STEVE HACKETT

I used to assume the reason Steve Hackett felt constrained while with Genesis and was not allowed to cut loose with more guitar solos but I think the real reason is his actual songs were being rejected with "Please Don't Touch" being the classic example. Having said that I was expecting him to show of his considerable chops on his solo albums. His first two albums confounded those expectations in some ways. Yes there was plenty of superb musicianship to be found and some quite sophisticated compositions as well but not a lot in the way of blistering solos. All that changes with his third album -Spectral Mornings. The opening track "Everyday" starts as another catchy song but after barely two minutes and twenty seconds through he just lets rip with some of his best electric guitar playing ever and it is not a brief interlude either- he just blazes away for another four minutes with some exquisitely melodic lines until the song finally fades away. What a great way to start an album. "The Virgin and the Gypsy" is another showcase for his compositional skills with some beautiful flute soloing by John Hackett. The brief instrumental "The Red Flower of Tachai" shows a different side to Hackett-a lovely bit of exotic World Music featuring Cantonese Koto and bamboo flutes. The next major piece "Clocks-Angel of Mons" refers to British soldiers believing they were assisted in holding of a German army by guardian angels during the battle of Mons.It's Hackett in full aggressive prog mode with an insistent riff possibly inspired by the beginning of Carmina Burana. It also features an explosive drum solo by John Shearer. Hackett cannot resist the temptation to include a humorous song to round off side1-"Ballad of the Decomposing Man" Side2 opens with "Lost Time In Cordoba" a serene and melancholic instrumental featuring some lovely guitar classical guitar. The track actually leads directly to the WW1 epic "Tigermoth" It is another slab of intense heavy prog starting with a particularly menacing staccato riff which then dissolves into a highly atmospheric synth section with Hackett providing some extroadinary sounds presumably intending to evoke an aerial battle.After the original staccato riff reprises even more menacingly with a huge organ sound backing the tracks mood lightens dramatically with some gorgeous flutes giving the sense of being in the air but after a battle.The acual song section has an almost Music-Hall ambience and lyrically is about a recently killed pilot being reunited with the ghosts of his comrades who have also perished. The mood far from being depressing and sad is actually quite buoyant. After all the drama of the preceding comes the real showcase of the album which is title track. This instrumental arguably represents the absolute peak of Hackett's guitar prowess.For all those fans who wish he would sol more often is treated here to an almost non stop impassioned solo that seems to go on forever.

For me Spectral Morning is the moment Steve Hackett finally delivers the goods and is arguably his greatest ever album.This is Hackett well and truly playing to his strengths

A very solid 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?

Steve Hackett's Voyage Of The Acolyte produced while he was still in Genesis is a fairly assured debut. All of the tracks are based on Tarot Cards and anyone familiar with the guitarist would be very aware of his belief in the spirit world. "Ace Of Wands" in particular is a great opening track with plenty of intricate interplay. The epic closing track "Shadow of the Hierophant" is his first "Epic" and features Sally Oldfield's gorgeous vocals. Apparently the song was written with Mike Rutherford but was rejected by Genesis for inclusion on one of their albums. It could have potentially fitted on Nursery Cryme or even Foxtrot with its intricate quiet/loud dynamics but to be brutally honest I never felt it was fully developed especially with its slightly anticlimactic ending. "A Tower Struck Down" is the heaviest track on the album with its insistent staccato riff. It reminds me slightly of early King Crimson with its somewhat experimental and abstract edge. The rest of the album is quite pleasant- lots of acoustic guitar, flute, cor anglais, cellos added to the mix.Personally I almost feel guilty that I do not love this album more than I actually do.I realize that for a lot of Hackett fans the debut is the "One" and I can see why -it is certainly got that old-school proggyness not disimilar to Gabrial era Genesis but personally I prefer the next three albums more.

4 stars

Today I am going to be taking a deep dive into the 30th solo album by former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett entitled "The Circus and the Nightwhale." The album was released in February of 2024. Hackett has stated that the album is a concept album in various interviews. On the website hackettsongs.com, the concept is described as such:

A rite-of-passage concept album with a young character called Travla at the centre of it, 'The Circus And The Nightwhale's' 13 tracks have an autobiographical angle for the musician who says about his 30th solo release: "I love this album. It says the things I've been wanting to say for a very long time."

