PLEASE DON'T TOUCH!

An outstanding and variried record. The range of styles is more diverse than anythign Genesis - even solo Gabriel - could match.

Includes many guest vocalists

The album is VERY accessable, and the best introduction to Hackett's solo work

To many HACKETT fans this is the pinnacle solo album and I would certainly support this. Loads of brilliant guitar layered with tranquil keys, flute and solid perucussion. Vocalist Richie Havens takes the already great album one step closer to heaven with "Icarus Ascending". In the traditional HACKETT fashion, each song is almost presented as a vinette, yet a certain cohesion remains behind giving the listener an almost concept like feeling. HACKETT achieves a new height here also in terms of song writing complexity and philosophical depth. Kim Poor handles as usual the great artwork pulling the concept together. Steve is joined by brother John who adds some scrumptious flute playing to the recording.

This is a typical example of why I am weary of solo albums . This heads out in all directions possible and the numerous guests on here make it impossible to have unity (see the results of a real group on Mornings) in both music and themes. There are good numbers on here but none excellent. Crawford and Havens are daring musical choices but not happy ones . Motown and Hackett have nothing in common even after this album. The rest looks like a star-studden affair and is directionless but not unworthy at all.

The second album Steve Hackett released and the first one since leaving Genesis in 1977. To make a long story short, it's a great album but rather odd when compared to other Hackett and Genesis releases. Tere's some excellent songwriting here. "Narnia", "icarus ascending", "Hoping love will last" are brilliant progressive rock songs but they are not epics and no dazzling instrumentals which you can find on other Hackett albums. Maybe the title track is most typical Hackett as you can expect from a guitar player of a progressive band. "Kim" is an accoustic piece which reminds me of the Genesis classic "Horizons". Don't misunderstand me, this is a great album, there are times in which I consider this as the best album the man has ever made. Maybe it's a pity he didn't continue in this direction. Some big names like Steve Walsh from Kansas, Randy Crawford and Richie Havens did vocals for this album and the result is far better when compared to the voice of Steve himself or even the voice of Pete Hicks who sang on other albums. If don't have this one, then get it !!!!

is 'hoping love will last' one of the greatest love songs ever written? very possibly. The range of musicianship on the album is quite extraordinary. I have come back to this album after 25 years and almost feel guilty ignoring it for so long. The songs are timeless and do not sound dated at all. Inevitably will not be to everyone's taste with such a range of styles from neo-classical arrangements to soaring guitars but a great album with distictive, interesting songs with excellent guest vocals from Richie Havens and Randy Crawford on 'hoping love will last'

the best solo album from Steve Hackett, a masterpiece for his solo works. Really melodic, with some grat songs like "hoping love ill last" (difficult to forget that one) It sounds like the continuation of GENESIS, showing how big part he had in the musical direction of the band. A great album.

Fair...that's all. Despite it has a bit KANSAS band influence ("How can I", "Narnia", "Racing In A), the overall performance is unequal. Some good bits, like the wonderful and relaxing Kim, the progressive "Land of a Thousand Autumns"/"Please Don't Touch" are interesting but there are many dark and experimental parts. Do not expect sentimental ultimate high notes guitar solo sounds like "Spectral Mornings" or "Every Day".

A strange album which really demands repeated listening. Whilst Voyage garbs the attention immediately and reassures with its prog credentials, PDT challenges the listener to reassess the boundaries. Narnia seems lightweight and pop, Racing in A seems uninspired, Kim an unchallenging classical doodle (Song of the Gulls, anyone?) and the voice of Necam a mere studio techno-doodle; and the contribution made by American artists does seem to bend this album away from Hackett's trademark style. Until, that is, the warped Englishness of Carry On Up the Vicarage preceded by its seaside pier penny slot machine tableau (chilling and terrrifying - why?) starts to hint at darker themes. Once the technoflash aggression of the title track has convinced then the album as a whole starts to make sense and the various elements become more defined by nature of the contrasts. I disagree with other reviewers about the Randy Crawford track - an intriguing and successful merging of prog and soul which begged for further experimentation (though check out some of The Four Tops recordings for some surprising Prog gestures). This is an album i was ambivent about on first listening and which I have grown to love. Possibly Hackett's deepest and most emationally complex album.

I like this one a lot. It demonstrates Hackett's versatility. Listening to it nowadays it was almost ahead of it's time. His collaboration with such fine artists like Steve Walsh, Randy Crawford and Richie Havens works a treat. He knew which resources to tap into to make his second solo album. I mean he was working with Randy Crawford long before she became a megastar in the late eighties/early nineties.

Onto the musak and the whole album is excellent but the songs that stand out are the ones done with Walsh, Crawford and Haven. ' Hoping love will last' and ' Icarus Ascending' are beautiful. Sure this album is a big shift from ' Acolyte' and while not in the same league ,rating wise PDT is a very strong offering.

I found several similarities between Steve Hackett and George Harrison. They were members of successful bands (Genesis and The Beatles) who were considered "quiet" and being in the "background". Despite both having a lot of influence in the sound of their bands, they were not considered as "main composers", but after recording solo albums they confirmed that they were very good composers too.This second Steve Hackett`s solo album is very good too, showing several styles which he liked. The sound of this album is more varied than in "Voyage of the Acolyte", but it still has "fantasy" in the music,in the arrangements and in the cover design. "Narnia" has acoustic guitars recorded and mixed at the "front", showing Hackett`s very good guitar technique.My favourite songs from this album are "Please Don`t Touch", "The Voice of Necam" and "Icarus Ascending". Richie Havens`vocals are very good in this album, and Hackett took a good decision to invite him to sing in this album. I don`t think that the inclusion of Kansas` members Phil Ehart and Steve Walsh influenced the sound of Hackett`s music as " being from Kansas in style". They did a good job. Chester Thompson also plays very good drums in this album."Hoping love will last" is a song with jazz influences sung by Randy Crawford. Parts of the song "Please Don`t Touch" were re-recorded with a different arrangement for the "GTR" album under the title "Hackett to Bits".

While not the most appealing Steve Hackett album for a starving proghead, his second solo release displays several good hooks and tunes all the way through. Going for a shorter and more pop-oriented songformat the songs is still of high quality musically, especially the three opening tracks and the album's conclusion suite (which simply bursts of Hackett-isms). Quite different from Genesis' at the time which might explain Steve's conflictions within the band, but personally I prefer his approach to songwriting than Banks or Rutherford's for example, I usually view this album as the missing link between "Wind and Wuthering" and "And Then There Were Three". Featuring some highly enjoyable guest appearances from Steve Walsh, Phil Ehart (Kansas), Chester Thompson (Zappa, Weather Report), Randy Crawford and Ritchie Havens, making for a dynamic listening experience and their collaboration here is excellent.

Personal rating: 4.25/5.

Excellent Classic Prog Rock!

This was the follow-up album from the success of Hackett's debut "Voyage", and by this time the guitarist has formally left Genesis in 1977. It took 3 years elapse time from the debut - it's probably due to his commitment with Genesis. At the end he decided to have a career as solo musician. There is still some Genesis nuance in this album but Steve had pushed it forward the music into different venture. He no longer need helps from Genesis friends as he did with debut. What's the point, leaving the band but still expecting some helps from old band mates? It might interfere the making of his own music. Instead, he grabbed two top notch musicians from legendary Kansas: Steve Walsh (vocals) and Phil Ehart (drums) on some songs. It's an excellent move as their contribution has enriched the texture of Hackett's music.

The album opener is a kind of marriage between Kansas and Genesis but if in Kansas you will obviously hear violin, in "Narnia" the violin is replaced by acoustic guitar fills. It's a nice song that has now become a legendary tune from Hackett. It continues with a funny song "Carry On Up the Vicarage" with children play background and choral section combined with soaring keyboard sound and Taurus pedal. It's another favorite of mine. The third track is a song that later would become the style of Hackett's music, it's called "Racing In A" where Walsh and Hackett contribute in vocals department. "Kim" is an acoustic exploration with guitar and flute; it's dedicated to Steve Hackett's wife.

"How Can I?" starts with an acoustic guitar followed with vocal by Havens. "Hoping Love Will Last" is a very nice song with Randy Crawford on vocal. It's composed in the vein of Genesis' "Blood on A Rooftop" with bluesy touch and great piano sounds. It has become a classic tune and considered as legendary. Introduced through a short piece "Land of a Thousand Autumns" the music continues with another great classic "Please Don't Touch" which also represents the style of Hackett's music. It's a high-light song of this album. It continues seamlessly to "The Voice of Necam" through a smooth keyboard sound that serves as a bridge. The concluding track is an excellent song performed mellow: "Icarus Ascending" where Havens and Hackett contribute the vocals.

It's a regret if you miss this legendary album. Highly recommended. Keep on proggin' .!

Progressively yours, GW

"There are many ways of seeking my fortune. I don't really have to lose my mind. On the highway, (my) thoughts always racing." - "Racing In A" by Steve Hackett.

#78: 1978. The first Hackett album I heard - perhaps in '87 - and definitely among the favourites. The other song sung by Steve Walsh (Kansas), 'Racing in A', is the only track I don't like, but 'Narnia' is a great opener full of energy and fairytale delight, and probably helped me to find Kansas too. Some say that Richie Havens and Randy Crawford are out of place guesting on a prog album - NOT AT ALL! Mrs Crawford's emotional 'Hoping Love Will Last' is a wonderful example how entertainment vocal music and prog can be brought together. Very beautiful. Havens' bluesy voice fits surprisingly well into Hackett's sound. More guest singers that fine and various on your later albums too, please!

Like most Hacketts, a good deal is instrumentals, but as always, full of drama and colour. 'The Voice of Necam' refers to a computer, and also some sounds of entertainment park's machines and crowd are heard. This must be the most dramatic and exciting of his albums; it rushes into very many directions but does not quite yet suffer from it. 'Carry On Up The Vicarage' is a hilarious tribute to Agatha Christie detective stories, and the treated vocals (by Steve) add nicely to the peculiar feel. 'Kim' is a serene Satie-like piece with flute and guitar. Even with a short length (38:38) and one unpleasant song I can reward this with 5*.

After his splendid debut album this second effort was a bit disappointing for me. It contains an impressive list of guest singers (Ritchie Havens 'from Woodstock', Randy Crawford and Steve Walsh from Kansas) but to me this idea of using so many singers led to a very accesible an dmainstream rock sound, not very adventurous or captivating. Although I am a huge Hackett fan only a few compositions can please me like "Land of a thousand autumns" (compelling use of the guitar synthesizer) and the dynamic titletrack. If you compare this second album the his next, in my opinion most mature, you can conclude that Steve Hackett looked at this album as a nice musical idea but not really as the way Hackett solo should sound. That compelling and captivating sound he would develop from his third solo album.

1. Narnia (4:06) 2. Carry On Up the Vicarage (3:11) 3. Racing In A (5:07) 4. Kim (2:14) 5. How Can I? (4:40) 6. Hoping Love Will Last (4:09) 7. Land of a Thousand Autumns (1:57) 8. Please Don't Touch (3:39) 9. The Voice of Necam (3:11) 10. Icarus Ascending (6:21)

The second work announced in 1978 "Please Don't Touch". It is a good work that can enjoy the music sense of Steve Hackett. The effect of the sound has a still peculiar tasting. "Icarus Ascending" is a wonderful famous piece of music that can be recommended with confidence in the GENESIS fan.

