STEVE HACKETT - To Watch The Storms - album thread

The last time SH tried out new things. Loved that album when it came out. From the Genesis family, Steve was my hero back then, because the previous year's Up by PG had been such a disappointment for me. Since then he has become rock music's answer to Woody Allen, releasing the same album again and again (apart from his acoustic work).

One of Steve's better albums IMO. As is common with Steve's albums, the variety of moods and styles makes things interesting, if sometimes a bit uneven.

Thoughts on individual songs:

The Devil Is An Englishman - I'm not a fan of this, but I heard part of Thomas Dolby's original and it sounded worse!

Frozen Statues - A particularly good showcase for Steve's voice.

Brand New - A promising song idea, but it loses its way and gets ruined in the process. This would have been served well by a more conventional song structure. The single edit is better.

Rebecca - Maybe it helps that I actually read the book, but this is one of my very favorite Steve songs. To my ears, the upbeat middle section is actually the saddest and most beautiful part of the song.

The Silk Road - Weird, almost scary.

Come Away - Stylistically odd but irresistibly catchy nonetheless. Another favorite.

Serpentine Song - Just wonderful, especially the flute work at the end. (BTW, I'm pretty sure the most prominent voice here is not Steve but rather Gary Toole.)

Quote from Sredni

The last time SH tried out new things. Loved that album when it came out. From the Genesis family, Steve was my hero back then, because the previous year's Up by PG had been such a disappointment for me. Since then he has become rock music's answer to Woody Allen, releasing the same album again and again (apart from his acoustic work).

While you are right about him becoming "samey", it wasn't from this album, it was after Wolflight. Wild Orchids could perhaps be regarded as similar, but Tunnel's Mouth and Beyond The Shrouded Horizon all covered new ground. I suspect the ending of risk-taking coincided with Wolflight being his first charting album in years, because it was post GR2.

Fave tracks on TWTS? The Brand New/This World/Rebecca/Silk Road suite, which, as I've said before, IMO, are the equal of anything Genesis did after he left. Also Serpentine Song, and Come away.

TWTS for me is part of the second tier of great Hackett albums that I would group with Darktown, Guitar Noir and Bay of Kings.

Not quite in the same class with the first four (VOTA to Defector). But still very enjoyable, nonethess, with some top-notch material.

The two opening tracks, Strutton Ground and Circus of Becoming, are my favourites.