Steve Hackett – The Lamb Stands Up Live At The Royal Albert Hall – review

Preface

Live albums and concert films by Steve Hackett are not a rarity, but rather a tradition. Usually, both come together, meaning you get a live album with a concert film. In principle, every tour since 2009 has been documented with a live album, a concert film or both. So it came as no surprise that Steve would also put together and release a live package of his Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo Tour.

The Royal Albert Hall

There are few venues in the United Kingdom that have such a distinguished reputation as the Royal Albert Hall. Steve has also performed there, and a live recording entitled Genesis Revisited: Live At The Royal Albert Hall was released in 2014. After the 2024 summer tour, which took place mainly in open-air venues, the Royal Albert Hall in London was the logical choice to film and record the tour in what is effectively their home town.

Concert and setlist

During the tour in summer and autumn, Steve hardly changed the set list. The only exceptions were the shows in Zoetermeer, where he performed four times. There were also some changes at the Royal Albert Hall. Fly On A Windshield was significantly longer, Carpet Crawlers had a different singer, and Firth Of Fifth featured a flute solo. In addition, one more song was played, Hands Of The Priestess. This was due to one of the musical guests…

This is also a small tradition. Steve Hackett often has guests at his London shows, who all add their own special touch to the concert. This time, the following friends were in London:

Amanda Lehmann

She is something like the personified first part of Shadow Of The Hierophant. Only when she is there does the band play the classic in its entirety. Strictly speaking, Amanda wasn’t really a special guest this time, as she was with the band on the entire UK tour.

John Hackett

Steve’s brother John is also a regular guest at his shows. John has contributed to several of Steve’s albums and they have also worked on joint projects (for example, the album Sketches Of Satie). Hands Of The Priestess was added to the set especially for this concert. John had already played on Voyage Of The Acolyte, which was his debut as a professional musician. He also played a flute melody in the instrumental section of Firth Of Fifth.

Steve Rothery

Marillion veteran Steve Rothery is also no stranger to the guest list. It has been known for some time that Steve and Steve are working on a joint album. For the performance at the Royal Albert Hall, Steve came on stage during Fly On A Windshield and the two Steves improvised a lengthy guitar interlude. The whole thing was unrehearsed and spontaneous.

Ray Wilson

After some time, Ray Wilson is once again a guest on Steve’s live show. As on previous guest appearances, he sang Carpet Crawlers.

Concert schedule

You can find lots of details about the show in our articles on the Summer Tour 2024 and the Spring Tour 2025. But of course, this show at the Royal Albert Hall is special. Steve admitted in an interview that he was nervous. In the end, however, he and his band delivered – and so did the guests.

The first part builds up suspense, and after the first three tracks from the album The Circus And The Nightwhale (on which These Passing Clouds has the potential to become a live classic), there are some Hackett standards, which he does, however, play relatively often (especially Every Day and Camino Royale). Of course, the track Hands Of The Priestess deserves a special mention, as John Hackett is on stage here and the song was not played at all on the tour. As Steve reveals, the song also marked the start of John Hackett’s professional career as a musician, and almost 50 years later, they are playing the song together again.

It is somewhat unclear why John did not remain on stage for the next song, A Tower Struck Down. However, he was to return to the stage later in the concert for a special appearance.

We should also mention the song The Devil’s Cathedral, in which Nad Sylvan sings lead vocals for the first time in the first part. The song is perfect for his voice, and this track from the album Surrender Of Silence is increasingly becoming a standard in the live set. Over the years, Nad has trained and found his voice for the songs in Steve Hackett’s set and has become more and more confident. His solo career is also going well, as his current solo album Monumentata shows.

One of the highlights of the first set is Jonas Reingold’s bass solo, which was long titled Basic Instincts. It is now called Low Notes And High Hopes, but that doesn’t change its entertainment value. Jonas has become a central figure in Steve’s live band, and this solo is a more than fitting tribute to him. We would also like to take this opportunity to mention his solo project, the band Karmakanic, which released the album Transmutation at the beginning of the year.

