Customer Reviews

Please Don't Touch

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

1978's "Please Don't Touch" is Steve Hackett's 2nd solo album, and the first one the guitarist recorded after he left Genesis. Steve gets a lot of big name help on this collection, such as singers Richie Havens, Steve Walsh of Kansas, and Randy Crawford, as well as his brother John Hackett on flute and Genesis touring drummer Chester Thompson. This is an excellent album with shades of progressive rock here & there, but also some pop & straightforward guitar rock as well. The music is awesome, Steve's guitarwork throughout fantastic. Steve also takes musical inspiration from classic fictional books for some of the songs: "Narnia" (sung by Walsh) is a fun, lighthearted number based on C.S. Lewis' childrens' classic "The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe," the strange little tune "Carry On Up The Vicarage" is a musical tribute to mystery writer Agatha Christie, and the breathtaking finale "Icarus Ascending" (sung by Havens) is inspired by the classic Greek tale of the doomed flight of Icarus. With the exception of "Vicarage," Steve mostly sings backup or harmony vocals, leaving most of the singing duties to Havens, Walsh and Crawford, who all give great performances. Other standout tracks include the catchy rock of "Racing In A," the wonderful acoustic number "How Can I?" (sung by Havens), the stunningly beautiful instrumental "Kim" (dedicated to Hackett's wife, Kim Poor, who also paints his album covers), the lovely ballad "Hoping Love Will Last" (sung by Crawford), and, of course, the monstrous title track, a menacing rock instrumental featuring some of Steve's most scorching guitar licks ever recorded (originally, Steve submitted "Please Don't Touch" to be recorded by Genesis, but for some reason, the band turned it down. Thank goodness then that he kept it for himself!). The only misstep Steve makes on the album are the lyrics to "Carry On Up The Vicarage." Musically, the song is fine (I also like the circus sound effects at the beginning), but the words to the song are pretty awkward. Stuff about pharmaceuticals, missing floorboards, and screaming from the belfry...they don't quite gel together. Also, Steve's vocals on this track are mostly distorted through a vocoder, which doesn't help. But other than that, there's nothing else to criticize on this very impressive album. With "Please Don't Touch," Steve Hackett stepped out from the shadow of Genesis, and established himself as a solo artist in his own right. "Please Don't Touch" is a great album. By all means, DO touch it!

This album was recommended to me by a number of people who like progressive rock. I have to admit I bought it because Steve Walsh of Kansas sings on it. I was absolutely floored by the entire album - not a single bad track.

"Narnia" is the single most inspired vocal performance by Steve Walsh I have EVER heard. It was as though Steve Hackett wrote that song with Walsh in mind. It blends perfectly with his style, even though it is definitely more lighthearted than anything he ever did in Kansas. This album is worth buying just for this single song.

Richie Havens' Icarus Ascending is another soul-shaker - I didn't know what to expect from him having only heard his "Here Comes the Sun" previously. His voice is so profound - so moving, so deep - makes you yearn for more. I'm always sorry knowing there is no more at the end.

Randy Crawford's voice is like pure honey and light! So rich, so earnest. She was a magic choice for this album.

All in all, this is one of my favorite albums of all time - you MUST listen to it.

This album is like a master class in guitar orchestration. Every line and texture is incredibly well thought out, and not a note is waisted. But far from being just a "guitar album", Please Don't Touch really demonstrates Hackett's genius as a composer. Just terrific writing!! And while it's easy to describe the album as "eclectic", there are common threads that bring the pieces together and make it the perfect CD to listen to in it's entirety. A wonderful, wonderful album!

More uneven than Voyage of the Acolyte, Steve Hackett's second solo album is nevertheless a gem worth exploring. "Hoping Love Will Last" remains one of Steve's most moving songs ever, "Kim" the most beautiful, and the title track continues to get the blood pumping twenty years on. Probably the best track, however, is the overlooked "Racing in A" - fast, frenzied, catchy and a little bit zany. When one compares this to Genesis' first release without him (...and Then There Were Three...), it is clear that the band lost a lot more with Hackett's departure than they will ever admit.

This album, Steve Hackett's second solo album, and the first one he did after he left Genesis, is probably his best one in my opinion. There's a lot more guest performances, and his songwriting is getting to be a bit more conventional.

Steve Walsh of Kansas joins Steve on Narnia and Racing in A. I wonder how many Kansas fans actually own this album because of this. He does a great job with the songs, and makes them his own. During points of the songs, I almost forgot that I was listening to a Steve Hackett album.

Richie Havens joins him on How Can I?, and Icarius Acending. Great performances from him. The songs suit his baritone very well, and the romantic chords of Icarius just totally bring shivers up and down the spine.

R&B stylist Randy Crawford joins in on Hoping Love Will Last. She brings a lot of soul to the song, and makes it a nice ballad to really get into. Steve's guitar is very complimentary to her voice and the lyrics.

Steve does a crazy vocal part on Carry Up On The Vicarage, a song that was a musical tribute to Agatha Christie. Altering his voice several times on the song, it brings out a lot of humour to the otherwise dismal and dark lyrics of the song.

There was a story amoung the Genesis fan base about the title track, kinda controversial as well. The song was originally going to be put on the Wind and Wuthering album, however the members of the band decided not to do it at all, much to Steve's chagrin. It never made it past the rehearsal album. But I think that it would have been a great addition to the album, actually.

