BEYOND THE SHROUDED HORIZON

After the more than excellent double disc live album "Rails", I was convinced that Steve Hackett was on the move again and so when I heard that he released his new album "Beyond the Shrouded Horizon", I bought it immediately. I even bought the deluxe double disc set.

Putting the first disc in my player, the disappointment started right away. As on his albums "Highly Strung" and "Until We Have Faces" Steve Hackett gives us once more a sort of inspiration less mixture of boring symphonic rock. Where are the highly inspired and great songs, that were once his hallmark. Again an emotionless and weak album. It seems that Steve Hackett is nowadays only capable of repeating successfully his old songs. I have loved so much his brilliant albums like "Spectral Mornings" and "Voyage Of The Acolyte" and even the so dynamic but inconstant "Please Don't Touch".

Steve Hackett has succeeded more or less in producing once more a symphonic rock album, but after having listened two both discs, I wonder why I still love symphonic rock. Even the presence of reputable musicians like drummer Simon Phillips and bassist Chris Squire doesn't raise the music to a higher level. The orchestral parts programmed by Roger King sound boring and far-fetched. I don't very much like instruments like the saxophone, but the sax solos by Rob Townsend are at least inspired and worth listening to. They make the music more powerful.

Once more the vocal qualities of Steve Hackett are less than average. Someone as famous as he, should be able to find a good singer. On his earlier albums his self sung songs contained a sense of humor, but now the music is far to pretentious for the quality offered.

Probably lots of die-hard fans will still go on their knees for this failed effort, but to me the album shows a shrouded inspiration. The two stars are because Steve Hackett has produced such great albums in the past and because of his importance for the sound of the symphonic rock guitar.