Tag: Amanda Lehmann

Review – Steve Hackett Live at Victoria Hall, Stoke – by John Wenlock-Smith

When Steve Hackett commenced his very successful reinterpretation of classic Genesis music back in 2009, it delighted and enthralled fans worldwide, especially as Genesis as a band were inactive at that time, having last played dates in 2007 around the world. Phil Collins left the band to be replaced by Ray Wilson and their subsequent album ‘Calling All Stations’ failed largely to have the impact that the band felt it deserved. After some touring Ray left, Genesis was put on ice, Mike Rutherford resumed his ‘Mechanics’ activities and Tony Banks wrote a classical album.

Fans were left in the dark with only Steve Hackett continuing to perform a few tracks as part of his shows. Recognising that these were the most called for segments, he decided to revisit that body of work and has continued to do so to this day. Steve has given folk what they wanted, a proper tribute to that wonderful institution and the music of Genesis performed by one who was there. Over the years Steve has revisited various albums successfully, most recently ‘Selling England By The Pound’, ‘Foxtrot’ and ‘Wind And Wuthering’.

This year he has decided to cherry pick the best songs of the much loved and much requested ‘Lamb Lies Down On Broadway’ album, which is 50 years old. For me this was a dream come true as I missed the original live shows and, once again, Steve and his band did not disappoint and rose to the occasion magnificently.

As usual with Steve, the evening was split into two halves, part one being his solo material in support of the ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ album, with several key tracks included like opener People Of The Smoke and Ciro Inferno. Other solo highlights included a full version of Shadow Of The Hierophant with Amanda Lehmann singing and playing rhythm guitar, the ever popular Every Day and a electrifying version of Camino Royale, along with a menacing take of The Devil’s Cathedral with a great vocal from Nad Sylvan.

The set was well balanced and really showed off the strong material and excellent performances. For me, it shows both the versatility and strength of Steve’s incredible talent and the bands commitment to Steve’s music.

A short interval Led to the Main event and the ‘revisited’ part of the evening, ‘The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and other Genesis material’.

This second set began with the title track The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway which got a very hearty cheer and reception from the sold out Victoria Hall crowd. Next came Fly On A Windshield, Broadway Melody of 1974 and there was also suitably slithering version of Carpet Crawlers. The crowd were also treated to strong renditions of The Chamber Of 32 Doors and Lilywhite Lilith, and a brief, moving take on The Lamia followed by It, which ended the ‘Lamb’ section perfectly, all of this was extremely well received by all those present in the Victoria Hall.

The evening then introduced a number of classic Genesis songs, a crowd pleasing singalong of Dancing With The Moonlit Knight which was very much appreciated, as was an excellent version of The Cinema Show which highlighted the excellent keyboards skills of Steve’s long-time stellar musical arranger Roger King. The last song was a short take of Aisle Of Plenty.

I say last but then it was encore time which gave us a masterful version of Firth Of Fifth, a song which has possibly the finest guitar solo in prog, it certainly stands up well against Comfortably Numb! This track featured Rob Townsend’s saxophone taking the part of Peter Gabriel’s flute, which lends a different air, before Roger King’s extend piano motif leading to that guitar solo from Steve. A suitably crowning moment of any Steve Hackett show and he delivered it with passion, grace and fire to the enthusiastic and appreciative crowd.

There was a drum solo from Craig Blundell, who has made his mark over the past few years and this was a well choreographed solo which led into Los Endos, Slogans and finally back into Los Endos which, fittingly, was indeed the end of the show!

It was a remarkably strong performance from Steve and company and a great time was had by all, as the swathes of people left clutching their merchandise that served as a memento of a spectacular evening’s entertainment.

I eagerly await the live CD/Blu Ray set from the Royal Albert Hall planned for release next year.

Photographs courtesy of Lee Millward and the author.

John Wenlock-Smith Interviews Steve Hackett

John Wenlock-Smith: So ‘The Lamb Lies Down’ gets its own outing, much to the fans delight. How much of it are you doing exactly?

Steve Hackett: We’re doing nine songs from it. I chose tracks that work as songs by themselves, as most folks will be familiar with the story already.

JWS: Will be you be recording the show and, if so, where?

SH: Yes, we’re recording the last UK show at The Royal Albert Hall, I’ll be joined by my brother John that night too.

JWS: Amanda Lehmann, is with you this time as well?

SH: Yes, Amanda asked if she could do the whole tour this time. It will be great having her with us full time, joining the old boys club!

JWS: So we’ll get a full version of Shadow of the Hierophant then?