This album is definitely my favourite of Steve's albums. I totally recommend it to all fans of Genesis, and even prog fans...or if you just happen to like good music, and like to listen to things that are different from the norm, then this is the album for you.

First, to set the record straight, I give this album, 4 1/2 stars but Amazon doesn't allow for such niceties.

This is light years away from the airy, esoteric progressive masterpiece "Voyage Of The Acolyte", but no less a brilliant recording in its own right. If "Voyage" represents Hackett's definitive take on pure progressive rock, then this album is his answer to radio friendly pop/rock using unusual arrangements and instrumentation to give it a classic progressive underpinning. Calling this MOR or AOR does not diminish his accomplishment by any means.

In the ten tracks on this album he runs the gamut from pop (Narnia), folk (How Can I), rock (Racing in A) and love ballads (Hoping Love Will Last). Along the way there are several outstanding instrumentals (including the title track) and a minor progressive epic with Icarus Ascending. Wisely using a number of guest vocalists these tracks sound like songs you might have heard before, but without ever sounding derivative.

As Hackett and Genesis parted ways in 1977 both, by design or chance, released pop albums that showed both Genesis and Hackett were not afraid to change with the times. Hackett released this album and Genesis released "And then there were three..." an obvious nod to Steve. It's generally agreed upon by fans and critics that Genesis released a stinker while Steve released a brilliant collection of songs.

After this, Steve would put together his classic late '70's touring band and move back into a more progressive sound. He would approach radio friendly pop one more time with "Cured", but he so fully explored the compositional and sonic possibilities of the various forms of pop music that he would never craft another album like this again.

One last note, the sound on this remaster is outstanding. The bonus tracks don't really add too much to the experience. With two alternate versions of Narnia, there's one Narnia too many for any collection and too bad there wasn't additional unused songs or demos that he could of used instead. The restored artwork and essay are excellent.

This I feel is Steve Hackett's best solo effort (Voyage of the Acolyte a close 2nd).I enjoy his using several vocalist with different styles and introduced me to singers(Havens, Crawford)that I may not have heard otherwise.Hearing Steve Walsh and Phil Ehart is just icing on the cake. By far the best song on the album which I feel is vitage Hackett is "Please don't touch", however on my copy of CD there is an annoying break between "Land of a thousand autumns" and "Please don't touch" that is not on the LP I purchased in 1979.In my opinion Steve Hackett abilities as a guitar player and songwriter keeps him with the likes of David Gilmour and Jimmy Page

Here is Steve Hackett's second solo album and his first after leaving Genesis in 1977. By now, he felt comfortable enough to stand on stage for an entire show...but apparently still somewhat nervous. He's got enough guests on this one to fill that stage. But it works--this album is a classic. Its range of styles and influences is all over the spectrum. Every track is a favorite, but I'll say "Racing In A" best illustrates Steve's music at the time. A powerful second release and a great clue of things to come.

On Steve Hackett's second solo album, and first after leaving Genesis, the talented guitarist draws everything out of his arsenal of guitar effects to produce a unique listening experience. Equally at home producing odd sounds on his electric or playing classical guitar with a studied virtuosity, Hackett demonstrates that he has a vision which stands apart from Genesis. Even more so than on his first solo affair, "Voyage of the Acolyte," Hackett plays off tension between his sometimes macabre musical concoctions(e.g. "Carry On Up the Vicarage" and "Please Don't Touch") and his contemplative compositions (e.g., the instrumental "Kim" and "Hoping Love Will Last," a wonderful torch song with guest vocalist Randy Crawford). Perhaps the best song on the album is "Racing in A," which features awesome musicianship (the bass playing keeps up with Hackett!) in the first half of the composition, followed by some jaw-dropping, frenetic classical guitar playing. Features vocals by Steve Walsh of Kansas, Richie Havens (a prog rock first?!) and the aforementioned Ms. Crawford. While individual compositions may not stand alone as well as those offered on "Voyage of the Acolyte," the overall feel of the album is surprisingly more cohesive. This is probably due to Hackett's use of voicelike synthesized backgrounds on several songs which sound rather spooky and a bit menacing.

It's been over 20 years, and I am ashamed to admit that I have not purchased another solo Hackett album to listen to his progress (I would agree ...that GTR did not represent progress at all.) I'll have to make up for lost time.

Guitarist Steve Hackett's second solo album--his first after leaving Genesis--includes three of the best songs of Hackett's career. "Narnia" and "Carry On Up the Vicarage" are, respectively, tributes to C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and Agatha Christie's murder mysteries; the latter is hilarious. "Please Don't Touch" is an energetic instrumental that Hackett couldn't get Genesis to include on "Wind and Wuthering". While the rest of the songs aren't bad, the variety of genres--and the singers Hackett brought in to handle those different genres--don't fit that well together, and make for an uneven album. Steve Walsh of Kansas sings "Narnia" and the rocker "Racing in A". Richie Havens lends his thick, reedy voice to "How Can I?" and "Icarus Ascending", while Randy Crawford's gives an R&B feel to the ballad "Hoping Love Will Last". "Kim" is a pretty instrumental tribute to Hackett's wife, a duet between Hackett on acoustic guitar and his brother John on flute.

(1=poor 2=mediocre 3=pretty good 4=very good 5=phenomenal)