VOYAGE OF THE ACOLYTE

After being "left out a bit" of the songwriting of "The Lamb..." album (as Banks/Collins/Rutherford said in one interview in 1982) and after the long tour for that album, after Gabriel left, but before "A Trick of the Tail" was recorded by Genesis, Hackett recorded this excellent solo album, which I prefer more than "The Lamb" and even more than some of the solo albums by the other members/former members of Genesis (including Gabriel). Hackett showed with this album a lot of creativity in songwriting, arrangements, guitar sounds, production ideas, etc. He really could have been bored in Genesis by 1974- 75, and after the success this album had in England in 1975 (number 26 in the charts!) he really could have left Genesis in that year.I like all the songs of this album, but the best of all for me is "Shadow of the Hierophant ", a Hackett/Rutherford song, with very good use of mellotrons, guitar sounds, bells, drums. Sally Oldfield`s voice is very good in this song. All the songs have "fantasy" elements which are in the music. Some of the songs show some influence from King Crimson, but Hackett`s guitar style is "very personal". He really knows how to "make" very different sounds from his guitars, and he has a very distinctive "guitar technique". In the "Genesis-A History" video from 1990, Hackett said (more or less as I remember): "I recorded a very successful album in 1975, but the band perceived it as a threat, and they told me to give up my solo career to contribute more to the band`s albums. I say O.K., if every musician contributes equal parts to the songwriting.But I didn`t have the music they claimed from me for the band. It took me two more years to organize the way to leave the band". The band didn`t like many of Hackett`s music ideas and songs, so he finally left the band during the mixing sessions of the "Seconds Out" live album in 1977.But this "Voyage of the Acolyte" really shows Hackett`s influence and sound for the Genesis`s albums "A Trick of the Tail" and "Wind & Wuthering". I consider this first solo album as a "first sight" into the new music style of Genesis between 1975-1977. The cover art by Kim Poor (Hackett`s wife) is very good too. It really works with the sound of the album.