SH: Yes, rather than the crescendo that we’ve done on previous tours. It really needs a female vocalist, as it was originally done with Sally Oldfield. Amanda does a great version of it, it’s a great track that had a young Phil Collins on drums.

JWS: So what’s next for you Steve?

SH: Well I’ve been working on some live acoustic stuff. I have also been writing stuff for the next album, no idea when that will be though! In addition, I’ve also been working some more with Steve Rothery on an album we’ve been working on and off for the past year or more. I’ve been playing some harmonica for that as Steve likes that and I enjoy doing it too.

JWS: I saw John and his band a few rimes this year, they were excellent. He has a new album coming out this year.

SH: I spoke with him yesterday and he’s coming here tomorrow. We’re having a family visit, for which I need to find cutlery and plates! We’re a busy lot us Hackett’s!

JWS: So it would seem!

SH: Growing up, I guess you could say we were industrious. Dad would be paintng his pictures in the front room, John would be practising his flute and I’d be off in my bedroom playing the guitar! Aah, those were the days!

JWS: Your friend Nick Fletcher has a new album coming out in October, called ‘A Longing For Home”.

SH: What sort of style is it?

JWS: Progressive jazz/rock fusion, he has some highly acclaimed musicians like Anika Niles and a Norwegian keyboard player.

SH: Is that Lalle Larson?

JWS: No it’s a guy called Jan Gunnar Hoff. Again, highly respected by his peers. I’m really looking forward to it, should be great.

SH: In amongst all that going on I’m also doing some shows at Trading Boundaries in East Sussex.

JWS: I’ve never been there.

SH: There are hotels nearby.

JWS: For us, it’s a long way from Cheshire. It’s a place I’d very much like to go to really.

SH: I normally do a couple of acoustic shows around Christmas there. Although I was there last year for the John Wetton tribute show, which was the first time I’d done an electric show there. It was great but very loud!

John was a good friend of mine, we’d often do a version of All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix together and he did a few shows with me over the years, Tokyo and a few revisited ones too. I do miss him, he was a very funny man and a good friend to me.

So, all in all, plenty of things going on at present. As I said, we’ve just moved house and we’re living out of boxes and I’ve got to go and get some cutlery and plates as we can’t easily find the ones we packed! So it’s all a little hectic at present.

Anyway I’d better dash as these shortages won’t rectify themselves. Seeing as we have the family around on Thursday I need to to get the place prepared for their arrival. I’d best go, so keep well and we’ll speak again no doubt.  I’ll see you both in Stoke in a few weeks time where I hope you will enjoy the ‘Lamb Lies Down’ show, as much as I do performing it!

Steve Hackett – Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo Tour – UK Shows – October 2024

Legendary guitarist Steve Hackett brings his: Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo Tour to the UK for 16 dates in October.   The UK tour culminates with a visit to London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday 23rd October. To mark the 50th anniversary of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, Hackett is including a selection of highlights from this iconic Genesis album.  Tickets are onsale now:

Steve Hackett Genesis Greats – Lamb Highlights, and Solo Tour 2024, Official Concert Tickets from MyTicket.co.uk

Steve Hackett’s timeless guitar-work was woven throughout Genesis’ classic 70’s catalogue of albums. In recent years he and his outstanding touring line-up of Roger King (keyboards), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Jonas Reingold (bass, backing vocals), Rob Townsend (saxophone, flutes, additional keyboards) and Craig Blundell (drums) have brought many of these albums back to the concert hall to great acclaim. Special guest, Amanda Lehmann will be joining the whole of the UK tour on guitar and vocals.  Many fans have also been asking for more tracks from The Lamb to be included. What better way to celebrate half-a-century of this remarkable album than to include a selection of Lamb Highlights alongside some of Hackett’s finest solo work and unmissable Genesis Greats.

“I’m thrilled with the response to my latest tour, “Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo” which has already received fantastic reactions in Europe! I’m hugely looking forward to bringing this tour to the UK, culminating with the special Royal Albert Hall show…” Steve Hackett

Steve Hackett – Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo tour dates 2024:

Wed 2nd October                  Aylesbury      Friars Waterside      SOLD OUT        

Thurs 3rd October                 Portsmouth   Guildhall 

Sat 5th October                     Bristol             Beacon 

Sun 6th October                    Cambridge    Corn Exchange 

Mon 7th October                   Birmingham   Symphony Hall

Wed 9th October                   Liverpool        Philharmonic

Friday 11th October            Cardiff             Utilita Arena

Sat 12th October                   Guildford        G Live                       SOLD OUT

