Customer Reviews

To Watch the Storms

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Former Genesis guitarist turned solo adventurer Steve Hackett returned again in 2003 with this, 'To Watch The Storms', another well recived album that offers many differnt styles of music on one CD...

Hackett is a prog rocker, going right back to the glory years of Genesis in the 70's, paticularly the 1970-1977 period were the band produced a powerful array of music. Since then Steve has become a musician striving to explore ALL sides of music, like former Genesis band mate Peter Gabriel, he will try any type of sound. He has released a number of albums, including 'Please Don't Touch' (1978), 'Spectral Mornings' (1979) and 'Guitar Noir' (1992) that are considered classics.

And so this album 'To Watch The Storms', Hackett's first effort since 1999's anticipated 'Darktown' album. Here Hackett shifts gears effortlessly. The album has a tremendous mood throughout, and Hackett has a guitar sound that is truely distictive. From the calmness and nostalgia of the opening track 'Strutton Ground' to the prog throwback 'Circus Of Becoming', this is a perfectly crafted work.

Hackett has also become a very good lyricist, with some thought provoking words to go with his musical soudscapes. And he is a good singer, half prog, half blues croke is how to describe it best.

Other highlights include the uplifting 'Brand New', the unbelievably heavy political protest song 'Mechanical Bride', which Hackett almost scares you with its insanely wild instrumental passage. The gentle, elegant 'Rebecca', with it's classical acoustic guitars is a nice contrast, as is the powerful love song 'This World', with it's moving chorus.

'The Devil Is An Englishman' and 'Marijuana Assasian Of Youth' are both completely insane rock riots, with Hackett malevolently sinister on the former, and playing the Batman theme on his guitar on the later...

And to round off, as always their is a set of stirring instrumental pieces, from nylon guitar songs like 'Wind, Sand And Stars', 'If Only You Knew' and 'The Moon Under Water' to world music epic 'The Silk Road' and the atmospheric 'Pollution B'.

Oh and there is just time for some full on blues with 'Fire Island' and some Irish folk with 'Come Away' and surrealist jazz with the muted and moody 'Frozen Statues'.

This special edition version of 'To Watch The Storms' ios beautifully packaged, with great artwork by Hackett's girlfriend/artist Kim Poor, and sleve notes by the man himself for every track. If you want diversity, complexity and beauty, this is the album for you, i HIGHLY recommend this album.

Let's face it; all of us reading and writing these reviews of Steve's music are his fans. We're seeing more grey each day, we are at or rapidly approaching the big 5-0, and like the rest of the world, we are not who we were. Neither is Steve. His composition continues to expand as it matures, he still can pull off phrases, trills, licks, riffs and tricks that surprise. He is still the finest guitarist ever recorded. Yet even that--the core of what draws us all to his music, his playing--is starting to sound...similar. Time really does march on, and it did--on all of us. Even so, this album is simply remarkable. I know lots of us complained that "Darktown"'s protracted birth resulted in a fractured sound, yet for most it was a return to form. With "To Watch The Storms," that form is reshaped, redefined and recast into something even more solid. This is the best work Steve has ever produced. And like anyone who would actually read this, I've been there for all of it. But there's the problem. He's already got us. I doubt Steve's audience is growing. My guess it will continue to be us and only us throughout his career. Hopefully, that suits him. Yet it does mean he may never grace our shores again. Our "youthful" American promoters may never envision profits in offering U.S. gigs to this profound artist. So our long, hopeful dream of a full-fledged tour over here gets more fanciful with each new candle on the cake. At least while we continue to dream we can listen to this great album.

It seems his music is getting better by the album! To Watch The storms is entertaining to listen to. The ex Genesis member has put together songs that are moody, dark, beautiful, and funny at the same time.The songs that stand out are Rebecca,The Devil is an Englishman,Brand New,and The circus of Becoming. The best song Ihave found on this disk is Marijuana,the Assassin of Youth. The song starts with some orchastration and vocals, then goes to a pipe organ Bach movement, to the BATMAN Theme to tequila to an all out rock and roll jam session!The booklet enclosed is a gem with pictures of his wifes paintings, lyrics and liner notes; which come in handy because steve talks about the meaning of the words and music to his songs. This album is not for everybody, but musicians,prog rock fans and die hard Hackett fans should have this disc in their collection.This one is a gem and the best album and music I have heard this year.

This is an absolutely stunning album. Clearly one of his best. Although there are a few numbers that require multiple listens (what's wrong with that?!), the bulk of the album is instantly accessible and hauntingly beautiful. Standout tracks include: Strutton Ground, This World, Rebecca, Wind, Sand and Stars (wonderful--I wish it was longer), The Moon Under Water, Brand New, Serpentine Song, If You Only Knew, and Come Away.

