Steve Hackett - "Spectral Mornings" (1979)

This was the third solo record from the former Genesis guitarist. Due to a somewhat ambivalent teenage history with his album Till We Have Faces, I have an instinctive skepticism toward Hackett's solo works. Add to that, the cover is not really to my taste, so my expectations on the LP were not very high. It could possibly be a helping factor to why I actually think it's pretty good.

The musicians participating on the album would become Hackett's band for a number of years, the classic lineup, many believe. One of these was his brother John Hackett. Most of the song is done by Pete Hicks, the other musicians were Nick Magnus, Dik Cadbury and John Shearer. The album opens nicely with Every Day, an anti-drug song. Apparently Hackett had had a former girlfriend with drug issues. This song became one of his standards throughout his career, the other song that became a standard is the instrumental title song that finishes the record. Of these two, I like Every Day the best.

One thing I like about the album is its variety. Each song is pretty unique, which makes it fun to listen to. There is singing, instrumentals, Japanese music, horror film moods, acoustic, electric, etc. It could have been unfocused, but it's not. Instead, each song becomes its own little experience. What I don't like is that many songs contain a lot of synths, which sometimes create a bit cheap and thin sound. In 1979, synths could result in just about anything. There are a bunch of different synths used, and the sound of them is often the 80s pop, or even new age music from that decade, with a lightweight feel. When Hackett's solo guitar is added to that, some songs almost touch the easy listening genre. Here I think mainly of the title song. Despite this, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and overall I like the album. The music is defined as progressive, maybe that's correct, that definition feels so unspecific so I'm not even going to discuss it.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Every Day 6:14
2. The Virgin and the Gypsy 4:27
3. The Red Flower of Tachai Blooms Everywhere 2:05
4. Clocks - The Angel of Mons 4:17
5. The Ballad of the Decomposing Man "(featuring" The Office Party ") 3:49

Side B
1. Lost Time in Córdoba 4:03
2. Tigermoth 7:35
3. Spectral Mornings 6:33