Search - Steve Hackett :: Guitar Noir

Guitar Noir 1993 (Viceroy - Israel)

booboo bear | Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada | 06/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like another reviewer I have no idea why almost all of the reviews on this page are of Time Lapse (live CD) but nevertheless my comments are regarding the Steve Hackett 1993 studio album Guitar Noir. Also another reviewer mentioned how AMAZON insists on giving incorrect information on their products. It's a mystery and somewhat annoying. My copy of Guitar Noir CD was released in 1993 on the Viceroy label and manufactured in Israel not 2004, 1998 or 1992. Someone at AMAZON seems to think people are more interested in what year a particular corporation released their version/format than when the artist originally created it.



If you like Steve Hackett's music then good for you. It implies that you have the capability of deciding what you like without being spoonfed by anyone. If Hackett's music were trendy I'd probably hate it because trends are manufactured to capture an audience's money first and foremost rather than actually being an expression of an artist's feelings. It is so nice to have something like Guitar Noir to listen to as opposed to so many contrived sounds that carry little if any sincere feeling. This is music for individuals rather than for an inaccurate projected demographic placing you in some racial, financial, sexual or social category of consumer group. I've played this CD for people in their eighties who loved it as much as some of their great grandchildren did. Maybe for different reasons but isn't individuality and variety nice sometimes?



The music on this release ranges in style from bluesy to classical to progressive rock all with a somewhat sad or otherwise dark aura to it. That isn't to say it's depressing because it isn't. There's a big difference between sadness or darkness and depression and although these songs all have a dark quality to some degree there is a great deal of variation in style and certainly there is no 'sameness' about it.



Oh yes... just to make things a little more confusing my copy contains none of the bonus tracks another reviewer mentioned were "worthless" but does end with a song "Cassandra" which is really quite uplifting and a nice way to end this somewhat 'dark' release. Of course neither the jacket or the CD itself (my own copy) even list this song and I really do have to wonder if any part of the manufacturing and distribution end of the entertainment industry pays the slightest attention to what they're doing. It's all "PRODUCT" I guess."

A Gift For Someone You Care About

WAJWAJ | United States | 09/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On tour before releasing this album, Steve Hackett introduced "Sierra Quemada" as "The Flight Of The Condor." He changed the name for this album's release--it turned out there was already a copyrighted work somewhere by the same name. That one cannot be as hauntingly beautiful as Hackett's song here. This is a man with a musical gift and a great talent for playing the guitar. This one track is worth price of the entire album. And there's more.."Take These Pearls" is heaven. Even though it's short, "Paint Your Picture" grabs you with its swirling vocals. Very effective--and delightful. Who wouldn't enjoy "Vampyre With A Healthy Appetite"? Go out and buy two copies of this CD. Keep one for yourself and give one as gift to someone you care about."

Nice album from 1992

kireviewer | Sunnyvale, Ca United States | 12/30/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"FOR SOME REASON, ALL THE REVIEWS BELOW ARE FOR THE LIVE CD TIME LAPSE AND NOT FOR GUITAR NOIR.



This CD was originally released in 1992 and was 56 minutes long. It was later released as a budget double CD along with the acoustic live album, There Are Many Sides to the Night. Both of those are out of print and only available used. The current version of this CD includes for bonus tracks and is 75 minutes long.



The bonus tracks on this CD are worthless and actually make the CD worse. They are just demo versions of four of the songs already on the CD. They are inferior versions of the tracks.



Other than the bonus tracks, this is a very nice CD from Hackett. It starts out a little weak, with one of Hackett's typical instrumentals. It isn't bad, but it is basically the same thing he has done for 20 years. The rest of the album are some interesting songs with some great playing.



The middle part of the CD is especially good, with There Are Many Sides to the Night, Dark As A Grave and Lost in Your Eyes.



I think this CD is much better than many of Hackett's albums from the late seventies and early eighties."