THE TOKYO TAPES

Well, this album is for all of you that wonder what a mixture of Genesis and King Crimson would have turned out to be.well, not really actually. This performance is a combination of songs written by King Crimson, Genesis and of course Steve Hackett, with some other stuff thrown into the mix as well for good measure. This is indeed quite an entertaining and interesting listen, although the performers don't seem to do anything really attention catching like say, Ian Anderson would. The sound quality isn't too bad you'll be happy to hear, it's not amazing however. The greatest thing about this album is the two unreleased studio tracks called "Firewall" and "The Dealer." These two songs make up the major incentive to get this album, beyond the live performance.

Another very interesting feature of "The Tokyo Tapes" is that the musicians have taken an alternative path (some more than others) with each song. While this is not always a good thing in some cases through out the album it can be interesting to see a different perspective of a song. I have to admit that the live versions of "Firth of Fifth" and "Watcher of the skies" are excellent as is "Ride the Colossus." Steve Hackett manages to keep his reputation on guitar here as it sounds as crisp as ever and never ceases to amaze. Wetton does an excellent job in the vocal department; some of the tracks just don't seem right without the original vocalists however.

I don't get why Steve Hackett gets all the credit for this album as there are a bunch of equally reputable musicians at his side who seem to be shoved a side. Anywho, due to many reasons this is probably a four star album but I'm going to settle on three for now. I'd recommend "The Tokyo Tapes" to all classic prog fans; I guarantee you'll find this mix of proggers quite entertaining. Short and sweet. Good, but non-essential