Customer Reviews

Tokyo Tapes

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A friend of mine returned from England with this double CD of Hackett's performance in Japan as a gift. Except for an overly long drum solo on one of the tracks, this double-disc set is one that you can play several times in a row without getting tired of the material. I personally love the sweeping, orchestral feeling of the majority of the songs, and it is the best version of "Watcher of the Skies" I've ever heard. The mix of band members from various prog groups is top notch. This was my first introduction to Hackett after his departure from Genesis, and I've been trying to find albums that match up to it in intensity. This is definitely one of my all-time top favorite "desert island" discs.

This live album from Steve Hackett, remind us about some monolithic gemstones of 70's & 80's Prog Rock. The guest musicians add a kind of "jam-session" dressing. In few words, a very good work from one the ever best 6 and 12 string acoustic guitar players. And if you're a Genesis or King Crimson fan, this double-disc album is a very good acquisition for your collection. Good music for every hour!

If progressive rock is your interest, Steve Hackett's Tokyo tapes session is a must. The band is fantastic (members are a surprise!), and if you have any musical instinct at all, you will love at least 70% of this work. Just buy it!

The Tokyo Tapes brings you a unique collection of songs from Genesis, King Crimson, John Wetton and even an acoustic version of the Asia-blockbuster Heat of the Moment. Some of these songs, like Watcher of the Skies or In the Court of the Crimson King haven't been played by the respective bands for a long, long time. Firth of Fifth is present with a flute-solo. The middle of this song is replaced by a psychedelic jam, which ends in the familiar and still brilliant guitar-solo. John Wetton shows us here that he really is a great bass player. It's a pity, that this song is followed by Battlelines, which is not one of Wetton's best solo-efforts. Camino Royale is nevertheless beautiful and more powerful than the studio version on Highly Strung. Heavy guitars, saxophone, beating drums, just nine (!) minutes of great rock! The voices of Hackett and Wetton really fit together. Special attention must be paid to The Court of the Crimson King and I Talk to the Wind. These versions are really gems. A must have for any Crimson-fan. It's mellotron all over the place and it's lovely to hear a real flute again. Next, an acoustic mini-set follows, consists of Heat of the Moment, Horizons, and Walk away with Rainbows, a result of the co-operation between Hackett and Colbeck. The second CD starts with another Genesis song, In that Quiet Earth, which is, in this version, pure and fast jazz-rock. Thompson and Wetton are a hell of rhythm-section here. As with any jazz-song all members get the chance to improvise. You never heard Genesis like this! Next is Vampire with an Appetite of Hackett's Guitar Noir-album. This song is a very dark piece where Steve, singing through a kind of vocoder, takes us to the dark streets of London. Again, there's much room for variation to the original. It's nice that any of these fine musicians get the chance to show their own qualities in this way. Another of those dark songs is Shadow of the Hierophant. This song, taken from Hackett's first solo-album, was written by Hackett and Rutherford. Halfway this song, Chester has the chance to show us his skills. Finally we can hear what he's up to. His drumsolo beautifully developes into .... Los Endos ! Several fragments of other songs and various improvised themes are present in this song. The 'like father, like son'-melody is played by Ian McDonald on flute. Another beautiful acoustic piece follows. Black Night is a again one of those fragile songs, that Hackett has made through the years. When you listen carefully, you will even notice some bars from The Lamb. The audience immediately responds when a tiny bit from Cockoo Cockoon is played. After the silence, another slow, but bombastic piece is there. The Steppes, from Spectral Mornings is right on the spot here. It's Genesis again for the finale: I Know What I Like. This band, although only together for this occasion is really tight. The funky intro of this song is really misleading, but as soon as the lawnmower starts .... it's fun time again.The DVD also offers an eighteen minutes bonus of rehearsal footage and band biographies.The only sad thing about the DVd is the fact that it is "only"in stereo. I wonder if it wasn't an option to upgrade it in dolby 5.1 or even better to DTS!!