This, Steve's second solo album, is very, very different from his first. It is a pot pourri of styles, with various guests adding their contributions to his songs. When I first bought this, which was as soon as it came out, I was, at first, slightly disappointed. But, over time, I grew to appreciate its qualities. What it does show, as do all his albums, is his amazing compostional skills. He can turn his hand to various styles, and yet retain that distinctive Hackett touch. 'Narnia' is an excellent opener, with superb 12 string again to the fore, upbeat and cheerful. 'Carry On Up The Vicarage' is the type of Hackett song I love, quirky and funny. It is the sort of song that Genesis themselves used to be good at, listen to 'Harold The Barrel' on Nursery Cryme for comparison. He has a very dry and underrated sense of humour does our friend Mr Hackett! 'Racing In A' used to be one of my least favourites, but is now one of my faves, especially the brilliant acoustic ending. 'Kim' needs no introduction, as it appears on most of his live recordings, and is an integral part of many of his set lists. Nevertheless, this was the first time the track made its appearance - this is the original! 'How Can I?', with Richie Haven's distinctive vocals, is quite un-Hackett like, yet very effective too, with minimal guitar on it. This is another thing I admire about the man, although he is one of the world's guitar giants, he doesn't play on it. If a song needs little, or no guitar, he doesn't add it, just for his ego's sake. 'Hoping Love Will Last' is the nearest he has ever got to smooth soul music. Randy Crawford, who's voice I always liked back then, sings it beautifully, while Steve's guitar flows poignantly in the background. A lovely piece. 'Land Of A Thousand Autumns' & 'Please Don't Touch', which merge into each other, are well known, through his live work, and are excellent instrumentals, whilst 'The Voice Of Necam', with its beautiful, sparse instrumentation, ending in simple yet effective acoustic guitar, is maybe the overlooked gem on here. And finally we have my favourite track, the brilliant 'Icarus Ascending' with Richie Havens again in fine form. This is the equivalent on here of 'Shadow Of The Heirophant' on Voyage Of The Acolyte. It is really lovely. I have the remastered edition with bonus tracks. The first of these is an interesting version of 'Narnia', musically the same but with a different singer, John Perry. This is neither better nor worse than the Steve Walsh version. Walsh has a pleasant, if unremarkable voice, whilst Perry has a more feminine tone to his. Nothing to choose here. Then we have a live version of 'Land Of A Thousand Autumns/Please Don't Touch' which is good but not essential, as the boxed archive set has live versions of these on it. Finally we have an alternate version of Narnia, with the Walsh vocals. This is almost identical to the album version, but with a slightly different ending, that actually ends instead of fading out. Again, not essential. Like all the Hackett remasters, the quality is superior to the original, louder, brighter & clearer. Another must have for Hackett fans.

Steve Hackett really gets his solo career going with this release. The guests featured, the variations in musical genres and the beautiful Hackett guitar performance on Please Don't Touch made this album the most unique in Steve's discography. "Narnia", "Kim" (a beautiful instrumental love song) and "How Can I?" are the first highlights on the album. Then it's the start of something really special and it starts with "Hoping Love Will Last" (a sweet song with a very good performance from a guest female vocalist) followed by "Land Of A Thousand Autumns", a fabulous passage that leads to one very impredictable song; "Please Don't Touch", one of the most intense song in Steve's repertoire. "The Voice Of Necam" seems to be another passage between two great songs but it also as a small gentle guitar part. "Icarus Ascending" is dramatic, a good end to this masterpiece. I canno't recommend this to anyone in particular. Certainly not Genesis fans, this is so different from Genesis! But If you're open-minded and ready for something really different, you should add Please Don't Touch to your wishlist!

This album is a bit of a grab-bag, a ranging collection of songs that show not only the considerable talents of Steve Hackett as a composer and arranger, but also his diverse musical tastes. The strength and variety of his choices of guest musicians really make this more of collaboration and less of simply his second solo effort. It strikes me that a company like Pixar or Disney could easily adapt this as a soundtrack to a modern-day children's movie, and not simply because of the leading track "Narnia", which of course has recently been the subject of an animated movie.

Of course Narnia is the fictitious world of C.S. Lewis, and the opening song on this album ("Narnia") is based on one of the books in that series - "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Steve Walsh, who was riding high in a year where both Leftoverture and Point of Know Return achieved platinum status performs the vocals here, and he does an admirable job on what is a considerably toned down track compared to his work with Kansas. Hackett's acoustic guitar work is mellow but very appealing leading into the vocals and throughout, and while most of the various percussion and strong instruments (and even a bit of whistling) are relegated well into the background, they lend some texture to this rather simple song. The only disappointment here is that there aren't any extended instrumental solos here, or even additional sung verses - this could easily have been developed into a considerably longer piece than the short fours minutes it became.

"Carry on up the Vicarage" is a strange tune, with a child's verse-like intro, then an abrupt shift into some sort of pipe organ and electronic-voice medley that is actually kind of creepy. This is another of those songs that I could see being part of a children's movie, although probably something by Tim Burton. This is a tribute to murder mystery novelist Agatha Christie, and tells the tale of some mysterious deaths including a young lady stung to death by bees and a drowned veterinarian. Odd stuff. The liner notes point out that the pipe organ used on this track was destroyed in a fire shortly after this recording.

Walsh sings along with Hackett again on "Racing in A", a song about losing oneself on a drive in the country. This one is full of guitar and keyboards, including some heavily synthesized passages. Not one of the more memorable tracks on the album, but it is at least another facet Hackett shows us on the album. Walsh's voice seems particularly dated here, and this reminds me a bit of groups like the Zombies and maybe even some of Manfred Mann's milder stuff from that period.

"Kim" is a well-known instrumental that Hackett has re-recorded several times on various subsequent works. More acoustic guitar, heavy use of a flute and some piccolo (all by the multi-talented Hackett). This is a short, quiet tune that provides a brief respite on the album, and also one that would not be out of place on a child's lullaby album.

The front side of the vinyl album closes with 'How Can I?", with lyrics courtesy of Motown icon Richie Havens. This gives Havens the interesting distinction of being one of the small number of Woodstock veterans who have appeared on an official 'progressive' music album. Havens' voice is rich, reassuring, and quite warm on this track. He has the kind of voice that was really made for movie music, and this is yet another song that could fit in this children's movie I'm busy building in my head. This is a love song I guess, or maybe just some meandering thoughts by a guy who's a bit overwhelmed by life and circumstances. Lots of strings on this one.

"Hoping Love Will Last" is a full-blown love song, and the most unusual yet on the album, with lyrics by the then largely unknown Motown diva Randy Crawford and backed by opera soprano Lucia Maria Bonvino. This is a beautiful song with quiet drums and percussion, lots of violin and cello, and not at all a prog song in any sense. This is almost bluesy mood music, but once again Hackett surprises with the range of sounds he can muster. Every time I hear this song, at the point where Crawford gets to the point in the chorus where she sings "hoping love will last", I keep expecting her to break out in the refrain of "Natural Woman". This song is a real treat, and probably (along with "Please Don't Touch") the best of the many good songs the album has to offer.

"Land of a Thousand Autumns" is just a short strings and keyboards interlude into "Please Don't Touch", a synthesizer and strings heavy instrumental that Hackett prefaces on the album cover with the instructions "for maximum effect, this track should be listened to as loudly as possible with as much treble and bass as your system can muster. Not to be played to people with heart conditions or those in severe hallucinogenic states of mind". I'm not sure it's all that, but if you really crank it up it will give you a nice rush.

Hackett gets weird again on "The Voice of Necam", with some more organ doodling that sounds like background movie music, and some electronic dabbling from the studio mixing machine he calls Necam. Another argument for finding a way to wrap a movie around this album which is a soundtrack waiting for a film.

The album closes with "Icarus Ascending", and almost fatalistic mini-epic musical tale of Icarus, with the excellent line "Splendour wings of ambition, melted by the sea. To the sea of remorse, graveyard come". Richie Havens again lends his masterful voice to this one.

So this is not your average solo work from an established artist in a successful progressive band. Hackett shows on many levels his ability to bring in other talented artists to achieve a wide range of works in a single album, while at the same time demonstrating his appreciable talents as a songwriter and arranger, not to mention musician (at various times he plays electric and acoustic guitar, flute, piccolo, bass pedal, mellotron, all kinds of percussion, and sings). This is a very engaging album that doesn't make a single statement about anything in particular, but each time I listen all the way through it, I find that I feel better about life, my indigestion is gone, and my vision suddenly improves. Sometimes I even find that I've shed a few pounds and my teeth seem brighter. I guess that's just my way of saying that I like this album for reason that I don't try too hard to understand, and I think you'll like it too. Four stars.

peace

Steve Hackett's second solo release (and this time he was completely out of Genesis when he made it) sees him treading new ground and trying to get away from that Genesis sound that could be heard on his debut Voyage of the Acolyte. On this album he draws from a range of influences and brings on an ensemble of musicians ranging from Steve Walsh and Phil Erhart of Kansas to his old drummer when he toured with Genesis for Wind and Wuthering and former Zappa alum Chester Thompson. What you'll find here is a man unsure of what he wants his sound to be. There are uplifting ballads, there are fun rock 'n roll ditties, there are brooding instrumentals, and there are acoustic interludes. The diversity on this album is staggering and you can hear the ideas flow forth as you listen to the album, but it doesn't always come out so beautiful.

Narnia opens the album with a fun piece about that far off place and childhood in general. The vocals are fun as well, opening the album on a rather lighthearted note. Hackett's guitar on this track is very fun and there's a very interesting chord progression underneath. Carry Up on the Vicarage is a bit off an odd tune, with some modulated voices in the vein of Peter Gabriel's on The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging on The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. It's one of the more experimental tunes in his catalogue, seguing from that vocal based intro to a strange organ interlude. Racing In A is another fun tune that has some great lead from Hackett and some strong vocals from Steve Walsh. I must also mention some standout keyboard work on this track as well. Kim is one of Hackett's most recognizable instrumentals (named after the love of his life, Kim Poor). It's a quiet acoustic guitar/flute duet that brings up memories of Horizons but really stands on its own as a fantastic piece. How Can I? is a straight up ballad that features some vocals that sound eerily (in my opinion) like Gordon Haskell, and if you read my review for King Crimson's Lizard, you'll know that I hate Haskell's vocals, so right from the get go I wasn't terribly impressed with this song.

The same thing goes with Hoping Love Will last, which despite having some nice female vocals from Randy Crawford. I'm not terribly impressed with this piece, despite the creative instrumentation. Land Of a Thousand Autums/Please Don't Touch are my favorite two pieces of the album. The first acts as an opener for the second, with the main chords being played by an anxious mellotron before becoming a full blown rock piece. Some great interplay with the time signature 5/8 and has some sublime guitar work from Hackett, it's probably one of his best instrumentals ever and it's my favorite piece on the entire album. The Voice of Necam acts as an acoustic interlude before the closer of the album Icarus Ascending. It has a great organ feel as if it could fit in some B movie, but it's rather interesting as well. Icarus Ascending ends the album in epic fashion, with a ripping tale of Icarus. Some great guitar work from Hackett and vocals from Richie Havens are the main strong points of this song, for sure, and it ends the album well.

In the end, Hackett's sophomore effort shows a man unsure of what direction he wants to take. It's not a bad record by any means, but there are songs I could deal without on this album and some pieces are a bit too experimental for Hackett. Other than that, though, this album has some wonderful pieces on it that most people should like. It's far from Hackett's best album, but it's not his worst by a long shot. 3.5/5.