Sun 13th October                  Stoke              Victoria Hall

Tue 15th October                  York                Barbican 

Wed 16th October               Nottingham   Royal Concert Hall 

Fri 18th October                    Glasgow        Royal Concert Hall 

Sat 19th October                  Gateshead    Glasshouse

Sun 20th October                  Manchester   Bridgewater Hall

Tue 22nd October                 Reading         Hexagon

Wed 23rd October               London          Royal Albert Hall 

Tickets available:

Steve Hackett Genesis Greats – Lamb Highlights, and Solo Tour 2024, Official Concert Tickets from MyTicket.co.uk

About Steve Hackett

Steve Hackett joined Genesis at the beginning of 1971 and gained an international reputation as the guitarist in the band’s classic line-up alongside Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins. Hackett’s intricate guitar work was a key element of Genesis’ albums from Nursery Cryme (1971) to Wind And Wuthering (1977) including the iconic Selling England By The Pound.

After leaving Genesis at the end of 1977, Hackett’s solo career, which now spans more than 30 albums, has demonstrated his extraordinary versatility with both electric and acoustic guitar. Hackett is renowned as both an immensely talented and innovative rock musician and a virtuoso classical guitarist and composer and this was recognised in 2010 when he was inducted into the Rock And Rock Hall Of Fame. He has also worked alongside Steve Howe of YES in the supergroup GTR.

Hackett’s compositions take influences from many genres, including jazz, classical and blues. For his studio works The Night Siren (2017) and At The Edge Of Light (2019) Hackett has also explored the influences of world music. Recent tours have seen Hackett celebrate his time with Genesis including a spectacular 2018 tour in which he realised a long-held ambition to perform the works of Genesis live with his band and an orchestra.

The lockdown enforced by the 2020 global pandemic has proven to be a particularly creative period for Hackett. He began by releasing Selling England by the Pound & Spectral Mornings: Live at Hammersmith, a live recording of 2019’s hugely successful tour celebrating that Genesis classic together with the 40th anniversary of one of his most-loved solo albums. Lockdown also gave Hackett the opportunity to write and record two new studio albums in 2021: the UK Classical Chart hit Under A Mediterranean Sky and the hit rock album Surrender of Silence.

Hackett and his band enjoyed a return to touring with Genesis Revisited – Seconds Out + More! (2021) and Genesis Revisited – Foxtrot At Fifty (2022). Subsequently, the live album Genesis Revisited – Seconds Out + More!, released in 2022, became Hackett’s most successful-ever live album reaching number 28 in the UK Album Chart and achieving highest-ever chart positions in several European countries.  He recently released the live album from the 2022 tour – Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights – Live in Brighton.    In January 2024 Steve released his current studio album, the first since 2021 – The Circus and The Nightwhale, which received critical acclaim and great reviews.   The fans in Europe are loving the new material some of which Hackett performs in the first half of the show.

Live image by David Clay

Review – The Raging Project – Future Days – by John Wenlock-Smith

This is a very strange album for me, mixing as it does elements of almost rap, progressive metal and ambient textures. ‘Future Days’ is the brainchild of French musician Ivan Jacquin who, along with Lionel Fevre, was in an electro metal act which developed into Project Rage in 2007. Joined by Jeannick Valleur, they released an EP in 2009 but their attempts to become a fully fledged band faltered and, eventually, Ivan worked on a different project called Foreign Rock Opera. Now, joined by a dozen talented and prestigious artists, Ivan decided to revisit some old, lost tracks and revive them afresh.

The result is The Raging Project and this collection of themed/linked songs and soundscapes. It is not always an easy listen as the concept is a little vague and obscure at times, what is without question is the quality of the material that is very well constructed and contains some stellar performances from all the musicians involved.

The album features the wonderful Amanda Lehman (Steve Hackett Band) on guitar and vocals on a couple of track where she gets to really let fly. I was especially impressed with Even if I Bleed and the french version of the same song, M​ê​me si je saigne but also highly noteworthy is a dance track I Wanna Dance, which does actually work within the album bringing some light relief to the more seriously themed tracks. Ambient also impresses with some solid guitar links and an interesting wall of sound making a strong impression. In fact, the more I became attuned to this album, the more my appreciation for it grew. The vocals are especially pleasing on this track, soaring over some fine guitar lines, it is all really strong and impressive stuff.