Tokio Tapes (1999) supera con creces a Time Lapse, como cuando se reúne con sus viejos compañeros de Génesis para la edición de Genesis Archives. Las contribuciones sonoras de Steve Hackett a la guitarra son muchas, entre ellas el temprano uso de la técnica del tapping ocho años antes que lo popularizara Eddie Van Halen, el lograr efectos percutivos con la guitarra, así como su famoso "sonido fantasmal", todo ello mucho antes de que se pensara en la guitarra sintetizador, y por supuesto, ni se pensaba en MIDI. El Hackett compositor es de polendas al incorporar armonías clásicas en un contexto de rock, gestando así la rama progresiva en la guitarra, junto a Jan Akkerman, Robert Fripp y Steve Howe, entre otros. En Lima encontré a un Steve Hackett inspirado en el Peru mistico y cuando viví su extraordinario concierto me pareció vivir este CD "Live in Japan".

Surperb...you must own this if your a Genesis, Crimso of Asia fan. The best "In the Court" (sorry /21st Century Schizoid Band) live or otherwise, Chester on Drums dups Giles. Then there's my favorite guitar solo ever, Firth of Fifth. The first time I heard this on the Selling England album it became my favorite, then on the Live album, better still, then live, better again and here on The Tokyo Tapes, the best ever. Los Endos, Hierophant, watcher and Wetton's Heat of the Moment (acoustic/solo). Some Hackett acoustic/classical. Great!!!!

This is Genesis's answer to Ring Starr's All-Starr Band. To support his Genesis Revisted CD, Steve Hackett pulled together this group for a mini tour. It features Ian McDonald, one of the founders of King Crimson and Foriegner (talk about different muscial styles), Chester Thompson, who was played with nearly everyone, including Zappa, Weather Report and Genesis, John Wetton from the 70's King Crimson, UK and Asia and Julian Colbeck, originally from the bad pop group Charlie, but who also played on some Hackett albums and one version of Yes.

This double CD has about one CD's worth of five star material and some less successful material. It starts out with another unnecessary version of the tedious "Watcher of the Skies" and then goes to a mediocre Hackett solo number. But next there is a fantastic version of "Firth of Fifth" that starts out slowly but then breaks into a new and interesting instrumental interlude. There's a few more mediocre Hackett solo numbers and a horrible Wetton solo song. There is a fair version of "In the Court of the Crimson King". Wetton does an acoustic version of the Asia hit "Heat of the Moment". It is the best version I have heard of any Asia song, but it still isn't that good.

After "Heat of the Moment", the live material really takes off. It is mostly Hackett material, but there are two Genesis tunes and a great "I Talk to the Wind". The addition of McDonald on sax and flute is amazing. He adds new dimensions to these songs and sounds as if he has been playing these songs all his life. His genius shines through and makes you regret he wasted all of those years with Foriegner.

The CD ends with two unnecessary, uninspired Hackett studio cuts.

There are three versions of this CD. There is a European one (which I picked up in Scotland) that has the least amount of features. The Japanese version advertises three extra tracks but it really only has one, a truncated version of Los Endos. The other two "extra" tracks are the studio tracks and are available on all versions. The US version is an enhanced CD that includes video you can play on your computer. There is also a VHS tape and laser disc, but no DVD.

If you like what McDonald does here, or the first two King Crimson albums, you will want to check out the album McDonald and Giles, which sounds like a lost Crimson album.

As a new admirer of Steve Hackett, this album has quickly become one of my favorites. Featuring guest artists John Wetton, Chester Thompson, Ian McDonald,and Julian Colbeck, the 19 tracks offer energenic recompilations of old songs, each with that special Steve Hackett trademark.

As usual, Steve Hackett and his guests seem to be able to recapture the spirit of older songs by giving them new life and an invigorating perspective, musically expressing previously written material in a new light.

Speaking of new, there is also two new studio tracks on the album.

A must for a Steve Hackett admirer.