Quite frankly one of the very best solo albums ever made by a member of the prog community. It is in a class by itself, rubbing elbows with "Fish Out Of Water", and Peter Gabriels first solo album. Every song fits in its place perfectly, and is astounding in its depth and breadth. Treasure this one folks. We will never see its like again Boe_a

Steve Hackett's second album is different from his first, but still excellent. There are a lot of different styles explored here, from prog to blues to soul. This album, though containing superb instrumental passages, is not nearly as instrumental heavy as the first, and relies more on standard songs, most of which were written to be on Genesis albums, but were vetoed by the other band members. I think there had been a shift in power in Genesis after Peter Gabriel left, and Hackett's ideas were often not getting across. Add to this the fact that he had experienced full creative control with his first album, and was itching for it again only hastened his eagerness to leave. So in a sense, this is also a first album for him, since it's the first one he did after leaving Genesis, and not merely a side project like the first album was. Steve is a great songwriter, and it's a shame his ideas were often stifled in Genesis, as is evident on this album. How the other members saw this material as weak just doesn't make sense to me. Anyway, some may not like some of the styles he experimented with on this album, but I love it all, and thing the musicianship on all the songs is top notch.

Straight off the racks after the wondrous 'Voyage of the Acolyte' came the multi-genre spectacle of "Please Don't Touch." The entire album is 40 minutes jim-jams of consisting of several different genres from prog to blues and more. In this way it is similar to 'Voyage of the Acolyte' which also spanned multiple genres, but "Please Don't Touch" is even more experimental for Steve Hackett, not just in way of technology but also style. This was the first time to my knowledge that Steve Hackett so very adventures, more so than 'Voyage of the Acolyte.'

"Please Don't Touch" features a great array of musicians and vocalists who add an extra dimension to this album. The collaboration between Steve Hackett and other musicians is one reason why the big man is so interesting. Its like one extended band, except Steve writes most the material (like Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull I suppose.) John Hackett is one of the major contributors, just like on 'Voyage of the Acolyte', he plays a major role in this album. Also, the magnificent Steve Walsh features on vocals here too.

The album opens with "Narina" which is a happy fusion of rock and prog. The song is about the land of Narina from "The Lion, The witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S Lewis and features some top-rate acoustic guitar from Steve Hackett; the song in general is of a good quality. The man himself, Steve Walsh features on vocals here and does a fantastic job. The next song "Carry on up the Vicarage", or as I affectionately call it "mutated Christmas tune" that's basically what it is. It has a traditional stereotypical American Christmas tune and strange warped voices singing the lyrics. The instrumentation is pretty good here and it makes up for the oddity of the vocals, kind of, I can't take too seriously though.

Next up is" Racing in A" which features more vocals from Steve Walsh. The song frequently changes in mood and meter, though it is still able to retain a definite overall melody. The song is happy and Steve Walsh's voice really suites the style of instrumentation which consists mostly of guitar. The song kind of winds down towards the end so as to allow Steve Hackett a classical guitar solo, seems unnecessary to me.

Next is "Kim" (written for Steve Hackett's wife I believe) which consists of beautiful guitar and flute from Steve and John Hackett respectively. The song is very mellow and is a change from the rest of the album.

Next up is "How Can I" which is all about the vocals, not the guitar for once although the backing chords are quite loud. The song has a constant beat provided by the rhythm guitar and percussion as well as some strings which come and go but are usually there. The song is a great follow on from "kim."

"Hoping Love Will Last" comes next which could honestly be mistaken for a pop song, but the instrumentation is too good for a pop song.kind of. The string backing is used to great effect and the guitar solo towards the end of the song supports the style of vocalist very well. Overall not a bad song, though some may find it quite repelling.

The following track "Land of a Thousand Autumns" acts as a precursor for the title track "Please, Don't Touch." The tune/theme is introduces which sounds very menacing and sinister. The song is stretched by the addition of a classical guitar solo.

The Title song features next with the theme from the previous track. "Please, Don't Touch" features very strong guitar work and the song modulates from being a sinister song to being a happier one, its really odd how quickly the song is able to achieve this. It's strange that a song could sound so sinister for the statement "Please, Don't Touch."

"Voice of Necam" is next and the song begins with an eerie melody played on flute, strings and some other wind instrument. The song them moves into a section with gradually mounting tension, it then becomes evident that nothing will happen and the song ends. But suddenly, guess what happens, that's right a classical guitar solo! Not a bad song really!

Last of all is my favorite song from the album "Icarus Ascending" which begins immediately with thunderous full-band and vocals. Icarus of course is the guy in Greek mythology that flew too close to the sun and fell into the sea. The song is very good and for me it is the highlight of the album, the last minute of the song seems unnecessary though.

1. Narnia (4/5) 2. Carry On Up the Vicarage (2.5/5) 3. Racing In A (4/5) 4. Kim (3/5) 5. How Can I? (4/5) 6. Hoping Love Will Last (3/5) 7. Land of a Thousand Autumns (2.5/5) 8. Please Don't Touch (2.5/5) 9. The Voice of Necam (3/5) 10. Icarus Ascending (4/5) Total = 32.5 = 3.25 Good, but non-essential

This started off being a four star review, but when it comes down to it the stupidity of sections in "Carry On Up the Vicarage" and the monotony of "Land of a Thousand Autumns" and "Please Don't Touch" really drags the album down. Don't get me wrong everything else on the album is fantastic, up to par with 'Voyage of the Acolyte' so really if you take away the three listed song this album would be an easy 4 stars, but that's a really stupid though. I'd recommend "Please Don't Touch" to all Hackett and Genesis fans, it's really a great album!

After his very Genesian debut "Voyage of the Acolyte", Hackett continued his solo career in a definitive way with a less spectacular yet equally brilliant sophomore effort "Please Don't Touch". This time, Hackett decided to feel literally free before the audience of friendly listeners, and by that I mean that he set an enhanced set of musical resources for the album's repertoire. The playful ambience of the acoustic- based 'Narnia' opens up the album in a very lyrical manner, combining the bucolic spirit of British acoustic pop-rock and slight touches of country. The second track is a bizarre yet simplistic homage to Agatha Christie, reinforcing the playful mood of the opener with the addition of circus-like adornments and machine processed vocals. 'Racing in a' is the first truly progressive rock song in the album, with Steve Walsh and Phil Ehart reprising their roles as special guests (as they had been in 'Narnia'), and violinist extraordinaire Graham Smith creating extra colors that mingle with the mellotron string layers. This effective rocker contains softly fluid tempo shifts and well-crafted guitar leads, with an acoustic coda in which Hackett shows off his exquisite skill on classical guitar. No wonder that this song became a live staple for a few years in Hackett's shows during the late 70s: it is both catchy and owner of typical prog complexity. 'Kim' is a beautiful chamber oriented composition, with John Hackett's flute assuming the leading role above the constraint classical guitar chords. The Genesis thing always resurfaces now and then, since Hackett had become really a crucial element in his then former band: this is when the melancholic ballad 'How Can I?' gets in, with those mesmerizing 12-string guitar duets accompanied by even more mesmerizing layers of mellotron ,harmonium and guitar synthesizer. Guest Richie Havens shines here like a romantic troubadour lost in reflection. The second half of the album starts with an American-style ballad (something like a Cole Porter thing) sung gloriously by Randy Crawford. This ballad is segued to the namesake number, arguably the best instrumental that Genesis never recorded - hard as it is to imagine, this piece was rejected during the "Wind & Wuthering" rehearsal sessions, but it was destined to appear on record in one way or another. This monumental example of musical schizophrenia in which sinister textures, pastoral ornaments and hard rock interludes coexist in a bizarre harmony is one of the definite symbols of Hackett's artistic vision. For thsi album, the opening sectio nreceived its own title, 'Land of a Thousand Autumns'. After the namesake's outro, comes 'Voice of Necam', a two-part track that starts with voice-like effects played on a Necam computer and ends with a soft classical guitar brief nocturne. The last chord is instantly followed by another ballad sung by Havens. This time the atmosphere is more majestic, reinforcing and enhancing the eerie spirit that had already been present in 'How Can I?' and 'Hoping Love Will Last', taking it to a more decidedly prog context. If 'Afterglow' ended the "Wind" album not totally rising up to the expectations, 'Icarus Ascending' really fills with splendor the final minutes of this excellent Hackett album. Caught between two masterpieces, "Please Don't Touch" doesn't sound as impressive, but it still deserves to be catalogued as one of Hackett's most inspired opuses.

With this album Steve Hackett seemed to pretty much throw off the shackles of Genesis and go for something completely different.

I bought it when it first came out and it was one of the first albums that I sought to replace with a CD copy. It still gets played regularly.

The standout tracks for me are those featuring Richie Havens (How Can I?, Icarus Ascending) and Randy Crawford (Hoping Love Will Last). Mind you, I would happily listen to Havens reciting the contants of a phone book as for me he has one of music's perfect voices.

In truth I think the only weak track is Carry on up the Vicarage, which still has its own quirky charm.

Yes, the result is a mish-mash of styles, but for me it works really well. I prefer this to "Voyage of the Acolyte" and anything else I've heard by Hackett (not a lot I must confess, I got kind of bored with "Spectral Mornings" and never bought anything else by him until "Genesis Revisited"). He also managed to bore me into walking out of a concert 3 years ago after only 30 minutes too so I'm not planning on adding to my SH collection.

However this is one I'd have to replace if it ever got stolen, lost or worn out.

Although a probably less balanced work than his predeccesor ("Voyage of the acolyte") or his succesor ("Spectral Mornings"), probably because of the presence of many guests or because it explores too many sound alternatives (although who said this was a bad thing) making it a quite heterogeneus effort, this album still stands as one of the finest works this genius amongst men has provided in his career.

Amongst the tracks which make this album a truly smooth experience are "Narnia", an excellent showcase of the literary piece, "Carry on up the Vicarage", which although has strange vocal effects, it still provides a good amount of good textures and psychedelic effects, being as well one of the most symphonic-natured songs of the album. "Racing in A", although landing more in the land of conventionalism, is still a good rock song, with a good vocal work and energetic guitar arrangements. And what can we say about "Kim". The good woman must have smiled the first time she listened to this song. It is a classic and a good example of the tamdem Steve and his bother John could be. "Hoping love will last" is a curious experiment, including a soul vocalist in a progressive rock song. "Land of a Thousand autums" is a kind of intro, filled with mellotron, for another classic, which, from my humble point of view, was unfairly left out from "Wind and Wuthering" (why the hell they decided to include "Your Own Special Way"?). "The voice of Necam" plays with vocal effects with an ending of classical guitar.

On the other hand, the tracks sung by Ritchie Havens (what a coincidence huh?), "How can I" and "Icarus Ascending" didn't get into me, either because I didn't like his vocal work very much or because, specially in the first case, the slow pace of the songs. The second one, at least, has a quite nice and melodic structure, much in the line of Steve's best proggresive work.

This was Steve's First album after his break with Genesis, and is a more eclectic work than his first album "Voyge of the Acolyte".

This album showed fans what a talented songwriter he truly was, displaying elements of rock/pop, R&B/Soul, as well as the prog elements he had tried (and failed) to get on a Genesis album.

