TO WATCH THE STORMS

This is one of my favourite Hackett albums. It is diverse, eclectic yet cohesive. 'Strutton Ground' is short and sweet, with nice melody (something which pervades the whole album) and simply plucked acoustic guitar. Steve sings this, as well as the other songs on the album, and his voice really has matured. 'Circus Of Becoming' is another short yet strong song. Nice electric guitar lines here, brief but effective, especially at the end. 'The Devil Is An Englishman' is one of Steve's quirkier offerings, his voice here hamming it up in the best tradition of the English theatre, almost Alan Rickman-like in its over-the- topness. Wonderful stuff. In fact, you wouldn't believe it was Hackett unless you were told first. (Nice girly backing chorus here too!) 'Frozen Statues' is very atmospheric indeed, short yet poignant, with nice sax and strong lyrics about hospital patients. Almost laid-back jazz at times. 'Mechanical Bride' is probably a lot of Hackett fans' favourite track on the album. It is probably my least favourite track, simply because it is too, well, King Crimson-like at times, and they are a band whose music I could never get into. Strong horn sounds, explosions of percussion, and stabbing guitar thrusts abound here. I don't dislike it, but it's, well, a little on the noisy side for me. 'Wind, Sand & Stars' is a lovely melodic instrumental, with gorgeous acoustic guitar work leading the orchestra. Very nice. 'Brand New' is a more traditional verse, chorus, verse song, and a good one at that. A slowish melody with acoustic guitar explodes into a drum inspired chorus with sharp electric guitar work again. Good singing and harmonies on the chorus too. 'This World' is a slower verse, chorus, verse track. Especially effective on the chorus with more good harmonies. 'Rebecca' is superbly atmospheric, with more acoustic guitar and an almost old- fashioned style verse. For me, it is one of the highlights on the album, and brings to my mind the days of The Brontes. Lovely. Another well sung track. 'The Silk Road' is an almost oriental instrumental, with guitar work that reminds me in a way of 'Please Don't Touch'. 'Come Away' is another clever song, with an almost country dance feel to it. I could imagine farmers, grass between their teeth, pouring ale from pottery jugs and dancing round wooden benches as evening approaches. Yes, it's that sort of song. Different, but good. 'The Moon Under Water' is a typical acoustic guitar piece, very well played and with the unmistakable stamp of Mr Hackett all over it. 'Serpentine Song' has the added bonus of brother John playing flute on it. It is a good way to end the album, with a mid paced gentle melody and nice harmonies again on both verse and chorus. Superb stuff! I have the special edition, with the four bonus tracks on it. 'Pollution B' is really just a bit of noise which acts as a bridge between songs. 'Fire Island' is one of Mr Hackett's rather fine blues tracks. 'Marijuana Assassin Of Youth' is very funny, bringing, as it does, old pieces of music together into a mini musical (including The Batman theme!) 'If You Only Knew' actually ends the special edition album, and is another lovely acoustic guitar track. A peaceful way to end a long, yet extremely enjoyable album. Four stars, but it could be worth five, only I don't want to abuse the option! (Most of Steve's cds are close to five in my book!)