Line-up / Musicians - Steve Hackett / electric, acoustic & 12-string guitars, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, bass, vocals

With: - Roger King / keyboards, programming, orchestral arrangements - Amanda Lehmann / vocals (1,5,7,8,12) - Nad Sylvan / vocals & guitar (3) - Benedict Fenner / keyboards (7,9) - Rob Townsend / tenor saxophone & whistle (3,8) - John Hackett / flute (5) - Malik Mansurov / tar (8) - Jonas Reingold / bass (1,3,6,12) - Craig Blundell / drums (3,5,7,12) - Hugo Degenhardt / drums (9) - Nick D'Virgilio / drums (1) - Daniel Rawsie / voice (8) - Jorge Araujo / voice (8)

So, let's get into it!

Track 1 - People of the Smoke

The track fades in slowly with a collage of sounds including marching bands, sirens, cheering crowds, newscasts, "Are you sitting comfortably," (from the BBC show "Listen With Mother"), a train and more. Following that, a bit of orchestral music comes in. At around the 1 minute mark, Hackett's guitar comes in for the first time as the orchestral music begins to ascend. The rhythm section of Jonas Reingold and Nick D'Virgilio enter with a slammin' beat at around 1:15, followed by vocals from Hackett himself, I assume. There are nice vocal harmonies at around 1:35, followed by a KILLER guitar fill. Keep in mind that Hackett was doing pick-hand tapping on the fretboard several years prior to Van Halen's debut, and he is a master of the technique. A second verse follows. I believe that Amanda Lehmann is the one harmonizing with Hackett here. At around 2:45, the music pauses, and more sound effects come in. Instruments gradually join in, and Reingold and Hackett play some unison lines. The guitar solo comes in at around 3:20, and it's amazing. The steady beat returns at 3:40 and the solo continues. The orchestration and rhythm section compliment Hackett's dazzling guitar skills! The song ends with some more sound effects that lead to track 2.

Track 2 - These Passing Clouds

Ominous orchestral chords begin, then Hackett joins on his guitar with a tone reminiscent of Brian May. This is a moderately slow instrumental of just around a minute and a half, but played beautifully by Hackett.

Track 3 - Taking You Down

A short descending sound brings us into a mid-tempo rockin' riff with Jonas Reingold & Craig Blundell. The riff reminds me of Pink Floyd's "Young Lust," but isn't exactly the same. Nad Sylvan joins in on vocals at around the 35 second point. After the chorus, the riff returns for one round and leads to a second verse. I love the descending chorus line. After a second round we have a fantastic sax solo from Rob Townsend. Another verse follows but after the ensuing chorus, the music mostly drops out briefly, before Hackett takes a solo. At 74, Hackett plays with more ferocity than many players ⅓ his age. Great track, I just wanted more!

Track 4 - Found and Lost

This begins with classical guitar playing with synth-strings backing him up. At around 40 seconds, though, it becomes like a 1930s/40s jazzy-bluesy thing, with Hackett singing. This is another very short one at 1:50.

Track 5 - Enter the Ring

Storm sound effects start this one off, with cascading instrumental sounds leading to the harmony vocals. There is 12-string guitar, piano and various other tuned percussion instruments making a nice atmosphere with the haunting harmony vocals. At around 1:50, however, the vocals sustain and we go into a seriously Jethro Tull vibe. Steve's brother and frequent collaborator John Hackett provides the flute, but it's more than that that gives it the Tull feel. The underlying shifting meters are equally responsible when the rhythm section of Blundell & presumably Hackett himself on bass (Reingold is not credited for this one) kicks in. Hackett plays a lead at around 2:10. Quick- tempo vocal harmonies follow with Lehmann back onboard. Another brilliant guitar solo follows at 2:50. Hackett is still very much at the top of his game on the guitar. The harmonies are very Yes-like, and alternate with guitar lines. A 3-4 circus-music passage closes out the track, with Hackett on the last 10 seconds or so. Fantastic track! It goes directly into?

Track 6 - Get Me Out

Reingold and (I assume) Blundell and Hackett lay down a solid 6-8 groove here. The music lays back for the vocal parts, sung by Hackett again. Hackett has a nice singing voice that goes unrecognized. Wonderful harmonies join in. He plays a bluesy solo on this one. The meter suddenly changes at around 2:20, and Hackett goes into solo overdrive! Wow! The beat returns to 6-6 at around 2:50, but Hackett keeps on rolling! At around 3:55, the band sustains a note and the song fades over the next 20 seconds. For only 4:15, that was an action packed track!