For me, at least, the piece de la resistance here is the epic track On Earth which features Derek Sherinian on keyboards and theremin. It is nearly ten and a half minutes of wonderfully evocative sounds and features a stunning performance from Derek commencing with growling synthetic and spacey synthetic lines to create an emotive soundscape over which there is a spoken word narration, The theremin offers a suitably mysterious sound on this song about climate change that is most impressive sounding. It really is a great track with the keyboards adding significantly to the overall effectiveness of the song as it continues to express its regret for how we have treated the earth. I will admit to being a tad biased here as I do especially appreciate the keyboards of Derek Sherinian as a member of the various projects that he has been a part of. His presence here is a delight for me and it’s a well delivered cameo appearance from the current keyboard player of note. That said, the supporting musicians all play equally as solidly and their performances are equally as strong.

Procession is another strong track. Sung in French, it is a brooding and moody piece with superb drums from Henri-Pierre Prudent and an excellent guitar track and solo from Amanda Lehmann that evokes echoes of David Gilmour in its tone and style. It is all most impressive really, I do like this track, one of the albums strongest in my opinion, it  is wonderfully fluid in sound. Wraith continues in a more muscular and metal style and adds a distinctive crunch to proceedings. gain strong vocals mix well with the powerful guitars and synths to make something memorable and strong

Final track M​ê​me si je saigne features Amanda’s epic guitar work again where she is able cut loose and shred a little. Apparently, it was a challenge that she welcomed and rose to in style. This is a lengthy track, rather intense but excellent nonetheless, there is some excellent fluid guitar on this track and Mr Hackett would be proud of her playing here as she really gets stuck into the groove.

So there you have it, a decidedly different album of moods and styles that may not always work but in the main it does. There is more than enough strong music here to at least warrant a listen so why not listen and make your own mind up? As for me, I certainly enjoyed it and feel that I will return to it, I’m just not sure how often.

Released February 6th, 2024.

Order from bandcamp here:

Future Days | THE RAGING PROJECT (bandcamp.com)

Review – Steve Hackett – The Circus And The Nightwhale – by John Wenlock-Smith

On February 16th Steve Hackett will release his thirtieth solo album ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’. This album is not a concept album as such, however, it does have thirteen tracks interlinked and inter-woven and which take an autobiographical angle into Steve’s life journey. In the official blurb that accompanies the release we are told that it’s a “lovely journey that starts dirty scratchy  and smoky and becomes heavenly and divine”. So does it? And what does it tell us exactly? Well, here’s my thoughts on it, mostly based on a conversation I had with Steve himself earlier in the year.

The first track on the album, People Of The Smoke, opens interestingly with sound effects, a snippet of Listen With Mother, a baby’s cry, which is treated with reverb and echo, along with steam train noises and whistles. The song then moves into a busy section with Big Ben tolling and a guitar line that builds before drums come into force and a brisk pace is taken. Steve adds little flurries of notes and fills, this is all to represent the suffocating dark and smoke filled city of London when emerging from the post war years of rationing and entering the 1960’s and the opportunities that were becoming more available as a result. I guess it was possibly a case of you had to be there to experience it for yourself, but you get a good impression from the excellent video for this track:

The next track is the first of no less than five instrumental pieces, each of which are very different in sound and approach. These Passing Clouds symbolises the changing face of the capital as it moves from sinister to optimistic and this brief vignette captures that excellently. Taking You Down is about a friend of Steve’s at Senior school, they bonded over a love of music and had a close friendship. However, this friend was often involved in some jape or wheeze or scam and often roped Steve into these as well. This all ended badly when Steve got more involved in music and they drifted apart. The friend was manipulative and not always pleasant to be around, they had good times but it all came to an end. Steve often wonders about this chap and what he is doing these days, proposing that he is probably running a small country in Africa or somewhere similar, that is run with corruption and despotic greed. The next track, Found And Lost, is about Steve’s first love. A girl from a good family, intelligent and articulate however, she wanted something more than Steve offered so the relationship didn’t last. She got involved with a bad crowd, got involved with drugs and ultimately ended up in prison from which she would write letters to Steve. He was heartbroken by all this and it took a while for his confidence to rebuild and, while there were other girls, there were none like her.

Enter The Ring and Get Me Out! both refer to his time on the Genesis wheel of fame, all of this is being alluded to through the excitement of a fairground and the thrills it offered. This continues in Get Me Out! in which Steve realises that he is in danger of being stuck in a situation that he actually wants to be free of. This track has a lengthy and somewhat furious guitar solo in the middle, expressing his frustrations perhaps. Ghost Moon and Living Love is about moving on from his Genesis days and going it alone. Circo Inferno continues this theme of being stuck on a wheel going around and around. This track has a heavier tone with more fiery guitar flourishes ,it also features Amanda Lehmann on vocals and Rob Townsend on tenor saxophone. The next track Breakout is an impressive rock guitar showcase, as is All At Sea, both of which really impress as they both have a lot going on within them.

