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.
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’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
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.
‘Sommargryningsljus’ is the 15th, and latest, from Swedish outfit Kaipa who have been in existence for over 50 years. Whilst they may now have been active for all 50 of those years, when they do regroup and re-emerge, they offer something new and fresh. This new album is a step further for the band after the excellent ‘Urskog’ from 2022, which I reviewed favourably for Progradar, being captivated by its lush symphonic textures and sounds. ‘Sommarskymningsljus’ continues this in a similar vein and sounds really lush, fans of Swedish symphonic prog will find much to appreciate here.
The album begins gently with Sommarskymningsljus, the beautifully clear and expressive voice of Aleena Gibson rising over an expressive melody from Hans Lundin, it is an engaging number that leads us into the equally captivating epic Seven Birds, which builds in a very satisfying way. Layers of sound make for an interesting track with excellent vocals from Aleena again, the mid section has a fine, lengthy keyboard excursion leading into a brief but exciting guitar break from Per Nilsson. A second longer solo occurs later in the song, where Per and Hans play in tandem delivering a great sounding track. Like Thousand Dawns is greatly enlivened by the excellent bass playing from Jonas Reingold, who is very busy on this, track adding foundation and definitions to the track. The song has another stellar vocal from Aleena Gibson, whose powerful vocal is actually a thing of beauty here. The mid part of the track has a twisting, turning part which, again, gives bassist Jonas a chance to impress and he does admirably, leaving room for a few short but dynamic guitar fills from Per Nilsson. It’s another epic song from Kaipa, proving, once again, that their brand and style of progressive rock is both worthwhile and entertaining.
It’s worth pointing out that of the albums 9 tracks, Six are over nine minutes in duration. This means this is an album that will require your involvement and an investment of your time that you will not regret one bit, for this album is full of superb tracks with some excellent extended musical passages featuring the expressive and poignant violin of Elin Rubinsztein and the recorders and whistles of Frederick Lindquist and it greatly benefits from these guest appearances.
Chased by Wolves And Burned By The Sun is another lengthy track with more great violin parts, giving a slight tone of Kansas to proceedings (no bad thing to these ears!) and another chance for some muscular bass lines from Jonas whilst Per provides the insistent riff that underpins the song. I really like the dynamics of this track as it uses the counterpoint of the instruments to really allow the track to evolve and shine, it really is utterly engrossing. Spiderweb Train dates from the 1990’s, as does second track Seven Birds, Hans had to do some extensive reworking of these songs to bring them into today’s age. Spiderweb Train is the albums longest track at over fifteen and a half minutes. This means it has lot of room for improvisation and for the various parts to emerge. There’s an almost Gothic tone in places and parts that really makes it an interesting and exciting track.
This is followed by the album’s last long track, Songs In Our Hands at just shy of Thirteen minutes, before the shorter title piece Sommargryningsljus. The former track features some very impressive vocals from both Patrick Lindqvist and Aleena Gibson, along with some great synth lines from Hans Lundin, another excellent track from the band. The album closes with a longer take of Sommargryningsljus, allowing the full version of the song to be heard as it was originally envisaged.
The album takes us on an interesting journey through the dark and the early hours before dawn with dawn finally emerging and the darkness falling away. The first two tracks representing Twilight and the last two representing Dawn. As always the artwork is excellent and definitely fits the theme of the album well.
Overall, this is another excellent album from Kaipa who are now a studio band only as they have finished with live performances now. Fans of symphonic progressive music will find much to enjoy herein, it is a wonderful release that is most definitely worthy of investigation.
Sweden-born, folkloric progressive rock band Kaipa proudly announce their new album Sommargryningsljus. 49 years after the release of their debut album, the band is set to reveal the 15th longplayer of their musical journey, Sommargryningsljus, which will be released via InsideOutMusic on June 28th, 2024. Sommargryningsljus is now available for pre-order:
The announcement comes with the release of the first single of the album, which is a mélange of both the opening and closing track of Sommargryningsljus, subsequently named “Sommargryningsljus (Single Edit)”. Two of the songs from the album, the opening track Sommarskymningsljus and the ending track Sommargryningsljus, can be heard together in this single edit version, as they were originally written.
The song is about dusk and a journey through the night to meet the light again at dawn. The single comes with a lyric video that showcases the mystical vibes of twilight and gives a glimpse of the album aesthetics and illustrations.