Track 7 - Ghost Moon and Living Love

This is the longest track on the album, but at only 6:43, it's relatively short by prog-standards. In fact it's the only one over 5 minutes long. A-Capella choir style vocals fade in with a solo wordless melody by Lehmann soon joining in. A drum fill at around 43 seconds brings the band in with a moderately fast tempo, and Hackett's vocals begin. Blundell is playing a nice drum part on this. I assume Hackett is playing bass. The harmonized guitar solo follows with an interesting effect on the sound. This has an easy-going feel to it. Another guitar solo starts around 3:15; of course the playing is impeccable. This solo is extended and goes until around 4:35. At that time there is a brief vocal harmony, then what sounds like a clean electric guitar through some sort of harmonizing effect, such as what Steve Vai used in the Passion & Warfare era of the early 90s. Some nice harmony vocals sing over the top of that. Then a descending arpeggiated guitar line follows. The chord progression reminds me of something but I can't put my finger on it. Great track!

Track 8 - Circo Inferno

Here is another fairly short track at only 2:30. This one begins with Asian string instruments, then a mighty beat comes in at 20 seconds. The vocals follow close behind. The beat is similar to Zeppelin's Kashmir but slightly faster. Cool series of instrumental runs hit at around 1:15. Then there is a brief drum solo (Blundell, I suppose, even though no drummer is shown on this track from my source). Then Hackett plays some lightning fast licks after the whistle blows. After a few seconds of sound effects, a wild sax solo takes over. The song fades out on the echoing harmonized words "around and around?." Amazing track, especially being so short.

Track 9 - Breakout

Another very short one at just 1:37. This begins with a rockin' riff that reminds me of Deep Purple. Hackett is jamming on this one! At around 50 seconds there are harmony high "ahh" vocals. The riffs return afterwards with hot soloing over the top. The incredible guitar continues on the next track without a pause?.

Track 10 - All at Sea Unaccompanied lead guitar with accents from the rhythm section start this short one (1:46) off. The music pauses at around 15 seconds except for some synth sounds that kind of bubble. Some quieter, more distant sounding guitar kicks are present. I believe this is supposed to be the "Nightwhale" about to swallow us!

Track 11 - Into the Nightwhale

This is a bit of a more standard length song at 4:06. It begins with ominous synth sounds fading in. They definitely conjure up images of a whale in my mind. At around 1:20, a rhythm begins to fade in. Guitar notes go on top at around 1:50. The tension resolves at around 2:20. Vocals emerge at around 2:50. This segment wouldn't sound out of place on a Tales era Yes album. There are Howe-like guitar volume swells. Then it leads to?

Track 12 - Wherever You Are

A drumbeat takes over as the final note of the previous song fades out. The band locks into a rhythm , then vocals enter. Again if this is Hackett singing, he is a fine singer indeed. There are wonderful guitar fills between vocal phrases. There are nice harmonies at 1:19 on the phrase "beyond the edge of time," then there is a brief pause and a drum fill brings the beat back for a guitar solo. At around 1:50, it sounds as if some of the music is being played in reverse.at 2:03, however, a big riff takes over until the next guitar feature, which has some mind-blowing playing. There are some more big riffs, then some Queen-like chording. The Queen vibe continues with some very Brian May style guitar orchestration that continues until around 3:15. At that time A-cappella harmony vocals enter with an effect on the voice. Then the drums kick back in and other instruments follow with a reverse-sound playing some very complex lines. Another verse comes in around 3:33, but then the song concludes with a monster drum part that fades out.

Track 13 - White Dove

A masterful classical guitar part opens this one. Or actually the whole thing is a classical guitar solo. He is playing in a tremolo-style, which I can tell you from experience is not easy to master. A beautiful piece to close out this amazing album.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

WOW! Hackett has not lost any playing abilities to age! He proves himself to be one of the finest guitarists on the planet! But not only is he a great player, but a great composer, arranger, and vocalist as well. Color me impressed! My only complaint is that some of the tunes are too short! A Strong 4.5 out of 5!

