TO WATCH THE STORMS

To Watch The Storms seems like sort of an experimental album for Steve Hackett. The overall sound is eclectic, featuring electronic beats, new-age synths, beautiful piano melodies, but for the most part this album is a combination of Hackett's classical guitar playing and his electric guitar playing. This album was enjoyable the first couple times through, but it eventually starts to sound like a compilation of many songs that weren't good enough for his other releases, although there are some beautiful gems on this album as well. Most of the tracks here are classical influenced new-age, but some goofy songs such as "Circus of Becoming" and "The Devil is an Englishman" also appear. The only songs that really stood out to me as being great are "Wind, Sand & Stars", "The Moon Under Water" and "If You Only Knew", which are all contemporary but fantastic classical guitar compositions.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a decent sample of what Steve Hackett is all about (incredible guitar playing), but people who are already fans of his may find little here to enjoy. Keep in mind, though, that I'm a much bigger fan of Steve Hackett's classical works.