Watch the video for Sommargryningsljus (Single Edit) here:
Listen to Sommargryningsljus (Single Edit) on your favorite DSPs here:
„I had written all the songs for the album and the total playing time was 70 minutes, but then something unexpected happened. One day when I was recording with Aleena Gibson, we took a break and went out into my garden to have a cup of coffee. Suddenly Aleena started singing some notes and I said it was beautiful. ‘Okay, let’s write a song‘, she said. So we returned to the studio and 15 minutes later a new song had been born. We were both delighted with the result and said that this song must be on the album and the lyrics must be in Swedish. I developed the song and created an interlude built on the same chords. The melody was hovering around in the studio and it landed gracefully in my fingers when I started to play. One early morning a few weeks later, the words suddenly came floating down and landed in my consciousness.“
Sommargryningsljus will be available as
· Ltd. CD Mediabook with extensive 24-pages booklet
· 12’’ Gatefold 180g 2LP black vinyl
· digital album
Tracklist:
1. Sommarskymningsljus 00:01:30
2. Seven Birds 00:09:50
3. Like Thousand Dawns 00:11:08
4. Revelationview 00:09:28
5. Chased by Wolves And Burned by The Sun 00:10:17
When is a solo album not a solo album? There’s a conundrum for you. Well, there’s a story behind this latest release from The Tangent universe, ‘To Follow Polaris’ by The Tangent For One. The ‘One’ in the artist name is, as I’m sure you can guess, Andy Tillison and let’s discover why this new collection of impressive progressive rock is not Andy’s latest solo creation…
‘To Follow Polaris’is a new ‘full on’ Progressive Rock album by The Tangent, set to be released on the 10th May 2024 (InsideOutMusic). That’s not necessarily a surprise, that’s what the band are known for. But at the same time, it’s something else too. As Andy jokes, playing on the Jaws strapline, he says “well this time it’s actually no personnel”.
In a year when members of The Tangent could be seen onstage all over the world and on recordings by many greats of the prog world, it became clear that there was not going to be time to get together for anything more than one gig in April 2023.
So the band agreed that the band’s leader/main writer Andy Tillison would keep the material coming and would make an album by The Tangent entirely alone. It would still be The Tangent. Just for one.
“Besides Which” Andy says, “I’ve always wanted to do this, use what I have learned from Luke, Jonas, Steve, Theo and many other alumni and take it to final production. Now was the time!”
What transpired over the following year is in one sense an ‘absolutist’ solo album and is entirely the work of one person in all aspects including artwork, layout, design, lyrics, composition, performance, recording, production, mixing, mastering and authoring. But in another sense it’s totally Tangent. “I could not have begun to make this record without having had the experiences of working with the band. So although the different instruments are not attempted to be played in the actual style of the normal lineup, they are inspired by the kind of things these guys do”
So there you go, it’s an album by The Tangent, but not all of them and yet it does sound like it’s by all of them, still following? Let’s have a listen and see for ourselves, shall we?
For anyone who is a fan of Andy and The Tangent you will know immediately that this is an album by The Tangent, he has created a very distinctive sound over the years and one that I can’t get enough of. Created from Andy’s love of artists such as Yes, Van Der Graaf Generator, Porcupine Tree, Groove Armada, Earth Wind & Fire, Roger Waters and his bands, Return To Forever, Deep Purple, GentleGiant, Steely Dan and any band featuring the keyboard player Dave Stewart, but neither a homage to those artists or a pastiche of their sounds. Andy’s instantly recognisable music is unique to him and The Tangent and is based mostly around his stellar keyboard playing.