Clicked 4, but really 4.5.

In 2009, Steve Hackett found himself experiencing a new bout of creative resurgence. After a divorce from his wife Kim Poor, Steve was free to go in any direction he saw fit. So what direction did he choose to go with his 2011 album Beyond The Shrouded Horizon? All of them. Beyond The Shrouded Horizon is an incredibly ambitious album that has the sound of a cinematic soundscape that feels less like one full song. For me, this album is a masterstroke of genius.

"Loch Lomond" opens up with an intro that really does a great job setting the mood of this album. It's all about composition. Loch Lomond is fairly safe territory for Steve, as it feels in line with Out of The Tunnel's Mouth, until the bagpipes show up. Either way, it's a solid, safe start, and is backed by an outro in "The Phoenix Flown."

From here, it seamlessly transitions into "Wanderlust" A short, solo classical guitar interlude that eases us into the next song, an acoustic ballad that will immediately sound familiar to those experienced in the genre.

"Till These Eyes" is a soft, acoustic ballad that would not have been out of place in the 70's. The acoustic guitar, along with the symphonic backing will make you think that you're listening to Dust In The Wind. Steve's vocals have usually been serviceable to this point, but here it goes a little beyond that, thanks to the harmonies in the chorus.

"Prairie Angel" is an interlude that takes us into the next stop on this journey, Americana. It's a fantastic opening to my favorite song on the album.

"A Place Called Freedom" is a wonderful piece of Americana that creates a vision of a time before America had been colonized. Songs like this are perfectly suited for Steve's singing style, and he absolutely owns it. There's even a brief callback to Racing In A, another Steve Hackett classic. However, the big callback is to Prairie Angel, creating a perfect compliment.

"Between the Sunset and the Coconut Palms" sees us lost at sea. It's a soft, acoustic tune that once again, compliments Steve's singing, thanks to some harmonizing, and the soft sound of the acoustic guitar. And as we sail, we eventually find ourselves at our next stop, Egypt.

"Waking To Life" sees Steve flex a more ethnic style of music. While Steve is no stranger to using an ethnic beat, this song is a lot stronger than any previous attempt. Nothing here is synthetic, there's a fantastic level of authenticity. Easily the catchiest song on the album.

"Two Faces Of Cairo" compliments the previous song by being a polar opposite of the previous. Rather than being the catchy, more upbeat fun song, Two Faces Of Cairo is an instrumental that gets your heart pounding, right down to the drums. The drums are the star of this song, it feels like a war beat. A fitting title.

"She's Only Looking For Fantasy" is another beautiful acoustic ballad about a woman seeking an escape from reality. There are some guitar solos here from Steve's classical guitar that can only be summed up as pretty. Steve's singing does this song a wonderful service.

"Summer's Breath" picks up as another instrumental interlude on the classical side of things. It's a tune that would not have been out of place with 70's Genesis. It leads us into the next phase of our journey, blues rock.

"Catwalk" sees Steve going for blues rock. While Steve's blues rock can be hit or miss, he hits it here. From Steve's guitar work, to his singing, this is one of those occasions where everything is fire, right down to the guitar solos. It's an enjoyable tune, and a perfect place before our final stop, the epic conclusion.

"Turn This Island Earth" is a 12 minute epic that concludes the album perfectly. We've been all around the world, and there's nowhere else to go but space. This song has all the things you could ever ask for from Steve Hackett, guitar solos, a drum solo, and going from rock to symphonic. This song, much like the album, goes in every possible direction, and yet it's still a very cohesive song. A fitting conclusion to the album.

I can spin this album nonstop, and never get sick of it. Every listen through still feels fresh to this day, and shows Steve has learned so much throughout his career. I can't recommend this one enough.

They can't all be winners. Such is the case for Steve Hackett's Till We Have Faces. The short summary is "it's an album." The long story is, for me personally, this is easily some of Hackett's worst material, yes, lower than Cured. Say what you will about Steve Hackett's misguided attempt to navigate the 80's and its shift towards a more plastic, artificial sound, at least Cured had some good ideas, and Highly Strung almost nailed it. Till We Have Faces at times borders on unlistenable, and it's mostly due to Steve Hackett trying to sing exclusively in high notes. If you can call what's on here singing.

