CD Review: Steve Hackett - Out of the Tunnel's Mouth

One of the great things about being a fan of Genesis is that each member or former member of the band has a deep solo career to explore. For whatever mood you feel, there is new music to explore. Steve Hackett’s latest work, ‘Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth’ on his own Wolfworks label is the newest addition to this ever expanding discography.

This album runs through a full gamut of moods, with a lot of darkness and reflections, but yet to these ears the album feels hopeful at its conclusion. The turns that life takes can be unexpected, and can make the reality of life seem paper thin, as Steve sings in ‘Fire on the Moon,’ but by the end of the disc, you feel as if you are on a voyage somewhere different, exotic, and at its core, resolved to move forward, to take life on your own terms…

Are these songs autobiographical? They may be, but to the listener, it is almost irrelevant, as with the best autobiographical, personal songs, the music takes the listener on a trip to reflect on their own experiences and lives, as reflected to them in the music, the experience of another person. The personal experience of the artist, becomes general in the mind of the listener. This creating of these moods, based on Steve’s own experiences, then generalize to the hearts and minds of the audience.

What follows are impressions I felt while listening to each song. I am not attempting to “review” the music, as taste as always is a personal choice, but here you can find one person’s reflection, and perhaps it will whet your appetite to hear this music yourself… I know for me, this is an album that already has rewarded me upon repeat listens. I’ll continue to listen, to explore more and more the emotional depths present here, that are absent in so much music. This music speaks truth, and you will find yourself inside the truth, wherever that may take you.

1. Fire on the Moon: Starts with a sound, almost like a scream cut off abruptly… Is it autobiographical, the feeling of a drop off, a shock to the system… The rolling bass in the wordless choruses feels relentless, something moving forward inexorably towards an unknown conclusion… The guitar breaks, while intense, seem to these ears to be containing hope also… A reflection on the past, without submitting to it…
2. Nomads: A cry from the heart… could be the title for the entire album… A Spanish influenced song, with joy in the middle guitar break, turning to electric before our eyes…Shades of darkness near the end… It’s a cry from the heart, truly…
3. Emerald and Ash: A foggy nighttime intro… Smiling dolls wield the sharpest blade…An airy middle section, dreamy in it’s mode…But after the dream, darkness shows…Light and airy middle sections, with the sound of a light and airy 12 string, then turning dark and electric…Jamming guitar concludes… A workout on electric…Almost sounds like a march moving forward, relentlessly
4. Tubehead: Hackett has spoken of Clocks, off of Spectral Mornings, being designed as “live bait” for getting concert crowds rocking… This track is the live bait for 2009, and it works great! More guitar than should be allowed on one track… I’m sure this will be wild live…Perhaps the middle “breakdown” section could have even been pushed up in the mix a bit more, but that’s a minor quibble
5. Sleepers: Acoustic intro, reflective… Almost Hairless Heart like in quality, not a remake, but explores that same mood to these ears… …More of that romantic sounding nylon guitar that fans love from Steve, and that he does so well… Transition to song… more mournful guitar…Fine arrangement, relaxing, dreamy, pulls you in, then punches you in the face (in a good way?) with heaviness in the middle… Almost a cartoonish music break in the middle-end solo… Great stuff, from one mood to another in the space of a few bars… Does music come from dreams, and if so, are they as haunted as this music…
6. Ghost in the Glass: Nature sounds, outdoors, hanging with Steve as he plays the intro…Into the electric main melody, a respite from some of the darkness of the other songs on the album, but still power is here…
7. Still Waters: Heavyness incarnate…Blues with a dark feeling…Male/female vocals trading off, verse/chorus, blues with progressive breaks… a heavy blues groove to die for…
8. Last Train to Intanbul: A middle eastern flavour to the intro, guitar, flute, Steve can still take us geographically around the world, with a short guitar phrase… Takes a mode of music, and puts his own stamp on it… Orchestral call and response throughout the verses… Wonderful stuff… It unquestionably Hackett, with the taste of the rest of the world…Lots of references to sleep in the lyrics throughout the album… We can take this as an observation on waking up, becoming aware, and taking control as we begin the rest of our lives…

And as we fade out the last track, we get the sense of moving forward, the music going on, and we go on with our lives… We awake from the dream, finding our way to the new tomorrow, catching that Last Train to Istanbul…

Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth is available on 5 October 2009, from Steve’s site: Hackettsongs.com

Belew!

On both Friday and Saturday night this weekend, I attended local shows by Adrian Belew, solo artist/guitarist/songwriter extraordinaire, the Friday night show at BB King's in NYC, and Saturday night's show at Maxwell's in Hoboken. Initially, I had only tickets to the Friday show, but I discovered a week or so ago that the Hoboken show was happening. As Hoboken is a 15 minute drive from here in Jersey City, I decided I *had* to go to the second show. Really, there was no choice! And I'm very glad I made that call...

