This is the second album of Hackett's from Universal's Five Classic Albums set, picked up cheap at a boot fair, and probably the one I'm most familiar with, hearing it a few times when it was issued. I haven't ever listened to most of them, so let's see if this is as I remember it.
This is his first solo album after leaving Genesis, and feels like a very broad sweep of styles. Opening track Narnia features Steve Walsh of Kansas on vocals (and that wouldn't normally be a recommendation, but it's an engaging, bouncy little pop song driven by some lovely jangly acoustic guitar. Next song Carry On Up The Vicarage, feels a lot more Genesis-like (once the fairground organ and effects are finished) but the twee vocals distract heavily, and endorse Hackett's decision not to handle vocals elsewhere on the album. Racing In A again features Walsh, but is less convincing, before ending with a pleasant, if incongruous classical guitar section, leading into Kim, a flute/acoustic guitar piece very much in the style of Erik Satie. It's peaceful, melodic, but feels out of place on a rock album, and the first half ends gently with How Can I? , a simple acoustic backed song showcasing singer Richie Havens' voice, and it's a lovely little song.
The second half opens equally strongly, with a high profile guest in Randy Crawford, carrying the soulful Hoping Love Will Last, showing the strength of some of Hackett's writing, if the right voice is delivering. Land Of A Thousand Autumns is really just an atmospheric intro to Please Don't Touch, an instrumental which Hackett offered to Genesis for the Wind And Wuthering album, and sounds like it could have slipped seamlessly in, without ever becoming a fan favourite. The Voice Of Necam is a mixture of ambient mellotron and classical guitar, pleasant but no more, before the finale, Icarus Ascending, Richie Havens returning in a grandiose, but plodding number, which meanders benignly but fails to ignite the ears.
The overall impression is of an artist with an established style, trying, tentatively to step outside his comfort zone, with mixed results. But there's certainly enough to sustain the interest, and little which makes this listener cringe.
3* - a decent first set of steps after leaving an established band, with a couple of highlights and a lot that is listenable
Opmerkingen