"What's My Name" starts off promising enough. It opens with an exotic percussion section, and sticks around for the song. It sets the rhythm quite well, up until Steve Hackett starts shout singing his way through it. The instrumental is sadly wasted by Steve's singing.

"The Rio Connection" is one of the better songs on this album. Here, Steve gets his funk on, and honestly, I kind of wish he tried more of this on the album. No vocals here, just pure, funky instrumental.

"Matilda Smith-Williams Home For The Aged" has a really long title, and at 8 minutes it's the longest song on the album. Upon first listening, your instinct will probably say "Wait a minute, this sounds like a sequel to Camino Royale." While not a direct sequel, it has the same familiar sound to Camino Royale. Funnily enough, Steve would eventually work parts of this song into Camino Royale, thus giving that song a more complete and finished sound. As for the song on this album, it's fine. It's the closest thing to prog.

"Let Me Count The Ways" sees Steve get his soul on. Steve's never been much for soul, but rather blues rock. Steve's singing is once again, detrimental to this song. As far as the instrumental goes, Steve's guitar work is just as good as ever, but the rest of the instrumental is nowhere near as immaculate.

"A Doll That's Made In Japan" opens up using almost every traditional Japanese instrument Steve can think of before he gets to the 80's. It's a very kitschy, and dated song, right up there with Turning Japanese. I will say, Steve's singing is actually tolerable on this song because he's not shout singing. The song is kind of ruined by the synth lines, because otherwise it's fine.

"Duel" is based on the film Duel. Steve's standard register is present on the vocals for this song, and thank god, because it's the strongest part of this track. The instrumental itself is really synthetic, right down to the midi bass. And that's why I'm not a fan of this song. For a movie about a car chases, all the fun and intensity is sucked out of the song, not even Steve's wicked solo can save it.

"Myopia" is... a song. It exists. I wish it didn't. Every artist has one bad one in them, but this is on a whole new level. Steve's singing is at its worst and most abrasive, the instrumental is just as loud and abrasive. This sounds like a blueprint for what would eventually be Jane's Addiction. Yes, when I listen to this song, I hear Jane's Addiction, not Steve Hackett. The only positive I can say is it's less than three minutes.

"Taking The Easy Way Out" is meant to be a pretty ballad, but it feels more like a song designed to put you to sleep. Steve brings some beautiful synth lines, and classical guitar together, but really doesn't go anywhere with it. I'm one of those people who will usually defend Steve's slower tunes, but this is genuinely dull.

"Gulf" sees Steve going for something understated in the hopes of making a song with a point. It starts off with a classical guitar, and sounds more genuine, but then the synth kicked in and robbed the song of any sort of agency it may have had in trying to send a message. Steve tries to get back to what he does best, guitar solos, and I'll be real, it does work. Up until the end when a more upbeat sounding synth line kicks in. What's the message Steve? What are you trying to convey with this song?

"Stadiums Of The Damned" is an oddball. There are some really odd choices with the synth here, and the lyrics don't really fit the mood. Right down to the drum machine, and the synth, nothing here feels authentic. The worst part is there's barely anything that could qualify as guitar. This just isn't right.

"When You Wish Upon A Star" is an odd choice of song to end on, but it's short. It's skippable.

Till We Have Faces is barely salvageable. With Cured and Highly Strung, I can hear the potential for a commercial sounding Steve Hackett. It's not necessarily a bad proposition, but here's the thing. Steve had a decent sized label when he put those together. This album reads like an artistic meltdown, and I think that's the best summary I can come up with for this album. It's a creative crisis put to songs.

While most progressive rock musicians cannot even find Aotearoa on a map, Steve Hackett has played here twice in recent years, and while there has been plenty of Genesis in his set there were also plenty of classics from his solo material. To be honest, I would love to see him play a concert which only contains material from his own albums, such is the consistent quality over the years. Whereas his last release, 2021's 'Surrender of Silence', was based around his touring band this one has Steve much more to the fore and while Roger King (keyboards, arrangements) is still heavily involved, singer Nad Sylvan only features on one song, Rob Townsend on two, with Jonas Reingold and Craig Blundell on four each. Steve provides most of the vocals here, along with electric, acoustic & 12-string guitars, mandolin, harmonica, percussion and bass.

