Steve Hackett became famous in the early 70s when he was the lead guitarist of the now legendary progressive rock band GENESIS. Hackett, ever the innovator, first discarded all of the rock musician’s ‘props’ and took to the concert platform armed only with one fragile nylon string guitar in 1983, long before the current fashion for ‘unplugged’ performance. On this recording, Steve is accompanied by keyboardist Julian Colbeck, then with flutist John Hackett, his brother, and finally by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Steve Hackett demonstrates an empathy for the classical idioms rarely found in contemporary musicians. The material will mostly be very familiar (including a few snippets from a particularly well-known band!), an exquisitely paced rendition of Vivaldi’s Guitar Concerto and the poignant love theme from the film Cinema Paradiso; Satie’s Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes, and finally, seven movements from Steve Hackett’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A Canadian exclusive release on XXI-21 Records.
