“Welcome to my nightmare,” says ex-Genesis guitarist Steve
\nHackett with
\nDarktown<\/i>, the most “autobiographical and revealing” of the
\nvirtuoso’s seventeen solo albums. True to its title,
\nDarktown<\/i> is a stirring romp through Hackett’s dreams and
\nexperiences – a carnival of memories ranging from the social
\nminefields of school days to rain-drenched hypnotic car rides to
\nyoung love to death.<\/p>\n
All this, punctuated by some of the most stirring guitar
\ninstrumentals this side of King Crimson, clear and pristine
\nproduction values, and an uncanny ability to mix the gorgeous
\ntimbres of ’70s prog-rock with a more modern sensibility, adds up
\nto Hackett’s best record since 1975’s
\nVoyage Of The Acolyte<\/i> and the best progressive album of the
\nyear. In a just world,
\nDarktown<\/i> sells four million copies and Hackett is given his
\nrightful recognition as one of the most exciting and emotive
\nguitarists in history. In this world, it sells fifty thousand
\n(maybe) and everyone still thinks Eddie Van Halen invented tapping
\nand Genesis began with “Follow You Follow Me.”<\/p>\n
Beautifully packaged and painstakingly produced,
\nDarktown<\/i> is the culmination of eight years of work for
\nHackett. It shows. In stark contrast to retro-prog abortions like
\nRick Wakeman’s
\nReturn To The Centre Of The Earth<\/i>, Genesis’
\nCalling All Stations<\/i>, and Yes’
\nOpen Your Eyes<\/i>,
\nDarktown<\/i> is a well-produced, modern album that proves a
\nfusion of the classic progressive musical vein with ’90s technology
\nis possible, and, more importantly, that the results can be both
\ninteresting and demanding on the ear and at the same time a
\npleasant listen.<\/p>\n
You want churning, speedfreak guitar-torture? You’ll find it
\nhere, but more interestingly, just listen to some of the sounds
\nHackett coaxes from his six-string. He makes the guitar sound like
\na violin, a distorted organ, a synthesizer, and a drumkit. Hackett
\nis willing to mix up his sounds as well, there’s distortion,
\nsustain, growling, purring, whirring–guitar as beautiful pastoral
\ninstrument or brutal industrial electric monster.<\/p>\n
On his landmark 70s solo releases –
\nVoyage Of The Acolyte<\/i> and
\nSpectral Mornings<\/i> – Hackett was clearly more comfortable
\ncomposing from an instrumental point of view. Although his
\ngravelly, wavering voice was not wholly unpleasant, Hackett
\npreferred to bring in guest singers (Phil Collins, Sally Oldfield,
\nRichie Havens, etc.) to cover the vocals. On
\nDarktown,<\/i> Hackett eschews this approach and handles them all
\n(with the exception of the ballad “Days Of Long Ago”, sung by Jim
\nDiamond). While personally I wouldn’t mind if someone hid that damn
\nvocal processor that Hackett uses for his voiceovers somewhere far
\nfar away, the effects are not nearly as jarring as they were on
\nsome of the cuts on earlier albums, notably
\nGenesis Revisited<\/i>. The instrumentals – notably “Twice Around
\nthe Sun” and “Darktown Riot” are fantastic and fascinating musical
\nexplorations.<\/p>\n
\nDarktown<\/i> is a mood album. Playing it at a party would be
\nunwise, but alone on headphones on a rainy day brings out the
\nrecord’s sonic clarity and beautiful timbres. The range of musical
\nstyles encompassed here is breathtaking – “Omega Metallicus” opens
\nup with a pounding drum\/bass rhythm and rips into a guitar-driven
\ndervish instrumental. Contrast this with the tender ballad “Days Of
\nLong Ago”, the gentle surrealism of “Jane Austen’s Door”, or the
\nacoustic opening of “Rise Again.” While musically it is definitely
\nthe oddest track on the album, “The Golden Age Of Steam” is an easy
\nhighlight, quite poignant and powerful. The title track, with its
\ncrashing heavy metal vamps under Ian McDonald’s squealing,
\ndiscordant saxophone, hits the mark as well, although the processed
\nvocals can grate.<\/p>\n
This album sounds nothing like Genesis, nothing like any of
\nHackett’s earlier works, and certainly zip like the crap being
\nchurned out by “prog-rockers” old and new. Adventurous, by turns
\nmajestic and schizophrenic,
\nDarktown<\/i> truly is a triumph. For more information, please
\nvisit the artist’s
\nwebsite<\/a>. Although only
\navailable now as an import,
\nDarktown<\/i> is worth the inflated price – and stands as a
\nreminder to jaded progressive rock fans that great, challenging new
\nmusic is still being made (and occasionally by the fellas who
\nbrought you the first batch 25 years ago).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7307],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-39238","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-steve-hackett","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39238"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}