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Well, he actually is very consistent and he plays as good as he did when he was a young guy, and this is something one cannot miss, because some people's quality decrease while the years pass, some musicians play with less passion, but Steve Hackett keeps the same fire, the same light and the same capacity of taking his guitar and make people feel pleased and happy. He is really a wonderful musician.

I had already been astonished by his "Tokyo Tapes" or "Once Upon A Time" (a DVD I really love), live acts that share great performances of his solo songs, and some of his Genesis past. Now this time with "Rails" he did not let me down, as a matter of fact, I am once again happy with his new live album. This two-CD live album takes songs from three different concerts made between 2009-2010, and consists of 20 great tracks, representative of his solo career, tracks that a Hackett fan must know, and that a Hackett beginner should know.

The musicians that collaborate with him in those live acts are wonderful, they share always good vibes and of course, first-class music. The first album features eleven songs that make one hour of great progressive rock. Here, you can truly enjoy a wonderful mixture of some early Hackett tunes such as "Every Day", "Ace of Wands" or "Slogans", with more recent ones such as the beautiful "Serpertine Song" which happens to be my all-time- favorite-Hackett-song, and newer compositions featured on his 2009 studio album "Out of the Tunnel's Mouth". From this latest one, he and his band chose four great songs: "Fire on the Moon", "Emerald and Ash", "Ghost in the Glass" and "Tubehead".

Those songs were actually unknown to me since I have to admit I've not listened to that album yet, but well, after these performances, I think I must. I especially loved "Emerald and Ash", that is an amazing track whose instrumental and vocal passages are worth listening again and again. The saxophone work is pretty awesome; Nick Begg's bass playing is wonderful, I always liked his style, and of course, Hackett's guitar is simply superb.

In the second CD we will find nine more songs. The difference here is that five of them are non-Hackett, but Genesis ones, which also represent Hackett's past and legacy. It is good and I may say healthy that he still plays (and he likes) Genesis tracks, songs that people recognize and feel identified with. Plus, his live performances (yeah, once again) are outstanding, so for all those Genesis fans, you'll enjoy them, for sure. Those tracks are: "Firth on Fifth", "Blood on the Rooftops", "Fly on a Windshield", "Broadway Melody of 1984" and "Los Endos".

Besides those Genesis tracks, you'll find here four more solo Hackett ones, some older like "Spectral Mornings" and "Clocks", or newer like "Sleepers" and "Still Waters". I cannot complain about the song selection, all of them are great tracks and excellently performed. So if you have the chance of getting this "Rails" album, do not miss the chance, you'll have a great time. After some few listens I was thinking about rating it with four strong stars, but right now I feel the need, the motivation of giving it five, so that will be.

Enjoy it!

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