Steve Hillage
Searching For The Spark
Post-psychedelic British guitar adventurer is anthologised on 22 discs.
In a year of gargantuan box sets by everyone from Dylan to Pink Floyd, this one is exemplary. Unapologetically aimed at diehard fans and limited to 2,500 copies worldwide, it traces the career of Chingford-born Hillage from teenage progblues prodigy in Arzachel in ’68 through to his first ambient techno release under the System 7 name 23 years later. While his tenure as Gong’s guitarhero-in-residence is omitted here, the eight solo LPs he cut for Virgin between ’75 and ’82 make up the core of the box, confirming him as a supremely tasteful player. Most rewarding are the eight discs of material from his personal archive, ranging from entire live sets to demos and unreleased gems. A 188-page coffee-table book and a 60-page scrapbook provide insight and context on what is a finely curated and fantastically designed affair.