THE CIRCUS AND THE NIGHTWHALE

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.