The North Sky opens the album with style and panache and is indicative of The Tangent with the elegant keyboard flourishes, dynamic guitar playing and ever funky bass that has a wonderful jazz vibe to it (and is the first time you will hear Andy playing bass on any of his recordings). This song is a hopefully joyous celebration of life under the sky, there is a fluency to this vibrant piece of music, an urgency and joie de vivre that is as addictive as it is palatable, Andy’s stick driven (electronic) drums providing the drive and electronic wind controller the high notes and polish. The wistful, dreamlike section in the middle of the piece is an oasis of calm that gives you a moment to catch your breath and adds to what is a simply stunning start to the album, there could even be a musical nod to Close Encounters in there but that could just be me! Andy’s singular vocal is as acerbic as ever, love it or hate it (and I love it), to me it is much part of what makes The Tangent tick as anything else and his laconic storytelling adds a classic patina to everything the band do. Andy likens it to“sort of channelling the feeling you get contemplating the wonders of the seemingly infinite universe while riding a Harley Davidson”, exactly… A Like In The Darkness takes a more measured approach with a hushed vocal adding to the moody, thoughtful atmosphere. Imagine a smoke filled, whisky soaked venue with the lights down low and an attentive audience hanging on every word and every note, rapt in attention to the musician in front of them who is holding everyone’s attention with his charismatic persona. A beautifully observed slice of jazz/prog fusion, idiosyncratic in delivery and design, it’s a brilliant piece of music with its roots most definitely in the 1970’s and that era of creative, sometimes mind boggling, music that crossed so many genres that it became obfuscated but was always highly entertaining. For Andy it is a personal look into the world of being an obscure artist in the 2000’s, a world where legalised piracy starves musicians and the rationale for that has actually somehow succeeded in replacing payment with “likes” on social media as a sign of “success”.
“A song about “Constant Bad News – something I have heard nearly everyone I know speak about regardless of their age or background.” That’s Andy’s short precis of The Fine Line, a song that, despite its subject matter, has a real cool and elegant feel to it. Imagine Gentle Giant turning up to a 70’s disco party dressed as Earth, Wind & Fire and you’re some way to getting the vibe of this gloriously funky piece of music. An acerbic social commentator he may be (or that could just be the Yorkshireman in him!) but Andy is just a lover of music and a lover of creating music at heart and that can be sensed through every word and note of this track and please just check out his fantastic, laid back bass playing! Andy says it owes a lot to ‘Aja’ period Steely Dan and is also a nod to Petula Clarke’sDowntown and, let’s be honest, it doesn’t get more prog than that! While Andy and The Tangent may be known for their brilliantly creative prog epics, it’s songs like this that define the true nature of the man and his music for me and I love it. Talking of lengthy prog epics, no true album by The Tangent could be classed as complete without twenty plus minutes of prog largesse and pomp and circumstance, all with a bit of true Yorkshire caustic diatribe thrown in for good measure and that’s what you get with The Anachronism. The song posits that all forms of government are manifestly unfit for purpose, unless the purpose actually is to create division, argument, suffering, war, poverty, racism. It centres on elections in so called democratic nations in which the amount of “say” a person actually has in this democracy is so vanishingly small that in two major Western Nations only four manifestos will even be actually considered in 2024. The longer song is a format that Andy likes to work in and he has loved this format since hearing Close To The Edge by Yes and you can tell, all of the longer tracks by The Tangent can be considered classic songs by the band and this is no exception. A track driven by purpose and calculation and a piece of music with a lot to say and which is delivered eloquently and in a direct manner. The music is as stylish as ever and travels across many genres seamlessly, almost a who’s who of 70’s prog styles and embellishments but all delivered in Andy’s witty and self-effacing style.
The Single (Taken From A Re-Opened Time Capsule) is a re-recorded version of a track Andy wrote more than 25 years ago for his band Po90. As it never reached that many ears he thought he would update it. “It comes from an album called ‘The Time Capsule’ which I did say that one day I might revisit… because that was implied by the title.” Andy continues, “It is a song that in many ways was the place The Tangent actually began. in and among all the dark Po90 stuff, here was this little ditty that was almost a blueprint for songs like “GPS Culture” , “Spark In the Aether” and even “The North Sky”. Now Spark In The Aether is my favourite all time shorter track from the band so it means that The Single had a lot to live up to and, while it may not replace Spark in my affections, it is definitely up there. Lyrically it’s very focussed (As Fine Line) on News Media/Music Business and the contemporaneous attitudes towards Progressive Rock Music itself. It’s a marvellous piece of The Tangent history updated for a new audience and you can see the evolution of the band and Andy’s songwriting in its six minute running time.
The album closes out with a Radio Edit of The North Sky which intensifies and concentrates the inspirational feel of the original and, if you get the limited edition CD Mediabook or 2LP Vinyl, the bonus track Tea At Bettys, seventeen polished minutes of delightfully 70’s feeling easy jazz music, interjected with some frenetic and intentionally chaotic interludes, dedicated to the iconic Harrogate Tearooms that I have been lucky enough to frequent on several occasions.