Into The Nightwhale is another interesting sounding track, opening with swirling keyboards and synths creating a moody soundscape with Steve providing long sustained guitar notes before a heavy drumbeat emerges from the mist, as it were. More sustained guitar notes follow and gradually build up to a peak at which point everything falls away and a delicate orchestral sound is played whilst Steve sings a delicate vocal. The song is about building resilience and how finding love give you strength once more. The penultimate song, Wherever You Are, is a love song for his wife Jo, who has had a major impact on Steve’s life in the last ten years or so. This song is a shameless celebration of the love that they have found in each other. That said, this one definitely rocks with extremely passionate guitar playing and sounds. The album closes with White Dove, a wistful and delicate acoustic conclusion to the album. Again, this song is very romantic sounding with its classical tone and playing. It will be great to hear this one live, as Horizons is possibly in need of being retired?Just a thought…

So there you have it, a most intriguing and different album from Steve with some great songs and excellent guitar work. There is lots to appreciate and enjoy, I certainly did and can highly recommend, another highlight in the career of this legendary guitarist.

Released 16th February, 2024.

Order from Steve’s website and other outlest here:

Steve Hackett – Wherever You Are (lnk.to)

Steve Hackett launches ‘Wherever You Are’; second track taken from ‘The Circus and the Nighwhale’

Legendary rock guitarist Steve Hackett is set to release his new studio album ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ on 16th February 2024, via InsideOut Music. 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.”

Today a brand new track is revealed, titled ‘Wherever You Are’, and you can watch the video now here:

Of the track, Steve comments: “’Wherever You Are’ is a song of love winning through, shattering the chains of the physical world… Light obliterating darkness. A new universe has opened up with the hope that such a strong love could even survive death. The dreams of childhood realised, there is a sense of everything coming around full circle… Even the three part harmony guitar at the end of Genesis’ The Musical Box is revisited in spirit with the joy of celebration during this song.”

The albums opening track ‘People of the Smoke’ was released in December. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_iujNWzPL0

The new album is available to pre-order on several different formats, including a Limited CD+Blu-ray mediabook (including 5.1 Surround Sound & 24bit high resolution stereo mixes), Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g Vinyl LP & as Digital Album. All feature the stunning cover painting by Denise Marsh. Pre-order now here: https://stevehackett.lnk.to/TheCircusAndTheNightwhale

Steve will celebrate the release of his new album with two HMV instore events in London & Birmingham, where he will be taking part in a Q&A and signing albums. Find out more details on those here: https://ow.ly/HUaT50Q7paJ

‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ is Steve’s first new music in over two years. Recorded between tours in 2022 and 2023 at Siren studio in the UK – with guest parts beamed in from Sweden, Austria, the US, Azerbaijan and Denmark.   The line-up for ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ includes some familiar faces alongside Steve on electric and acoustic guitars, 12-string, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, bass and vocals. Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Craig Blundell (drums) and Amanda Lehmann on vocals. Nick D’Virgilio and Hugo Degenhardt return as guests on the drumstool, engineer extraordinaire Benedict Fenner appears on keyboards and Malik Mansurov is back with the tar. Finally, Steve’s brother John Hackett is present once more on flute.

The full track-listing is as follows:

1. People Of The Smoke

2. These Passing Clouds

3. Taking You Down

4. Found And Lost

5. Enter The Ring

6. Get Me Out!

7. Ghost Moon and Living Love

8. Circo Inferno

9. Breakout

10. All At Sea

11. Into The Nightwhale 

12. Wherever You Are

13. White Dove

Summing up ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’, Steve says: “It’s a lovely journey that starts dirty, scratchy and smoky and becomes heavenly and divine. How can you resist it?”

Steve Hackett & band will tour the world extensively in 2024, including a brand new 16-date UK tour ‘Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo’, in October which will see him return to the legendary Royal Albert Hall. He will also return to North America early this year, with European shows booked in for the Summer.  For the full list of dates, head to:

http://hackettsongs.com/tour.html

Steve Hackett reveals the first single “People of the Smoke” from his new conceptual studio album ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale – Out 16th February, 2024.

Legendary rock guitarist Steve Hackett is set to release his new studio album ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ on 16th February 2024, via InsideOut Music. 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.”

