Steve Hackett

Genesis Revisited Band & Orchestra: Live

Inside Out Music

Supper is, once again, ready… With Genesis not due a reunion any time soon, it’s Steve Hackett that has enjoyed the fruits of representing the band’s material, most especially everything up to his final Genesis album, Wind And Wuthering. Having toured with his own solo music and complete Genesis albums, it makes sense to up the musician count on stage by including an orchestra, too.

Certainly from a harmonic perspective, Genesis were one of the most sophisticated and advanced as regards harmonic content, so aligning with a sizeable classical presentation makes sense. Featuring 14 tracks, it’s a full-on experience, not least due to mammoth works such as Firth Of Fifth at nearly 11 minutes and the humongous Supper’s Ready at 28 minutes! The former track is often revered for its gloriously soaring minor key guitar melody, so the orchestra – especially the brass and string combination – makes it even bigger still. As for the latter, the 12-string picking, shifting chord changes, textural dynamic shifts, the famous two-hand tapping (years before EVH became the people’s tapper) and the outro solo/melodies create a momentous piece of music.

As for the wonderfully written and arranged Blood On The Rooftops from Wind And Wuthering, Steve’s nylon-string sounds simply beautiful. Of course, if you want to hear him in humbucker ‘pedal to the metal’ mode, check out In That Quiet Earth – his sense of melody with the weight of the orchestra behind him (the yearning Lydian moments, the stomping rhythmic lurches) is something very special indeed. [JS] Standout track: Firth Of Fifth For fans of: Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd