This interview with Steve Hackett was broadcast on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio on the eve of his UK orchestral tour. The hour special includes tracks from several albums included in the retrospective box set released in October 2018.

Steve Hackett is a Featured Artist at Get Ready to ROCK! Radio. More…

Inside Out [Release date: 25.10.19]

As the keeper of the flame of the Genesis legacy, Steve Hackett has been touring his ‘Genesis Revisited’ shows around the world to deservedly rapturous receptions for a few years now.

His last tour broke with tradition somewhat with the inclusion of the 41-piece Heart Of England Philharmonic Orchestra – a vision of Steve’s realised, and to stunning effect.

That tour was relatively short, but featured the band at all the best venues around and what we have here is a recording of the gig at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

I witnessed (and I use the word ‘witnessed’ advisedly) the show at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall two days earlier, which was quite simply awe inspiring, and seeing as the RFH show was exactly the same in both brilliance and running order, please follow the link below to my review.

This release comprises two CDs and a Bluray – but as we only received a link to mp3 files and the video content via a website – I cannot give an opinion on either the sound or visual quality of the official release, the quality of the packaging or the “extras” on the Bluray such as videos of three tracks from “At The Edge Of Light” and 40-odd minutes of backstage footage – none of which were included in the website release.

However, judging by previous releases of Hackett’s live work, both Genesis revisited and solo releases – I expect that the quality will be nothing short of superb.

Watching the visual recording of the concert was, quite literally, an eye-opener – with a myriad of camera angles and recording mics everywhere, you see and hear so much that you missed on the night.

As an example, the orchestra was much more prominent than I remember – I felt at the time that the orchestration rounded the sound out, but here sounds much more integral to the music – especially so on ‘Serpentine Song’ where it made a lovely song even lovelier and ‘El Nino’s percussive tropes even more percussive. It was also good to see multiple visual shots of the orchestra as, live, they were rather in the shadows at the rear of the stage.

What comes across more than anything else though, is the sheer professionalism of every musician on the stage – Gary O’Toole’s drumming was absolutely magnificent, Roger King’s keyboards (especially the intro to ‘Firth Of Fifth) were thrilling throughout, Jonas Reingold’s bass and guitar work were rock steady and Rob Townsend’s flute and sax (check out the intro to ‘The Steppes’) were just electrifying.

And let’s not forget the significant vocals of Nad Sylvan – his amalgam of Gabriel/Collins are a central pillar in this whole construction and he plays his part with understated distinction.

So what about Hackett himself?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a musician so immersed in what he’s doing – after all, this was his baby, his project and it stood or fell by his performance.

And what a performance. He makes light of music of staggering complexity with a smile on his face – no grimaces, playing with his teeth or amp-wrecking here – just jaw dropping fretwork from beginning to end and concentration levels that must be off the scale.

So much so, that with the final note of encore ‘The Musical Box’ Steve staggered backwards to sit down next to his stage amp, initiating a little concern. He was fine – I just think he had given everything he had and there was nothing left.

Could it have gone any better? Such is Hackett’s modesty he’d probably say yes, “could have improved this, could have changed that” – but for those of us privileged to watch – a resounding “NO!”.

A totally immersive experience and an object lesson in consummate musicianship from all concerned. *****

Review by Alan Jones

Gig review (Manchester, October 2018)

Album review (At The Edge Of Light)

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Next session: Sunday 19 January

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 24 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 26 November 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)