Steve Hackett

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GENESIS GUITARIST CAN STILL “HACKETT” AND WILL UNPLUG TO HELP SURVIVORS

by Ernie Thomas

Londoner Steve Hackett has tasted his fair share of rock success over the years. First as an early member of the multi-platinum group, Genesis, during the early to mid 1970s and later as co-founder of the mid-’80s supergroup, GTR.

Though Hackett is best known for the five albums he made with Genesis and GTR’s sole release, which featured the Top 10 hit single, “When The Heart Rules The Mind,” those represent just a small percentage of his recording catalog.

He has released three dozen solo albums and live concert recordings since leaving with Genesis in 1977 after the Seconds Out live album was released. It was his parting, just two years after frontman/vocalist Peter Gabriel, that prompted the Genesis to title their follow-up album, And Then There Were Three...

“We’ll certainly be playing some things from the Genesis and the GTR years, but there will be a lot of stuff from my solo albums, a couple of classical pieces and one or two numbers written by the other members of my trio,” said Hackett of the acoustic concert set list planned for this month’s fund raiser at The Pearl Room.

“Actually, they approached me about this and I am very happy to be doing it,” Hackett said of tonight’s concert benefitting hurricane relief. According to The Pearl Room’s management, Mokena’s Mayor Joe Werner and his office are responsible for the presentation of this event.

Hackett noted that he will tap music from at least three Genesis albums –– Selling England By The Pound, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and Wind & Wuthering –– during the live show.

“We’re not going to be beating people over the head with volume or dazzling them with a fancy light show,” he said. “This is a very props-free and intimate acoustic show that features delicate, beautiful instruments. It is simply about the music.”

An all orchestral 15-track collection, Metamorpheus, credited to Steve Hackett & The Underworld Orchestra is the latest addition to the artist’s recording catalog.

“I started work on this album in 1997. It’s taken quite a few years to put together, particularly because it has an orchestra on it and that takes awhile to organize,” said Hackett. “I didn’t work solely on this record all that time though, I also was doing a rock album and other things and kept coming back to it.”

Among the other things that occupied Hackett’s time were contributing his thoughts to the newly released 3-CD anthology – The Genesis Platinum Collection – a definitive set of 39 songs from Rhino/Atlantic Records that trace the group’s musical output from 1970 to 1991.

“(Engineer) Nick Davis did a great job remixing those old songs and they sound absolutely wonderful,” noted Hackett, who hinted that fans may one day soon see the most creative and acclaimed line-up of Genesis back together.

Just as working on a career-spanning boxed set resulted in the reformation of the classic Judas Priest line up in 2003, the key members of Genesis found that adding their respective input on their own boxed set, prompted some favorable dialogue about reuniting.

It was not the first time the classic line-up have collaborated since the 1970s. In 1999, the all got back together to re-record the song, “The Carpet Crawlers”, for the turn of the millennium Genesis collection – Turn In On Again: All The Hits.

“We’re still friendly. We are all talking about it,” he said of a possible reunion of Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Michael Rutherford and himself. “It’s to early to say more really. We're just talking – nothing more, nothing less – but you never know.” Hackett did add that both he and Gabriel were willing and open to the idea of a classic Genesis reunion.

Until that happens, Hackett will continue to juggle his career as both a rocker and respected classical music artist.

“It’s not easy, no,” he said of trying to successfully walk the line between the two drastically different music genres. “Surprisingly, I’ve felt no prejudice from the classical audience because of my rock background. They have been very open to my work. Especially, back home in England. I get a lot more radio play there these days with the classical stuff than when I put on an electric guitar and make rock records.”

Hackett has done just that in recent months. He will follow up Metamorpheus with a pair of as-yet-untitled rock albums. “I have one rock album that features an orchestra and one just solo. I like keep very busy.”

In closing, Hackett reflected back on his nearly forty year career and declared – I’ve no regrets really. Music has been very, very good to me. I’m very happy.”

STEVE HACKETT TRIO will perform a 21 & Over show

on October 21 at The Pearl Room in Mokena, Illinois

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