Search - Steve Hackett :: Genesis Files

Good progressive rock; odd compilation

CGC | Los Angeles, CA USA | 09/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You'd expect, from the title, for this to be a collection of Steve Hackett's best work with Genesis. Instead it draws almost exclusively from two 1990s Hackett albums featuring (mostly) re-worked and re-interpreted Genesis tracks and an all-star roster of artists, including John Wetton, Bill Bruford, Tony Levin, Paul Carrack, Ian McDonald, Chester Thompson, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Then "Genesis Files" randomly throws in a handful of other tracks from other solo material.



Firth of Fifth, Watcher of the Skies, Your Own Special Way, Valley of the Kings, The Fountain of Salmacis, For Absent Friends, I Know What I Like, Dance on a Volcano, Deja Vu, Waiting Room Only, and Riding the Colussus are from "Watcher of the Skies--Genesis Revisited" (the last song available only on the Japanese edition of the album). That's the entire album minus one song, Los Endos, which is included in this collection from a different source. All are re-recorded old Genesis tracks, many of them expanded and, as Hackett likes to say in the liner notes, "given the widescreen treatment." Be warned: that tends to mean they're lengthened with experimental instrumental passages, so if you regard such stuff as art-rock noodling, you'll prefer the original versions (unless you also regard those as art rock noodling). Of particular note though is "Deja Vu," an unfinished and unreleased Genesis song by Peter Gabriel, who gave Hackett the green light to complete and record the song.



Camino Royale, The Steppes, In That Quiet Earth, and Los Endos are from "The Tokyo Tapes," a live recording with much of the personnel who appeared on "Watcher of the Skies." The first track originally appeared on Hackett's "Highly Strung" (1983) and the second on Hackett's "Defector" (1980). The latter two tracks were of course originally Genesis songs from "Wind and Wuthering" and "A Trick of the Tail."



Rise Again and Twice Around the Sun are from "Darktown," and though "Darktown" is Hackett's strongest non-classical work since his debut, these don't necessarily represent the best of what the album has to offer. Horizons and Time Lapse at Milton Keynes are pretty classical guitar numbers from "Bay of Kings" (1983).



Finally, Prizefighters is an unreleased GTR track from the intended followup to their debut (a collaboration between Hackett and Steve Howe that spawned one Top 40 hit in the mid 80s, "When the Heart Rules the Mind"). If this formless, overblown track featuring vocals by Bonnie Tyler (Bonnie Tyler!) is indicative of what that followup had to offer, it's a good thing it remained unreleased.



Hackett is an extremely talented and versatile guitarist, and unless you count Anthony Phillips, he is the only ex-member of Genesis who has remained true to their 1970s sound while also exploring new musical horizons. Therefore fans of early Genesis will find much to savor here. Yet there seems to be little reason for this compilation, and it's not much of a compilation when it includes practically an entire album and draws from only 2 or 3 others. If you're a fan of early Genesis, you'd be well advised to purchase "Watcher of the Skies" and "The Tokyo Tapes" in their entirety. If you want to buy only one recording, then this compilation might make sense because you could look at it as "Watcher of the Skies" plus assorted bonus material."