DEFECTOR

I consider this album to be the most sentimental one from Steve Hackett, and it is also among his best ones. It has some similitudes with the previous one "Spectral mornings", but I find the sound of "Defector" more mature, more refined. The "Steppes" track, in the beginning, is a bit long and repetitive, but the combination of the floating keyboards and the extremely sustained guitar notes at the end, like on the "Spectral Mornings" and "Every day" tracks, produces a very rich, powerful, intense and moving soundscape. Like the on "Spectral mornings" album, "Defector" contains some ordinary moments, like the "Please don't touch-esque" "Time to get out" and the insipid "Slogans". Fortunately, there are more good tracks than bad ones, and Hackett goes into sentimental moods here, like on the peaceful "Leaving".

The side 2 is much better: the first track, "Jacuzzi", is a cute rhythmic & romantic track with pleasant guitars and flute parts. You have to uninterruptedly listen to the 2 next tracks "Hammer in the sand" and "The Toast" in order to notice how romantic Hackett can be. "Hammer in the sand" is a WONDERFUL New Age track, full of moving floating keyboards and nostalgic piano. "The toast" is a relaxing & magic track, having a slow rhythm and securing vocals; it is very moving and romantic, as reveals the flute-symphonic keyboards combination, especially during the second part. Those 2 tracks are among the best Hackett's tracks, no doubt. Actually, I must admit that those 2 tracks make me feel like if I was in love, especially the second part of "The toast". "The show" is a more conventional track full of vocals. The last track, "Sentimental institution", is a dullish & badly recorded sentimental retro song full of clarinet.