The album starts off with a tribute to CS Lewis entitled "Narnia". This is a lively and instantly catchy pop/rock track, boosted by the vocals of Kansas' Steve Walsh. This received favourable airplay in the US, but Steve Walshs' record company would not allow him to appear on the single version, so the single was never released.

"Carry on up the vicarage" and "Racing in A" are both fast paced rock/pop numbers, with the former having a humerous slant on "Agatha Christie" type murder plots, and the latter blending a fast rock tempo with a neatly dovetailed classical guitar break.

"KIm" is what will now be recognised as a traditional foray into pure classical guitar work by Steve. This piece has a slow waltz like rythm with brother John accompanying on the flute - makes you think of hot summers and taking it easy.

The next two tracks are fine soul songs. The first, entitled "How can I?" was used a a replacement single to Narnia, and featured the fine vocals of one time Geneisis support act Richie Havens. Richie's deep gravely voice enriched an already soulfoul "deep south" feel to this ballad - a sublime song.

The next soul filled track was by the then unknown Randy Crawford. This strings based song, mellow to start with, climaxes beautifully towards the end of the last verse as Randy hits the higher notes with a passion you know is heartfelt. I never expected such a powerful song from Steve, and this song illustrates more than any other that Steve knew how to be a songwriter.

"Land of a Thousand Autumns"/Please Don't Touch/The Voice of Necam place you firmly back in Prog rock territory, with exciting nightmarish guitar work in "Please Don't touch" which ends with the disturbing hiss of fairground organs. Out of this ending emerges "The voice of Necam" as if out of the mists. The volume slowly builds up from a whisper in this piece, which features soft acoustic play accompanied by choral effects.

The last track on the original release of this album is Icarus ascending, with Richie Havens on Vocals again. This piece employs various instruments and changes in tempo which slowy build up to a climax.

I have the remastered version which features 3 bonus tracks. I have to say that only one track, a live version of "Land of a thousand autumns/Please dont touch" warrants inclusion to the original.

The other two tracks are versions of Narnia. The first Version is the version Steve tried with John Perry on vocals when Steve Walsh was not allowed to appear on the single. You will see that John's voice was too thin to carry off this song, which isn't surprising the song was never released as a single.

The second version of Narnia is identical to the Steve Walsh opening track on the album, but with some sleigh bells introduced for a few seconds towards the end of the song (why bother including this track?)

Overall however, this is a superb start by Steve as a genuine solo performer. A well deserved four (and a half stars).

Hackett's second solo album, and his first since leaving Genesis. This time, he did not have his Genesis buddies Mike and Phil to play and sing for him. In their places are a bunch of special guests including Steve Walsh, Phil Ehart, Chester Thompson, Richie Havens, and Randy Crawford. With so many different musicians with different personalities, "Please Don't Touch!" is a very varied and changing album. It is lighter than his previous outing, "Voyage". There are far less instrumentals here as Hackett puts more emphasis on the guest vocalists. It adds up to be a solid album. It is not in Hackett's upper echalon of releases, but that is what happens when one has such a plethora of great albums.

Like previously mentioned, it is a very varied album. Personally, I like the instrumentals, which include the title track, it's intro, "Kim", and "The Voice of Necam". "Land of a Thousand Autumns" does a great job of creating an eerie atmosphere and then explodes immediately as it goes into "Please Dont Touch", a psychedelic short with tons of different guitars and virtuoso flute playing of Steve's brother John. The song's time signature changes rapidly.It revolves around a 5/8 meter in the middle section but enters and exits in 4/4. "Kim" is just Steve and John and is very beautiful. Of the vocal songs, "How Can I?" and "Icarus Ascending" are my favorites.

This is a very good album and shines in many places. 3.5 stars.

Steve is now alone.No more Genesis friends here but a myriad of known artists of which two Kansas members (Steve Walsh and Phil Ehart), an almost Genesis friend (Chester Thompson) and his young brother John (no reference to The Lamb.).

I can't really be too enthusiastic about Randy Crawford vocal parts but the instrumental Please don't Touch is my favourite track of this album. A bit similar to Even In That Quiet Earth from Wind & Wuthering but more melodic.

Such moments are really scarce on this album. Walsh impulses his typical vocal style into Narnia and Racing In A; but these are just average songs. And it's another instrumental that is my second choice as well. The ambient The Voice Of Necam, is so peaceful, so delicate even if the intro sounds a bit weird. There is a wonderful acoustic guitar passage. A pity that there are too few of these.

To tell that Icarus Ascending is a great number is probably exaggerated, it sounds flat. But Ritchie Havens is not really a prog singer as far as I know. With such a title, I would have expected Walsh maybe.Same feeling about How Can I.

This album wasi a MAJOR disappointment. When I pre-reviewed it some eighteen months ago, my rating was OK-, which means two stars. And I will stick to this. Just an average album.

An interesting album, though quite a mixed bag.

The interesting part is that Richie Havens sings on a couple of songs, you get Frank Zappa's rhythm section on some songs, and you get the vocalist (2 songs) and drummer (1 song) from Kansas. What this odd mix ends up doing is making the album seem very uneven and causes the songs to flow far less well than other Hackett solo efforts. But on the whole, I like it. I think Narnia is great upbeat song and works well with Walsh's voice. I think Havens is great on Icarus Ascending and How Can I? Racing in A is great prog song, as is the excellent title track. And Kim sees the beginnings of Hackett's serious classical guitar pieces.

In all, a decent if a bit scattered solo album. In a lot of ways this is really his first true solo album, since he was officially out of Genesis and none of his former band mates appear on this album (though I suppose technically Chester Thompson could be considered a former band mate, though he wasn't an official member of Genesis). I would give this 3.5 stars if I could, but I can't so I think 3 will do nicely. This may not appeal to hard core symphonic fans as it is a very song based album and the songs are in a variety of styles. But any fan of Hackett will want this, and while it's not his best solo album, it's far from his worst.

And then there was one

Steve Hackett's superb debut "Voyage of the Acolyte" was released in 1975 while he was still a member of Genesis. In some ways, that album had the feel of a Genesis album from around that transitional period in the band's history. The success of the album led to some unrest within the "Then there were three" Genesis members, and Hackett subsequently agreed not to release any further solo albums while he was a member of the band.

By 1978, he had indeed left having made a considerable, and many would say grossly undervalued, contribution to what are generally acknowledged as Genesis finest albums. As a free agent, it did not take Steve long to release his first album as a solo artist (as opposed to his first solo album!).

"Please don't touch" finds Hackett bravely trying to retain the many of the factors which he had brought to Genesis, while testing the water with a diverse array of alternative sounds and styles. That diversity is accentuated by the three guest vocalists who sing on the album in addition to Steve himself. The appearance of Kansas' Steve Walsh may not be too surprising, but soul crooner Randy Crawford and the golden tones of veteran Richie Havens are much less predictable. On a number of the tracks here, Hackett takes a bit of a back seat, relying on others to deliver his composition and vision.

The opening "Narnia", nominally based on a C.S. Lewis children's book, could easily have been lifted from a Kansas album; Walsh's vocals suiting the style of the song well. Hackett steps up the mike himself for "Carry on up the vicarage", a rather whimsical title for this tribute to crime writer Agatha Christie. The track blends "Acolyte" symphonic instrumental sounds with distorted child like vocals.

Walsh returns to share lead vocals with Hackett on "Racing in A", a song which combines some pleasing symphonic sounds with a rather lacklustre vocal melody. Steve's tribute to his partner "Kim", who was responsible for the fine sleeve illustration, is a brief, delicate, flute led melody supported by acoustic guitar.

Richie Havens first appearance is on "How can I?", a song which, had Phil Collins been singing, would have fitted in perfectly on "Wind and Wuthering". Richie's wonderfully emotional voice suits the song well though. This is immediately followed by Randy Crawford singing "Hoping love will last", a number which sounds like a facsimile of some of her best known works.

The reflective instrumental "Land of a thousand autumns" serves to introduce the title track, also an instrumental. This is much more in keeping with what we might expect from Steve, being a complex and adventurous romp through a number of sounds and styles. "The voice of Necam" is a pleasant acoustic guitar interlude, which leads into "Icarus ascending". The title of this, the album's longest track at just over 6 minutes, may conjure expectations of another "Shadow of the Hierophant", and there is certainly a passing similarity here, especially in the regal pace of the song. Richie Havens' vocals are once again exemplary, and combine well with Steve's symphonic arrangement. The track seems to lack a punchline though, with Havens' closing "oo-ooing" feeling less than satisfactory.

In all, a brave attempt by Steve Hackett to explore unfamiliar territories and to test the water with a wide array of style. In the end, he is at his best though when he reverts to type and plays symphonic prog. Worth a listen though.

Take the title literally - please don't touch it!

Steve Hackett is one of my favourite solo artists but none of his 70's solo albums are in my opinion worthy of a high rating. My judgement on Voyage Of An Acolyte was that it hardly is the masterpiece it is often claimed to be and Hackett's second solo album, Please Don't Touch, suffers from all of the same problems - only much worse! It is uneven, inconsistent and disjointed. It has too many different styles of music and too many different vocalists to make it a unified whole in any way.

The two first songs give the listener the impression that this album is made for children! Narnia is a nice tune with vocals by Steve Walsh from Kansas. Carry On Up The Vicarage sounds like a children's song, with horrible talk-box vocals, one of the several low-points of the album.

Racing In A is a very good rock song with classical interludes in typical Hackett style. This song would have fitted perfectly on Spectral Mornings. Kim is a beautiful, simple acoustic instrumental with Steve's brother John Hackett's flute as the main instrument. This song would have fitted perfectly on Voyage Of An Acolyte.

But just when you thought that this album could be saved, in comes How Can I? This is basically a pretty boring, slow Pop/Rock song without a strong melody. And then, when you thought it couldn't become any worse, comes Hoping Love Will Last. This song jumps yet again to a completely different style of music with female soul-style vocals. This song has absolutely nothing that makes you think it is a Steve Hackett song. If you heard this song on the radio and you didn't know where it was from you could never have guessed that it is a Hackett tune - never! Do I need to add how out of place this song is here?

Land Of A Thousand Autumns/Please Don't Touch is a great piece of music, easily the best part of this album. This has been a strong part of Steve's live set many times.

The Voice Of Necam interrupts the title track with an unnecessary little tune that would have fitted as background music to a puppet show. Towards the end of this track we can hear Steve's characteristic classical guitar playing leading into the closing track.

Icarus Ascending, what an extraordinary title for such an unremarkable song. Yet again a new vocalist making you wonder whether it really is a Steve Hackett album you are listening to. This song leaves no lasting impression on me whatsoever.

I have given this album many chances, and despite some short moments of excellence, I cannot come to any other conclusion than the following: please don't touch this album unless you are a fan or collector (like myself).

Please Don't Touch! is the second studio album from former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. Steve Hackett´s debut solo album Voyage of the Acolyte was recorded while he was still a member of Genesis, and the success of that album ignited Steve Hackett´s interest in a solo career. He stayed on for a couple of more Genesis albums, but then decided it was time to leave to pursue a full solo career. Voyage of the Acolyte is a much praised album here on PA but personally I find it a bit trivial. Please Don't Touch! is a much better album IMO.

Steve Hackett´s beautiful melodic guitar playing ( both acoustic and electric) is really excellent throughout the album but it´s not dominant in all songs. Steve Hackett is not a shredder who can´t give room for other musicians. His compositions are made to sound good as songs and not to showcase his skills which really isn´t surprising if you know his style from the Genesis days.