Today he is pleased to reveal the first single, and the albums opening track, ‘People of the Smoke’, you can watch the video now here:

Steve says of the track: “People of the Smoke spins us all back in time to 1950, when bustling post-war London was stifled with smog from trains, chimneys, industry and smokers. I was born into that world! This song kicks off an album following my life’s journey both literally and metaphorically…”

The new album is available to pre-order on several different formats, including a Limited CD+Blu-ray mediabook (including 5.1 Surround Sound & 24bit high resolution stereo mixes), Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g Vinyl LP & as Digital Album. All feature the stunning cover painting by Denise Marsh. Pre-order now here: https://stevehackett.lnk.to/TheCircusAndTheNightwhale

Steve will celebrate the release of his new album with two HMV instore events in London & Birmingham, where he will be taking part in a Q&A and signing albums. Find out more details on those here: https://ow.ly/HUaT50Q7paJ

‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ is Steve’s first new music in over two years. Recorded between tours in 2022 and 2023 at Siren studio in the UK – with guest parts beamed in from Sweden, Austria, the US, Azerbaijan and Denmark. The line-up for ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ includes some familiar faces alongside Steve on electric and acoustic guitars, 12-string, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, bass and vocals. Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Craig Blundell (drums) and Amanda Lehmann on vocals. Nick D’Virgilio and Hugo Degenhardt return as guests on the drumstool, engineer extraordinaire Benedict Fenner appears on keyboards and Malik Mansurov is back with the tar. Finally, Steve’s brother John Hackett is present once more on flute.

The full tracklisting is as follows:

1. People Of The Smoke

2. These Passing Clouds

3. Taking You Down

4. Found And Lost

5. Enter The Ring

6. Get Me Out!

7. Ghost Moon and Living Love

8. Circo Inferno

9. Breakout

10. All At Sea

11. Into The Nightwhale 

12. Wherever You Are

13. White Dove

Summing up ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’, Steve says: “It’s a lovely journey that starts dirty, scratchy and smoky and becomes heavenly and divine. How can you resist it?”

Steve recently completed his North American Tour where he continued his ‘Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights’ run.  Next year he will tour the world extensively, including a brand new UK tour ‘Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo’, which will see him return to the legendary Royal Albert Hall.  For the full list of dates, head to: http://hackettsongs.com/tour.html

Steve Hackett celebrates over 50 years of music with his new conceptual studio album ‘The Circus and the Nightwhale’

Legendary rock guitarist Steve Hackett will release his new studio album ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ on 16th February 2024, via InsideOut Music. 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.”

‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ is Steve’s first new music in over two years. It follows the beautiful acoustic LP ‘Under A Mediterranean Sky’ from January 2021 – which rose to No 2 in the UK Classical chart – and, in September of that year, his metallic masterpiece Surrender Of Silence, which hit the UK Top 40. His 2023 live album, ‘Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton’, reached No 2 in the Rock & Metal Chart.  Steve’s new LP promises ballads, blues, blistering progressive rock… and healthy measures of theatre and fantasia.

Recorded between tours in 2022 and 2023 at Siren studio in the UK – with guest parts beamed in from Sweden, Austria, the US, Azerbaijan and Denmark, the line-up for ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ includes some familiar faces alongside Steve on electric and acoustic guitars, 12-string, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, bass and vocals. Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Craig Blundell (drums) and Amanda Lehmann on vocals. Nick D’Virgilio and Hugo Degenhardt return as guests on the drumstool, engineer extraordinaire Benedict Fenner appears on keyboards and Malik Mansurov is back with the tar. Finally, Steve’s brother John Hackett is present once more on flute.

The new album will be available to pre-order from the 1st December 2023 on several different formats, including a Limited CD+Blu-ray mediabook (including 5.1 Surround Sound & 24bit high resolution stereo mixes), Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g Vinyl LP & as Digital Album. All feature the stunning cover painting by Denise Marsh.

The full tracklisting is as follows:

1. People Of The Smoke

2. These Passing Clouds

3. Taking You Down

4. Found And Lost

5. Enter The Ring

6. Get Me Out!

7. Ghost Moon and Living Love

8. Circo Inferno

9. Breakout

10. All At Sea

11. Into The Nightwhale 

12. Wherever You Are

13. White Dove

Summing up ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’, Steve says: “It’s a lovely journey that starts dirty, scratchy and smoky and becomes heavenly and divine. How can you resist it?”