The two shows had generally identical set lists, although Friday's show *may* have had a bit more of Belew's new album, 'e' played at it. The Saturday show, to my ears was way ahead of the Friday show, in power, playing, and just general fun. Perhaps it had to do with the Friday venue being a seated club, and the Saturday show being at a standing club (where I was right up at the stage, to Belew's left), so I realize that can have a bit to do with my enjoyment of the show. I do think Friday's show had a few tech issues, while the only real issue I saw on Saturday, was Belew having a bit of trouble finding a tricky C# in a fast run during one of the 'e' sections... Caused by dim lighting!

Here's a photo of the set list, which I was able to get from Saturday's show, for those of you who are interested...

The set was heavy on the instrumental bits, and while I have the feeling that a lot of the new album's material was not known to the crowd, it got a great response, as Belew's writing, whether instrumental or song based, is always heavy on memorable melodies, great playing, and strong musicianship. The new material, and some of the older songs utilized looping technology, where Belew would play a riff, patter, or melody, which then through the magic of technology, would be played as a loop, over which Belew could then play other patterns, rhythms, melodies, animal sounds, basically whatever he wished to...

Belew was discovered by Frank Zappa, and played in his band before going on to play with other great musicians, and record his own solo albums. I found myself reflecting after the first show, that I think if Zappa was still alive, he would have embraced this looping technology to a great extent for his own compositions. However, that's just me hypothisizing/daydreaming, who knows what would have happened if Zappa had lived...

I did take a few photos of the show, I did not use flash as I find that annoying during shows, but because of that, most of the shots I took have a fluid nature to them... They're not "great" shots, but I find something compelling about them... Here's a selection of them for you.

This tour was billed as the "Power Trio" tour, and the rhythm section was made up of Julie Slick on bass, and Eric Slick on drums. Much has been written on how great these two players are, and how well they gel with Adrian on stage, so let me just add my voice to the chorus and say how *fantastic* they are, they really seem to form an excellent compliment to the lead guitar and vocals provided by Adrian. Having two young musicians of this calibre to back him up, Adrian must feel as if he can go out on stage and play just about anything, and the Slick's will be right there with him to back him up...

This last photo was taken during the brief autograph session at the end of the night on Friday. Adrian is always willing to meet and chat with fans, and sign albums he's played on. I'm a sucker for photos and autographs, I admit, so I was happy to get this shot of us together.

I recommend to anyone out there who is interested in any part of Belew's career, to give this new album a shot, and to see one of these power trio shows if they're coming to play anywhere near you. You won't be disappointed.

EDIT: I also have to say I was glad to see "Futurevision" from the album 'Here' get a live airing. I've always loved that song, and I think it tends to get ignored in the greater Belew canon...

Trivia

Yet again, our band of trivia goers (tonight, it was David, Mike D., Steve, and Julie, our new Community Director in the office) once again dove into the breach, and came up victorious. We ended the game in first place, so we take home the $50 gift certificate, which we use in the moment to pay for the food we got while out at trivia.

We tip well though, since we don't spend real money on the food. We know where our bread is buttered, and we want the staff there to like us...

Granted, we don't win all the time, but we tend to do well.

The way the game works is like this. There are five rounds, and four questions in each round. The first three questions, you answer, and you assign a point value to your answer. The value is either 5 points, 3 points, or 1 point, based on how confident you are of the answer. The team can only use each point value once. You can't put 5 points for each answer. So, the answer you are least sure of, you should put 1 point on that question, and 5 points on the one you are most sure of.

The 4th question is always worth 7 points, question number bonus. So, with 16 points in 5 rounds, the max number of points for the game is 80.

Tonight, we scored 70. Good, but not our best.

The categories are usually TV, Movies, Music, Sports, and then either a double of one of the used categories (another Movie, TV, etc), or sometimes a different one. Tonight's 5th category was "Games."

So, that's how we usually spend our Thursday evenings, after work... Now, I have to digest Houlihan's bar food... That'll take awhile!

Paul McCartney

You know, I might be arriving a bit late to this party, but for the first time I have seen Sir Paul McCartney live in concert.

And, I have to say, I think this chap may have a decent career in music coming up!

I went to see Paul play with a rocking teenage combo at the new Shea Stadium back in July, now called Citi Field, or some such non-descript name. I think that people will still call it Shea, just like the PNC Bank Arts Center is still the Garden State Arts Center for those in the know...

Paul played a great selection of music, and as I've told some people in person, he truly brought "The Rock" to this show. Some of Paul's music could be a bit soft at times, but at this show, it was all good high energy rock, one after another. Even the acoustic bit of the show, had a power to it that worked for songs like Yesterday and others.

Overall, for this Beatle fan, a great show! I do need to get some of McCartney's solo albums now, any recommendations?

And, here's a video of "Jet," the second song of the night. Enjoy!

Frost/Nixon and UKZ

Yesterday, I spent most of the day in New York City, seeing two very different shows. In the early afternoon, I went to see the film "Frost/Nixon," and in the evening, I went to see the "new" prog band UKZ, featuring Eddie Jobson from the late 1970's prog band UK.