‘To Follow Polaris’ is intended to be thought of as a regular Tangent album – but not as the future of the band. It’s everyone’s intention to make the FOURTEENTH album as The Tangent. For Five. However, taken in isolation, what you have is a wonderfully inventive and amazingly performed collection of songs that stay true to the core of Andy and the band’s beliefs. Witty and acerbic throughout but with some moments of pure musical bliss, it is yet another highlight in this storied musician’s stellar career.
‘To Follow Polaris’ is a new “full on” Progressive Rock album by The Tangent, set to be released on the 10th May 2024 (InsideOutMusic). That’s not necessarily a surprise, that’s what the band are known for. But at the same time, it’s something else too. As Andy jokes, playing on the Jaws strapline, he says “well this time it’s actually no personnel”.
To coincide with the announcement, a video has just been launched for the track ‘The North Sky’, albeit in an edited form. Watch it now here:
In a year when members of The Tangent could be seen onstage all over the world with Steve Hackett, Soft Machine, Karnataka, David Cross, It Bites, Cyan and others, plus on recordings by those artists and The Anchoret, The Michael Dunn Project, Argos and Retreat From Moscow, it became clear that there was not going to be time to get together for anything more than one gig in April 2023.
So the band agreed that the band’s leader/main writer Andy Tillison would keep the material coming and would make an album by The Tangent entirely alone. It would still be The Tangent. Just for one.
“Besides Which” Andy says, “I’ve always wanted to do this, use what I have learned from Luke, Jonas, Steve, Theo and many other alumni and take it to final production. Now was the time!”
What transpired over the following year is in one sense an “absolutist” solo album and is entirely the work of one person in all aspects including artwork, layout, design, lyrics, composition, performance, recording, production, mixing, mastering and authoring. But in another sense it’s totally Tangent. “I could not have begun to make this record without having had the experiences of working with the band. So although the different instruments are not attempted to be played in the actual style of the normal lineup, they are inspired by the kind of things these guys do”
‘To Follow Polaris’ will be available as a Limited Deluxe Collector’s Edition CD Mediabook (including bonus track and extensive 24-page booklet, Gatefold 180g 2LP vinyl (also including bonus track), & as Digital Album. It would be preferable if you pre-order from the band’s website now here:
5. The Single (From A Re-Opened Time Capsule) 05:51
6. The North Sky (Radio Edit) 03:42
7. Tea At Bettys (Bonus Track) 17:32
Produced between January and November 2023, the album features Andy using his multiple keyboards system as normal, but adds to the mix his first ever released performance on Bass Guitar and his second on stick driven (electronic) drums. Add electric and acoustic guitars and electronic wind controller and this is a full band recording in every sense of the word. A recording which shows Andy’s lifelong influence by artists such as Yes, Van Der Graaf Generator, Porcupine Tree, Groove Armada, Earth Wind & Fire, Roger Waters and his bands, Return To Forever, Deep Purple, Gentle Giant, Steely Dan and any band featuring the keyboard player Dave Stewart.
Conceptually Andy claims the album is, ahem, “highly optimistic” but regular listeners to his work will anticipate correctly that this optimism will not be ill founded or over-easy and will be highly critical of obstacles to that optimism and the album will look as much into the dark as it does into the light.
The album is intended to be thought of as a regular Tangent album – but not as the future of the band. It’s everyone’s intention to make the FOURTEENTH album as The Tangent. For Five.
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 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:
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
Legendary guitarist Steve Hackett announces the dates for his 2024 UK tour: Steve Hackett – Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo. The tour takes in 15 dates across the UK culminating with a visit to London’s 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 go on sale on Friday 29th September at 10amhttps://myticket.co.uk/artists/steve-hackett
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 hugely looking forward to the 2024 UK tour,” says Steve Hackett, “including ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ favourites as well as other iconic Genesis numbers along with solo gems. It’ll also be exciting to return to the wonderful Royal Albert Hall!”
Steve Hackett – Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo tour dates 2024:
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 withGenesis 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. Hackett takes the Foxtrot at Fifty Tour to the USA from 3rd October through to 18th November.
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 SpectralMornings 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.
