A LIFE WITHIN A DAY

I sort of left this one in the dreaded "pile", a box full of what I call "maybes and misses", but after being surprised by Steve Hackett on tour(in terms of how much I enjoyed it, although it is always a surprise to have a great show in Gatineau of all places) I decided to give everything of his that I owned another shot. This album has a lot to offer and now sits proudly and alphabetically sorted on the shelf! The vocals and lyrics aren't the strong point for sure (" A boy who loves his mam / Don't need to be a cynic / Happy at the clinic / Anyhow....") but Steve really gets to show off his incredible skill in a variety of ways, from the multiple solo sections in the title track to jazzier solos like in Can't Stop the Rain, or his trademark classical guitar sections like the tease in Tall Ships and the gorgeous Summer Backwards. Squire contributes as well, we hear him delivering unmistakable bass driving several songs, including Stormchaser (which wouldn't sound out of place on a Queens of the Stone Age album). He also contributes Aliens, which is kind of a cute song. I suggest giving this another shot of you wrote it off initially, we have more than a few flashes of brilliance from a bunch of great musicians. 4.0 stars