Steve Hackett has a host of guest musicians on the album. Among others the album features former Frank Zappa members Tom Fowler on bass and Chester Thomson ( also Genesis and weather Report) on drums. Steve Walsh and Phil Ehart of Kansas on vocals and drums respectively and Ritchie Havens and Randy Crawford on vocals. Of course brother John Hackett also helps out this time on flutes, piccolos, bass pedals and keyboards.

The album starts with the beautiful Narnia which has Steve Walsh of Kansas on vocals and it´s hard not to think of Kansas because of Steve Walsh very characteristic vocal. It´s a beautiful song and a great opener. Carry On Up the Vicarage is a humorous song with some funny distorted vocals from Steve Hackett, but it also has some really beautiful parts. Racing In A again has Steve Walsh of Kansas on vocals. Great song that one. Kim is the first instrumental song on the album and it´s the song on Please Don't Touch! that most reminds me of Voyage of the Acolyte. Note the beautiful flute playing from John Hackett on this song.

Then comes How Can I? with Richie Havens on vocals. It´s a really heartfelt song, and even though The melody line sounds suspiciously close to The Beatles Across the Universe from Let It Be, How Can I? is still a beautiful song. Hoping Love Will Last with Randy Crawford on vocals took me some time to appreciate mostly because I don´t normally enjoy this kind of soul singing, but I have to surrender and say that this is a good song. Land of a Thousand Autumns is a short interlude like song. beautiful and atmospheric and a great intro to the highlight of the album which is the title track. This is why I live Steve Hackett. Just listen to him playing guitar on this track. Powerful, beautiful and varied. The Voice of Necam is again an atmospheric track before the great finale which is Icarus Ascending. Sung by Richie Havens this is an excellent atmospheric song.

With all those star guests in addition to Steve Hackett himself the musicianship is of course excellent.

The production is fantastic IMO. Soft, pleasant and typical seventies sounding. Not one sign of the eighties has crept into this production even though Please Don't Touch! has a much more modern production than early seventies progressive rock albums.

Please Don't Touch! is not a progressive rock album in the conventional sense of the word and for many years this album collected dust on my shelf because my view on what was progressive and in this case enjoyable was much more conservative than it is today. Luckily I took my time to re-discover this album because it´s an excellent album IMO. 4 stars is well deserved. What a great surprise.

Unlike its predecessor 'Voyage of the Acolyte' which has a relatively consistent stylistic approach throughout (dark, symphonic and pastoral), 'Please Don't Touch' covers such a lot of stylistic ground within its 38 minutes, that it causes many critics to complain at its eclecticism. Not this listener ...

Steve has demonstrated throughout his career an adventurousness to explore whatever music interests him and in this world of play-safe one trick ponies he must be heartily applauded. He makes every diverse production his own. 'Please Don't Touch' is the start of the process of him stretching out into all sorts of musical territories.

The album has incredible production with a wonderful diversity of textures and excellent playing - the acoustic playing (classical and steel string) is crystal clear throughout and is an especially beautuful aspect of the whole album. There is an inspired choice of vocalists, especially Richie Havens and Randy Crawford (whose contribution 'Hoping Love Will Last' is incredibly touching). There is the beautiful impressionistic Satie-esque vignette, 'Kim' and the menacing fury of the title track (which is Classic Hackett). And, with the final track's coda ending the whole 'experience' with moving grandeur, one pauses in the silence after listening and marvels at what Steve has pulled off with this record...

A wonderful classic and one of Steve's finest.... I love this record...

The challenge with solo works has often been one of proper vetting. An artist constrained by a group in which he clearly is second, third or fourth fiddle can become like the proverbial child in the candy shop, picking up this sample or that simply because they at some point had expressed an interest in it, or perhaps fancied someone who did. Even Peter Gabriel's first few outings had more girth than depth, and he was the de facto band leader. Before Steve Hackett assembled a proper backing band, he issued this wanton salmagundi.

Apart from its general lack of appeal, the album commits the unforgivable transgression of paying tribute to the late great Agatha Christie with the horrendous "Carry on up the Vicarage". This contrasted with the delectable opener "Narnia", which did justice to C.S. Lewis thanks to a light but substantive melody and vocal by Steve Walsh of Kansas. Unfortunately, the only other real highlight is "Kim", a flute and classical guitar instrumental that is truly an affair of brotherly love with John, even if a tribute to Kim Poor. Elsewhere a mix soft bluesy rock ("How Can I?" with an anonymous guest vocal by Richie Havens), genre free drivel ("Hoping Love Will Last") and interminable unfocused "epics" ("Icarus Ascending") goes essentially to the moon and back without a single rush.

Unless you are a collector of all things Genesis or Hackett, my recommendation would be to heed the apt title of the disk and move on.

This is Steve's first solo album after leaving Genesis and his second over all. It reminds me greatly of Peter Gabriel's contemporary first solo album in that it seems to throw every style he could think of into a great big pot and mix it around to see what sticks. The results, like on Gabriel's album, are diverse and not always succesful. However, this album tends to hold together better than Peter's because the basic sound is usually unified by instrumentation. Peter's solo album seemed to use different instrumentation and styles on each track, and while that's impressive, it was never repeated, much like with Steve and this album. It can, therefore, be seen as kind of a stunt or if you want to be more kind an experiment. After all, just because Steve Hacket can write a soul ballad doesn't mean he's at all good at it....

Anyways, the good news is that the good music outweighs the bad. Strong songs beat out bad ones. Not much to say about this one, really.

Voyage of the Acolyte is a good album, It's a very good album. It is a consternation to me, though, how people can shower so much love on it, to the point of claiming that it is a lost Genesis masterpiece. First, that is insulting to Steve in that he created the work. Secondly, it is insulting to Steve because he surpassed his original solo album in both of the next two that he released.

Please Don't Touch is an extremely good album. The switch to shorter, more accessible songs doesn't detract from Steve's solid grounding in progressive music. In fact, Steve's solid grounding in prog may be the problem here. Like VOTA, this album suffers from compositions that sound like Steve doesn't know where to take them after he has wowed us with his skills. Specifically, Racing in A, Carry on up the Vicarage, The Voice of Necam, and Icarus Ascending fall in this category. Which doesn't mean that those are bad, by the way. Racing in A may be my favorite track off the album, despite it's lack of direction. Anyhow, Steve will solve this problem on his next (and easily best) solo album, Spectral Mornings.

So this one isn't quite a masterpiece. Sorry Steve. But I'll still give it four stars, and I'm happy to point out that this has Steve's best song that isn't an instrumental in Narnia.

This album marked my introduction to Steve Hackett's solo career and although I later found quite a few much better albums in his discography, Please Don't Touch! is still one of the albums that I will always have a soft-spot for.

This album is a good follow-up to the brilliant debut album. Still anything that gets released right after Voyage Of The Acolyte is bound to be considered somewhat of a letdown in comparison. Please Don't Touch! has one major problem for me - it sounds too much like an 80's album, which is quite strange considering that it isn't one. While the album's title-track is as great as anything off Voyage Of The Acolyte, the same cannot be said about the rest of the album. This has a lot to do with the guest vocalists and their individual contributions that turn this into an uneven and ,as earlier mentioned, 80's-sounding recording.

Luckily Steve realized most of the errors that he made with this album and did everything to ensure that Spectral Mornings and Defector would end the decade on a high note. 1978 might not been Hackett's strongest year but at least he made those mistakes and later used them to perfect his sound and I respect him for taking those those steps.

***** star songs: Please Don't Touch (3:39)

**** star songs: Narnia (4:06) Carry On Up The Vicarage (3:11) Racing In A (5:07) Kim (2:14) How Can I? (4:40) Land Of A Thousand Autumns (1:57) The Voice Of Necam (3:11)

*** star songs: Hoping Love Will Last (4:09) Icarus Ascending (6:21)

Total Rating: 3,82

Hackett's solo albums build a strong case for his importance in the Genesis sound. They also give ample proof of his remarkable lack of song-writing skills. Especially on this AOR dominated album. Sitting in between two strong albums I had nothing but the greatest expectations, but as it turned out, this album has to survive on just one stunning instrumental and a few acoustic ditties amidst 30 minutes of tacky commercial pop.

The first few seconds of Narnia might put you off-guard, but as soon as the singing start it is clear that Hackett didn't want to write a prog album, a hodgepodge of the mellow Genesis sound mixed with a cringe worthy kind of classic rock was what he had in mind. Many of the songs here are amongst the worst in my album collection, easily beating all things Tormato and even Asia with ease.

There's only one song worth mentioning in this collection of out-of-date pop, dusty soul and run of the mill filler material. That would be the instrumental title track, a stunning guitar piece. It's quite remarkable actually how this very same track would also be included on the ill-conceived 80's collaboration with Steve Howe: GTR. Also on that hideous album, it was the only song worth hearing.

The deep pitfalls of Prog's latent cheesiness come to full blossoming here. The title track barely keeps it from crashing into the black hole where it belongs. I can't believe I haven't ritually destroyed this album yet in the course of my 20+ years ownership.

I had a hard time getting my hands on "Please Don't Touch," but when I did I was really for the most part happy with it.

This particular release isn't quite as proggy as his first one,but it does have some good moments. It is still Steve Hackett. That was the whole deal for me.

"Nania" is very good and has pop elements in it. Steve Walsh sings just as good here as he did with "Kansas." On the other hand, "Carry on up the Vicarage" finds Steve Hackett doing an amazingly good and original job on the vocals. I think it is one of the best tunes on this. "Racing in A" again has Mr. Walsh singing his heart out, with the added dimension of a beautiful classical piece at the end to give it a good kick in the prog. He doesn't stop there, but blows you away with "Kim," arguably his best song ever. His brother John is playing flute and it is just wonderful to this day.

"Land of a Thousand Autumns, Please Don't Touch, and Voice of Necam" are very good and the prog continues.

"Hoping Love Will Last, How Can I, and Icarus Ascending" are just ballads and I didn't care for them. I wanted Steve to stick with the prog. Still, all three tunes are well done. If you like ballads, then this will fill the bill nicely.

I can't say this was a favorite, but it is enjoyable. I can only give it three stars bacause it isn't an essential addition to the prog movement. Sorry Steve. Actually I would say it is for fans only, but I think it deserves more than two stars at any rate.

This is Steve Hackett's second album and the first after he left the band Genesis. This is pretty good because it features a variety of guest vocalists, including Steve Walsh, Richard Havens (don't know who he is!) and Randy Crawford appears on one song. Phil Ehart also appears from the band Kansas and there is a song called 'Icarus Ascending' which seems more than a coincidence since 'Icarus (borne on the wings of steel)' is a Kansas song from three years before. This is a pretty good album because of all the collaborators, it helps to give a fresh angle on his approach, helps to balance his weaknesses and I think it's good to bring solid singers in.

