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Saturday, June 14, 2014

Steve Hackett - Genesis Revisited - Live At Hammersmith 2013 (3CD) + Alot of Rare Artwork

Steve Hackett World Tour 2013 Poster

Size: 380 MB
Bitrate: 320
mp3
Found in OuterSpace
Artwork Included
Source: Japan SHM-CD Remaster

It takes a legend to bring a myth back to life. A unique treat for music fans worldwide, Steve Hackett's critically acclaimed live production 'Genesis Revisited' has so far triumphed in Europe, Japan and North America alike and is still going strong; on May 10th it celebrated its success at a sold out London's Hammersmith Apollo with an ecstatic audience.

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Here's yet another strong live album from Steve Hackett, this time focusing (almost) exclusively on material that he recorded with Genesis. All of the Genesis albums on which Hackett participated, from 1971's Nursery Cryme to 1976's Wind And Wuthering, are represented in the set list. This period is widely considered as the best by fans of progressive Rock, and every one of these albums is a classic of the genre. 

This period in the band's history culminated with the excellent live album Seconds Out which was released in 1977 and became the final Genesis recording to feature Hackett before he went his own special way (and then there were three). About half of the songs that were featured on Seconds Out are revisited here, including (full versions of) The Musical Box, Supper's Ready, I Know What I Like, Firth Of Fifth, Dance On A Volcano, Los Endos, and Afterglow. The latter is here sung by a guesting John Wetton and is immediately preceded by Unquiet Slumbers For The Sleepers and In That Quiet Earth just like on the studio album Wind And Wuthering.

Genesis - Melody Maker 16th Dec 1972
Other classic songs being performed are Watcher Of The Skies, Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, Entangled, and Blood On The Rooftops. A somewhat surprising, but indeed excellent, choice is Eleventh Earl Of Mar, a song that I don't think has been featured on any Genesis or Steve Hackett live album before. I for one am very happy to see so many selections from the Wind And Wuthering album, which belongs to my top three Genesis albums together with A Trick Of The Tail and Selling England By The Pound. A surprising omission is Horizons, a tune that is practically synonymous with Hackett's name. The only non-Genesis song is Shadow of the Hierophant which originally appeared on Hackett's solo debut album Voyage Of The Acolyte.

Melody Maker Jan 29th 1972
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Accept for the few songs being handled by guest stars, and Blood On The Rooftops which is sung by Hackett's drummer Gary O'Toole, I really don't know who is doing the lead vocals here. But whoever it is he has a Peter Gabriel/Phil Collins type voice and is clearly up to the task. The audience joins in on suitable occasions. Hackett himself, on the other hand, remains silent throughout this time (except the spoken introductions).

A reunion of the classic line-up of Genesis featuring Hackett is never going to happen, this is as close as it will get. So, if you are a fan of classic Genesis by all means get this one. But don't miss out on Steve's other live releases, most of which feature a judicious mix of Genesis tunes and his best solo material. Hackett has a simply amazing live catalogue with a stunning amount of excellent audio and video releases,

Was there ever a band quite like Genesis? Through their ranks have been some of the most commercially acclaimed (Phil Collins, Mike & The Mechanics, Peter Gabriel) and critically acclaimed (Anthony Phillips, Tony Banks, Daryl Stuermer) artists of the last 40 years. But, to my ears there is one who stands head and shoulders above all these, Steve Hackett. 

Steve Hackett World Tour 2013 Japan Poster
Since leaving Genesis he has pursued many different styles, including classical, and has been in the odd 'supergroup' (GTR, Squackett) as well. His albums are always, without fail, finely crafted pieces of work and always immensely enjoyable. Back in 1996 he decided to revisit some of the Genesis songs he felt most close to, then repeated the exercise last year and toured with a show guaranteed to make any diehard Genesis fan drool at the mouth.

