Considering Steve Hackett

1

Just carrying on from the thread hijack :wink:

Hi, Dave

Yes, I have been a huge Hackett fan for many, many years, and managed to see him in concert a few years back. For me the seminal album is his 3rd, “Spectral Mornings”, but then it is “Please Don’t Touch” and then “Voyage of the Acolyte”, which I think is one the best Genesis albums that Genesis never did!

I like the fact that he is an explorer. That means I do not like like all of his albums or songs. There have been some blind alleys. I like the fact that he is a musical chameleon. His classical guitar output is as good as his rock output.

Rather than repeat a very long post, here is a link to a thread on another forum, where I was introducing a member to Steve Hackett…

https://yamahamusicians.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14525&hilit=Hackett

2 Likes
2

But do you like Syntronik?

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Just kidding! I’ve always admired Steve Hackett…so underrated. Thanks for Yamaha thread share.

BTW…didn’t mean to make you feel guilty. Was all in jest. I am the most guilty on hijacking. I think I hold the current record.

1 Like
3

Well you never sucked me into your shenanigans along with that Fred fellow … :smirk:

2 Likes
4

Strange…I always thought of those exchanges as, well, off topic, but light-hearted, unrequested contributions to the forum. Humorous, yet invasive. Yes…we sucked you in, just as I did now. Fred will now be coerced to add his narrative soon. It is no doubt a conspiracy. :thinking:
Now, back to Syntronik…:joy:

3 Likes
5

On the Steve Hackett / Genesis vein my 2 favorite albums were Selling England By The Pound and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, the last album with Peter G. Some serious progressive rock guitar and keyboard wizardry on those 2 I thought. I have been working on Firth of Fifth for years off and on … it really exercises the fingers, arm positioning and mind .

Dave

1 Like
6

Great albums. For some reason, I just never cared much for Peter Gabriel until TLLDOB. Don’t know if it was his costumes, or his vocal approach. The music was always great though. Hated it when Hackett left, but Genesis moved on to bigger things.

And so does practicing. :rofl:

1 Like
7

No worries at all, but it was time for a new thread as it was getting quite divergent from the OP’s original post. :slight_smile:

1 Like
8

Just for the record, @Corky DOES still hold the record for the most thread hijacks.

Terry

1 Like
9

Thank you for this glorious award!! :trophy:
You really, really like me !! (ala Sally Fields)

2 Likes
10

I think the top three three classic Genesis albums for me are

  • Selling England by the Pound
  • A Trick of the Tail
  • Wind and Wuthering

All the other albums are fantastic in their own right. but those are the three for me

The Lamb has some great music, but, like a lot of double albums (IMO), is spread too thin. Put all the good ideas on a single album and it would have been great. I’ll posit that the only double LP I have ever heard that is 5 star from start to finish is ELO’s “Out of the Blue”…

I always felt that Geneis survived the departure of Gabriel relatively well, as evidenced by the two fine albums that followed, but the loss of Hackett, whilst less high profile, was far more of a blow to the music. Possibly also they were on the cusp of having to change to the shorter song form, as most prog bands in that era did, but the albums that followed did miss Hackett’s innovative guitar. Think of all of the ideas on “Please Don’t Touch”, “Spectral Mornings” or “Defector” that could have graced a Genesis album. After Defector, Hackett himself moved into different directions.

If you haven’t checked it out, do listen to his new “At the edge of light album” it’s his best for ages. I also like his “Squakett” collaboration with Chris Squire.

Also, his two “Genesis Revisited” albums are very good - the first one is quite interpretive of the songs, but the second is more true to the originals, but you get more modern recordings of the classics, along with some surprise guests like Nik Kershaw!

The Tokyo tapes is also a very fine live album (from the Genesis Revisted 1 era) with an amazing band comprising, Hackett (no shit, Sherlok!), Chester Thompson, John Wetton, Ian McDonald and Julian Colbeck

And now it’s my thread, I can go as OT as I like! :exploding_head::exploding_head:

I also think that Mike Rutherford is one of the most underrated bass players ever. Listen closely to what he is doing on those classic albums, and few bass players would come close.