The only problem is the general lack of hooks. I think Havens is probably the best suited to Hackett's style and should have been a permanent singer for the guitarist. Acutally I really like Havens, he really gels well with Hackett. As far as I know they didn't do any arrangement for him to be a permanent singer with Hackett. The two Steve Walsh songs are fairly good, 'Riding in A' is that prog/folk with breezy chorus thing that was first done on Hackett's first album (Star of Sirius). 'Narnia' is nice but the chorus is not very catchy. They're separated by 'Carry on up the Vicarage'. Hackett's eccentric side is coming out, this song is interesting but a bit hard to decipher the lyrics. It features sped up vocals and slowed down vocals singing in unison. Another song is 'How Can I' which seems great until you realise it's John Lennon's 'Across The Universe' being ripped off. The best is probably the song Randy Crawford sings, 'Hoping Love will last'. It starts off like an R&B ballad but Hackett slowly brings in the progressive elements and it sounds a bit like a ballad that might have been on Wind and Wuthering. Richard Havens sings on 'Icarus ascending', a pretty good prog song and Kim is a pleasant instrumental with the flute and Hackett's beautiful Spanish guitar, but overall there is nothing to make a real lasting impression.

3.5 for sure

Steve hackett second solo album, and the first outside Genesis released in 1978 named Please don't touch. Ffom the beggining I might say that this album is a tricky affair in Hackett catalogue, maybe one of the most experimental he done over the years, but with all that a good one. Having here moments from jazz to pop, soul, rock the album as a whole is a bit uneven, some moments are truly fantastic but other are totaly lame and unintristing. Featuring some fantastic musicians like Walsh and Ehart from Kansas fame, Chester Thompson from Genesis and Weather Report, the folk - pop singer Richie Havens , the female soul singer Randy Crawford and others. So an album who can guess how sounds by the guests involved here, from diffrent genres, but in the end I tyhink is a quite fair album, a good one but less good then the next one - he's best without doubt. The music is darker in places, like the title track, but very good, some pieces has vocal arrangements, the most intristinh being the opening track Narnia with Steve Walsh on vocals. Some arrangements are typical for Hackett, the guitar sounds intristing, very smooth combined with more rockier and jazzier sounds. I will give 3 stars maybe 3.5, excellent cover art btw. Not among his best, but not a bad one either. Still In Hackett style.

Oh, I have always loved this album! I really don´t understand some low ratings it got here on PA. Ok, fine, if those guys wanted a Voyage Of Thge Acolyte number two, certainly they´d got to be disappointed. Please Don´t Touch is quite different but it seemed very righ for its time (1978). Besides, Hackett was on his prime both as guitarrist and songwriter. The album flows very evenly most of time, with a couple of mistakes on the way, but I can live with that.

Even though he called a whole bunch of singers to help him, the impresison given is of a very cohesive whole, with each track seamlessly introducing the other. It´s probably Hackett´s most diverse work and yet it feels like a big suite, a great musical trip with lots of emotions and moods throughout. His guitar work is a bit more subtle here but still great and one of the record´s highlights of course. The choice of vocalists was also another great idea, even if with one mistake. Richie Havens is perfect! His soulful vocals and emotional delivering gives both How Can I and Icaurus Ascending an ethereal feeling that is not very far from Genesis best works, specially the latter, one of hackett´s most ´Genesis-like`songs ever. A real pity that he doesn´t sing on more songs. Steve Walsh (from Kansas) didn´t won me over at first. it seemed that his vocals didn´t fit it very well, but after a few spins I guess he did a nice job and his very particular style gave the songs a new dimension. The only track that really seems out of place here is Hoping Love Will Last, a kind of soul pop that doesn´t work at all, and that is not helped by Randy Crawford´s effords on the vocal department.

"Carry on up the Vicarage". is another problem: not a bad song per se, but the horrible synth distorted vocals on the introduction ruins it all. Other then those two, the album is marvelous. Great instrumental parts and real nice sung ones make make this album a stunning work after the mild disappointement I felt with Voyage Of The Acolyte. His first solo sounded too much like a Genesis unfinished, incomplete, work (even if that CD has some fine moments too). I wondered if SH had any chance as a solo artist. Please Don´t Touch made me change my mind. This is clearly one of his best and I cherish it since the day it was released. After all those years it still sounds fresh and exciting. One of my favorires by one of the greatest prog musicians of all time. if it was not for the two aforementioned tracks I´d gladly give it a 5 star rating. But since it has its flaws, I´m giving it 4,5. Still a highly recommended CD for any symphonic prog lover.

While Hackett's debut "Voyage Of The Acolyte" was a GENESIS-flavoured masterpiece he decided (for this his followup) that it was the time to use all those ideas he had swirling in his head for the last few years. He says he tried to mix as many different musical styles as he possibly could. Even going as far to record half of the album in the UK and half in the USA. He was also trying to do a crossover between white music and black music. So yes this album is all over the place and really this a template of many of his future albums where he offers up lots of variety.Thankfully the next record "Spectral Mornings" wasn't like that and it stands along with the debut as his best.

"Narnia" opens with some great sounding guitar melodies then Steve Walsh comes in vocally with a beat before a minute. Piano and bass are prominant too. "Carry On Up The Vicarage" opens with light sounds and samples then the music kicks in. Some strange vocals here at times. Weird.The organ is excellent though bringing GENESIS to mind. "Racing In A" has a good energetic intro then vocals from Walsh after a minute. Not a bad song really. Some intricate guitar after 4 minutes to end it.

"Kim" is mellow with flute and acoustic guitar. "How Can I ?" features strummed guitar and Richie Havens on vocals. "Hoping Love Will Last" is terrible. "Land Of A Thousand Autumns" is a short piece with spacey keyboards as it blends into "Please Don't Touch !" where it picks up and has mellotron on it.These connecting instrumentals are the highlight for me. "The Voice Of Necam" is kind of spacey then acoustic guitar comes in. Icarus Ascending" is a good vocal (Havens) led tune. A change before 3 minuites as piano comes in then it's right back to the original soundscape.

This album has it's moments but this is barely 3 stars.

Actually a very good album that is often dissed for not being so much a prog/GENESIS-Steve Hackett release like its predecessor, Voyage of the Acolyte. Contributions of vocal artists at the absolute top of their games, like KANSAS' Steve WALSH on "Narnia" (4:05) (9/10) and "Racing in a..." (5:07) (9/10) (two of his best vocals ever, IMHO), Randy CRAWFORD on the gorgeous slow ballad, "Hoping Love Will Last" (4:23) (8/10), and the incredibly powerful and haunting performance of RICHIE HAVENS on "Icarus Ascending" (6:27) (10/10) (as well as his more folk-soul sounding "How Can I?" are all vocal highlights that I'm sure Steve wishes he could sing one tenth as well (but is grateful for the stellar performances of his guests, I'm sure). "Kim" (2:13) is a gorgeous SATIE-inspired duet with Steve's flute-playing brother, John (which previews a whole-album collaboration the two would do twenty-five years later of Satie songs). There are, unfortunately, many of Steve's usual interesting but ultimately irritating sound and instrumental experimentations--mostly on Side Two, though sometimes in the middle of otherwise great songs. Thank goodness for the Richie Havens finale. That outro is so powerful! Goosebumps all the way!--to this day!

A 3.5 star album that gets marked down for pop and oddities--despite some incredible songs and performances.

A very diverse and great album. Steve Hackett explores many different styles on his second solo work, an album that has the spirit of released creativity one would expect after leaving a musical situation that he had been feeling restricted in. The first song, "Narnia" is a perfectly constructed proggressive pop song with a great 12-string part, superb vocals from Steve Walsh, and a soaring melody set to lyrics that tell the story originally written by C.S. Lewis in a way I would have never thought musically possible. There is pure magic in this song. The next song, "Carry On Up the Vicerage", a tribute to Agatha Christie's novels is at once funny, scary, and exultantly triumphant. Gotta love that super loud organ. The song that follows is easily my favorite track on the album, and it's called "Racing In A", a very efffective expression of the need to get away from the stresses of everyday life in a trip to the country, with very sprited dual lead work from Steve Hackett, more perfectly written melodies and counter points, unorthodox construction, and more great vocals from Steve Walsh. The enthusiasm conveyed in this performance makes this one of my favorite Steve Hackett songs ever. "Kim" is after this, and it is a very beautiful acoustic guitar and flute tribute to his love, although I don't think it or many other of his songs of this nature are really all that similar to "Horizon's", as some people say. Maybe the same style, but definitely different notes altogether. Anyway, Richie Havens' strong voice graces the next track, a very intriguing diversion with a very crisp acoustic guitar sound and wonderful lines like "mother nature never gives in/she wants you to sing" that get stuck in my head so easily. On "Hoping Love Will Last" we see that Steve can even write a very convincing r&b ballad, with an unbelievebly emotive performance from the powerful voice of Randy Crawford. It's unique not only to hear a song like this on a prog album, but also to hear one enahnced so well by Steve Hackett's signature volume swells. The part where the breathtaking backwards chords are broken by Crawford's right-on cry of "How can I go on alone..." is stunning. A great song. The rest of the album follows much of the formula Hackett would use for his subsequent albums, and as typical for him, is all very entertaining and worth listening to. Even though I pick Spectral Mornings as my favorite of Steve's solo outings, I can perfectly understand why one would pick this one.

Prog fans often point to the departure of Steve Hackett from Genesis as the point where that band became locked on to an increasingly commercial trajectory. That may well be the case, but it's clear from Steve's first post-Genesis solo album that he was hardly the torchbearer of the progressive spirit within the band he's sometimes made out to be - whilst some tracks here veer towards the sort of proto-neo-prog Steve would pioneer on subsequent albums, others descend into simplistic whimsy or indulge in classic rock/pomp rock shallowness.

Perhaps my problems with this album are related to the involvement of members of Kansas - a perfectly good band which I personally find unbearable, to the point where I've refrained from reviewing them on here because I just can't even approach a fair assessment of them. But even where Steve Walsh's bland vocals are absent, the album comes across as a grab-bag of styles rather than presenting a cohesive vision for Hackett's solo career. Like Peter Gabriel himself, Hackett was still searching for his distinctive solo sound in 1978, and on Please Don't Touch it really shows.

Hackett's first solo album after he left GENESIS still shows the elements of his previous band. Indeed, on "Please Don't Touch" GENESIS traces spill all over the place, from the cover art work to the sound of Richie Havens' vocals which remind me of Peter Gabriel's, to the silly gnomic vocals of "Carry On...". And despite some really beautiful guitars and melody arrangements - the best being "Land of Thousand Autumns", "Icarus Ascending" and the title track - this is a watered-down sound of the Trick/Wind phase of GENESIS. As if this is not bad enough, here we have some particularly nasty moments ("Hoping Love Will Last", "Narnia") sounding like the most mediocre AOR targeting the American mainstream market, which I cannot tolerate. The album is quite listenable but this is a lite prog bordering on pop crossover. We all know that Hackett is better than this.

PERSONAL RATING: 2,75/5

The consolidation of a Songwriter

Since Voyage if the Acolyte the days of STEVE HACKETT in GENESIS were counted, he was artistically growing while the group was getting more and more commercial, plus it's not a secret that Banks was unhappy with his solo album and the trio vetoed some of his best stuff, but he accepted the rules of the band and waited until he left before releasing Please Don't Touch, a magnificent album with magnificent guests.

The record is opened by Narnia a beautiful song with the amazing collaboration of Steve Walsh, after a beautiful guitar intro, the song develops soft and dreamy but as usual with a strong atmospheric sound which was his trademark in GENESIS.

Carry on up the Vicarage is an impressive song closer to the pompous style from Voyage of the Acolyte, based in an impressive keyboard performance and multiple voices that remind of his career in GENESIS when Peter used to play with the audience, again hits the nail on the head with this tribute to Agatha Christie.

