Hackett's Perspectives

Eric Montfort reviews Steve Hackett's recent performances at The Manoel, the first rock concerts to be held in this historical and classic venue.

Steve Hackett's concerts at The Manoel Theatre revealed a few interesting aspects in our local and foreign scene, too. It was the first time that The Manoel Theatre hosted a rock concert. Hackett performed an acoustic concert, and was accompanied by his brother John, who played the flute and keyboards' player Roger King. However, Hackett did not stray away from the venue's conservative conventions. This was no loud rock and roll concert, and Hackett also ensured that there would be a dose of Satie and Debussy, which after all, are part and parcel of his vast and versatile repertoire. Hackett did not include any blues material but there were references to some of his classic works with Genesis. Hackett, as usual, found time for literary references, notably Shakespeare, and also cracked a couple of his typical, wry jokes, one of which inevitably focused on the problems that were caused by the dust particles blown off by Mount Etna's eruption.

Yet, one can argue that Steve Hackett's flair can be, and was indeed, well revealed when he treated the aforementioned styles. His treatment of Satie's 'Gymnopedie Number One', one of his well-known numbers, was nimbly delivered, and this arrangement says so much about his neo-pastoral settings that Hackett has provided time and again. Blood, Sweat amd Tears also did a version of this classic. One must also bear in mind that Genisis were renowned for such pastoral settings -Selling England By The Pound, Hackett's favourite album and perhaps, Genesis' most artistic and striking release, features a classic example, 'The Firth of Fifth'. This song was a highlight of the concert, much to the delight of the avid fans of this band, and who probably accounted for the bulk of the audiences that filled The Manoel, almost to full capacity on those couple of nights. The audience, mainly consisted of over-40s, most of whom were probably avid fans back when this band was regarded as the doyen of the neo-symphonic era. There were also a few 20 and 30-somethings,m who would have probably have started out by following the likes of Genesis disciples like Marillion (of course!) but most of the audience was in fact, quite aware of the proceedings, given the excellent media exposure that took place in the previous few weeks.

Hackett also waxed lyrical on his unplugged version of 'Jacuzzi' and again revealed Satie's profound influence on 'Kim', a song he originally included on his 1978 album Please Don't Touch. In this regard, John Hackett, also deserves a lot of credit -his flute arrangements were vivid, introspective and almost lyrical and featured prominently, at times, more importantly than Steve's own guitar playing. John surely more than just filled in for his brother.

The great thing about Steve Hackett's performance was that he delivered unforcefully and without any pretence. This wouldn't sound surprising considering his tremendous output over the past few years, which eclipses his work with Genesis and at times, rises to the levels he attained with his former band. Moreover, Hackett has been more versatile than any of his former band's colleagues, even though he did not hit the headlines as much as Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins. In fact, Steve Hackett left Genesis for the sake of artistic liberty. And it was the best move he could have ever done.

In fact, during these concerts, Hackett and co. revealed a good deal of works that he recorded during the past decade, and this surely endeared him to those who may have not been so much aware of his output. 'Walking Away From Love', a song that originally featured on Guitar Noir was dexterously delivered with some fine co-ordination with Roger King.

There were also moments where Steve Hackett addressed his days with guitarist Steve Howe and he even found time to pay homage to Ennio Morricone when he tactfully delivered 'Neuvo Cinema Paradiso'.

Hackett's perspectives also border on world music and folk-roots and he did refer to his presence in WOMAD during these performances. He may have not delved into Afro-roots but he did find the time to deliver a great version of the popular Scottish traditional 'Skye Boat Song', which was also a hit for Roger Whittaker and Des O'Connor some 16 years ago. A medley that was based on the forays and adventures of the rebellious Bonnie Prince Charlie in Britain around 250 years ago, was also done with finesse and commitment. It was here that keyboards player Roger King showed his flair and proved that he wasn't just there to anchor the whole affair.

Just like Erik Satie, Steve Hackett can use simple harmonies and melodies to create timeless evocation of grace and melody. Unlike, Satie, I can never imagine Hackett to be a rebel against neo-symphonic, progressive rock's more complex and heavier moments, which often led to critical derision. But he can and will easily improvise on certain harmonic devices as he aptly showed on 'Jazz On A Summer's Night'. One hopes that should Steve Hackett realise his dream and work with Native American songwriter Buffy Saint Marie, (whom he greatly admires), he will also be able to do respectable live versions of any ensuing recordings. It can indeed, be an opportunity for Hackett to widen even further his musical horizons thanks to his deep appreciation of folk and roots' music.

It is simply sad that Hackett, like many other great talents, has been sidelined in the wake of European preferences towards wallpaper plastic pop and faceless, impudent dance music. The audience response at The Manoel partially vindicated this situation.

There is no doubt that Steve Hackett managed to evolve from a pure classical background into a respectable songwriter and one of the most eclectic and innovative electrical guitar players around, without ever letting his classical roots down.

(Steve Hackett's performances were hosted by NnG Productions. Go Mobile was the main sponsor of these performances. The other sponsors were Cisk Export, Travelex, Air Malta, Radio 101, Corinthia Palace Hotel, Brass Monkey and Sony)