PLEASE DON'T TOUCH!

Oh, I have always loved this album! I really don´t understand some low ratings it got here on PA. Ok, fine, if those guys wanted a Voyage Of Thge Acolyte number two, certainly they´d got to be disappointed. Please Don´t Touch is quite different but it seemed very righ for its time (1978). Besides, Hackett was on his prime both as guitarrist and songwriter. The album flows very evenly most of time, with a couple of mistakes on the way, but I can live with that.

Even though he called a whole bunch of singers to help him, the impresison given is of a very cohesive whole, with each track seamlessly introducing the other. It´s probably Hackett´s most diverse work and yet it feels like a big suite, a great musical trip with lots of emotions and moods throughout. His guitar work is a bit more subtle here but still great and one of the record´s highlights of course. The choice of vocalists was also another great idea, even if with one mistake. Richie Havens is perfect! His soulful vocals and emotional delivering gives both How Can I and Icaurus Ascending an ethereal feeling that is not very far from Genesis best works, specially the latter, one of hackett´s most ´Genesis-like`songs ever. A real pity that he doesn´t sing on more songs. Steve Walsh (from Kansas) didn´t won me over at first. it seemed that his vocals didn´t fit it very well, but after a few spins I guess he did a nice job and his very particular style gave the songs a new dimension. The only track that really seems out of place here is Hoping Love Will Last, a kind of soul pop that doesn´t work at all, and that is not helped by Randy Crawford´s effords on the vocal department.

"Carry on up the Vicarage". is another problem: not a bad song per se, but the horrible synth distorted vocals on the introduction ruins it all. Other then those two, the album is marvelous. Great instrumental parts and real nice sung ones make make this album a stunning work after the mild disappointement I felt with Voyage Of The Acolyte. His first solo sounded too much like a Genesis unfinished, incomplete, work (even if that CD has some fine moments too). I wondered if SH had any chance as a solo artist. Please Don´t Touch made me change my mind. This is clearly one of his best and I cherish it since the day it was released. After all those years it still sounds fresh and exciting. One of my favorires by one of the greatest prog musicians of all time. if it was not for the two aforementioned tracks I´d gladly give it a 5 star rating. But since it has its flaws, I´m giving it 4,5. Still a highly recommended CD for any symphonic prog lover.