SOMEWHERE IN SOUTH AMERICA... - LIVE IN BUENOS AIRES

Of all the music DVDs that I have, this one might be the one I have watched/listened to the most. This is a fantastic performance! It was also a perfect starting point for me to look into Steve Hackett's solo career. The set list showcases all the different aspects of his entire career from his Genesis days till the present.

The very 21th Century Schizoid Man- like The Mechanical Bride opens the show with a bang (The Floating Seventh is not really a song in its own right). The medley that follows is also absolutely great and features small pieces of Genesis (Los Endos), GTR (Imagining and Hackett To Bits) and Hackett's solo material (Myopia and Ace Of Wands). Both Hackett himself and his band are in great form. Another highlight of the show is the great versions of Camino Royale and also inspired performances, here entirely instrumental, of old Genesis songs (Watcher Of The Skies, Hairless Heart, Fourth Or Firth, Horizons and the closer Los Endos, this time in full!). Fourth Or Firth is stripped down to Hackett's amazing guitar solo only. Probably the best guitar solo in the history of music. I would have liked to hear some of the original keyboard parts of that song as well, but that is minor criticism.

The heaviest of Hackett's solo material is the above mentioned The Mechanical Bride and Camino Royale as well as the dark A Tower Struck Down. However, there are sections of the set that are quite soft. The softer, slower numbers are (as always with Hackett) truly beautiful, but for some people there might be too many of them in the middle of the show. The entire section from track 9 through track 14 is all instrumental and the pace of the show slows down quite a bit. But as seen here, Hackett keeps his audience captivated throughout. With Gnossienne No. 1 and Walking Away From Rainbows the slowing down of the pace reaches its peak. This is, however, forcefully remedied towards the end of the show. And for me there is not one dull moment on the entire film.

Horizons is the only track here that Steve plays on acoustic guitar. Some people might want to have some more acoustic numbers, since Hackett is equally good at playing acoustic guitar. To these people I recommend his all acoustic DVD called Hungarian Horizons or one of his many acoustic albums.

Somewhere In South America was my first Steve Hackett DVD. I have since bought the aforementioned Hungarian Horizons, as well as The Tokyo Tapes and Once Above A Time. All of these are very, very good! But together with The Tokyo Tapes, this South American gig is still my favourite. A fantastic show that makes a perfect DVD!

I think this DVD will appeal to Prog fans of all sub-genres since Hackett's music draws from Jazz, Symphonic, Folk and Avant-Garde music; an eclectic live masterpiece of sublime beauty!

Highly recommended not only to fans of Steve Hackett and early Genesis but to all Prog fans!

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