Racing in A seems like a return to that peculiar sound STEVE HACKETT created in Voyage of the Acolyte blending his guitar with the keyboards, but even better because in this album he started to use the Roland GR-500 Guitar Synthesizer that allows him to create more elaborate atmospheres. As usual Steve Walsh and Phil Ehart are simply outstanding. The best track up to this moment because moves from pompous to dramatic, being Steve able to experiment free of the limits imposed to him in GENESIS.

Kim is an incredibly tasteful instrumental dedicated to Steve's girlfriend and future wife Kim Poor, where his brother John demonstrates great skills and musicianship providing a delightful flute that enhanced the beauty of the song.

But it's important to notice that Kim also works as a good intro for How can I? a nostalgic song with the fantastic vocals by Richie Havens, very heartfelt and touching because it seems like Steve telling why he left GENESIS. What I can't understand is why nobody mentions the similarity between this track and Across the Universe byTHE BEATLES that seems more than casual.

Land of a Thousand Autumns was one of the songs composed originally for GENESIS (Far superior than the bland Your Own Special Way), but Steve felt that It had to be sung by a woman, so he went with the wonderful soprano Maria Bonvino'Well let's be honest, even if had offered the track to GENESIS they would had rejected it as they did almost by default.

Now it's the time for the title song and I simply can't understand why in hell did GENESIS rejected it, this track would had closed side one of Wind & Wuthering brilliantly instead of Wot Gorilla?, a perfect masterpiece with all the power and brilliance of the early GENESIS years, especially when followed by the mysterious and delicate Voice of Necam where Hackett offers one of the most sublime acoustic passages.

The album ends with the dramatic Icarus Ascending where Havens demonstrates his wonderful voice enhanced by the dense atmospheric sound created by the organ and guitar, a perfect closer for a remarkable release.

I used to be very harsh with Please Don't Touch being that considered it a more commercial release; with the years I found that I was wrong, and even though I still believe it's not in the level of STEVE HACKETT'S debut, it's a testimony of the guitarist's evolution as a composer with incredible material and very few weaker moments, so I will rate it with 4 solid stars.

Their artistic goals might have been completely different, but I feel like the circumstances of Steve's departure from Genesis in pursuit of a solo career have a lot in common with Phil's departure from Genesis 15 years later. Like Phil eventually would, once Steve got the taste of making solo albums in his mouth, that glorious freedom of making his own decisions and not having to compromise with others (read: Tony Banks), he just couldn't muster up the same enthusiasm for working in a band setting again (to Phil's credit, though, it took a decade of massive commercial success for him to decide to leave the band, whereas for Steve it only took one album). It also didn't help that, even as the band was continually turning down ideas that Steve desperately wanted to make it onto Genesis albums, the band was also continually putting pressure on him not to make any more solo albums while he remained in the band. Between that and the ever-increasing boredom he was getting from not bringing in other musicians, it was almost inevitable that he'd leave, and the other members weren't especially surprised.

All that pent-up irritation with compromise, and the corresponding reveling in the chance to make albums without having to answer to anybody else, dominates this album, but while I'm usually more positive than not towards the eccentric flow of Steve Hackett albums, I actually feel like the lack of cohesion somewhat hurts this album. The more I listen to this album, the more I feel like it was made in a bit of a snit, as if Steve decided early on that he wasn't going to be restrained and that every single idea he had was going to make it onto the album. Well ... a little restraint might have helped. "Carry On Up the Vicarage" is probably a better track than one based on such a silly idea (having one vocal pitched down while it harmonizes with another vocal pitched up to sound like a chipmunk) should be, but it's not great either, as there's not much memorable other than the big Tony Banks-like chords that pop up every so often. And why the strange sample at the beginning? "The Voice of Necam" is also a little problematic, sounding like a dumping ground of every spare idea lying around. Why the carnival music at the beginning? Why the segue into the (albeit quite nice) directionless harmonies? Why have this suddenly cut off into an unfinished fragment of a classical guitar piece? And why have this wedged in between the title track and the closer?

The song quality is pretty mixed overall, even putting flow concerns aside. There are some big highlights, of course; the opening "Narnia" probably would have been a hit had it been allowed to be issued as a single (the vocals are done by Kansas' Steve Walsh, and his company wouldn't allow a single release to go forward), and given that it boasts a wonderful rolling guitar line, a bouncy main melody (with bits of barroom piano!) and non-banal lyrics about an all-time great children's story, I can't say I'd mind. I'm also quite partial towards the combination of "Land of a Thousand Autumns" and the title track on the second side; the former makes for an eerie-as-hell atmospheric prelude, full of the best "futuristic" sounds Steve could coax from his guitar, and the latter is a great instrumental that absolutely would have made Wind and Wuthering a better album had it been included. The piece is based off three main guitar-driven ideas; a slow rising theme (with pounding bass and busy percussion underneath), a hellish and noisy theme, and a goofy upbeat theme (with a fun flute part dancing around it), and the track does a good job of shuffling them in and out until it suddenly stops and "The Voice of Necam" shows up.

The rest is ok. Two of the tracks feature guest appearances by Richie Havens on vocals, and while they're not career highlights, they're rather nice. "How Can I?" is a jaunty acoustic ballad that doesn't have especially strong hooks but makes good use of Richie's voice, and the closing "Icarus Ascending" is a slow pounder in the main parts with piano buried deep for texture and Steve's guitar constantly winding its way up top, though it also detours into a sequence that's every bit as slapdash in mood and style as "The Voice of Necam." It definitely shouldn't have been 6:32, though, however nice the flutes over the extended synth- based coda might be. "Racing in a" is a semi-forgettable 5-minute rocker, "Kim" is a decent duet between flute and acoustic guitar, and "Hoping Love Will Last," for all the hub-bub of kinda being the song that ultimately broke the prog Genesis apart, is kinda underwhelming. Randy Crawford gives a nice enough vocal performance, but she can't completely save what's ultimately just a decent soul-based ballad, albeit with bits of Steve's familiar guitar textures sprinkled throughout. Honestly, the most notable part of it is how weird its placement is; it's immediately followed by the "Land of a Thousand Autumns"/"Please Don't Touch" pairing, after all.

The truth is, this is much closer to a "typical" Steve Hackett album than is Voyage (or even Spectral Mornings), but in this case that's to its detriment and not its beneft. One thing I would definitely not do is pick this up after only hearing the albums that bookend it; it's just way too confusing an experience for somebody expecting something more prog- rock-ish, and the song quality isn't really enough to make up for the choppy flow. If you're interested in getting into Steve's solo catalogue, make sure you pick up a few albums from later in his career (not just including the ones adjacent to this) in order to get a feel for the man. This is definitely more of a good album than a bad one, but getting this too early could prematurely make you give up on him, and we wouldn't want that.

Former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett's first proper solo album after leaving the band, a follow-up to his album, `Voyage of the Acolyte' that almost works as a default Genesis album, 1978's `Please Don't Touch' is a fairly unconvincing, frequently overtly commercial eclectic rock/pop album devoid of much in the way of consistency or cohesion. The fact that Hackett himself barely sings any lead vocals himself, instead bringing in a bunch of guests, only adds to the confusion. But most disappointingly, there's not much that actually drifts close to proper prog-rock that it drives home even more of what a letdown it is compared to its predecessor. It's not without a few nice moments, mostly in the second half, and there's no denying Mr Hackett was trying many new sounds and styles, but it rarely completely satisfies.

Hackett's instantly recognisable chiming guitars, jangly piano and a guest vocal from Kansas frontman Steve Walsh are the highlight of album opener `Narnia', an upbeat pop/rocker with a melody that wouldn't have sounded out of place on an Alan Parsons Project album. It's pleasant and undemanding at best. The quirky and whimsical `Carry On Up The Vicerage' drifts closest to his old band, especially due to the nice organ, but the wind-up-toy vocals will be loved and loathed in equal measure. It seems like a silly joke that slightly raises a smile the first time, but is grating and unfunny from then on. If it were to have appeared on a Genesis album, it would have been a hugely divisive track. `Racing In A' darts through a range of fragments of themes back and forth, even some classical music snippets, but despite a lovely acoustic guitar passage near the end, the piece seems thrown together, and another Steve Walsh vocals dates it rather badly.

I can't shake the feeling that `How Can I?' occasionally nicks some of the melody from the Beatles track `Across The Universe'. Steve's acoustic guitar chimes are nice, and it certainly is romantic, but the scratchy and stuffy vocal from soul singer Richie Havens drags it down, and the rhyming lyrics make me cringe. I think Steve's own voice would have meant a lot more to the track. Worst of all on this album, `Hoping Love Will Last' is a commercial orchestrated soul pop number sung by Randy Crawford that sounds like one of those overly sentimental ballads you'd find on a Michael Jackson album (I don't exactly mean that as a criticism, though). Of course it's exquisitely performed by her, but it's so lost here, almost seeming like it was accidently included on the album from another artist. I'm sure Steve had a great respect for these two soul artists he brought in to sing lead on these tracks, but when I think of English progressive rock, I damn sure don't see much connection to the rich history of black American music. Their vocals sound completely out of place here, even though I'm sure they offer plenty of character and warmth in their own music.

Much better is the classical guitar and drifting flute instrumental `Kim', simply beautiful. But best of all are the frantic prog workouts (finally!) `Land of a Thousand Autumns' and the title track `Please Don't Touch'. Classical guitar mystery, darting prancing flute, backwards effects, thick punching bass, spectral keyboards, nightmare Mellotron and snarling guitar menace, with plenty of bombast, power and tension throughout. `The Voice of Necam' is a childlike circus-style ditty with dark electronic glitches and eerie droning sighing wordless harmonies soon joined by more ravishing classical guitar. `Icarus Ascending' is a dramatic and classy closer, with quite a spacey and ethereal atmosphere, plus quick little boppy bass and jazzy piano twinkling diversions, but another smooth vocal from Richie lets it down for me.

Those who can admire Mr Hackett at this early point in his solo career experimenting, attempting sounds away from progressive rock and trying to work out what directions to head in, as well as those who can appreciate more straight-forward rock music with a lot of variety, will likely enjoy this album most. I'm really glad there are others who rate it much higher than I do. But those wanting a more complex, involved progressive work will only find fleeting moments throughout to satisfy them. It bugs me a little that, for all the thought that Steve Hackett was the keeper of the `true' Genesis/prog flame as his former band was drifting towards more commercial sounding in the later 70's, there are average pieces on this album that are far and away more blatantly commercial than anything that band had offered at the same time. The follow-up album `Spectral Mornings' was an improvement (but still not the classic to my ears that many people regard it as being), and `Defector' in 1980 was even better, but `Please Don't Touch' is a frustrating, disappointing experience, despite little glimpses of that proper progressive magic sometimes shining through.

Two stars.

I remeber I listened to this album long time ago, and it didn't impress me at all. When Steven Wilson's remastered 5.1 version appeared, I decided to give it another try: maybe I missed something becasue I wasn't a prog head when I listened it in the past? Well, my impression didn't change. A good half of this album (first half, to be sure) is not a prog at all, just kind of AOR/pop-rock (and... Motawn), with a few nice moments when Steve plays acoustic guitar. Only last four tracks save this album from being "one star" opus. They are on par with Steve's first solo album, which is still his best, in my opinion. So we have 15 minutes of very goood to excellent music out of 38 minutes disk. 2.5 stars for me. I don't think it deserves Mr. Wilson's 5.1 treatment.

