BAY OF KINGS

Steve Hackett has recorded many different acoustic composition during his career and so when he finally decided to to compile them all together on one record filled only with acoustic performances how could it possibly anything but an excellent album release?

It did in fact sound like a dream come true for me but the results fall short of any excellence based on one simple premise... 40+ minutes of acoustic music is quite dull. Although Horizons does sound better than ever, the rest of the tracks fall short when compared to that one acoustic guitar masterpiece. This album actually reminded me exactly why Steve isn't a full time acoustic guitar player. A mix between styles is what makes his albums stand out compared to most other guitar musicians solo albums.

Bay Of Kings isn't an album I listen to all that often. In fact even album's like Please Don't Touch! make have received a lot more attention from me lately. Still if you're into guitar driven acoustic music and/or are a huge fan of Steve Hackett then this album is worth picking up.

***** star songs: Horizons (1:47)

**** star songs: Bay Of Kings (4:56) Kim (2:25) Marigold (3:36) St Elmo's Fire (3:08) Second Chance (1:58) Black Light (2:31) The Barren Land (3:46) Calmaria (3:23)

*** star songs: The Journey (4:14) Petropolis (2:45) Cast Adrift (2:15)

Total Rating: 3,80