Steve Hackett - "Spectral Mornings" (Studio Hamburg 71 min.)

This concert from Musikladen in 1978 shows Hackett from his classic period as a solo artist, and is the only DVD you'll ever need of him. Here you get classics from "Voyage of the Acolyte", all the best tracks from "Please Don't Touch" and also a few tasters from the then forthcoming "Spectral Mornings" in form of "Clocks - The Angels of Mons" and the title-track. Pete Hicks sings on "Racing in A" and "Narnia". He sounds decent enough on these tunes, but shows that he had not the same capabilities as Steve Walsh. He also looks like shit, in VERY big contrast to Hackett's younger brother John who plays flute, guitar and bass pedals. The camera work is very good, and allows you to really study Hackett's beautiful technique through the whole concert. Some tracks have some unexpected twists here, like "Racing in A" that goes into the finale of "Ace of Wands" at the end, while "Ace of Wands" itself closes with something that sounds quite a lot like the very last section of "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight". Other highlights includes an ultra-heavy "A Tower Struck Down" and not at least the closing number that connects "Shadow of the Hierophant" with "Clocks - The Angles of Mons". And Dick Cadbury's falsetto is doing an impressively good job of recreating Sally Oldfield's vocal parts. Keyboardist Nick Magnus makes sure to add large doses of Mellotron to all the material. There's also a moody acoustic set here that features "Horizons" and the beautiful "Kim". "Carry Up on the Vicarage" and "Star of Sirius" were both edited out of the original broadcast of the concert, but are included here as bonus tracks on the DVD, giving you the complete show. This is a very good document of one of the most tasteful guitarists in progressive rock.


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