STEVE HACKETT - Your favorite solo albums

    • Official Post

    What are your favorite STEVE HACKETT albums? 41

    1. Please Don't Touch [1978] (24) 59%
    2. Spectral Mornings [1979] (24) 59%
    3. Voyage Of The Acolyte [1975] (21) 51%
    4. Darktown [1999] (17) 41%
    5. To Watch The Storms [2003] (13) 32%
    6. Defector [1980] (12) 29%
    7. Guitar Noir [1993] (11) 27%
    8. Beyond The Shrouded Horizon [2011] (10) 24%
    9. Out Of The Tunnel's Mouth [2009] (6) 15%
    10. Genesis Revisited [1996] (6) 15%
    11. Wild Orchids [2006] (5) 12%
    12. Under A Mediterranean Sky [2021] (4) 10%
    13. Surrender Of Silence [2021] (3) 7%
    14. Bay Of Kings [1983] (3) 7%
    15. Genesis Revisited II [2013] (3) 7%
    16. Cured [1981] (3) 7%
    17. Highly Strung [1983] (2) 5%
    18. At The Edge Of Light [2019] (1) 2%
    19. The Night Siren [2017] (1) 2%
    20. Wolflight [2015] (1) 2%
    21. SQUACKETT: A Life Within A Day [2012] (1) 2%
    22. QUIET WORLD: The Road [1970] (1) 2%
    23. The Circus And The Nightwhale [2024] (1) 2%
    24. Metamorpheus [2005] (1) 2%
    25. A Midsumer Night's Dream [1997] (1) 2%
    26. Momentum [1988] (1) 2%
    27. Till We Have Faces [1984] (1) 2%
    28. Tribute [2008] (0) 0%
    29. Feedback 86 [2000] (0) 0%
    30. Blues With A Feeling [1995] (0) 0%
    31. GTR [1986] (0) 0%
    32. Sketches Of Satie [2000] (0) 0%

    Steve Hackett has released a lot of studio albums. So let's check what are your favorite ones? You can pick up to 5 albums

  • i don`t know his complete work. From the ones I know, I chose:


    Voyage Of The Acolyte

    Please Don`t Touch

    Spectral Mornings

    First we learned to walk on water.

    Then we tried something harder.

    - Red Seven -

    • Official Post

    remember you pick up to 5 albums!

  • PDT, Till we have faces, Darktown, To watch the Storms and Wild Orchids* (Would've been impossible to choose between the last two, lucky it was 5!)


    * Awful title, great album.

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • PDT, Till we have faces, Darktown, To watch the Storms and Wild Orchids* (Would've been impossible to choose between the last two, lucky it was 5!)


    * Awful title, great album.

    First time I've encountered anyone (albeit online) who listed Till We Have Faces as one of their favourite albums.

    It's actually one of the few studio releases of his I don't have (it fell under my radar at the time of release, and then afterwards I probably got a bit dissauded by the reviews, which seemed to be consistent across the board).

  • I've ticked my top five:


    In no particular order:


    Voyage Of The Acolyte

    Please Don't Touch

    Spectral Mornings

    Highly Strung

    Wild Orchids.


    Out of interest, my next five would be:


    Defector

    To Watch The Storms

    Blues With A Feeling (Been playing this a lot recently, funnily enough. Very underrated imo).

    Guitar Noir (Love the atmosphere and the harmonies on that)

    Beyond The Shrouded Horizon (I actually like the bonus disc even more than the main one!)


    I haven't included his Genesis revisited stuff as I rate that very highly but wouldn't count it as 'solo' stuff, even though there's some on it. Also didn't include his classical albums, which are a very different, and thoroughly enjoyable, beast.


    I actually like everything Steve's released, and I can't say that about many bands or artists.

    Out of interest, least favourite? Till We Have Faces. (I still play it sometimes though). ;)

  • My top « 5 » list :


    Please Don’t Touch

    Voyage Of The Acolyte

    Spectral Mornings

    Out Of The Tunnel’s Mouth

    At The Edge Of Light (more coherent than the last one).