Shadow Of The Hierophant remains Steve Hackett’s solo legacy. And here we get the classic in its entirety. Amanda Lehmann sings and strums the strings; the band is in top form and the finale is simply magnificent. Of course, it’s different to experience this live, but you can still sense the power of the sound on TV when one or two cameras start to shake.

The pros and cons of why Steve only plays a selection of the Lamb material – and, above all, which songs he chose – have already been discussed at length. Other things are more interesting for this review.

As soon as the instrumental part of the song Fly On A Windshield begins, Steve pauses and welcomes Steve Rothery (Marillion) to the stage. What follows is a kind of conversation on the guitar. The whole thing goes on for a long time and is completely improvised, as the two were unable to rehearse. It is fascinating to watch these two legends play.

A little later, Ray Wilson appears at the back of the stage, on a platform between Craig Blundell and Roger King. He is also introduced by Steve and then sings ‘his’ song, Carpet Crawlers. There is hardly a song from the Gabriel era of the band that Ray sings as well as this one. Ray made Carpet Crawlers his own, often plays it at his concerts and was also heard as a guest on this song back in 2013. In 2024, it sounds a little different. You can see how focused Ray is.

And there he stands, slightly elevated on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall, looking a little like Rael, singing his heart out. He has the stage he deserves – charisma, dignity, class, a fascinating hall… it’s all there… and of course the audience. Quite a few fans in Great Britain would like to see him come back more often…

The Lamb Stew then has three more absolute highlights with The Chamber Of 32 Doors, The Lamia and it, before further Genesis classics round off the evening.

In principle, all of the other tracks can be highlighted individually. Dancing With The Moonlit Knight works exceptionally well in this venue, and Steve also mentions in the interview that it is a special moment and place for this song. There is a surprise during Firth Of Fifth when John Hackett comes on stage and plays the flute solo on the flute. It’s a very appealing performance, which is basically the intro to Steve’s legendary guitar solo.

At the end of the concert, Craig Blundell also gets to show off his skills on the drums before the concert comes to a fitting close with Los Endos / Slogans. Afterwards, all the guests return to the stage to be celebrated.

Picture and sound

In times when domestic televisions are getting bigger and bigger, DVDs are logically losing their appeal. As a result, there has been a growing focus on HD images or even higher resolutions in recent years. Steve Hackett’s latest concert film is also available in HD on Blu-ray (1080p). And the picture delivers solid performance. Occasionally, you see some grain or vibration-induced wobble, but overall we are treated to a strong picture that is worthy of the Royal Albert Hall. The editing is also good and you get to see different perspectives.

The Blu-ray features stereo and surround sound. However, unlike most current concert film releases, there is no Dolby ATMOS mix, but ‘only’ dts 5.1 surround sound. Tom Lord-Alge is responsible for this. The mix is subtle. The centre speaker is almost non-existent, and even on the rear speakers, you mainly hear reverb or the audience. Perhaps they could have gone a little further here – but then again, the concert itself was not a surround event. Overall, the sound is powerful and the individual instruments are well defined.

Bonus material

The Blu-ray’s only bonus feature is a 23-minute interview with Steve Hackett. However, it is well worth watching. Steve talks about the Royal Albert Hall as a special place and also brings in the family aspect, as his mother was there too and proud to see her two sons together. She said of the show: ‘That was the best concert I’ve ever seen.’

Steve also pays tribute to his guests and their contributions. He notes that Ray Wilson’s vocal performance on Calling All Stations was magnificent, as was his contribution at the Royal Albert Hall. Also, he points out that Ray sang the song a little differently this time, which Steve thinks is fantastic. He is known to be working on a joint album with Steve Rothery and emphasises that the guitar interlude between the two during Fly On A Windshield was improvised and not rehearsed.

Looking back on The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Steve also looks back on the period surrounding The Lamb and the special circumstances surrounding it. This includes the story of his hand injury and, of course, the first concerts in North America when the album wasn’t even available yet. Overall, he emphasises Tony Banks’ role in the band (‘we all learned from him’) and the special connection he had (and still has) with Peter Gabriel.