I take issue with a previous reviewer's comments questioning Mr. Hackett's artistic integrity. While there are certainly some similarities between "Mechanical Bride" and "21st Century Schizoid Man" (which I'm sure was intended), by no means is MB a {take-off} of the King Crimson song. MB is entirely original.

As with all Hackett albums, the range of guitar playing is incredible. What a talent. A thoroughly enjoyable disk that will only get better with age. Well done on every level.

If "Darktown" can be considered a return to form of sorts, to the "classic-era" Hackett albums (say, his first four solo albums up to & including "Defector"), then "To Watch The Storms" is arguably Hackett's crowning achievement thus far, both technically (some mind-blowing production...listen to the fade-out ending of "Mechanical Bride", after you recover from Hackett & keyboardist Roger King exchanging wildly kinetic solos that almost BOTH sound like distorted guitar riffs!) & compositionally (if that's a word)! It's the album die-hard fans always knew he had in him, and a return to the classic art-rock form that is a welcome surprise in this day and age. Rest assured - Hackett has finally found a "comfort zone" with his vocals, something I think he laid the groundwork for on "Darktown" - whatever the case, the vocals throughout are excellent, probably due in no small part to the phenom band that Hackett has put together - perhaps this album will be the first of a few more "band" efforts, as history has proven such outings have always yielded the greatest results for Steve in terms of consistency (aside from the magnificent nylon guitar albums). For my money, Hackett is one of the few artists that continues to carry the "prog rock" torch to loftier heights (another being Peter Hammill), and certainly the only former member of Genesis making any interesting music to speak of. A beautiful melding of progressive rock, classical guitar sketches, mind-bending production, incredible arrangements, skillful musicianship - and of course, just simply superb compositions. A real work of art.

Steve Hackett's "To Watch the Storms" is nothing short of an astounding display of musical versatility, delivered with panache by one of rock's most underrated guitarists.

This album features not only progressive rock ("Brand New" and the sublimely gorgeous "Serpentine Song"), but also ballads ("Rebecca" and "The World"), blues ("Fire Island"), jazz ("Frozen Statues), classical guitar ("Wind Sand and Stars"), Eastern European folk ("Come Away"), and a plethora of other styles - it could rightly be called "The History of Music according to Steve Hackett." He bashes through metal riffs on "Mechanical Bride" and alternates circus music verses with grand arena-rock choruses on "Circus of Becoming."

Adroitly avoiding pretension, Hackett delivers his tour de force with a solid dose of humour. He does a sinister Leonard Cohen imitation on the hilarious Thomas Dolby cover, "The Devil Is An Englishman." In the farcical "mini-musical" "Marijuana Assassin of Youth," Hackett includes snippets of Christmas music, the "Batman" theme and "Tequila."

From the above description you might expect an incoherent mishmash of styles, but Hackett manages to pull it off with consistent production values, greatly improved singing, inspired segues, intelligent writing, and tremendous assistance from guest musicians (including his brother John Hackett and King Crimson alumnus Ian MacDonald).

Anyone who's been following Hackett throughout the years knows of his virtuosity and versatility. Now he's presented it all in one package (and what a package it is, a mini-hardcover book with stunning artwork by his wife, Kim Poor). This is a magnum opus work, the defining achievement of a storied career.

Aside from his acoustic albums, I think this is the best the Steve has done since Defector. It's very much like his eclectic albums of that time.

This is one of the best progressive albums in a long time. Unbelievable craftsmanship. It just keeps getting better every time you listen to it. The diversity of styles is impressive.

Is this is what Genesis could have become if they hadn't lost their way? Who knows? Who cares? It is interesting to notice though, that the two players who left the band back in the mid to late 70's, are still producing music of incredible quality and creativity.

It would be very interesting to see what they could do today if they got together, wouldn't it?

Steve Hackett displays his versatility like I've never heard before. Weaving intricate classical guitar with heavy metal riffs, and great instrumentals by several top notch musicians (including his brother John on flute). I do really like how Steve Hackett explains the inspiration of every song in detail. What artist these days will take the time out to get intimate with the listener? There were a few songs I didn't think too great, hence the four star rating. Otherwise I thought "Brand New" segue-waying into "This World" was outstanding, and the sounds of "Circus of Becoming" and "The Devil is an Englishman" were totally original. The acoustical guitar songs on this album were as good as anything he has put our thus far in his career. Overall: good, but I doubt it will become one of my favorite CD's.

As a listener and fan of Steve's for some time, I've grown accustomed to his blend of acoustic, rock, classical, avante garde textures and themes. This is probably his greatest complete work to date which encompasses all of these elements.Spectral Mornings and Please Don't Touch are probably the closest recorded output that matches the variety of music on this disc. His acoustic guitar playing is prominent on almost every track and his electric soloing is very subtle and to the point. In addition, his sense of humor is indeed intact with some strange musings, ala batman tv series theme and tequila theme, interjected into the Marijuana song texture.

Highly recommended to fans of his as well as fans of the "dreaded" progresssive tag genre.