This is a concept album, a rite-of-passage story with a young character called Travla at its heart, but arguably this is autobiographical, and one gets the impression that Hackett used this to get some things off his chest. Sadly, musically this rarely lives up to the heady heights he has often climbed, and it feels somewhat boring, but then we get songs like "Enter The Ring" with its harmonies and rock stylings which makes one think we have been thrown back in time to the classic first three albums (can it really be that 2025 marks 50 years since the release of 'Spectral Mornings'?). To my mind it is the Genesis albums which have Hackett playing which are the most complete (none of this Gabriel/Collins malarkey for me), and I have always relished seeing him play live, and even though this is not exactly essential Steve is showing no signs whatsoever of slowing down. This may not be classic Hackett, but there are times when he shreds and shows no sign whatsoever of his years in the business, and the touches of brilliance are still there. It may not be his best album ever, but is a damn fine listen all the same.

Well, this is probably the best album that Steve Hackett has released in the last fifteen years. Not that there's anything wrong with the others that were released in that time. By no means are those releases sub par in any way. I've got most of them. It's just that The Circus And The Nightwhale tops them all for me. I've got the transparent red vinyl issue of the album and its been manufactured perfectly, with no pops or crackles. The liner notes and inner lyrics booklet command repeated reading because its all just really very interesting. I've listened to the album more than a couple of times now (back to back some of those times) and will do so many more times. It has just drawn me in. What SH has done here is put together a very coherent concept album, composed of 13 tracks of various lengths. But the genius here is that each track can also quite easily stand on its own two feet, independent of all the others. It's a masterful achievement. I'll be seeing SH live, with his band later in the year in Milan, almost right at the end of his tour and I sincerely hope he plays the entire thing! As far as I'm concerned, this is an essential addition to any prog collection so I just have to award it 5 stars.

The 80's were a bad time for prog. During the 80's as every prog rock act either chose, or were forced to go commercial, many wouldn't survive with their careers, or band members intact. Kansas lost the violin and tried to go hair metal minus the hair, King Crimson made an attempt to get with the new wave to mixed results, Pink Floyd was now the David Gilmour show, Genesis went pop-rock with prog elements and became the Beatles of the 80s, and then there was Steve Hackett. Steve Hackett needs no introduction, so I'll cut it short. He is one of prog rock's mighty pillars, having played with Genesis throughout the 70's, and making a name for himself as a solo artist in the genre. But as the 80's rolled around, Steve decided he wanted to get with the times. Cured wound up being so 80's, you could mistake it for being generically 80's and not know that was a Steve Hackett record. If I were to sum up Highly Strung, it would be Steve's Abacab.

A bit of context here, I am a staunch Abacab defender. I may not have grown up with Genesis in the 70's, as I was born in 1986, but even still, I can appreciate all eras of Genesis. My favorite Genesis albums are from the 70's, when Steve Hackett was with the band. So when I see comments like "Steve never sold out," or "we don't talk about 80's Hackett," I will. Highly Strung is by no means a terrible album. It's just that in the time I spent listening to it, I couldn't help but feel there's a great idea here, but something is missing. What could possibly be missing that could elevate this? Let's find out.

The first song off the album is Camino Royale, the only song off this album that has stuck around in Steve's setlist. I can see why he likes to keep this one around. Steve has found a way to make the 80's work in his favor on this one, and I'll admit, that hook gets stuck in your head. So what's missing here? Well, honestly a stronger guitar solo is missing. If Steve had just added a few more minutes during the instrumental break, this would have been fantastic. During the live shows, and when this song appears on Revisited, it seems Steve has gone back and extended the break with a guitar solo, as well as a sax, giving the song more of a finished feel. Honestly, I feel like this should have been a single. It could have charted, but we're not off to a bad start though.

Up next is Cell 151, which became a minor hit in the UK. Great! Steve got some minor commercial success with this song. As I listened to the instrumental, and took a deep listen to Hackett's singing, I couldn't help but feel like this could have been a Genesis song. This song needs a stronger singer than Hackett, and honestly, I could see Phil singing this one if Steve had chosen to stick around. The song ends with a jam session, much like how Abacab ends with a jam session. Though I feel like this jam session is a bit weaker, the song in its entirety is not at all bad, it's not even mid. It's a solid song overall.