Presentation and packaging

Essentially, we have two formats: a 2CD/Blu-ray set and a 4LP set, whereby the LP set does not include the concert film. However, the vinyl set contains a booklet and, of course, larger pictures overall. The 2CD/Blu-ray set comes in a cardboard slipcase and is a digipak with real trays. To avoid spoiling the cover, an image with the relevant additional information (age restriction, etc.) was placed on the cardboard slipcase and then shrink-wrapped. The set does not include a booklet. The information is printed directly on the fold-out parts of the digipak.

This time there is no DVD version – it seems that this medium is gradually disappearing altogether. Vinyl fans will certainly be disappointed by the absence of a Blu-ray disc – this should be considered for future releases. However, the vinyl set does include an LP-format booklet with a few photos in all their glory.

All in all

There is at least one live recording of every tour since 2013, usually in the form of a 2CD/DVD or 2CD/Blu-ray set and often also on vinyl. That’s a great thing in itself – it means that Steve’s tours are documented almost completely. A little repetition is inevitable, but it’s amazing how much Steve varies the Genesis part. With this set, he has once again expanded his range. And, of course, the special guests and the venue make the evening and thus also the release something special. All in all, The Lamb Stands Up Live At The Royal Albert Hall is one of his best live documentaries.

Author: Christian Gerhardts
Photos: Michaela Ix (Close-ups), Diana Seifert (Band / LP Booklet)

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Formats

The Lamb Stands Up Live At The Royal Albert Hall has been released in various formats. In addition to the digital album (stream/download), there is a 4LP set and a 2CD/Blu-ray set. A DVD version has not been released this time. The album is available to stream in lossless format, i.e. it is not available in Dolby Atmos.

The track list of the digital album and the 2CD differs slightly from the set list of the concert. This is simply due to the capacity limitations of the CD medium. However, it would have been possible to restore the correct order for the digital version. On the concert film, however, the order of the tracks is the same as in the concert.

Tracklist 2CD (and digital album)

CD1

People Of The Smoke
Circo Inferno
These Passing Clouds
The Devil’s Cathedral
Every Day
Hands Of The Priestess
A Tower Struck Down
Low Notes And High Hopes
Camino Royale
Shadow Of The Hierophant
The Cinema Show
Aisle Of Plenty

CD2

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Fly On A Windshield
Broadway Melody Of 1974
Hairless Heart
Carpet Crawlers
The Chamber Of 32 Doors
Lilywhite Lilith
The Lamia
It
Dancing With The Moonlit Knight
Firth Of Fifth
Los Endos

Tracklist Blu-ray

People Of The Smoke
Circo Inferno
These Passing Clouds
The Devil’s Cathedral
Every Day
Hands Of The Priestess
A Tower Struck Down
Low Notes And High Hopes
Camino Royale
Shadow Of The Hierophant
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Fly On A Windshield
Broadway Melody Of 1974
Hairless Heart
Carpet Crawlers
The Chamber Of 32 Doors
Lilywhite Lilith
The Lamia
It
The Cinema Show
Aisle Of Plenty
Dancing With The Moonlit Knight
Firth Of Fifth
Los Endos
Bonus: Steve Hackett Interview

Tracklist Vinyl:

LP1, Side A

People of the Smoke
Circo Inferno
These Passing Clouds
The Devil’s Cathedral
Hands of the Priestess

LP1, Side B

A Tower Struck Down
Low Notes And High Hopes
Camino Royale

LP2, Side A

Every Day
Shadow of the Hierophant

LP2, Side B

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Fly on a Windshield
Broadway Melody of 1974
Hairless Heart

LP3, Side A

Carpet Crawlers
The Chamber of 32 Doors
Lilywhite Lilith

LP3, Side B

The Lamia
It
Dancing With the Moonlit Knight

LP4, Side A

The Cinema Show
Aisle of Plenty
Firth of Fifth

LP4, Side B

Los Endos

Order options

2CD/Blu-ray: amazonUK* | amazonFR* | Burningshed
4LP-Set: amazonUK* | amazonFR* | Burningshed

You can also purchase the album from the official web shops of Steve Hackett and InsideOut.

* Affiliate link – by purchasing via this link, we receive a small advertising fee.