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 Voyage
Of The Acolyte (1975)
Regarded by many as the best
album Genesis never made, I find that Steve's first solo effort
does not really possess much of an outright Genesis sound. True,
Voyage of the Acolyte retains the grand symphonic appeal
that characterized traditional mid-period Genesis, but there
is definitely more of a purely unique 'Hackett' sound and character
as well. For one, this concept album, incidentally based on
the tarot cards, has a much more pastoral feel in parts, along
with its more driving moments, ironically harkening back to
the pre-Hackett days of Trespass-era Genesis. There is
also the obvious emphasis of more guitar in the overall sound.
The cast of well known guests includes Mike Rutherford on bass
and 12-string guitar, Phil Collins on drums, John Hackett on
flute, John Acock on keyboards and Sally Oldfield with vocals
on the final track. The presence of two other Genesis members
leads to many conclusions about the sound being similar to that
of Genesis, but with the exception of Rutherford co-writing
the closing piece, "Shadow of the Hierophant", and John Hackett
the third, "A Tower Struck Down", everything here was written
by Steve.
This
album flows very well as a complete piece, with no real sub-par
pieces. The standouts however, include "Star of Sirius", with
ethereal vocals by Collins, the rhythmically powerful "A Tower
Struck Down", as well "The Shadow of the Hierophant", which
starts out mellow, with Sally Oldfield's enchanting vocals,
and finishes in a climactic wash of mellotron. One of my favorite
symphonic albums, Voyage of the Acolyte should appeal
to any Genesis fan, as well as to fans of symphonic prog in
general. -
Mike Prete [2000]
Click
Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
 Please
Don't Touch (1978)
As the first
album recorded after his departure from Genesis, Hackett's Please
Don't Touch is a more inconsistent effort than his previous
classic, Voyage of the Acolyte. Recorded with three guest
vocalists, it seems as if Hackett was writing more in their
style than his own. The two pieces with Steve Walsh of Kansas
are the best of the guest material, with a more upbeat sound
reminiscent of Kansas. "How Can I?" with Ritchie Havens on vocals,
and "Hoping Love Will Last" with Randy Crawford are good songs
in their own right, being as they are love songs showcasing
the pair's respective talents, but sound little like what Hackett
seems to want to explore on his own.
The standout
of the album is the instrumental title track, which boasts the
suggestion "For maximum effect this track should be listened
to as loudly as possible with as much treble and bass as your
system can muster - not to be played to people with heart conditions
or those in severely hallucinogenic states of mind." That seems
to be a fitting description, as this track is signature Hackett.
"Kim" marks the beginning of Steve's work with classical acoustic
pieces, in a lovely song dedicated to his wife. The remainder
of the solo pieces are in a similar vein to the material of
his other albums. Sandwiched between two of his finer efforts,
Voyage of the Acolyte and Spectral Mornings, this
album doesn't quite live up to the same high standard, although
it is a fine record when taken on its own terms.
- Mike Prete
[2000]
Click
Here for Tracklist and Lineup Info
 Spectral
Mornings (1979)
After listening to this album,
it seems to make much more sense why Steve left Genesis.
Borrowing from many different influences, including British
folk, Latin music as well as the Orient, it's obvious that
Hackett's creativity was being stifled by the emergence
of what would become the keyboard-driven, dance/pop vehicle
of the 80s known as Genesis.
The
first 30 seconds of "Every Day" sound like they belong on
Duke, but after that, the song becomes more 'Hackett'.
The bass line is very reminiscent of Mike Rutherford's playing,
and while the song has a traditional Genesis feel, the emphasis
is placed on guitar rather than keyboards. "The Virgin and
The Gypsy" is a wonderfully mellow classical guitar piece
with a distinct British folk feel, based around enchanting
vocals and flute accent. "The Red Flower of Tachai Blooms
Everywhere" is a delicate instrumental, and as the title
implies, is in the oriental vein. The next piece is the
heaviest and darkest on the album (along with "Tigermoth").
"Clocks - The Angel of Mons" has a massive symphonic sound,
featuring a pounding drum solo, as well as some interesting
'ticking clocks' sound effects. "The Ballad of the Decomposing
Man" is a tune somewhat similar to "The Battle of Epping
Forest", with its blue collar subject matter and light-hearted
feel. A very mellow and haunting instrumental, "Lost Time
in Cordoba" features brother John Hackett on flute, alongside
a classical, acoustic-based approach from Steve. The first
half of "Tigermoth" continues where "Clocks..." left off,
while the latter half lyrically deals with the plight of
a fighter pilot who gets shot down. The title track is an
excellent ending to a varied album, and is one song that
can be described easily by its title. All in all, Spectral
Mornings is excellent effort. With the exception of
the first song, Steve has successfully started to develop
a distinct style away from that of his days in Genesis .
- Mike Prete [2000]
After Steve
Hackett left Genesis in 1977, Phil Collins, Tony Banks and
Mike Rutherford had no one left to hold them back from the
evil scheme they apparently had been planning all along
– the sellout. It's obvious now with 20 years of hindsight,
but in 1977 it wasn't so easy to spot. Sure, songs like
'More Fool Me" from 1973's otherwise excellent Selling
England by the Pound and most of the A Trick of the
Tail album were clues, but Wind and Wuthering
and Seconds Out seemed to be leaning back in the
right direction. Well, either Hackett saw it coming or he
couldn't fight the Three Amigos' desires to go pop any longer
without the aid of Peter Gabriel, who left in 1975, so he
left too. Phil, Tony and Mike were now free to drag the
Genesis name through the mud in what would prove to be one
of the most blatant and disgraceful sellouts in rock history.
This also
left our valiant young guitar anti-hero alone to follow
his own muse, and while Hackett's music became simpler,
it didn't sink to such depths as that of his former bandmates
– not for a while anyway. Steve's first solo album, Voyage
of the Acolyte came out in 1975 and is a rather Genesis-like
affair, but Spectral Mornings, his first solo album
after leaving Genesis is a more original work. Spectral
Mornings reflects Hackett's interest in various styles
of music, from classical to Cantonese koto music. There
is even a little of Steve's own brand of space/prog rock
on here. Each track is different, so this is a very diversified
album. The best tracks on this album are definitely the
instrumentals. "Clocks – the Angel of Mons" is an excellent
sort of creepy space rock tune loaded with Mellotron and
ominous Taurus pedal melodies. The title track is a nice
bittersweet sounding instrumental in which Hackett's shimmering
electric guitar melodies take center stage over a dreamy
Mellotron backdrop. It's a beautiful track.
"Tigermoth"
starts out as another dark Mellotron/Taurus pedal instrumental
similar to "Clocks," but then suddenly changes to a completely
different kind of vocal piece that sounds like a Broadway
tune. This is typical of Hackett's solo work. You never
really know what's going to happen next, whether it be from
album to album or within a single song. Another good instrumental
is "Lost Time in Cordoba." This is a very nice classical
guitar/flute duet. It's an odd track, however, because the
entire piece has some sort of aural haze placed over it,
which makes it sound a little strange. It's almost as if
it was made to sound like it came from a very old record.
There are
a couple more songs on this album which are quite pleasant,
but not extremely interesting. There's not a bad track on
here, though. The entire album is completely listenable.
Anyone who gets goose bumps from Hackett's wonderfully emotional
guitar solos – especially on Seconds Out – should
buy this album. - Scott Hamrick [May 1997] 
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