PLEASE DON'T TOUCH!

"Please Don't Touch" is the second solo studio album of Steve Hackett. It was released in 1978 and is his first solo musical work after he has leaving Genesis in 1977. But, unlike "Voyage Of The Acolyte", which was largely an instrumental conceptual album steeped in the most progressive rock tradition, "Please Don't Touch" is primarily more a collection of songs featuring several guest vocalists Richie Havens, Randy Crawford, and Kansas' Steve Walsh. Although the sum effect of the overall album is something of a patchwork, the individual pieces are often lovely.

This album featured the participation of a handful of several guest artists. Beyond Steve Hackett (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards and percussion), deserve special mention the participation of his brother John Hackett (flute, piccolo, bass pedals and keyboards), of the American jazz and R&B singer Randy Crawford, of the American folk singer and guitarist Richie Havens, of two members of the progressive American band Kansas, Steve Walsh (vocals) and Phil Ehart (drums and percussion), of the Genesis concert drummer Chester Thompson, of the violinist of Van Der Graaf Generator, Graham Smith and finally of the American musician Tom Fowler( bass), who played with many musicians, specially with Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention.

"Please Don't Touch" has ten tracks. The first track "Narnia" is a very nice song that became a classic Steve Hackett's track. It's a good opener for the album and is based on the book "The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe" by C. S. Lewis. It has a Hackett's nice acoustic guitar work and it's also beautifully sung by Steve Walsh of Kansas. The second track "Carry On Up The Vicarage" is a strange song with the voice of Steve Hackett distorted and also with some choral children's voices distorted on the background. It's a very funny song that is a tribute to Agatha Christie, the famous British police crime novelist. The third track "Racing In A" is a typical Steve Hackett's song. On this track Steve Hackett and Steve Walsh share the vocal duties. It's a very good song full of nice guitar and keyboard works with a memorable and brilliant classical acoustic performance by Steve Hackett, in the end. The fourth track "Kim" is a beautiful acoustic short song very well developed with guitar and flute. It's a song dedicated by Steve Hackett to his wife. This is a song that needs no introduction because it's a very well known and a typical instrumental track that appears on many of his live recordings. The fifth track "How Can I?" is a very nice ballad sung by the unmistakable voice of Richie Havens, one of the Woodstock veterans. It's a beautiful love song very well sung by the rich and warm voice of Richie Havens. The invitation to Richie Havens to participate on the album is probably a tribute to him by Steve Hackett. The sixth track "Hoping Love Will Last" is another nice song this time sung by Motown diva Randy Crawford. It's a very beautiful song with lovely performances of violins and cello very well accompanied by quiet drums and percussions. It has also good guitar work of Steve Hackett. The seventh track "Land Of A Thousand Autumns" is a very nice and short instrumental song with strings and keyboards, which is, in reality, an interlude to the next song "Please Don't Touch". The eighth track is the title track "Please Don't Touch". It represents clearly the typical style of Steve Hackett's music, and it represents also one of the highlights of the album. This is an excellent instrumental piece of music, also very well known that appears on many of his live albums. The ninth track "The Voice Of Necam" is another strange song that sounds like a background film music. It's a song with some electronic mixes and it has also a small and gentle acoustic guitar work. This is another song that represents a musical passage between the two songs. The tenth track "Icarus Ascending" is another excellent song superiorly sung by Richie Havens and with the contribution of Steve Hackett on the vocals too. The strong points of this song are for sure, the great guitar work of Steve Hackett and the fantastic vocal performance of Richie Havens. This is probably the perfect ending to this strange and varied Steve Hackett's album.

Conclusion: "Please Don't Touch" is, in my opinion, a transition album in the musical career of Hackett. Differently from his previous debut solo album, which is more close to the music of Genesis also with the participation of some of his colleagues from the band, this second solo work is, in a certain way, a strange album where Hackett explores many different kind of musical styles, and where I think we can clearly see that he is looking for his own musical space as a solo artist. However and despite "Please Don't Touch" is far from being as good as its predecessor, it still is, in fact, a great album. Sincerely, I can't agree with some of you that consider it, a minor Hackett's musical work. It's true that it isn't as consistent and balanced as "Voyage Of The Acolyte", but it's also true that it has some great musical moments, some excellent musical performances and the participation of some great artists. So, due to all I said before, I sincerely think that "Please Don't Touch" is essential and an excellent addition to all music collection of progressive rock music.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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