Steve is currently on tour in North America, continuing his ‘Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights’ run. Next year he will tour the world extensively, including a brand-new UK tour under the name ‘Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo’, and that will see him return to the legendary Royal Albert Hall. For the full list of dates, head to: http://hackettsongs.com/tour.html

Review – Steve Hackett Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton

2022 Saw Steve Hackett fully re-emerging from the spectre of frustration over a few difficult years thanks to the pesky worldwide pandemic that affected much of the wield and disrupted how we lived and interacted with each other. It was, indeed, a turbulent, nay difficult, time for many, which saw lots of planned activities being thwarted.

So what did Steve do? he decided to mark the 50th anniversary of this ground-breaking album by touring it with his band, first playing a set of his solo material and then, in the second half, playing ‘Foxtrot’ in full and in sequence, along with a few other select tracks to round it out to a full two hour show. I have to say this set certainly makes an impression, you may ask why do we need another meander through the Genesis archives or do we actually want or need one? Well, on the evidence of this fine live document the answer is a resounding yes! We do both want and need this documented in such style.

On this album you will find Steve and his band are on top form and really making their mark with the sublime music and enthralling the added demographic audience of Brighton in the process. Okay, there is nothing new here, recent but not actually new, but still this is so beautifully recorded and wonderful sounding that it brings fresh insight and the realisation of the sheer quality of the material being performed. Steve especially is on very fine form here making his guitar sound sumptuous and masterful at the same time. His tone on Spectral Mornings alone puts many other players to shame, such is the clarity of the album. It is truly exceptional in sound, crystal clear with great separation between the instruments and clear vocals and harmonies bring heard, it’s almost like the band are in your front room, so good is the sound.

Standouts of the first set for me are The Devil’s Cathedral with it’s dark tones, hint of menace and some suitably gothic touches in the tale of an ambitious theatrical understudy who takes thing into his own hands to achieve success, a lively spirited take on Spectral Mornings and an urgent Every Day. Along with this are an effect laden A Tower Struck Down with all sorts of creaking noises occurring This has a swagger and muscular thrust to it missing from other live versions, it really crackles with energy and menace and it really sounds excellent and extremely well performed. There is also, of all things, a bass solo, thankfully this doesn’t overstay its welcome unduly and, in addition, it does reveal Jonas Reingold to be an inventive player, his addition of a well known riff will make you smile.

Camino Royal comes over very well, this song with it roots in New Orleans music and benefits greatly from the jazzy interludes of Rob Townsend’s woodwinds before a blistering guitar solo from Steve takes the track forward, a wonderful piece that most definitely impresses greatly. Then we have the final part of the short set of Steve’s own material with a shortened section of Shadow Of The Hierophant that features Amanda Lehmann on vocals. This is only a truncated version though, not the  full length one. However, even so, it is still great to hear this in any form as it is such a graceful number. The clever use of dynamics really makes this a memorable version of this slow burn of a song, it builds in its intensity very well indeed, all reaching towards its heady conclusion. Then oddly, on the CD, we have the evening’s final two songs Firth of Fifth and Los Endos.

Firth of Fifth needs little introduction really but here we receive another fine rendering of this all time classic song. Once again, the vocals are clearer than on many other versions, all of which lends a fresh appreciation for this majestic track and, as always, the manner in which it builds up to that guitar solo, possibly the most famous one in the whole Genesis canon, when it arrives you are rewarded not only by the solo but also the busy bass that underpins it so eloquently and adds to it impressiveness. This in itself is a new revelation to the jaded listener, another impressive take on a classic song, utterly sublime. We have the short but very impressive drum solo from Craig Blundell that leads into Los Endos which is faithfully reproduced here, with lots of input from Rob Townsend.

The second disc contains the rest of the ‘Foxtrot’ album in sequence and begins with the excellent and stylish power of Watcher Of The Skies with it’s menacing mellotrons that create an atmosphere of impending doom most convincingly and more than adequately. Nad Sylvan has been on top form throughout these sets and he really comes to prominence here delivering a near perfect vocal performance. At times a lesser known and certainly less celebrated track but here it is well covered and the eloquent bass from Jonas Reingold raises its profile dramatically in a really delicate and moving rendition. Next we have the ever relevant political comment of Get ‘Em out by Friday, about unscrupulous landlords evictions of undesirables (in this instance, refugees). Well, fifty years after it was written, nothing has changed, landlords are still doing the same things to gentrify and basically make even more money.

Can Utility and the Coatliners follows and this almost pantomime track is lively enough but I don’t really get it, somehow its meaning is hidden from me. The brief solo classical guitar piece Horizons is the forerunner to the album epic, and much loved, Supper’s Ready, which here receives a very warm welcome and we are treated to a wonderful version of this astonishing track with all its parts performed to the always high standards that Steve expects. This is a masterfully delivered take on the classic and brings this album and concert to a close.

