Artist: Steve Hackett
Title: Live Rails
Genre: Progressive Rock / Hard Rock
Release Date: 25th April 2011
Label: Insideout Music
Album Review
Mesdames et Messieurs this album is pure class. Many great moments of Steve Hackett’s career can be found in this double CD from the GENESIS years and up till his recent solo albums. In short, about 40 years of Hackett’s music are spread in this 2-hour album. Technically it is flawless. Steve Hackett comes from an age when if you had a mere PhD in guitar you could dust off the equipments of the band! The eclecticism and the snobbism of this period are well-known. Yet, practically self taught and due to his talent and effort Hackett managed to be one of the cornerstones of what the GENESIS used to be. Even more, when he left the band he continued to produce really striking and amazing albums be it in Rock, in Jazz or in Blues.
And mind you - he didn’t enter the Rock’n’Roll Hall Of Fame by a coincidence. As a composer and as a musician he deserves to be there. And he also has a great reputation for his live performances and albums as well, a parameter of credentials that many contemporary bands fail to provide. The songs in this album cover mostly his solo career and the GENESIS period. Truth be told he has chosen fantastic musicians in order to deliver the songs with passion and accuracy. The soundscapes Hackett creates are as I think deeply influenced by some of the trends back in the 70’s, especially the pedagogical aspect of music as a part of culture and of revolution as well. Yet, one should listen to the album even if he doesn’t like that period or the music; it will be evident why the Punk music became a necessity. If you are a musician it is a sine qua non. If you are not, you can forget all the theory and you can simply enjoy and chill out with his songs and the warmth of the audience. Even that is a rare thing these days...
Tracklist
CD1
01. Intro – 2.18
02. Every Day – 6.50
03. Fire On The Moon – 6.16
04. Emerald And Ash – 8.59
05. Ghost In The Glass – 3.22
06. Ace Of Wands – 6.48
07. Pollution C – 2.21
08. The Steppes – 6.00
09. Slogans – 4.22
10. Serpentine Song – 6.42
11. Tubehead – 6.06
CD2
01. Spectral Mornings – 5.57
02. Firth Of Fifth – 10.39
03. Blood On The Rooftops – 6.31
04. Fly On A Windshield – 2.06
05. Broadway Melody of 1974 – 1.47
06. Sleepers – 7.32
07. Still Waters – 5.31
08. Los Endos – 7.44
09. Clocks – 8.04
Line-up
Steve Hackett - Guitars, Vocals
Roger King - Keyboards
Amanda Lehmann - Guitar, Vocals
Gary O'Toole - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Nick Beggs - Bass, Chapman Stick, Taurus Pedals, Vocals
Rob Townsend - Sax, Woodwind, Percussion, Vocals
Websites
http://www.hackettsongs.com/ / https://www.facebook.com/pages/Steve-Hackett/123101228589 / www.myspace.com/hackettsongs
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 10
Sound: 10
Total: 10 / 10
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