  • I voted


    Spectral

    Bay

    Guitar Noir

    Darktown

    TWTS


    On another day it could have been VOTA, Beyond..., Mid Summer...


    I wouldn't want to part with either Till We Have Faces or Blues with a Feeling, both more interesting than most of the more recent stuff.

  • His first four albums were straight in for me and then I had to think about Darktown, Beyond the Shrouded Horizons and Out of the Tunnel’s mouth- eventually settling for Beyond, but on a different day maybe one of the others would win. I really like his classical albums as well but only listen to those when working on something as background. The last clutch chronologically are all good albums but merge into one in my mind. I probably need to listen to them

    much more so they fix themselves in my mind.

  • First time I've encountered anyone (albeit online) who listed Till We Have Faces as one of their favourite albums.

    It's actually one of the few studio releases of his I don't have (it fell under my radar at the time of release, and then afterwards I probably got a bit dissauded by the reviews, which seemed to be consistent across the board).

    I listened to it last night, still found it fresh, ground-breaking, Prog in the true sense of the word, and very enjoyable. From the simpler stuff like "Duel" and "Let Me Count The Ways" to the Brazillian Drum-focused "Matilda Smith-Williams....." (nicely humorous) and "What's My Name", it's all nicely done, and the humour continues with Myopia (Brandenburg concerto inserted because he can't read the sheet music!) and while I can understand it might've been a bit "out there" for some, to me, it's what he does (did! ;() best.


    Played the original version as I prefer the running order, but "Doll" is better on the newer version as it's a lot longer, and it'd have been nice to have the outtake, "Just The Bones" included, as it's never been released on CD, only the 12" of "Doll".

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • Played the original version as I prefer the running order, but "Doll" is better on the newer version as it's a lot longer, and it'd have been nice to have the outtake, "Just The Bones" included

    What "newer version" is that? Is it the extended "Doll" from the 12" single, with the instrumental B-side version merged onto the end (5:55 total according to the label)? I never knew that was released in any digital form.


    I agree that "Just the Bones" is one of the most "why hasn't this been released on CD?" tracks in existence. (BTW, the label on the 12" gives the time as 6:58, but it's actually only about 5:52.)

  • What "newer version" is that? Is it the extended "Doll" from the 12" single, with the instrumental B-side version merged onto the end (5:55 total according to the label)? I never knew that was released in any digital form.


    I agree that "Just the Bones" is one of the most "why hasn't this been released on CD?" tracks in existence. (BTW, the label on the 12" gives the time as 6:58, but it's actually only about 5:52.)

    My mistake. I was playing the old copy and was surprised when Doll faded early, then thought "it must be the 1994 revised album where it carries on" but no, it's just the same. I'm remembering the 12". Sorry for raising your hopes! ?(

    Ian


    Putting the old-fashioned Staffordshire plate in the dishwasher!

  • my listening dropped off in the late 80's, so hard to say, although have listened to some of his recent albums, but just don't grab me

    I am in that rare minority that actually quite liked Cured!...all about timing, as was also listening to more elecrto at the time and moving away from heavy rock

    Remember seeing him play some tracks from Cured at Reading Festival...Ah, what a Funny Feeling that was! 😄

    • Official Post

    In my opinion, DARKTOWN is the best album Steve has ever done.


    Although I like the first three ones, they all lack something, while Darktown sounds complete.

    Please Don't Touch comes close, so do Guitar Noir and Shrouded Horizon

  • Beyond The Shrouded Horizon (I actually like the bonus disc even more than the main one!)

    It was one of the last electric albums he did that I really liked.

    The one thing that always sticks in my mind whenever I play that album though is the fact "Four Winds East" which is credited to Hackett/Fenner is really an uncredited cover of "The Supernatural" composed by Peter Green.

    I'd love to ask Steve about that.