The Blu-Ray is equally as fine and has a 30 behind the scenes sections which are well worth seeing. Overall this set is excellent and the Blu-Ray makes it even more worth the money. It is another fine milestone in Steve’s career and, with new music well underway, watch this space.

Released 15th September, 2023.

Order direct from the artist here:

Steve Hackett | Steve Hackett (hackettsongs.com)

Steve Hackett launches live video for ‘A Tower Struck Down’; taken from ‘Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton’

Legendary guitarist Steve Hackett presents his brand new live audio/visual extravaganza, with the release of ‘Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton’, set for release on the 15th September 2023.

 Filmed & recorded live on his 2022 UK tour, in the coastal city of Brighton, UK, this release documents Steve and his band celebrating the 50th anniversary of the much-loved Genesis album ‘Foxtrot’. Played in full, this album features fan favourites including ‘Watcher Of The Skies’ and ‘Supper’s Ready’. The show also features a set of Hackett solo material, including ‘The Devil’s Cathedral’ from his latest studio album ‘Surrender of Silence’, and the powerful ‘Ace of Wands’. 

Today they are pleased to launch a live video for the track ‘A Tower Struck Down’, a song that originally appeared on ‘Voyage of the Acolyte’:

Watch the previously released video for ‘Watcher of the Skies’ here:https://youtu.be/bFgdvFnAVX0

Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge & mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, the album is now available to pre-order on Ltd 2CD+Blu-ray & Ltd 2CD+2DVD, both including bonus behind the scenes interviews, as well as 5.1 surround sound. A Ltd Deluxe 180g 4LP edition will also be available, and you can pre-order now here: https://stevehackett.lnk.to/FoxtrotAtFiftyHackettHighlights-LiveInBrighton

The full track-listing is:

1.    Intro / Ace of Wands

2.    The Devil’s Cathedral

3.    Spectral Mornings

4.    Every Day

5.    A Tower Struck Down

6.    Basic Instincts

7.    Camino Royale

8.    Shadow of the Hierophant

9.    Watcher of the Skies

10. Time Table

11. Get ‘Em Out by Friday

12. Can Utility and the Coastliners

13. Horizons

14. Supper’s Ready

15. Firth of Fifth

16. Los Endos

Steve Hackett & band continue their busy touring schedule with further “Foxtrot At Fifty & Hackett Highlights” dates in North America beginning in October. For the full list of dates, head to: http://hackettsongs.com/tour.html

Steve Hackett is joined live by Roger King, Rob Townsend, Nad Sylvan, Craig Blundell & Jonas Reingold, as well as on occasion special guest Amanda Lehmann.

About Steve Hackett

Steve Hackett joined Genesis at the beginning of 1971 and gained an international reputation as the guitarist in the band’s classic line-up alongside Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins. Hackett’s intricate guitar work was a key element of Genesis’ albums from Nursery Cryme (1971) to Wind And Wuthering (1977) including the classic Selling England By The Pound.

After leaving Genesis at the end of 1977, Hackett’s solo career, which now spans more than 30 albums, has demonstrated his extraordinary versatility with both electric and acoustic guitar. Hackett is renowned as both an immensely talented and innovative rock musician and a virtuoso classical guitarist and composer and this was recognised in 2010 when he was inducted into the Rock Hall Of Fame. He has also worked alongside Steve Howe of YES in the supergroup GTR.

Hackett’s compositions take influences from many genres, including jazz, classical and blues. For his later studio works The Night Siren(2017) and At The Edge Of Light (2019) Hackett has explored the influences of world music. Recent tours have seen Hackett celebrate his time with Genesis including a spectacular 2018 tour in which he realised a long-held ambition to perform the works of Genesis live with his band and an orchestra.

The lockdown enforced by the 2020 global pandemic has proven to be a particularly creative period for Hackett. He began by releasing Selling England by the Pound & Spectral Mornings: Live at Hammersmith, a live recording of 2019’s hugely successful tour celebrating that Genesis classic together with the 40th anniversary of one of his most-loved solo albums. Lockdown also gave Hackett the opportunity to write and record two new studio albums, the UK Classical Chart hit Under A Mediterranean Sky and the forthcoming Surrender of Silence.

In 2021, Steve and his band returned to touring, celebrating the classic Genesis live album ‘Seconds Out’, on what was one of his most successful tours to date.