We have an instrumental break in Always Somewhere Else. One of the things I immediately took note of listening to this is that I almost thought I could hear a bit of Rush's Tom Sawyer in it. It's not one of Hackett's stronger instrumentals, but it fits the 80's sound aesthetic to a T. It's fine, and that's all it needs to be.

Next is Walking Through Walls. A song that is so 80's, it feels like Steve shouldn't be playing it. It's an upbeat dance tune where Steve counts to 4, and in the re-issue, even has a dance mix of this song. Yet I can't help but love it. This instantly dated song is so cheesy, that Hackett just owns it. It's way out of his style, in the same way Who Dunnit was for Genesis, but unlike that song, Walking Through Walls is catchy as hell for all the right reasons.

Sadly, I can't say the same for Give It Away. Give It Away, though a good song, could easily be mistaken for any song in the 80's. It's another one of those generic as hell 80's tunes you forgot existed. If I had to think of somebody to have on this song, it would be 38 Special. This sounds like a 38 Special song, right down to the chorus. Maybe if the guitar did more work than the synth, I'd have a different opinion on this one. And that's an issue I have with this album, is the synth is at times doing a little too much work. Hackett's a guitar guy, he should be trying to take his brand of style into the 80's, rather than the 80's dictating his sound entirely.

Weightless is a nice, summer breeze prog song... we can call it... yacht prog? The song doesn't have a whole lot going for it, but it's a nice tune for relaxing considering the hard hitting songs we got early on. But again, this doesn't feel like a Steve Hackett song. The synth, once again, is the backbone of this track. It almost feels like it was left on the cutting room floor of Cured. You'll also notice I haven't commented too much about Steve's singing on this album, and that's because I find it serviceable. Not great, nothing to write home about, but also not terrible. It's not like he's going to be worse on the next album. Right?

We have another instrumental in Group Therapy, the proggiest song on the whole album. And surprise, it's an instrumental. But, this one is actually fairly strong. It's the closest it comes to figuring out a way for Steve's style of prog to fit into the 80's compared to the rest of the album which feels like Steve trying to go commercial. It's fine.

Then we have India Rubber Man which I can only describe as a weird choice of song. It's a soft, melodramatic tune. Hackett's stretching his singing, trying to make something of it. To some it's a nice, touching heartfelt song, to others it's basically just album filler. I would say it did nothing for me, but I'm going to revisit this later.

And we come to an end with Hackett To Pieces, a pseudo-bookending callback to Camino Royale. It's fine. But after everything I just went through, I had to go back and process this album's lyrics. I spent a good amount of time analyzing everything, and I could not believe the conclusion I reached.

Steve Hackett just sounds absolutely miserable. I've seen what happens when artists get into creative funks, and Steve is definitely going through one with this album. The most blatant example in this is Give It Away, where Steve mentions "when you lose your self expression, it's time to change direction." Things made a lot of sense when I actually did research on this album and found that The "Famous" Charisma Label was butting heads with Steve Hackett and trying to take control of the album. The end result is a record that is completely disjointed, and also the creative meltdown of a musician who's just been told they can't do what they want. Me personally, I think it's the only 80's Hackett album worth revisiting. While it's a massive step up from Cured, primarily because Steve isn't working against a drum machine, it suffers from Hackett himself being highly strung. Maybe if Charisma didn't get in the way, this could have worked out for them. Unfortunately, they didn't want to let him cook, and this is the result.

The latest from guitarist extraordinaire Steve Hackett (and something like his 30th album), this one is a concept album with a story based on Steve's own life experiences, and is something special, his best album in many years. At 74, and a career spanning more than 55 years, Hackett seems to be stronger than ever, with his Genesis Revisited tours and regular releases of live and new solo albums. This album mixes together songs of many different styles, ranging from classical guitar stylings to dark and ominous heavy prog metal riffs, as well as lighter more melodic pop and rock, with international stylistic flourishes, strong harmony vocals, and yes, even some Genesis-reminiscent passages. Steve has his powerhouse backing band (same as his touring band) as well as some guest artists to bring these songs to life, and the result is a tour de force album of delights, 13 tracks comprising a compact 45 minutes, telling his story in one of the prog highlights of the year. Best tracks: Enter the Ring, Wherever You Are, Ghost Moon and Living Love, Get Me Out, Into the Nightwhale. Rating: 4 stars