FEEDBACK 86

I was surprised to find that I had not reviewed this one yet. Possibly it was because I didn't know exactly how to rate it. This disc was released in 2000, but the material is - as the title implies - from 1986. This was the time when Hackett had just recorded the GTR album with Steve Howe which disrupted normal proceedings. One of the songs here originates from the GTR setting, but not one that appeared on the self-titled GTR album. Prizefighters was however written for GTR and performed live on their tour (which can be heard on the very good live album Roundabout). The version found on this album though, is not sung by Max Bacon, but by Bonnie Tyler! Personally, I prefer the live Max Bacon version. Cassandra is another song that might have fitted well on that second GTR album that never came into being. It is a great Rock song, but not a Prog Rock song. It is sung by Chris Thompson of Alan Parsons Project/Manfred Mann's Earth Band fame who sings most of the songs on this album. It also features Marillion's Pete Trewavas and Ian Mosley on bass and drums respectively.

Slot Machine is a song featuring Brian May on guitar and some vocals. Stadiums Of The Damned sounds like something from the weak Till We Have Faces album (and indeed this song featured as a bonus track on the CD version of that album). It is not bad, but not special either. Don't Fall is a bluesy rocker that is again not bad, but not very good either. At this point it should be clear that Feedback 86 is a rather mixed bag. Some of the songs have clear potential, but others fail to impress. Oh How I Love You belong to the latter category. Notre Dame Des Fleurs is a very nice little guitar instrumental in typical Hackett style and The Gulf is one of the few songs here that might be called Prog. I do enjoy this somewhat mixed album, but then again I am a hard core fan of Steve Hackett and it is probably for people like me that this release is primarily intended. Recommended for fans and collectors, but newcomers should definitely start elsewhere.

Share this STEVE HACKETT review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to SouthSideoftheSky
• Report this review (#603585)
• Buy STEVE HACKETT music online with PA partners
• Show all STEVE HACKETT MP3/Stream
• Go to STEVE HACKETT page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Feedback 86 page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for STEVE HACKETT related discussions