But, to start with, I went into the city around noonish, to catch the 1:50pm showing of "Frost/Nixon." I enjoy reading history, and learning more about the story behind the story of what has happened in the past, so I believed this movie would be a good way of seeing what happened behind the scenes with the Frost/Nixon interviews, which I do vaguely remember from my childhood.

Of course, I know that any recreation of history is simply that, a recreation, but going into it with that light, these types of films can be a great way to get a sense of the atmosphere of the time.

With that all being said, my verdict is that I enjoyed the movie. I didn't realize the struggle that Frost had to get these interviews funded and off the ground. I knew that Frost was a television personality, but I didn't know that at the time, he was considered to be a lightweight, and that an interview with Nixon wouldn't really have fit in with his past career. The movie painted Frost as someone who at first, was really only interested in the interview as a way to get Nixon on television, to be the "first" to really interview him after his resignation in 1974. However, the movie showed Frost truly getting interested in getting the 'truth' from Nixon after a late night phone call from Nixon himself during the course of the interviews.

I'm curious if that call happened, or if it was a creation for the film. More to learn...

Frank Langella played Nixon, and while he doesn't particularly have a resemblance to the old President, he did inhabit the character like an old glove. Langella had played Nixon in the stage play that the movie is based upon, so he did have a familiarity with the character that another actor might not have attained in the time it took to make the film.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. There was enough of the 'process' behind the interviews, to have it be a compelling story, but I would have actually liked *more* about that process. And Nixon himself could have had more development as a character. Perhaps this is just my own hankering for history, that I always want more from these films. I know that the original interviews have been released on DVD recently, it may be worth picking up to see what the interviews were truly like, and if there are any behind the scenes stories in extras on the discs.

Not exactly what you'd think of as a compelling rental or purchase, but for me, it's something that I would really be interested in seeing.

Would I recommend this movie? Yes, most certainly. I think it does a great job of showing the time, and the personalities behind the characters. My main critique, is that I did just want *more* from the film.

Then, after checking out a local arcade on 42nd Street after the movie, where I played trivia games for about an hour, I headed to the Town Hall for the premiere of UKZ, a five piece band featuring Eddie Jobson on keyboards and electric violin, Trey Gunn on Warr Guitar, Marco Minnerman on drums, Aaron Lippert on vocals, and Alex Machacek on guitar. This band is a 'recreation' of the band UK, which Jobson was a part of in the late 1970's, which at the time included (at different times), John Wetton, Bill Bruford, Allan Holdsworth, and Terry Bozzio.

So, with Jobson really the only carryover from the old band, what to expect? My mentality was to go into the show with minimal expectations. I was going for fun, to enjoy myself, and to see a lineup of great musicians going for it. And fortunately, that is what I got.

The evening started off with Tony Levin's "Stick Men" project, featuring Levin and Michael Bernier on Stick, and Pat Mastelotto on drums. They performed for about 40 minutes, a variety of material written and performed with gusto, with lots of interlocking parts and fun playing. Levin and Bernier would alternate holding down rhythm, and playing lead lines on their Sticks. I enjoyed the material, but I think that some of it did begin to sound the same over the performance. One piece stood out for me though, where both Levin and Bernier used bows on their Sticks to make sound, versus the normal tapping that players usually use on the Stick. It was more a more breathy and atmospheric piece, some of which reminded me of the middle section of Pink Floyd's "Echoes." I'd like to see more experimental pieces from the Stick Men in the future, I'd gladly go see them again. Levin is always fun to see perform, and the band can really develop over time.

UKZ performed for slightly under 2 hours. If this band can sound this tight after what I would imagine are fairly minimal rehearsals, then I can only imagine what they could produce after a real series of shows. The band and performance was great! The first song was the UK classic "In the Dead of Night," which sounded both like the older arrangement, but had a great new edge to it. "Radiation," a new UKZ song followed, which while Crimson-like in its sound, was unique enough to keep this listener interested. The UK song "Carrying No Cross" followed, which was a really wonderful version, with emotional singing from Lippert.

The middle section of the concert included a number of solo spots, from Trey (with Marco the drummer), Eddie's piano and violin solo spot, a solo spot from the guitarist, and a drum solo which was both entertaining to see and amazing to listen to. To my taste, I think there was a bit *too* much of the solo spots in the show, but as a new band, UKZ still doesn't have a lot of new material to play live. If the band continues, and I hope it does, I would hope the solo bits would be cut down. I prefer solo bits that are incorporated into full band pieces...

The band played a few more new pieces, and ended the full set with another UK song, which I'm drawing a blank on, what the song actually was. I'm sure the full setlist is published on one of the other prog sites. The encores were King Crimson's "Larks' Tongues in Aspic II," with Levin and Mastelotto joining in on the fun. It was great to hear the violin lines in that song played by a violin again! The final song was UK's "Caesar's Palace Blues," with (I think), the song "The Sahara of Snow" from Bruford (co-written by Jobson) tagged onto the end of the piece.

All in all, a good day spent in the city. The movie was well worth it, and the band was wonderful to see.