3-CD/2-DVD box set, featuring known guest musicians like Nick Kershaw, the late John Wetton, and Steve Rothery.

Listening and watching Steve Hackett on this box set I am blown away by his distinctive guitar sound and his skills, this is one of the most underrated guitarists in rock and prog history. For example, the huge variety he creates with techniques like tapping, slide, tremelo and using the volume pedal. He also switches easily from heavy electric guitar to tender Spanish guitar. And in my opinion Steve Hackett has delivered the most compelling guitar solo ever played, in Firth Of Fifth, what a build-up, grand finale and afterglow, wow! He also shines in Fly On A Windshield, The Musical Box, Blood On The Rooftops, Supper's Ready and Los Endos, and in one of my highlights, Shadow Of The Hierophant (the only solo album track). There was no longer room in Genesis for Hackett playing like this in 1977, what an unique symphonic rock sound, especially the blend of volume pedal driven electric guitar, the unsurpassed Mellotron and the mighty Moog Taurus bass pedals, goose bumps!

A strong bonus on this box set is singer Nad Sylvan, I love his voice, more pleasant and intense than Phil Collins on Seconds Out. I am only not really pleased with the extra brass and woodwind elements in the music, but that is purely personal, I am not very up to saxophones and that kind of instruments.

CD-1, 2 and 3 feature the entire Hammersmith Apollo in London concert (May 10th, 2013, "thunderous applause from an ecstatic audience" and "the tremendously successful sell-out Genesis Revisited tour"), DVD 1 and feature the full show (2 hours and 41 minutes) show and Behind The Scenes (close to 40 minutes).

HACKETT PLAYING 72-77 GENESIS : NOT TO BE MISSED BY ANY SERIOUS PROGHEAD AND SYMPHOMANIAC!

Guitarist extraordinaire Steve Hackett has followed up his earlier 2021 release, Under a Mediterranean Sky, which was a mostly laid-back, acoustic, instrumental excursion through the music and influences in and around the Mediterranean countries, with this much bigger, bolder, and more diverse collection of songs. Still somewhat of a travelogue in that it includes musical styles and influences from around the World, but this time showing heavier and darker themes and passages amidst some lighter fare. Possibly Steve's most diverse album, highlighting many different styles and musical structures, and strong songwriting, making this one of his best overall albums. 4 stars

Hmmm... I'm still not 100% sure what to make of this album, in one sense. I picked this up about 15 years ago after having found it heavily discounted in the music section of a big chain store. It was originally released in 2002 by the respected Snapper Music label, via their mid price double cd reissue subsidiary label, RECALL 2CD (I wonder how they got the rights to the music). The cover art is by artist Kim Poor, Hackett's first wife. All of the tracks on Hackett's official 1996 Genesis Revisited album (which I don't have), appear among the twenty tracks on this album. So there's no doubt, it's got pedigree all over it and right through it. But I can't find (anywhere online, that is) where Steve Hackett endorses this album as a legitimate release of his music. Maybe I'm just being picky. Maybe he's not being paid for his work here, which for me would be very wrong, if that's the case. Anyway, the bottom line for me is that I really like the album. It contains a selection of some of his and Genesis' best music, performed to Hackett's own arrangements and tastes. The names of some of the other very accomplished artistes Hackett has utilised to deliver these twenty pieces is very impressive. I give it 4 stars for the musical content, the art, the inner extensive liner notes and the fact that it come's out under a known respected label. It loses one star for me, because of it's unsure history...

Steve Hackett has become over the years the true guardian of the Genesis symphonic legacy, he has put together a band that executes it perfectly, but not only from the technical aspect, but also capturing the spirit and magic of it epoch. And not only reinterpreting the repertoire of his old band, but also creating separate solo albums, which have nothing to envy of those from the classic period of the 70's. Since the album Out Of The Tunnel's Mouth in 2009 he has revitalized his compositional flow, and far from becoming stagnant as a guitarist, he continues playing the complex parts with the fingering to which we were accustomed. Every year he and his wonderful band have released live shows in luxurious CD/DVD or Blu-ray editions and each of them has a different slogan, as well as a different repertoire, fueled not only by the legacy of the past but by their wonderful studio albums. One might think how much another volume has to contribute...and the answer is yes, and it not only contributes but enhances the proposal, since Foxtrot at Fifty... proposes a more dynamic and energetic approach, they are provocative versions, a song from their latest studio album The Devil's Cathedral is included, followed by the classics Spectral Mornings and Every day with that unprecedented immediacy to which we were referring. And hearing Foxtrot performed with that aura of the original recording is a pleasure only surpassed by the slight interpretive differences that those who know the original perfectly will appreciate. There is only one noticeable difference at the beginning of Horizons, and that is Steve's always welcome love of Spanish Flamenco. In short...it is not just another live album, but a piece of the puzzle that makes up and adds up to the progressive path.