To put some things into context. Steve was with Genesis from 1971 to 1976, recording four studio albums with Peter and two with Phil. From those six (plus one solo song, which was co- written with Mike Rutherford so can justifiably be included) he has produced a live album of 150 minutes in length. Back in 2007 Genesis reformed and performed to massive audiences throughout Europe, but of the set they produced on their 'Live Over Europe' album only two complete songs are the same as here. 

Genesis moved on when Phil took over lead vocals, and again when they were reduced to just three in the studio, and many fans talk about the Gabriel period or the Collins period being their particular favourite. Me, I'll say that the Hackett period is the one that suits me best thanks very much. 

Genesis Advertise 1972
Of all Genesis albums recorded with Phil on vocals the first three are easily the best, and I'm not a massive fan of the albums pre- Steve (although 'The Knife' is and always will be an absolute classic).

Listening to this album is at first a blast from the past, as I spent my formative years listening to these songs, but then it turns into something far much more. Musically Genesis has always been controlled by Tony Banks who is an incredible musician (and very under-rated), but although he is also a guitarist he is first and foremost a keyboard player so the arrangements have always put the guitars somewhat in the shade. 

Genesis - Melody Maker 23rd Dec 1972
Now we have classic songs (mostly forty years old remember) given new life by a guitarist in control of his own band, with the additional confidence of always being on the road and proving himself time and again. He has mostly stayed very true to the originals, but when he has the opportunity to crank his guitar out he certainly does. 'The Musical Box' may start gently, but it rips into a version that gives the song much more life and drama than one could ever imagine from the original. Also of particular note is the ending of 'Shadow of the Hierophant' which is intense, powerful, moving and compelling all at the same time.

This album is what I always refer to as a review killer as once it hits the player all I want to do is hit 'repeat' and it takes concerted effort to move on to something else. If I had to ask for one song that isn't on this set it would probably be 'Squonk' but that is picking straws as we have everything else from 'Supper's Ready' (all 27 minutes of it) to 'Eleventh Earl of Mar' from the criminally overlooked 'Wind & Wuthering'. I could play this album all day, every day, and just wished that I had been able to see this performed. But as I live on the wrong side of the world I was unable to do so, so I will just have to keep playing this instead. Superb. [From progarchives.com]

Lineup:
- Steve Hackett - Guitars, Vocals
- Roger King (Gary Moore, Snoop Doggie Dog, Jamelia) - Keyboards, 
- Gary O'Toole (Kylie Minogue, Chrissie Hynde) - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
- Rob Townsend (Eddie Henderson, Bill Bruford, Django Bates) - Sax,Flute, Percussion, 
- Lee Pomeroy (Take That, Rick Wakeman) - Bass 
- Nad Sylvan (Abba's Michael B Tretow) - Vocals

With: 
- Nik Kershaw - Vocals
- Steve Rothery - Guitar
- John Wetton - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
- Jakko Jaksyzk - Guitar, Vocals
- Amanda Lehmann - Guitar, Vocals

Disc 01
01. Watcher of the Skies  09:54
02. The Chamber of 32 Doors  06:04
03. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight  07:44
04. Fly on a Windshield  03:34
05. Broadway Melody of 1974  03:32
06. The Lamia  09:13
07. The Musical Box  12:14
08. Shadow of the Hierophant  11:01
09. Blood on the Rooftops  05:45

Disc 02
01. Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers  02:08
02. In That Quiet Earth  05:00
03. Afterglow  04:35
04. I Know What I Like  06:23
05. Dance on a Volcano  06:40
06. Entangled  05:46
07. Eleventh Earl of Mar  07:09
08. Supper’s Ready  27:56

Disc 03
01. Firth of Fifth  10:37
02. Los Endos  10:31

Part 1: Link
Part 2: Link
or
Part 1: Link
Part 2: Link
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Genesis Zig Zag Magazine
Genesis - Hobbits Garden Wimbledon Dec 7th 1971

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