I also think that Tony Banks never had the solo success he deserved. Out of the “And Then There were three” era Genesis line up and their respective solo output, I think his solo albums have stood the test of time the best. Well worth checking out if you never have. One of my favourite tracks is from his film soundtracks work - a collaboration with Toyah Wilcox call “Lion of Symmetry”. It’s keyboard hook is so simple, but an ear worm. It’s in my head now, and I haven’t even played it!

1 Like
11

I actually still have this album in storage with my other 100’s collection. Really liked it in the day, but haven’t listened to it in years.

Will have to check this one out.

Hell yeah!!!

1 Like
12

In fact, I just read Nick Beggs’ top 10 ten bass players (and he is one awesome bass player himself) and this is what he says about Mike Rutherford

“Often working between 12-string guitar and bass, his proto-prog roots are far reaching and influential. Tastefully chosen chords and bass lines bristling with nuance make this player one of the great ensemble players of a generation. And as with all these players his legacy yields tremendous substance and makes for highly rewarding study.”

Funny, given Beggs’ pop roots, I was surprised he did not mention Bernard Edwards of Chic.

13

Just a fortunate lineup of great musicians. Collins was such a great drummer, and actually brought some fresh things to the progressive drumming world. When I was a traveling drummer in those years, he was one of my influences, along with Billy Cobham, Allen White, Buddy Rich, Ronnie Tutt (Elvis), Bonham, Bernard Purdie, and Carmine Appice.

1 Like
14

I love in a huge way Genesis albums with PG.
The slow change to pop with Phil singing produced nice things, but nothing close to the poetry of Nursery Crime, Foxtrot, Selling england and The Lamb.
The Lamb is for me a true masterpiece.
Exaggerated, extreme, crazy somewhere, but really challenging.
After Peter left, I think magic stopped.
The band could not recover all of the features.
Solo albums of the guys are not at same level, IMHO.
Peter alone recorded some jewels, for me the best among the others.
I love his music a lot.
But last 10 years were really bad, he made his last true work with “Up”. Cover albums and live or orchestral reissues are for me rather disappointing.
If he has nothing to say, he should stop.
Steve is a nice guy, I don’t miss a concert of him, but the real band was another planet…

1 Like
15

And I am sorry if I go against others…
But quality of those Genesis albums and all King Crimson history, make me extreme critical against current prog bands.
Sorry guys… I am not hearing that magic anymore.

16

Nothing wrong with having an opinion. We all have our own, but sometimes, opinions of others may change our own.

17

I am always available to listen to new things.
And eager to find new jewels

1 Like
18

Maybe not that particular magic, but there are some amazing new bands that will never be exposed to us. Nearly 50 yrs since those days. Time and technology has changed music forever, as it always will. I don’t particularly like most commercial music being shoved through the airways or streaming. In my day, I had to search for what I liked through others. The airways fought forever to quell Prog’s exposure. Then FM radio opened the floodgate. Now, we have to find the magic as we did before…extensive search, and time can be so limited.

2 Likes
19

We all have our opinions of course and each to their own. :slight_smile: I think there are some gems in the solo careers like Hackett’s and Banks’ and Gabriel’s of course. Maybe less than the some of the parts when they were together, but very good nonetheless.

And there is still plenty of great magic out there when you know where to look; just don’t expect it to be endless retreads of what the bands in the 70s did, as that is not progressive. Listen to IQ’s latest album, or the Acceleration Theory albums from In Continuum. Big Big Train, (a revitalised) Gong, Chasing the Monsoon, Southern Empire, Moon Safari, I am the Morning, Kaprekar’s Constant, Karfegan (some albums, not all) - these are a small fraction of the “new” bands that I listen to.

1 Like
20

Agreed that Collins was an awesome drummer. No question there. His son Simon is also a chip off of his old man’s block. Have you ever heard “Dimensionaut” by Sound of Contact? Well worth checking out if you haven’t. Simon plays and sings like his old man, but without it being a pastiche.