Go west young man. Off to L.A. and America. In common with his former band mate P. Gabriel, Hackett chose to seek foreign land to record his debut work as solo artist. The reason for this can be obvious. To force one's way out from the past and to do something entirely different. On PDT Hackett goes in for to sound as un-English as possible. Not Voyage of the Acolyte Part 2 but a jazz- and blues style. The director has not entirely forgotten his roots though. Bombastic sound pictures, frail clinks, dramatic effects, romantic adventures... All for your soul and mind. An extended 12-string intro paves the way for vocalist Steve Walsh. It could just as well have meant Hackett joining American top notch act Kansas. I have to admit that Steve Walsh isn't my fave singer of all time but here he fits perfectly. 'Narnia' is as fresh as a premiere danseuse at the opera.

On 'Carry On Up the Vicarage' Hackett sings duet with himself. The light voice is recorded at half speed while the bass- is as natural as Steve himself. 'Vicarage' is as good as anything to emanate from the Genesis camp. The accessibility of 'I Know What I Like', the whimsicality of 'Willow Farm'. Pure genius! Randy Crawford pops up shortly in the vocal section. The lyric is a tribute to Agatha Christie (wasn't she involved in 'And Then There Were None' as well??). 'Racing in A' is made up of 2 separate sections. Once again Steve Walsh on voice and he's just as convincing as on 'Narnia'. Tom Fowler sounds clinical on his highly discernable bass. That's the risk with solo albums; you pay an individual for a commission. Nothing more, nothing less. Someone said that 60% of all studio musicians only play for the money. Some very convincing strings lead to a sole classical guitar. If it didn't happen it wouldn't be Steve Hackett. To edit different sections isn't unique for popular music. It even occurs in classical music and symphony orchestras.

'Kim' seriously calms down the temper. Steve on acoustic and Brother John on flute. Dedicated to spouse Kim Poor who in due order is responsible for the album cover. Inspiration comes from a shop on Portobello Road (London) which is selling articles from Victorian times. On the back cover Steve is standing at Palace Pier in Brighton. If you want a richer instrumentation listen to the version on Bay of Kings. 'How Can I' with Richie Havens on vox is the most down-to-earth and laid-back inclusion on the album. Not the most advanced piece of lyric in history. You wouldn't believe it to be a Hackett composition for obvious reasons. 'Hoping Love Will Last' feels like the records central piece and it's worth the price of the album alone. It was rehearsed in Genesis with Phil on vocals but never included on W & W. Hackett had a desire to bring in a female vocalist in the Genesis recording too. Instead it ended up here with a so far rather unknown Randy Crawford. The piano chords move the song forward to the delightful string section. A mixture between real strings and guitar synth. The strings took two weeks to record as every violin part is dubbed a number of times. Also first time for Hackett as string arranger so it was rather strenuous. Also for Graham Smith from Van Der Graaf.

'Land of a Thousand Autumns' consists of acoustic- and multi-layered gtr synth. 'Please Don't Touch' is as you probably know by now one of the many leftovers from W & W. As an amalgam with 'Wot Gorilla' but only the latter was included. There were still a lot of instrumental work from Steve on the B-side of Wuthering but PDT had to wait to this very moment. John Hackett on flute, piccolo flute and bass pedals is just as important here as his elder brother. It would still be interesting to hear Collins render the work, to cite M Rutherford; - 'the only drummer who cares about the song'.

'The Voice of Necam' is high-tech with a vengeance. Tape loop vocals, a singer sings a tone for 8-10 seconds recorded on two different tape recorders. Then transferred to 24-channel and changes speed on the tape to obtain various tones on every channel. On 'Necam' the voices are even treated through computer(please note that this is the Stone Age 1978!). Final 'Icarus Ascending' is performed by Richie Havens. A moderate and deep voice of fine standard. Once again Hackett takes out his guitar synth and this time he wants to resemble a saxophone. If you listen to the tones in the solo towards the end of instrumental section (in the middle of the tune) you're able to discern this phenomena. Tape loop on the chorus, reggae rhythms and piccolo from Bro. John. A grand mixture!

Released almost simultaneously with 'And Then There Were Three' and followed by 'P.G.2' shortly afterwards, you can state that 1978 was a productive year for the former cohesive band. Remarkably and quite unique everything still on the same label. Why not pick your favorites and turn it into The Lamb Part 2?

Steve dropped the music quality after the first fantastic album. Not that it is not a memorable album, it has its catchy moments and the great title track but there isn't much to explore after repeated listens. Two highlights are the famous "Kim" with a flute/acoustic tandem, a very elegant composition and the title track with delicate guitar with various tastes - acoustic and electric., synths and flute. I like also the bass played with pedal that creates depth. "The voice of Necam" showcases a computer sound until we have a pure beauty sound of acoustic guitar. The last and only long track "Icarus Ascending" has a good synths that make it more symphonic. "Narnia" sounds like a lost Kansas track but without typical hard rock guitar and violins. The main problem of this album is two-fold: The sound is too streamlined and music ideas just aren't good enough for a 4-star album. Moreover, songs don't seem to be connected to each other.

Review Nº 330

"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*)

The man was the glue that bound Genesis of the 70's together and in my opinion when he walked away from Genesis that marked the decline of the group. His guitar work was unique for many reasons; not flashy, no Townshend windmills or sky high jumps; just very reserved and seriously into the music. I like that he didn't try and sell out to become commercially popular though he had a few albums where he added some pop influence. He is to this day his own artist.

I would argue that Tony Banks in particular was too much of a control freak and a bit prideful to allow Steve to get much say in the direction of the music for Genesis. I wished there would have been more of Steve's ideas integrated into especially the last 2 albums he was on, Trick Of The Tail and Wind And Wuthering. Some of his ideas for the latter album appear on this masterpiece. Of all his solo work this album is I believe his best or close to it.

There are some great prog moments. The vocals of Steve Walsh on Narnia and Racing In A are a nice addition to these songs. The album has a surreal quality to it. His first album, Voyage Of The Acolyte was a great place to start and this album was a great next one. The title track was rehearsed by Genesis for the W&W sessions but was axed in favor of Wot Gorilla. While I like that song his entry was far better and a great challenging instrumental. I would love to have heard Genesis do that one,

Carry On Up the Vicarage is tremendous in how he uses his voice through the means he uses and the almost playful intro is simply bizarre. Icarus Ascending was a surprise to hear after coming off the Voice Of NECAM. Ritchie Havens vocals are unusual but I do like the slow fade out of the album. It is a well balanced album overall.

The low points for me are Kim, How Can I? & Hoping Love Will Last. One of my only complaints about his albums is the addition of mellow acoustic guitar tracks but it is a trademark of his and they are usually well done. That complaint is simply my own personal one.

Overall this album is great way to introduce a person to Steve's work. Of all the Genesis' solo artist's works Hackett is the best by far. He has gone underappreciated and been underrated. The Genesis biography The Sum Of The Parts is another great example of just how badly he has been dissed by the music community. His solo output is enormous and got almost no mention but there again, his face was cut out of also every shot when the group was being interviewed. Hackett is a great and talented musician and this album proves it.

The lack of receptivity to the ideas that Steve Hackett proposed, led the guitarist to finally give up and leave Genesis after "Wind & Wuthering", to concentrate mainly on his solo career. These were not favourable times for the genre. After the glorious first half of the 70s, many had to reinvent themselves and shuffle again to stay relevant. And it was in this complex context that Hackett, surrounded by a varied and extensive group of musicians, released his second album, "Please Don't Touch!".

Without Tarot cards to scry into the future as on the progressive "Voyage of Acolyte", his debut album, Hackett was determined to follow a path that reflected his musical concerns beyond the commercial repercussions that this might imply, which, by the way, would be clearly different to that of his former bandmates.

From Hackett's unmistakable opening arpeggios on the refreshing "Narnia" and the distinctive vocals of Steve Walsh, lead singer of the Americans Kansas, "Please Don't Touch!" unfolds over diverse soundscapes and textures that incorporate Genesian reminiscences with the disturbing and duendistic "Carry On Up the Vicarage", classical guitars towards the end of "Racing in A" and with "The Voice of NECAM", incandescent and heartfelt sensations with the brief "Kim" and the melancholic "How Can I? "dramatised by the gravelly vocals of one of Woodstock's iconic symbols, Richie Havens, as well as fiery instrumentals with the demanding "Please Don't Touch" and the interweaving of its protagonic synthesizers and electric guitars, built on a forceful percussion base.

Hackett, with "Please Don't Touch!", definitively joins Peter Gabriel, albeit for different reasons and with disparate results, in the team of illustrious dissidents from the most glorious hours of Genesis.

Very good.

3.5 stars

In some ways Steve Hackett's follow-up to his debut was even more important. It was after all the first solo record he produced after he left Genesis so he would have presumably been apprehensive about justifying his decision to leave especially as Genesis's popularity was gaining in momentum. In contrast to the debut which was a concept album with a fairly integrated style, Please Don't Touch is almost polar opposite being a wildly eclectic mix of styles including Pop,Classical,Folk,Straight-ahead Prog-of course and even a bit of R'N'B with absolutely no connecting feature or concept at all.He also decided to make the record in the USA employing the services of the likes of Steve Walsh and Phil Ehart from Kansas, Chester Thompson, African American Folky Richie Havens and a then relatively unknown R'n"B singer Randy Crawford. Of course his trusty collaborator John Hackett is present as always So what's the verdict? As well as being Steve Hackett's most wilfully eclectic and stylistically diverse albums, it is also and overwhelming success .It has everything. "Narnia" with it's striking 12 string riff and highly melodic vocal lines is a perfect opener."Carry On Up The Vicarage" manages to be quirky, silly and extremely Proggy all at the same time featuring the most bonkers vocals from Steve Hackett himself."Racing in A is a fast paced rocker with a chorus that is catchy and hell, "Kim" , obviously inspired by his then wife Kim Poor (and who provides the wonderful cover art) is an exquisite slice of Satie inspired classical guitar and flute tune."How Can I?" featuring the gravelly vocals of Richie Havens is highly melodic slice of US style folk.And that's just side 1 Side 2 opens with one of the most gorgeous R'n'B songs I have ever heard with absolutely stunning vocals by Randy Crawford.No, it is most decidedly not Prog or even Prog-related and I can imagine many Prog fans dismissing this song as a bit of throw-away fluff.Trust me-it is not.In fact how this song was not released as a single is to this day a complete mystery to me.After the brief atmospheric "Land Of A Thousand Autumns" comes what is surely the pivotal track.I will give the other members of Genesis the benefit of the doubt on the basis that I have never heard what "Please Don't Touch" sounded like when they allegedly tried it out in the studio. Maybe it was half baked at the time- who knows? But the bottom line is that they passed on that track in favour of "Wot Gorilla" on Wind And Wuthering. Wot indeed- more like WTF! The title track is just a slice of pure high energy Prog magic with it's twists and turns, it's siren like guitar figures it's relentless driving rhythm. No, Genesis rejected it in favour of a Phil Collins endorsed half baked clunker. Seriously, the title track off Please Don't Touch is all the evidence I need to conclude that leaving Genesis was indeed the correct decision. Anyway after that slice of dramatic Prog the album calms down with the experimental and earie "The Voice Of Necam" featuring more sublime nylon string playing and the elegant and literally uplifting "Icarus Ascending". Overall, while I think better was to come with his next album,I have a particular fondness for Please Don't Touch. How can I give it less than five stars?