Band: Steve Hackett

CD Title: “Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth”

Label: InsideOut Records

Release Date: 2010

I would have to say of all the members of the band Genesis, Steve Hackett is the one who has stayed truest to the Progressive Rock ethic. Over a long string of albums that started with Voyage of the Acolyte, he has constantly explored new sounds, new compositional styles and incorporated new influences into his work. He has done everything from classical to acoustic and his most recent release Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth shows Hackett ready to deliver another set of great prog. This time around he’s working with at least 12 contributing artists including his brother John Hackett (flute), Anthony Phillips (guitar) and even Chris Squire (bass). Sonically Hackett’s sound here is an extension of the style he’s adopted since making Darktown.

There are a total of eight tracks on Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth two of which are instrumentals. Things get off to a rousing start with “Fire on the Moon” [6:12] with its spooky, toy-town piano and haunting vocals all colliding into a grand flourish at the 1:10 mark. This is a musical style that Hackett uses to great effect to provide wonderful dynamic counterpoint. One of the things I’ve noticed while watching Hackett’s DVDs is that he is very much in the business of creating textures and sounds. This is something that he’s been about since signing up for Genesis in the early days. The thing is you can’t always appreciate his work on CD, as it provides all sorts of background elements that are so unique they don’t really sound like guitar. Fortunately he does insert some well placed solos in each of his compositions to remind us he can do that too. “Nomads” [4:32] starts off with some Flamenco style acoustic guitar and really gets going where upon the 3:00 mark the electric guitar solo kicks in and the piece just rocks. This takes us to the longest piece of the disc, “Emerald and Ash” [8:59] which is perhaps my favorite. This is Steve Hackett at his most melodic and there is no question he can write a moving melody. But even here the piece is filled, as are most of his compositions, with sounds, textures and spooky atmospheres. This track features a couple of significant changes in time tempo and texture. Hackett is fond of creating haunting moods or disturbing accents that in the end set up the melodies more effectively. His guitar will slowly emit a searing scream or bowed tones just as quickly as it emits some delicately picked acoustic solos. There are times where he’ll even get a bit discordant too. On that score Steve Hackett is the consummate progressive rock artist.

My appreciation for Steve Hackett was rekindled when he released Darktown and this new one Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth is very much along the same lines so naturally I really like it. Genesis die-hards will want to know that the InsideOut edition comes with a second disc of 5 Genesis gems recorded live by Hackett’s band like “A Tower Struck Down” and “Firth of Fifth.” There’s also an extra bonus track. This is a great disc and there’s no question Hackett fans will want to add it to their collection.