From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website
Tapfret Special Collaborator Eclectic & C/JRF Prog Team
The "Missing" Genesis Album
Sub-genre: Symphonic Progressive Rock (Holds true to form)
For Fans of: Genesis, Bands that bridge the gap between Symphonic Progressive and New Age
Vocal Style: Clean male mid-range to operatic female
Guitar Style: Very lightly distorted rock sound to warm vintage classical guitar.
Keyboard Style: Everything from Mellotron to Moog/ARP shaped synth to natural piano sounds.
Percussion Style: Standard rock set.
Bass Style: Standard rock.
Other Instruments: Bells, Harps, Cello, Flute
You are not likely to enjoy this album if: You have an aversion to medieval, renaissance
and sylvan themes.
Summary: This reviewer is not much of a historian when it comes to the split up of
Genesis. It is my understanding the music in Voyage of the Acolyte was written as material
for Genesis. That being said, it is hard to find a way this music would have fit in the Genesis
library. At times, especially when you hear the vocals of Phil Collins, or the very familiar rock
guitar work of Hackett himself, the pieces seem to fit together. But the overriding fantasy theme
was a split from the direction that Genesis itself was going. Additionally, Voyage of the
Acolyte stands out from Hackett's subsequent work; where his next few albums tend to be more
piecemeal work, Voyage of the Acolyte holds together cohesively as a single concept. As a
matter of fact, it sticks out as one of the most important concept albums in Symphonic Progressive
Rock history.
From start to finish, the word that most immediately springs to mind when thinking about this album
is 'beautiful'. It is difficult to maintain the level of contrast exemplified in this album without
sacrificing any sense of flow. Oftentimes attempts are made to adapt medieval themes to rock music,
with results that turn out 'campy' to say the least. This album avoids the pitfalls of its less
attractive stepsisters. Hackett not only brought the material to make this happen, but also
assembled just the right carpenters to shape the material into the construct that he wanted.
Final Score: Voyage of the Acolyte is a top 10 album in my collection and
an essential piece to any Symphonic Progressive Rock collection. Everything about this problem is
attractive. The writing, the playing, the recording quality, even the cover and sleeve art are
attractive. There's no question that this masterpiece album deserves five out of five stars.
Tapfret |5/5 |
MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE
As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.
You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).
Tapfret
The "Missing" Genesis Album
|