VOYAGE OF THE ACOLYTE

OK, so I must admit that I have never listened to this album in its entirety until now, which I know is a classic. This may come as a surprise to some of you. However, I am remedying this situation today! Hopefully, I'll get to keep my Prog Club Card. This was written in real time as I was listening.

Track 1 - Ace of Wands:

Brilliant playing, of course. Eye opening intro! Hackett seems to be making a statement of intent here! He wanted to blow the listener away right out of the box with a wide range of styles, tempos and textures in just under 5 and 1/2 minutes. Absolutely brilliant.

Track 2 - Hands of the Priestess, Pt. 1

This one takes a more pastoral mood with a flute solo taking the lead, played by his brother John. Its a beautiful piece, which seems to have the effect of letting the listener catch their breath after the high energy opener

Track 3 - A Tower Struck Down

While I am no expert, I know enough about Tarot Cards (which is, of course, the theme of the album) to know that the Tower card is the most menacing card to draw out of the deck. The music here certainly reflects that! Mid Tempo, yet spooky, it would be a good track to include on a Halloween mix! The chanting in the middle has been interpreted by some to say "Seig Heil", but in actuality, it is chanting "Steve Hackett". A very peaceful yet mournful ending closes this track out.

Track 4 - Hands of the Priestess, Pt. 2

Definitely continues the mood of the first part. Again, possibly to kind of clear the mood after the spookiness of Tower Struck Down. John sounds as if he is classically trained on the flute.

Track 5 - The Hermit

Vocals for the first time, sung by Hackett himself. A bit of a harpsicord ballad, with Hackett's lower register vocals almost buried in the background. Very peacefully sad and remote--Much like a Hermit would be.

Track 6 - Star of Sirius

Ballad-like with Phil Collins on vocals. An ethereal beginning. And then the tempo and rhythm picks up at around 2:30. This one seems to take us on a musical voyage, as promised in the album title, with many different textures and dynamic levels. Again, the vocals are there, but not "out-front" in the mix. A bit of a jazz-fusion feel in the higher tempo sections.

Track 7 - The Lovers

Starts with a very distant sounding classical guitar part. Then it sounds like a backwards recorded section with mellotron and winds. Seems to be an interlude before the grand finale.

Track 8 - Shadow of the Hierophant

The Epic closer. Soprano vocals by Sally Oldfield, brother of Mike Oldfield. Peaceful beginning, with a big, albeit brief, dynamic change at just under 3:00 in. The piece has the feel of something you might hear on a classical recital hall, up until around 4:45, excepting the louder mellotron segments. At around 5:30, it begins to take on the feel of a Genesis track, until everything drops out for an unaccompanied glockenspiel solo. Becomes orchestral in nature starting around 7:30. A slow building crescendo is happening after this until around 10:45 (over 3 minutes), when the track begins fading out.

Overall impression.

I definitely see why this album is so highly regarded. Hackett could have recorded an entire album of tracks like "Ace of Wands" to show off his guitar prowess, but he didn't. I know that Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford are essentially the rhythm section on this album, but really, not much of it (save for a couple of minutes in "Shadow of the Hierophant") feels like a Genesis album. Honestly, much of it feels closer to true classical/chamber music with a few rock instruments added in. I did enjoy listening to it and would gladly do so again. However, while a strong album, It does not quite reach the 5-star level for me personally. I give it a solid 4-Star rating.